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How to Configure Custom Activity Rules

Guide to coding specific activities or roles to a flat multiplier or a rate-tree tier (e.g. travel as Overtime) within rule groups

What This Feature Does

Custom Activity Rules let you pay specific activities at a different rate from the rest of a worker's day. Each rule targets activities by name pattern (required to re-rate any hours) and can optionally be restricted to specific worker roles. The matched hours are then paid in one of two ways:

  • Flat multiplier — the matched hours are paid at base rate × multiplier (e.g. a training day at 1.5×).
  • Use rate tree — the matched hours are coded to a chosen tier from the worker's matched rate-tree node, adopting that tier's rate and cost code. For example, code "travel to and from site" as Overtime so it pays at the worker's overtime rate and is cost-coded as overtime, regardless of where the travel falls in the day.

Custom activity rules are configured within Rule Groups inside a pay rate document.

Key Concepts

How a Rule is Triggered

  • Activity Name Patterns (required to apply a rate) — wildcard text patterns matched against timesheet activity names (e.g. *Travel*, Inclement Weather). The rule re-rates the hours of the matching activities. Without an activity pattern, the rule does not re-rate any hours.
  • Linked Roles (optional filter) — restrict the rule to workers in specific roles. When set alongside activity patterns, both must match (AND logic). A linked role on its own is only a filter — it never applies a rate to any hours by itself.

Rate Source: Multiplier vs Rate Tree

Rate sourceWhat the matched hours are paidWhen to use
Multiplier (default)base rate × multiplier, paid as normal hours with no cost codeSimple premium/discount on matched hours (e.g. training at 1.5×)
Use rate treeThe selected tier's rate and cost code from the worker's matched tree nodeCode an activity as a specific tier — e.g. travel as Overtime ("Overtime A")

Use rate tree requires at least one activity name pattern — the toggle is disabled until a pattern is added, so the coding is always scoped to specific activities.

Available Rate Tiers

When Use rate tree is on, you choose one tier:

  • Regular
  • Overtime (commonly referred to as "Overtime A")
  • Second Overtime
  • Saturday / Sunday
  • Public Holiday
  • Weekly Overtime / Weekly Second Overtime

The rate and cost code for the tier come from the same rate-tree node the worker matched for the rest of their timesheet.

Force-Override

When a rule uses the rate tree, the matched activity hours are coded to the chosen tier regardless of how the normal calculation would otherwise classify them. For example, travel that happens to fall after the daily overtime threshold — or travel in normal hours — is always coded to the selected tier.

Contributes to Overtime

Each rule has a Contributes to overtime setting that controls whether the matched hours count toward the daily/weekly overtime thresholds for the rest of the day. This is independent of the rate tier the hours are coded to. For example, travel coded as Overtime can still count toward the threshold so that later regular work tips into overtime.

How to Create a Custom Activity Rule

  1. Open a pay rate document from the Pay Rate Documents tab
  2. Navigate to the Rule Groups section
  3. In the Custom Activity Rules area, click "Add"
  4. Fill in the form:
    • Rule Name — descriptive name (e.g. "Travel", "Training Day")
    • Activity Name Patterns — wildcard patterns matched against activity names (e.g. *Travel*)
    • Use rate tree — turn on to code the matched hours as a rate-tree tier (enabled once at least one activity pattern is added)
      • Rate tier — the tier to apply (e.g. Overtime)
    • Rate Multiplier — shown instead of the tier picker when Use rate tree is off
  5. Optionally link roles and set Contributes to overtime
  6. Click "Save"

How to Edit a Custom Activity Rule

  1. In the Custom Activity Rules list, click the actions menu (three dots) on the rule
  2. Select "Edit"
  3. Toggle Use rate tree / change the tier or multiplier, adjust patterns, roles, or overtime contribution
  4. Click "Save"

Removing all activity name patterns from a rate-tree rule turns the toggle off and reverts it to a multiplier (rate-tree coding always requires a pattern).

How Matched Hours Are Paid

When rates are applied to a timesheet:

  1. The worker is matched to a rate-tree node and base rate as usual
  2. Activities matching the rule's patterns/roles are identified
  3. Multiplier rules: matched hours are paid at base × multiplier
  4. Rate-tree rules: matched hours are coded to the chosen tier's rate and cost code, overriding any other classification for those hours
  5. The matched hours' contribution to overtime thresholds follows the rule's Contributes to overtime setting

The processing reasoning for the timesheet shows a "CUSTOM ACTIVITY RULE" line describing which activities were coded and how.

Examples

Travel coded as Overtime A

  • Activity Pattern: *Travel*
  • Use rate tree: On → Overtime
  • Travel activities are paid at the worker's overtime rate and cost-coded as overtime, wherever they fall in the shift.

Training day at time-and-a-half

  • Activity Pattern: *Training*
  • Use rate tree: Off
  • Rate Multiplier: 1.5
  • Training hours are paid at 1.5× the base rate.

Tips

  • Use rate tree for cost-coding: choose the rate-tree option when the activity should carry a specific tier's rate and cost code (not just a different dollar amount).
  • Be specific with patterns: the more specific the activity pattern, the fewer false positives.
  • Mind overtime contribution: leave Contributes to overtime on if the coded hours should still push other work into overtime; turn it off for premium hours that shouldn't affect thresholds.
  • Test with a sample timesheet: apply rates to a test period and confirm the right activities are coded and the breakdown reconciles.

What's Next