How to Add New Employees

Overview

Employees are created and maintained in Visual Dispatch Desktop from the Employee List. Each person can be classified by role checkboxes (field operator, office, sales, and so on), given payroll pay codes, and optionally linked to a portal login with user permissions that control My Job and e-ticket access.

This article walks through adding a new employee and the settings most teams configure for field operators who use the portal and e-tickets.

Prerequisites

Users without these permissions may see a limited form or get “Inadequate User Permission” when adding employees.

Step 1: Open the Employee List and create a new employee

1. In Visual Dispatch Desktop, open Employee List (toolbar or main menu, depending on your layout).
2. Click New (or equivalent add control on the list).
3. The Adding New Employee window opens with tabs: General, Equipment Skills, Cards, Notes, Attachments, Payroll, and User Login.

[Screenshot: Employee List with New highlighted]

New employees default with Resource checked and Active (not Inactive). Adjust roles before saving if this person is not a field operator.

Step 2: General tab — identity, branch, and roles

Required and common fields

• Name — Display name used across dispatch, tickets, and reports.
• Branch (Location) — Home branch for the employee record.
• Current Location — Use when the employee is temporarily working from another branch; leave aligned with home branch unless you use “borrowed employee” workflows.
• Initials / ID — Short identifier where your company uses it.
• Payroll Number — Your payroll or HR identifier (if used).
• Email and Mobile (SMS) — Contact info; mobile supports SMS where configured.
• Inactive — Check to deactivate the employee. Inactivating often prompts to inactivate the linked user as well.
• Ready — Optional flag stored on the employee; some workflows use it internally—confirm with your admin if unsure.

Role checkboxes (employee type)

On General, role checkboxes define how the employee is used in the system, not portal permissions (those are on the User Login tab).

Guidance by employee type

• Field operator (e-ticket / My Job): Resource — usually Office and Sales off unless they also dispatch or sell.
• Dispatcher / office: Office — Resource off unless they also go to the field.
• Sales only: Sales — Resource off if they are not scheduled on equipment.

Checking Resource shows the Equipment Skills tab, where you define which equipment classes/types the person can run.

[Screenshot: General tab with role checkboxes and Resource checked]

Phones, address, dates

Use the phone grid to add numbers; set skills and cards on their tabs. Hire date, birth date, and notes are optional but useful for HR and reporting.

Step 3: Equipment Skills (field operators)

Visible when Resource is checked.

1. Open the Equipment Skills tab.
2. Add rows for each equipment class / type (and related config) the employee is qualified for.
3. These skills control who appears when scheduling resources and matching crew to equipment.

Without skills, a resource employee may not appear where dispatch expects qualified operators.

[Screenshot: Equipment Skills grid with sample rows]

Step 4: Cards (inductions / certifications)

On the Cards tab (often labeled with your Card terminology):

• Track certifications, inductions, and expirations.
• Used for compliance reporting and scheduling awareness depending on your setup.

[Screenshot: Cards tab]

Step 5: Payroll tab — pay codes

The Payroll tab is visible only if you have Can Access Employee Payroll Fields for that branch.

Assign pay codes so timesheets and payroll export map hours correctly:

Choose codes that already exist in your Paycode list. Field operators need sensible defaults before they submit time on the portal.

[Screenshot: Payroll tab with pay code dropdowns]

Step 6: User Login — username and password

Portal access is set on User Login, not by the role checkboxes alone.

Creating a login

1. Open User Login.
2. Enter a User Name (required if you want a login). Rules exclude spaces and many special characters (%, <, >, _, ;, quotes, etc.).
3. Enter Password and confirm; Password Hint is optional.
4. Email Reply — Leave blank to use the employee email on General, or override for outbound mail from the app.
5. Landing Page — For field staff, choose My Jobs so they land on My Job after sign-in.
6. Leave Inactive unchecked on the user unless the account should not sign in.

Important: If User Name is left empty, no portal user is created. The employee can still exist for dispatch only.

License limit: Marking a user active checks your licensed active user count. If you exceed the limit, save fails until you inactivate another user or add licenses.

[Screenshot: User Login tab with username, password, Landing Page = My Jobs]

Step 7: User permissions (brief overview)

After a username exists, use the User permissions link on User Login (requires User Management). Permissions are per branch in the grid.

You do not need every checkbox for a field operator. Common areas:

Permission presets: If your company uses presets, apply a Field Operator or Limited Portal preset, then adjust eTicket access level.

Save the employee record before or after setting permissions; the permissions window saves the linked user for that employee.

[Screenshot: User permissions grid with eTicket access level column]

Step 8: E-ticket setup for field operators

E-ticket behavior is controlled by user permissions (especially eTicket access level) and Application Options, not by a single checkbox on the employee form.

Employee-side checklist

1. Resource checked on General.
2. Active; user not Inactive on User Login.
3. Equipment Skills for equipment they run.
4. Mobile / email filled in if you use e-link or notifications.
5. Portal User Name and Password; Landing Page = My Jobs.
6. User permissions for the job branch with appropriate eTicket access level.

eTicket access levels

For operators who must enter times, sign tickets, and complete pre-trips, Full is common unless your policy intentionally uses Limited. View Only is for supervisors who only review.

Company-wide options (e.g. assign e-ticket groups sequentially, field users only change own times) can override the simple table above—confirm with your administrator.

After save

• Assign the employee on rentals / resources for jobs they should see on My Job.
• Confirm pre-trip / post-trip forms on equipment or branch settings if forms do not appear.
• Have the operator sign in to the portal and open My Job for a test job.

[Screenshot: My Job e-ticket as field operator]

Step 9: Save

1. Click OK (or Save) on the employee window.
2. Fix validation messages (required name, branch, user password match, etc.).
3. Confirm the employee appears on Employee List and, if Resource, on the Employee Chart when filtered appropriately.

Quick reference — field operator vs office staff