Approval Workflow

Required Permission

Timesheet Approval - You must have the Timesheet Approval permission to access this setting.

The time tracking approval workflow ensures accurate time records before they're used for payroll and job costing. Employees submit their timesheets for review, and managers approve or return them for corrections.

Workflow Overview

For Employees

Checking Approval Status

Your timesheet status appears at the top of the timesheet view:

Status	What It Means
Draft	You can edit. Not yet submitted.
Submitted	Awaiting manager review. Cannot edit.
Approved	Locked by manager. Cannot edit.

Submitting for Approval

When your week's time entries are complete:

1. Navigate to your Timesheet
2. Review all entries for the week
3. Click Submit for Approval
4. Add optional notes (e.g., "Overtime approved by John for Saturday work")
5. Click Submit

Before Submitting

Review your timesheet for:

• Missing days
• Incomplete clock-in entries (no end time)
• Incorrect hours or projects
• Missing notes on significant entries

What Happens After Submission

• Your timesheet status changes to Submitted
• You cannot edit entries until the timesheet is approved or retracted
• Your manager receives a notification (if enabled)
• The submission date and any notes are recorded

Retracting a Submission

If you need to make changes after submitting:

1. Open your Timesheet for the submitted week
2. Click Retract Submission
3. Confirm the retraction
4. Status returns to Draft
5. Make your corrections
6. Submit again when ready

warning

You can only retract if the timesheet hasn't been approved yet. Once a manager approves and locks the timesheet, you cannot retract.

After Approval

Once approved:

• Status changes to Approved
• The timesheet is locked
• No further edits are possible
• Time data flows to payroll/job costing systems

If you discover an error after approval, contact your manager to request an unlock.

For Managers

Viewing Pending Approvals

1. Navigate to Time Tracking > Approvals
2. View list of submitted timesheets awaiting review
3. Filter by employee, department, or date range

Reviewing a Timesheet

1. Click on an employee's submitted timesheet
2. Review all entries for the week:
   • Total hours per day
   • Projects worked on
   • Entry Type (Production / Design / Non-billable) and cost codes used
   • Notes and comments
   • Mileage (if tracked)
3. Check for issues:
   • Overtime without prior approval
   • Missing entries
   • Unusual hours patterns
   • Incorrect project assignments

Approving a Timesheet

If the timesheet is correct:

1. Click Approve
2. Confirm the approval
3. The timesheet is now locked

Approved timesheets:

• Cannot be edited by the employee
• Are marked with the approval date
• Show who approved them
• Are ready for payroll export

Returning for Corrections

If changes are needed:

1. Add a comment explaining what needs correction
2. The employee will see the comment
3. They can retract, make changes, and resubmit

No "Reject" Button

The system uses a comment-based approach rather than formal rejection. Communicate needed changes via comments, and the employee retracts and corrects.

Unlocking an Approved Timesheet

If corrections are needed after approval:

1. Find the approved timesheet
2. Click Unapprove or Unlock
3. Confirm the action
4. The timesheet returns to Draft status
5. The employee can now edit and resubmit

Audit Trail

Unlock actions are logged. Use sparingly and document the reason for unlocking.

Bulk Approval

For efficient processing of multiple timesheets:

1. Navigate to Time Tracking > Approvals
2. Select multiple submitted timesheets
3. Review summary information
4. Click Approve Selected
5. Confirm bulk approval

Bulk PTO Entry

Managers can add PTO for multiple employees:

1. Navigate to Time Tracking > Bulk PTO
2. Select employees
3. Enter PTO hours and dates
4. Select PTO pay type
5. Save entries

Useful for company holidays or team PTO days.

Approving by Project

When your company enables per-entry time approval (an admin setting under My Company > Profile > Time Tracking), the approval page gains a By Project tab alongside the employee view. Instead of approving an employee's whole week, you approve all the time charged to one project for the selected week — each entry is locked individually, and the rest of each employee's week stays editable.

Who Can Use It

• Users with the View All Time Sheets permission see every project.
• Project managers automatically see and approve time for the projects they manage — no separate permission assignment is needed. Adding or removing someone as a project's manager immediately changes their access.
• Only time charged to a project appears in this view. Entries without a project are reviewed and approved through the By Employee view.

