Speed Up Timesheet Approval in 3 Quick Steps

Timesheet approval processes minimize errors that cost you time and money. 

In fact, inaccurate timesheets cause payroll mistakes and wrong cost estimates for future projects. 

However, manually reviewing and approving timesheets isn’t the answer. It takes a lot of time and mistakes can still happen.

Luckily, you can streamline and automate timesheet approval with time tracking software. 

Here’s how. 

Step #1: Automate timesheet submission

When employees submit their timesheets manually, various errors are possible. 

For instance, they may send the files to the wrong email address, or the message could end up in their manager’s spam folder. The manager could also miss the message in the hundreds of daily emails. 

With a time tracker like Clockify, timesheets are automatically shared with managers in real time. 

As a manager, you can view anyone’s timesheets by:

1. Going to the Timesheet screen,
2. Clicking the Teammates button and,
3. Choosing an employee whose timesheet you want to display. 

Once employees finalize their timesheets, they click the Submit for approval button on their Timesheet screen that looks just like in the image below.  

After an employee submits a timesheet, it automatically appears in their manager’s Approvals screen. 

From there, the manager can approve an employee timesheet or reject submitted timesheets one by one  — or approve them in bulk via the Approve all button. 

The best thing about Clockify is that you don’t have to create timesheets in Excel or Google Sheets and don’t need to share them via email. 

The entire approval process happens within Clockify, and everything is done in a few clicks. 

Step #2: Minimize late submissions and mistakes

In practice, employees often lack discipline when it comes to tracking work hours. 

Someone always forgets to fill out and submit their timesheets, while others make mistakes. As a result, managers lose precious time sending reminders and correcting errors. 

In Clockify, you can set automatic reminders that notify your employees when they’re supposed to submit their timesheets. 

To create a custom reminder for timecard approval, simply:

1. Go to the Team screen,
2. Open the Reminders tab,
3. Set the rules for a reminder, and
4. Click the Add button.

At predetermined times, employees will automatically receive a notification in Clockify reminding them to complete their timesheets. 

You can also lock timesheets past certain dates. This will incentivize your staff to fill them on time. 

From the Settings menu, you can manually lock entries for today or a specific date — or set an automatic lock. 

For instance, you can automatically lock the timesheets for the previous week every Wednesday, creating a hard deadline for editing and submitting timesheets. 

As a result, timesheets will be submitted and approved on time — preventing delays in payroll processing and ensuring everyone is paid on time. 

Step #3: Run time audits to correct errors

Human error is possible even when you streamline and automate timesheet approval. 

However, Clockify makes spotting and correcting errors easy via its time audit function. 

The audit can automatically show:

• Time entries without a specified task,
• Time entries that are suspiciously long or short, and
• Time entries with no assigned project. 

If the time audit shows timesheets with missing or incorrect data, you can easily reject them right from the Approvals screen. 

After rejecting timesheets, you’ll be prompted to leave a note describing your reason to the employee. 

Once you click Reject, the user will automatically receive an email notification with your comment. As a result, they’ll know what to fix before you can approve their timesheet. 

With more accurate timesheets, there will be fewer payroll errors, and everyone will be paid fairly for their time. 

Simplify timesheet approval with Clockify

With Clockify, you’ll easily approve timesheets and track employee work hours. You can also use the platform to:

• Export time reports and share them with clients,
• Import timesheets into QuickBooks and other billing software, and 
• Approve or reject time off requests in your company. 

Besides timesheet approval, Clockify also streamlines client billing and payroll tracking. Clockify makes you forget about human error and tedious manual processes.