This page features FAQs to help you get the most from the eSTART application. The information provided
within this page is separated by employee roles for ease of use. To search for a specific topic
you can press CTRL + F (the F key) on your keyboard which brings up a search box or you can click on one
of the quick links below.
1. What is my login ID?
A) If you have an Active Directory/Email ID, the Login ID is your
email address. B) If you do not have an email address, the ID is your firstname.lastname.
2. What are the password requirements?
A) For most employees the eSTART account uses the
same password that you use to logon to your computer and your username is the same as your email
address. For employees that do not have a computer account on the network, an eSTART username and
password will be provided. Your agency administrator or agency help desk can provide you with your
logon credentials.
3. Who do I call if I have issues with a password change?
A) If you use your email address to log
in and you have issues changing the password yourself, contact your Agency Help Desk to have the
password reset. If you do not have an Agency Help Desk, you can contact the OIT HelpDesk at 334-242-2222.
B) If you use firstname.lastname to log in and you are unable to change the password
or your account becomes locked, contact your Agency Help Desk. If you do not have an Agency Help Desk
you can contact the OIT HelpDesk at 334-242-2222.
4. Who do I call if I see an LDAP error (vis.alabama.gov 636) when trying to log in?
Call the OIT HelpDesk at 334-242-2222
and provide them with a screenshot or specific error information.
5. What steps do I take if I receive a "You do not have permission to access the requested resource." message?
You can
resolve the problem by closing all browsers and restarting. If this does not resolve the issue, verify the URL is typed correctly.
It should be https://estart.alabama.gov/wfc/htmlnavigator/logon. If the
URL is incorrect, close all browsers and start again. Enter the correct URL after the browser launches.
6. When I click on the workspace for eSTART Online Resources I only see a blank page. What can be done to correct this?
A) When using
Internet Explorer, if you receive a notification that only secured content is displayed, click on the "Show All Content" or call the
Help Desk for assistance in changing the browser settings to show all content permanently. B) If you are using Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome,
you will see a small "shield" icon in the URL address line of your browser (the shield is on the right side in Chrome and is on the left side for
Firefox). Click on the shield. In Chrome, select "Load Unsafe Script", then the "Done" button. In Firefox, select "Disable Protection on this page"
from the drop-down. After this setting has been changed in either Chrome or Firefox, you will need to select the workspace once again. NOTE:
Since the eSTART Online Resources is an internal site on the state's network, disabling the protection poses no risk and is only temporary. This
change will have to be made each time you attempt to go to the eSTART Online Resources site.
1. What action do I take if I miss a punch or have a timecard exception?
Contact your manager to correct
the missing punch or unexcused absence. The manager will add the punch or appropriate leave time for the
exception.
2. What do the different colors in my timecard mean?
A) Purple text - information was generated by the
system. B) Solid red box - indicates a missed in or out punch. C) Green text - indicates a manager has
approved an exception and marked it reviewed. D) Red text - indicates an exception that deviates from your
normal schedule such as a late/early punch or unexcused absence has occurred. You can hover over the cell
for more specific information. E) Blue text - indicates an excused absence.
3. Why didn't I get the holiday accrual in my timecard?
Non-exempt employees must be in pay status the scheduled day before and
after a holiday or use an acceptable form of leave on those days before the holiday is credited. Exempt employees automatically
receive credit for the holiday, but must be in pay status the scheduled work day before and after the Holiday.
1. Who do I need to contact if my finger scan consistently fails?
Contact your manager to have
your finger re-enrolled.
2. Why am I being prompted for the duration, start time and number of hours when I choose "Days"
on a time off request?
You can key the correct information for your complete day request or you
can leave the fields blank. The fields are not required.
3. Why do I get a message stating "The in punch is too early"?
You are receiving this message because you are
trying to punch before your designated shift starts. If this is due to a missing out punch for the previous day
contact your manager to correct the missing out punch. If this is an approved early punch you will need to contact
your manager to bypass the early punch setting.
2. What action do I take if my time off request rejects?
A message will display with the reason. A) Verify
the Leave Balance was sufficient for the date selected. B) Verify the selected date(s) for the request.
3. What action do I take if I need to cancel or delete a time off request?
A) If a submitted request has not
been approved by the manager, it can be retracted. The manager does not have to take any action for these.
B) If the manager has approved the request, the employee must submit a Cancel Request. The manager will need to select
Cancel Approved to approve the cancellation.
4. How can I edit a request that is already submitted?
You cannot edit a request. You will need to cancel the
request and create a new request to send to your manager. Only a request in draft status can be edited.