Using the By Project View

1. Navigate to Time Tracking > Approvals and select the By Project tab
2. Select the week
3. Each row shows a project's total hours, hours per pay type, mileage, and the employees who logged time
4. A Needs Approval indicator marks projects with time pending approval; partially approved projects show how many entries are still pending
5. By default only projects with time for the week are listed — turn on Show projects without time to see the rest
6. Click Approve on a project to open its detail, review the entries, and approve them

How Per-Entry Locking Works

• Approving a project locks its individual entries. Locked entries can't be edited, moved, voided, or deleted, and they appear locked in the By Employee view too — both views always agree.
• A whole-week approval still works exactly as before, and it also locks each entry individually.
• An entry lock is a partial approval: an entry is not fully locked until the whole-week timesheet approval covers it. Only fully locked (week-approved) time is exported to payroll systems like QuickBooks and counted as approved labor cost on job-cost reports.
• Unapproving follows a strict order: if an entry is covered by both a week lock and an entry lock, the timesheet must be unlocked first — entry locks cannot be removed while the week is locked.

Locking and Unlocking Individual Entries

Each entry row on the approval detail screens (both By Employee and By Project) shows its lock state and lets approvers manage it directly:

• A green lock means the entry is approved — hover to see who approved it and when. Click it to unlock just that entry (with confirmation) so it can be corrected, then lock it again when done.
• An open lock appears on unapproved entries — click it to approve and lock that single entry without touching the rest of the week.

While an entry is under a whole-week timesheet lock, it cannot be unlocked individually — unlock the timesheet first, then the entry. Project-level unapprove likewise skips any entries whose week is locked.

note

The By Project tab only appears when the per-entry time approval company setting is enabled. Companies that don't enable it see no change.

Reclassifying Time Categories

Every entry row on the approval screen shows an Entry Type column — Production, Design, or Non-billable — so you can see at a glance how each entry is categorized. When an entry is in the wrong category, you can reclassify it in place instead of voiding it and re-entering the time.

Each editable row's Entry Type column has a reclassify button (the swap icon). Clicking it opens a dialog where you:

1. Choose the target Entry Type — the two categories other than the entry's current one.
2. Select the Project (for Production or Design) or enter a Description (for Non-billable). Reclassifying to Non-billable clears the project; reclassifying to Production or Design requires a real project.
3. Choose a Cost Code valid for the new category. Cost codes differ by category, so the previous one is cleared and you pick a fresh one every time.
4. Confirm the Note. It defaults to Reclassified from {old} to {new} and is fully editable — this note is saved on the entry as a permanent audit comment.

On save, the entry moves to the new category and its row immediately re-renders in the new mode (project picker for billable, free-text description for non-billable) — no page reload needed.

Audit Trail

Every reclassification requires a note and records it as a comment on the entry, capturing the old and new category and your explanation.

Locked entries

Reclassify follows the same rules as other edits: the button is unavailable on locked (approved) entries and on voided entries. Unlock the entry first if it needs to be recategorized. Voided entries stay voided — reclassify does not bring them back.

Approval Status Reference

Employee View

Status	Can Edit	Actions Available
Draft	Yes	Submit for Approval
Submitted	No	Retract Submission
Approved	No	Contact Manager

Manager View

Status	Can Approve	Actions Available
Draft	No	View Only
Submitted	Yes	Approve, Add Comments
Approved	No	Unapprove/Unlock

Timeline and Deadlines

Typical Weekly Cycle

Day	Action
Week End	Complete all time entries
Monday	Submit timesheet for previous week
Tuesday	Manager reviews and approves
Wednesday	Payroll export processed

Your company may have different deadlines. Check with your administrator.

Late Submissions

• Submitting late may delay payroll processing
• Some companies allow late submissions with manager override
• Repeated late submissions should be addressed with your manager

Notifications

Employee Notifications

• Reminder to submit (if enabled)
• Approval confirmation
• Comments from manager

Manager Notifications

• New submissions awaiting approval
• Retractions of previously submitted timesheets
• Approaching approval deadlines

Configure notifications in your Notification Settings.

Best Practices

For Employees

1. Enter time daily - Don't wait until week end
2. Add meaningful notes - Helps managers approve faster
3. Submit on time - Follow your company's schedule
4. Double-check before submitting - Review thoroughly

For Managers

1. Review promptly - Don't delay payroll processing
2. Provide clear feedback - Explain what needs correction
3. Be consistent - Apply same standards to all employees
4. Use comments - Document approval decisions when needed

Integration with Payroll

Approved timesheets can be exported to payroll systems:

• QuickBooks Online
• QuickBooks Desktop
• CSV export for other systems

See Time Tracking Exports for export details.

Troubleshooting

"Cannot Submit" Error

Common causes:

• Incomplete clock-in entries (missing end time)
• Invalid entries in the timesheet
• Already submitted (check status)

"Cannot Edit" Message

Your timesheet is either:

• Submitted (retract to edit)
• Approved (contact manager to unlock)

Manager Cannot See Submissions

Check:

• Correct date range filter
• Department/team assignment
• Approval permissions in your role