Once administrators have enabled review/approvals for team leads or managers, the process for finalizing these timesheets is very simple. The steps below are designed to guide managers through the process.
Reviewing Time: Step by Step
1. Click the MY COMPANY tab on the navigation bar. Click the PENDING APPROVALS button.
2. Click the TIMESHEETS total amount. This allows you to view all of the hours under the "pending approval" status for the projects that you manage. Based on the workflow enabled at your firm, you will either land on a screen that groups the hours by staff member or on a screen that groups the hours by project.
3. Review your pending timesheets. Once you have reviewed the timesheets, you can choose to either approve or reject them. Notice that the unapproved amount being displayed is hyperlinked. This allows you to drill down and view the hours that are within this period.
Viewing the Hourly Detail
If you need to view the details of the hours, simply click into the hyperlinked unapproved amount to view the hours still needing your approval. Once in this detail view, you can click on the hours amount to view and edit hours, as long as you have been given permission to do so.
In the period details view, you can select specific entries to approve or reject by checking off the rows of time and selecting the action you would like to apply. If you select the REJECT option, you will be given the option to enter notes for the end user to see.
FAQ
- WHAT HAPPENS AFTER HOURS ARE REJECTED? Once you select the REJECT option, users will be able to view their rejected hours along with your comments and have the ability to edit and then resubmit the time to be reviewed again.
- I WANT TIME ENTRIES TO BE REVIEWED AT PROJECT LEVEL RATHER THAN FOR INDIVIDUAL STAFFERS. IS THIS POSSIBLE? Yes, you can change your timesheet review and approval settings to view time entries at the project level. To do so, go to MY COMPANY...PENDING APPROVALS and then find the TIMESHEETS tile. Click the button at the bottom of that tile labeled EDIT SETTINGS and you'll be able to select certain options for your PRIMARY, SECONDARY and FINAL APPROVAL fields from picklists. Below is a table showing you which picklist fields correspond to the project view and which correspond to the staffer view.
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I ACCIDENTALLY APPROVED HOURS THAT SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN APPROVED; WHAT CAN I DO? If hours have been accidentally approved, administrators can choose to delete/edit the time entry themselves within the staffer’s profile in MY COMPANY...STAFF LIST...TIMESHEET HISTORY. They can click into the date range and drill down into the hours to make the necessary changes.
- HOW DOES THE SYSTEM DETERMINE IF I HAVE THE RIGHT TO MANAGE A PROJECT OR STAFF MEMBER? The first thing the system takes into account is the workflow your administrator has selected. If your firm is reviewing by project, only those designated as team leads have the right to approve hours. For the staff department workflow, only those granted management authority of select departments have the right to approve hours for staff in that department.
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WHAT DOES THE "AS OF" DATE INDICATE ON THE TIMESHEET APPROVAL TILE?
The "As of" Date represents the most recent time entries that need to be approved, based on the submission period configured by your Admin.
- HOW DO I ENABLE NOTIFICATIONS FOR USERS WHEN TIME NEEDS TO BE APPROVED OR TIME HAS BEEN REJECTED? Users can be notified of review/approval actions if this setting has been enabled in the Notification Settings.
- DOES THE SYSTEM KEEP TRACK OF WHO APPROVED HOURS? Absolutely. Report administrators can create a time-based report to add the “Approved By” field to see which manager approved the hours.
- HOW DO I CLEAR APPROVAL HISTORY FOR A TIME ENTRY? To clear the approval history for a specific time entry, click into the time entry to open the EDIT TIME ENTRY DETAILS window. Click the CLEAR APPROVAL HISTORY link, located next to the REVISION NOTES HEADER. This will wipe the approval history from that time entry. For more info, read this article.