Timesheet Approvals
Availability: Enterprise Pinnacle. ; Unavailability: Free, Professional, Team, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard; |
By default, account owners and admins have the ability to approve time and view other users' time entries. You can either grant admin rights to your approvers or create a custom user role to manage this access.
The timesheet review and approval process allows you to efficiently manage your team’s time spent in preparation for monthly billing or payroll. By reviewing, approving, and locking timesheets, you ensure that the recorded time is accurate and final.
Once a timesheet is approved, the associated time tracking data is locked for the specified week for the given team member. This lock prevents any further modifications, ensuring that no additional time can be tracked or altered for that period. This feature helps you maintain consistency in your records, avoiding unexpected changes that could disrupt financial tracking or reporting.
Note
If you decide not to use timesheet approvals right now, it won't impact your current time tracking. It will only be relevant when your team is ready to start approving timesheets in Wrike.
Account admins can easily manage Timesheet Approvals by using a self-service toggle. This feature gives you the flexibility to activate or deactivate Timesheet Approvals, allowing for customized management of feature visibility and accessibility on a per-account basis. It enhances control and adapts to your organization's specific needs without needing external support.
Manage the availability of the Timesheet Approvals feature in your account with these steps:
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Click your profile picture in the sidebar 1.
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Select Settings 2 from the menu.
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Under Account Management, click Time Tracking 3.
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Toggle the switch under Timesheet Approvals 4 to enable or disable the feature.
Timesheets Submission Rules enable admins to set daily or weekly hour limits with flexible restrictions, solving compliance challenges and streamlining timesheet approvals. This feature enhances control and efficiency across all work schedules, ensuring accurate timesheet submissions for every team member.
Create a Custom Work Schedule
Creating a custom work schedule allows you to define specific working hours created to your team's unique needs and project requirements.
By default, account owners and admins have the ability to create and assign custom work schedules to specific users. You can either grant admin rights or create a custom user role to manage this access.
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Create a custom work schedule as per your needs.
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Once you've set the workweek selection and daily capacity, enable Time submission rules by clicking the toggle 1 button.
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Open the dropdown menu 2 and choose the Per Day option to set rules for each day, or select Per Week to apply rules for the entire week.
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There are two options available to implement restriction rules 3:
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Option A: Hard restriction (Cannot submit less or more than the daily/weekly capacity): Select this option if you want to create a strict rule where users cannot submit timesheets with hours logged that are either less or more than the specified daily/weekly capacity.
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Option B: Soft restriction (Ask for confirmation if submitted hours are less or more than the daily/weekly capacity): Select this option for a more flexible approach that asks users to confirm their submissions if the logged hours are different from the daily/weekly capacity.
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Click the Apply changes 4 button once you are satisfied with the settings.
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At the top, near the schedule title:
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Click the Duplicate 5 button to duplicate the schedule.
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Click the Delete 6 button to delete the schedule.
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After creating custom work schedules, the next step is to assign these schedules to team members to ensure their work hours align with project needs and availability.
Important
By changing the work schedule, some tasks and projects may be auto-rescheduled.
As users submit their timesheets, they will encounter pop-ups and indicators related to the daily and weekly capacity restrictions. Here's how these appear and what actions are required:
Hard Restriction (Cannot Submit Less or More than Capacity)
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Pop-up Alert: Immediately upon submission, if the entered hours do not exactly match the daily or weekly capacity, a pop-up alert will appear.
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Indicator Description: This alert uses the word Allowed to indicate the exact work hours permitted. It notifies the user that their submission cannot proceed because the hours entered do not fall within the allowed range.
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User Action: The user must adjust the hours according to the timesheet submission rules to successfully complete the submission process.
Indicators for hard restriction:
Daily:
Weekly:
Indicators for soft restriction:
Daily:
Weekly:
Soft Restriction (Ask for Confirmation if Submitting Less or More than Capacity)
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Pop-up Confirmation: As the user submits the timesheet, a confirmation pop-up will appear if the hours vary from the set capacity.
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Indicator Description: This pop-up uses the word Recommended to suggest the ideal work hours, noting the discrepancy from the recommended capacity.
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User Action: The user can choose to adjust their hours to match the recommended capacity or confirm the submission, acknowledging and accepting the variance.
Pop-ups for hard restriction:
Daily:
Weekly:
Pop-ups for soft restriction:
Daily:
Weekly:
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Users with approval permissions: Can submit, decline, or withdraw timesheets for themselves and others.
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Users without approval permissions: Can submit and withdraw their own timesheets.
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Click the More button in the sidebar 1.
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Select Timesheets from the dropdown menu 2.
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Enter your time entries in the rows corresponding to each task. You can also add comments for each entry if needed 3.
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Once you've entered all the time entries, click the Submit for Approval button 4.
Users with approval permissions can submit timesheets on behalf of others. To do this:
If you need to adjust or modify a submitted timesheet, you can withdraw it by clicking the Cancel Approval button.
