Approve team’s time entries

As a Team or Project manager, you play a crucial role in ensuring that your team’s time entries are accurately tracked, reviewed, and approved. This guide will walk you through the process of managing time entry approvals, ensuring that time and budget allocations for projects are accurate and well-documented. 

What is time entry approval? #

Approving time entries is the process where Admins, Project managers, or Team managers review and approve or reject time entries submitted by team members. The goal is to ensure that time spent on projects is correctly tracked, budgeted, and allocated for accurate reporting and invoicing.

Time approvals are available on Standard and higher subscription plans. The ability to approve expenses requires a Pro or higher plan.

Roles and permissions #

In your workspace, the ability to approve time and expenses is determined by your role and the permissions.

• Team managers (if enabled): Can approve time entries and expenses for users they manage.
• Project managers (if enabled): Can approve time entries for team members working on the projects they manage.

Admin can modify these permissions by navigating to the Workspace Settings > Permissions tab and configuring the Who can approve submitted timesheets and expenses section.

Recap of roles and permissions #

• Team managers: Can approve time for their team members
• Project managers: Can approve time for team members working on their projects.

If a user holds both the Team manager and Project manager roles, they will have combined permissions, giving them the ability to approve time for both their team and the projects they manage.

Approve time entries #

When time entries are submitted for approval, they will appear in the Approvals section. Here’s how to approve time entries:

Steps to approve time entries: #

1. In the sidebar, click on the Approvals page to view pending time requests
2. You’ll see an orange dot next to the sidebar indicating that there are timesheets awaiting approval
3. The Pending tab will list all timesheets that are waiting for approval
4. You can filter the timesheets by user or group to make reviewing easier
5. To see a detailed view of any time entry, click on the request
6. To approve time entries, click on the Approve button for each entry
   Or
7. Select Approve all to approve all pending requests at once
   

If you are an Admin, you can send reminders to Team or Project managers to approve their team’s timesheets. This can be done by clicking the Remind to approve button on the Approvals page.

Edit pending time entries #

As an Admin, Team manager, or Project manager (depending on permissions), you may need to edit time entries before approving them.

To edit pending time entries:

1. Navigate to the Pending tab on the Approvals page to see all time entries waiting for approval
2. Find the time entry you want to edit, and click the edit pen icon next to the entry
3. Make necessary changes:
   
   • In the Edit Time Entry screen, you can update the following details:
     • Time and date
     • Description
     • Project
     • Billability
     • Delete or duplicate the entry if needed

After editing the time entry, click Save to apply the changes.

Reject time entries #

If you come across time entries that are incorrect or do not meet the requirements, you can reject them. Rejecting a request will delete the entry from the approval queue, and the user will be notified via email.

Steps to reject time entries: #

1. In the Approvals page, go to the Pending tab to see all time entries awaiting approval
2. Click on the time entry to open it
3. In the upper-right corner, click Reject to remove the entry from the approval list
4. A prompt will appear asking you to provide a reason for the rejection
   Add a note explaining why the request was rejected.
5. Click Reject to finalize the action

After rejection, the user will receive an email with the rejection reason, and the Pending label will be removed from the entry.

Additional features #

Notifications #

• User’s manager is notified when a timesheet is submitted
• The user is notified when their timesheet is approved or rejected
• Admins are notified when a timesheet is submitted, depending on their role in the workspace

Withdrawing approval #

If you mistakenly approve a timesheet or need to revoke approval, you can withdraw approval from the Approvals page. This action will notify both the user and all admins.

Final notes #

• After you approve time entries, they will be locked and cannot be edited by anyone, including Admins
• You can export approved time entries to an invoice, and they will automatically be marked as “invoiced” for easy tracking
• If you reject a timesheet, the user can edit and resubmit it, or the Manager can manually adjust entries via the Detailed report

FAQ #

Who can approve time entries in my workspace? #

• Admins can approve time entries for all users in the workspace
• Team managers (if enabled) can approve time entries for users they manage
• Project managers (if enabled) can approve time entries for team members working on their specific projects

You can modify these permissions in the Workspace Settings > Permissions tab under Who can approve submitted timesheets and expenses.

How do I know when a time entry is awaiting approval? #

When there are pending time entries waiting for your approval, you will see an orange dot indicator next to the Approvals page in the sidebar. All pending requests will appear in the Pending tab.

Can I approve multiple time entries at once? #

Yes! You can approve all time entries in the Pending tab at once by selecting Approve all, or you can approve them individually by clicking the Approve button next to each entry.

Can I edit time entries before approving them? #

Yes, as an Admin, Team manager, or Project manager (depending on permissions), you can edit time entries before approving them. To edit a pending time entry:

1. Go to the Pending tab in the Approvals page
2. Click the edit pen icon next to the time entry you want to update
3. You can change the time, description, project, billability, and more
   Once done, click Save.

What happens if I reject a time entry? #

When you reject a time entry, it will be deleted from the approval list, and the user will receive an email notification explaining the reason for rejection. The Pending label will be removed from the rejected entry.

If you need to edit a rejected timesheet, you can manually correct it in the Detailed report or allow the user to edit and resubmit the entry.

How do I send reminders to managers to approve timesheets? #

If you are an Admin, you can send a reminder to Team managers or Project managers by clicking the Remind to Approve button on the Approvals page. This will send an email reminder to those managers to review and approve their team members’ timesheets.

Can I withdraw my approval of a time entry? #

As Team manager or Project manager, you can withdraw approval from a time entry. Simply go to the Approvals page, find the approved entry, and choose Withdraw approval. This will notify the user and any relevant admins.

What happens when I approve time entries? #

Once time entries are approved, they are locked and cannot be edited by anyone, even Admins. These entries can then be included in invoicing and reporting, and any approved time entries will automatically be tagged as invoiced for easier tracking.

How do I assign Team or Project manager roles for time approval? #

To assign Team manager or Project manager roles, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Team page
2. Select the user to assign a role
3. Click + Role and check either Team manager or Project manager
4. For Team managers, select the users or groups they will manage
5. For Project managers, select the projects they will oversee
6. Save your changes

Once assigned, the manager will have access to the Approvals page for their team or project.

Will users be notified when their timesheets are approved or rejected? #

Yes, users will receive notifications:

• When their timesheet is submitted, the manager will be notified
• When their timesheet is approved, the user will receive a confirmation email
• When their timesheet is rejected, the user will receive an email with the reason for rejection

Can I edit time entries after they are approved? #

No, once a time entry is approved, it is locked and cannot be edited by anyone, including Admins. However, you can always reject the timesheet and allow the user to resubmit corrected entries.

What happens if a time entry includes overnight work? #

If a time entry spans multiple days (for example, it starts in the evening and ends the next morning), the system will display a superscript number next to the end time. This indicates how many additional days the entry covers.