Approve Timesheets

Timesheets capture information about time that is logged over a period of time called a timesheet period, which is typically a pay period. To encourage accountability for tracking time and the accuracy of the logged time data, your organization may want to use the timesheet approval process.

Team members log their time within a timesheet reporting period, then at the end of the timesheet approval period, they submit their timesheet to be reviewed and approved, usually by their team lead or manager. After the timesheets are approved, the approval period is closed so that no more time can be logged or changed.

At the close date of the timesheet approval period, the accounting or finance team (or Tempo administrator) manually closes the approval period so that no more changes can be made to the timesheet data.

With the period closed, all financial calculations can be done, such as payroll and customer billing.

Reviewing and Approving Timesheets via email

If you're a reviewer who receives a Timesheet Approval request email, you can review and approve the timesheet for that team member:

1. Click the Review Timesheet button in the email. This open the sender's timesheet that they've submitted.

2. From there, you can review the time logged for the period, then click Approve in the upper-right. To reject the timesheet, click the arrow next to Approve and select Reject from the menu.

3. In the form that opens, click Approve Timesheet.

4. The timesheet owner is notified of your actions via email.

Approving or Rejecting Timesheets in the Team Approvals View

1. Select Teams  in the Tempo sidebar.

2. In the Teams view, select the team for which you want to approve or reject timesheets.

3. Click Approvals at the upper-right.

4. You can approve or reject any timesheets that are Waiting for Approval: 

• To approve a timesheet for a single team member, click Approve or Reject, under Actions.

• To approve or reject timesheets for all team members, select the topmost checkbox, then click Approve or Reject at the top-right.

• To approve or reject timesheets for multiple team members, select the checkboxes for the team members whose timesheets you want to approve or reject, then click Approve or Reject, at the top-right.

Approving or Rejecting Timesheets in the Timesheet View

If you would like to review your team members' timesheets prior to approving them, or approve or reject the timesheet, you can do so directly from the team member's timesheet.

1. Navigate to the Approval tab in the Teams  section, as described above.

2. Open a team member's timesheet by clicking the ellipsis  at the far-right of their name, and then select View Timesheet.

   

3. In the team member's timesheet, either click Approve or click the arrow next to Approve and select Reject from the menu.

   

You can quickly review and approve any team members' timesheet by clicking the arrow  next to the name at the top-left of the Timesheet and selecting a name from the drop-down list.

Grant a grace period

If you have configured the Scheduler to automatically close periods for logging time, you can grant a grace period to a team member who needs additional time to complete or edit their timesheet after the period has closed. The grace period can be granted only to a user whose timesheet is open. 

A team lead cannot edit a team member's worklogs after the period is closed by the Scheduler, which is why they need to give the team member a grace period in which to do this.

Granting a Grace Period from the Teams Approvals View

1. Select Teams  in the Tempo sidebar.

2. Select the relevant team.

3. Click Approvals at the upper-right.

4. If necessary, Reopen the timesheet for the member who has requested the grace period.

5. Click  to the far-right of the name of the member who needs the grace period, and select Grace Period.

6. Fill in the Grace Period form:

   • Set the number of Grace hours, which is the amount of time in which the team member can add or edit their worklogs. Best practice is to give between 2 and 8 hours, but you can enter any number of hours. The "countdown" begins as soon as you click Add Grace Period.

   • Set the Date from and Date to for the affected timesheet periods in which the team member can add or edit their worklogs. For example, if the member needs to finish their worklogs from a period that was 2 months ago, these Date fields would define the start and end date of that period, such as from July 1 to July 31.

   • If desired, add a comment.

     

   • Click Add Grace Period.

     An email notification is immediately sent to the team member stating how many hours they have to complete and resubmit their timesheet for approval.

     Once a grace period is granted, it cannot be rescinded or removed.

Granting a Grace Period from the Team Member's Timesheet

1. Select My Work  in the Tempo sidebar.

2. Click Timesheet at the upper-right to display the Timesheet view.

3. Click the drop-down arrow next to your name to display an editable field and drop-down.

4. Type the name of the team member who needs a grace period to display their timesheet. 

5. Click  at the top, and then select Grant Grace Period.

6. Fill in the form as described above.