Note
A timesheet can only be withdrawn (i.e., approvals can only be canceled) if no decision has been made and the timesheet is still pending. Editing is only possible after a timesheet has been officially declined. Once a timesheet is declined, team members cannot withdraw it but can resubmit it again.
Note
Users with time tracking access can view the Approvals tab, where they can see their own submitted timesheets. Additionally, users with the permission to view, track, and approve others' time entries can access this tab to review and make decisions on submitted timesheets. These users can access timesheets from all users, not just their own.
Users with approval permissions can access all submitted timesheets across the account. To review and make decisions on these timesheets:
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Navigate to the Approvals tab within the timesheets section 1.
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Filter the user list to display only the relevant team or department by selecting the appropriate person or user group 2.
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Review the submitted timesheets collectively without needing to open each one individually 3.
Note
You can also identify days marked as exceptions for a submitted timesheet.
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If necessary, open individual timesheets by clicking the Open timesheet 4 button. Based on your decision, you can approve or decline each timesheet.
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To approve a timesheet, click the Approve button 5.
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To decline it, click the Decline 6 button if it does not meet your review standards.
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After approval, the status will be updated in both the toolbar and the Status column 7.
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If you need to correct your decision, you can undo it by clicking the Undo decision 8 button.
Important
You can set your preferred first day of the week in your settings. This is personalized and will be visible only for you. To avoid approval issues, it’s best to ensure all team members have the same first day of the week.
The first day of the week is set individually for each person, which determines how their timesheet is displayed. If the person submits their timesheet, and the manager has a different first day of the week setting, the manager will still view the timesheet according to the individual's configuration. This ensures that the manager approves the timeframe as submitted by the person, maintaining accuracy and consistency in the approval process.
Once you approve a timesheet for a user, it will be locked, preventing any edits or additional time tracking within the submitted time frame, unless the user has permission to modify approved timesheets.
However, users with the permission to edit locked time entries can still make changes to the locked timesheet even after it has been approved.
Note
The approval lock and the lock in the Timelog view are independent of each other and can be used simultaneously. Unlocking time entries in the Timelog view will not remove the approval-based lock, and vice versa.
A timesheet can be edited when it is:
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Not submitted
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Rejected
Editing is generally restricted when a timesheet is:
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Pending
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Approved
Note
Users with permission to edit lock time will be able to edit timesheets in any of the statuses.
To correct a timesheet:
The timesheet owner will receive notifications:
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When an approver makes a decision.
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When an approver submits or cancels an approval on their behalf.
An approver will receive notifications:
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When a timesheet is submitted.
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When another approver changes their decision and overrides it with a new one.
By default, approvers will receive notifications for all submitted timesheets. To receive the notifications of a specific individual:
Running activity reports offers a detailed view of timesheet submissions and the decision-making processes in your organization. This tool is essential for troubleshooting issues and gaining a clear understanding of the timesheet workflow. It allows you to monitor who submitted timesheets, when they were submitted, and who made the related decisions, ensuring transparency and accountability in the process.
Identifying the Right Person for Permission Setup
To manage permissions and designate users who can approve timesheets:
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Access the Users Tab: Go to the Users tab under Account Management 1.
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Locate the Admin: Identify the user with admin access 2.
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Modify Permissions: Click on the Permissions 3 tab for that user, then scroll down to the Manage User Type 4 permission.
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Apply Changes: Check the corresponding box, then click the Save 5 button to apply your changes.
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Change permissions: Enter your password 6 when prompted to confirm and click the Change permissions 7 button to apply your changes.
Creating a Time Approver Role
By creating a dedicated role like Time Approver for handling timesheet approvals can streamline your workflow and enhance efficiency. By setting up this role, you'll benefit from:
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Specialized Access: The Time Approver role will have tailored permissions focused on timesheet management, allowing for more precise control and oversight.
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Automatic Rights Assignment: This role will automatically inherit all the rights of a Regular user, ensuring that the Time Approver can perform necessary tasks without needing additional configuration.
To establish this role, please follow the steps outlined in Creating Custom User Types. This approach ensures that your timesheet approval process is both effective and manageable.
Grant the Time Approver permission to both approve time and view other users' time entries. This will ensure they can access other users' timesheets and give approval decisions.
Important
Be sure to disable the option for Regular users to view time entries from others if you want to restrict their access to other people's timesheets.
To grant and adjust the necessary permissions, follow these steps:
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Go to the Users types tab under account management 1.
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Click on the Time tracking under User types categories 2.
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Choose the users who need this role 3.
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Enable the toggle button to grant permissions to the required users 4.
Configure extended permissions (per user)
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Identify the users who should receive extended permissions.
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Grant them access to financials and time tracking. Follow the steps explained: Set who can manage other users' time entries.
This will enable the selected users to:
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Control which users can edit locked time.
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Track time for other users.
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View or edit financials.