For AI agents: a documentation index is available at /llms.txt. A markdown version of this page is available at /guide/cloud/time/timesheets-and-approvals.md.
Timesheets and approvals
Weekly timesheet submission and manager sign-off, without turning it into a bottleneck.
Pro and Premium
Timesheets and approvals require Pro Unlimited or above.
A timesheet collects a person's time entries for a week into one view they submit, and a manager approves.
#The weekly cycle
Log daily
The timesheet assembles itself from entries logged as work happens. It is not a form to fill in on Friday.
Review before submitting
Check for gaps, timers left running, and days that total 14 hours. Fix them now — after approval it is a correction request.
Submit
Usually end of week. Once submitted it locks pending review.
Manager approves or returns it
With a reason if returned, so the person knows what to fix.
#Do you need approvals?
You invoice clients from these hours, or a contract or regulation requires sign-off.
Time is for internal estimate calibration. Approvals add a step and catch almost nothing.
Approval is not a rubber stamp — or a bottleneck
A manager approving forty timesheets in two minutes is not reviewing anything, and the process is pure overhead. A manager who takes a week to approve blocks invoicing. If neither is working, drop approvals.
#Approving well
Approve on a schedule
Monday morning, every week. Predictable beats fast-but-erratic.
Look for the things that matter
Missing days, implausible totals, everything against one catch-all task, billable flags that look wrong.
Return with a reason
"Please split Wednesday between the two projects" is actionable. "Rejected" is not.
Have a deputy
Approvals should not stop because one person is away.
#Corrections after approval
Time gets logged wrong, and it is usually discovered after approval. Agree the process in advance:
- Who can reopen an approved timesheet
- What happens if the period is already invoiced
- Whether corrections are adjustments or amendments
Premium keeps a record
On Premium, the audit trail records submissions, approvals and changes — which is what you need when a client queries an invoice months later.
#Common problems
Everyone submits late
Usually because they are reconstructing the week rather than logging daily. Fix the daily habit; the timesheet then takes thirty seconds.
Every week is exactly 40 hours
A sign of fiction, not discipline. Real weeks are lumpy. Investigate before building invoices on it.
Approvals pile up
Either the approver is overloaded, or approval adds no value here. Fix one or drop the other.
Entries are all on one task
People are logging against a catch-all rather than real tasks. That hides exactly what you wanted to measure.