5. Why do I get a message stating "must be in increments of 0:15"?
eSTART requires that all
leave requests occur in a minimum 15 minute increments or the increment set by your agency. The time off request is automatically saved to drafts when an
error message is received. Click the desired time off request and adjust the leave request length to a 15 minute increment and submit
your time off request again.
6. Why does my timecard show a different leave type than I originally submitted during the previous pay period?
eSTART is configured with an Annual Leave cascade policy for the State of Alabama. The policy will cascade in the following order for an
annual leave request before August 1st of each year: Comp, Excess Annual and Annual. After August 1st, all annual leave requests will
cascade in the following order: Personal Day, Excess Annual, Comp and Annual.
1. Can I require an exempt employee to punch in and out similar to a timestamp employee? Yes, you will need to contact your Agency Administrator.
2. Why is an employee accruing comp when it should be overtime?
Contact your Agency Administrator and they can change
the appropriate setting in eSTART.
1. What action do I take if one of my employees does not show a schedule in their timecard?
You will setup the employee schedule
by using Schedule Editor. See Schedule Editor.
2. How do I setup an employee whose schedule changes on a regular basis (ex: day-to-day, week-to-week & part-time employee schedules)?
You will manually key the schedule for these types of employees. Go to the Schedule Editor for the
time period desired and key in the schedule for each day within the cell. See Schedule Editor.
3. Why would a time off request show 0:00 in the Amount field if an employee stated they requested a full day off?
You need to check
the employees schedule for the day requested. Verify the employee actually has a schedule for the day in question. If the employee is missing a
schedule for the day requested, you will need to cancel the time off request, key a
schedule for the employee and ask the employee to submit the request again.
4. How do I locate the correct schedule group for an employee?
Schedule group names are broken down into 3 parts. Look at the following schedule
example: 0730-1600 Lunch 60 11-00. (Part 1 - 0730-1600) represents the start time (7:30am) and end time (4:00pm) for the employee schedule.
(Part 2 - Lunch 60) represent the employee takes a 60 minute lunch. No lunch and 30 minute lunches are valid options.
(Part 3 - 12-00) represents the employee lunch start time (11am). 11-15 would represent a start time of 11:15am. 00-Auto PFS is only to be used with
exempt employees for automatic lunch deduction.
5. Why do I get the message "The Effective Date must be on or after the Scheduler Begin View Date"?
You are trying to set the schedule start date
outside of the time period you currently have selected in schedule editor. Change your timeframe to the correct range of dates and hit refresh.
1. Why do I get a message stating "BLOOD DONATION edits must be in increments of 2:00"?
The State of Alabama requires that all
blood donation leave requests occur in 2 hour increments. Adjust the leave request length to a 2 hour increment and submit
again.
2. Why do I get a message stating "edits must be in increments of 0:15"?
eSTART requires that all
leave requests occur in 15 minute increments. Adjust the leave request length to a 15 minute increment and submit again.
1. Why can't I see a time off request that an employee has submitted?
Verify the time period is changed to a range of
dates which includes the time off request date and press the refresh button. The schedule editor defaults to the current schedule
period.
1. Can I assign an agency representative who will be responsible for managing timecards indefinitely for a group
of managers?
Yes, this type of representative can be setup to manage a maximum of 11 managers. See
Delegate Manager Setup.
1. How do I require an exempt employee to punch in and out similar to a timestamp employee?
You will change the additional
information field in the employee people editor screen. See the "additional information" section in
Employee Configuration.
2. Can I update employee accruals in eSTART?
No, Accruals are maintained in GHRS. eSTART updates all
employee accruals each pay period from GHRS.
3. What action do I take for a new or transferred employee?
An Agency Administrator is responsible for verifying
employee lunch timeframe, punch and Comp/OT options. See Employee Configuration.
1. Why do I see employees as not signed off in the "Pay Period Close" view after I have performed a group
signoff?
The employees who are not signed off probably have a missed punch or unexcused absence. Error messages
from a group signoff are viewed from the Group Edit Results link on the Related Items pane.
2. Why don't I see any missed punches on an employee timecard that is getting: "cannot sign off on timecard due to missing
punches" error?
There may be missing punches in the previous pay periods. This occurs sometimes after an
agency is initially brought onto the eSTART application. Select a larger range of dates in the timecard (to include the
previous pay period), correct the missing punches and try to signoff again.
1. Why would a timecard show a different leave type than was originally submitted during the previous pay period?
eSTART is configured with an Annual Leave cascade policy for the State of Alabama. The policy will cascade in the following order for an
annual leave request before August 1st of each year: Comp, Excess Annual and Annual. After August 1st, all annual leave requests will
cascade in the following order: Personal Day, Excess Annual, Comp and Annual.
