1) General Questions
Q: What’s the difference between Time Entry Submission and Time Approval?
A: Time Entry Submission requires employees to submit their time entries before they can be reviewed for approval. Time Approval, on the other hand, lets managers approve entries directly, without an explicit submission step.
If Time Entry Submission is off, time entries get sent for approval as soon as they’re created (if approval is enabled).
Q: Is this replacing the existing Time Approval feature?
A: No, Time Entry Submission is a separate feature available only on the Ultimate plan. If a budget doesn’t have Time Approval enabled, time entries remain auto-approved as before and do not go through the submission process.
Q: Do I have to submit time entries daily, or can I do it weekly?
A: You can choose to submit daily or wait until the end of the week/month and submit all at once. Your company’s workflow may influence the preferred approach.
Q: Can I submit time entries without completing the entire week?
A: Yes. You can submit specific days while leaving others un-submitted. However, once a day is submitted, you can’t add new entries unless you un-submit it (if it hasn’t been approved yet).
Q: Can I submit a timesheet for future periods?
A: Yes, future time periods can be submitted (and unsubmitted) as needed. However, locked periods prevent any submission changes until unlocked.
2) Approval & Notifications
Q: When do time entries appear for approval?
A: Submitted time entries only appear for approval after the employee submits them. If an employee is excluded from submission, their entries appear for approval immediately after logging time.
Q: How does the approval request work? Does the manager receive one request per day or per timesheet?
A: The manager sees submitted time entries only after the employee submits their timesheet. If an employee submits their entire week at once, the manager receives as many requests as there are time entries.
Q: What happens if I submit a time entry with 00:00 hours tracked?
A: If you submit an entry with 0 hours:
It will still appear for approval, and a manager can reject it if necessary.
If you submit an entire day without time entries, no notification is sent to the manager (for now).
3) Submission Settings and Permissions
Q: Can some employees be excluded from timesheet submission?
A: Yes. Employees excluded from submission can still have their time entries approved, but they don’t need to manually submit them.
Q: If I’m excluded from submitting timesheets, can I still submit them for others?
A: Yes! Being excluded from submitting your own timesheet doesn’t impact your ability to submit timesheets for other employees in the Company Time view.
For example, a manager who doesn’t need to submit their own time (because their time isn’t billable) can still submit timesheets for their team.
Q: What permission do I need to submit timesheets for other employees?
A: You need the "Add, edit, and delete time entries for other people" permission. With this, you can:
✔️ See submission statuses in Company Time.
✔️ Filter employees by submitted, partially submitted, or not submitted.
✔️ Submit or un-submit timesheets on behalf of employees.
✔️ Edit only rejected time entries (approved ones are locked).
By default, this permission is granted to Admins, Managers, Profitability Managers, and Coordinators.
Q: Why are weekends and non-working days included in the submission table by default?
A: The current logic is simple: if you can track time, you can submit time. Restricting submission for non-working days hasn’t been a focus in this initial phase, but feedback is welcome!
4) Fixing & Editing Submissions
Q: What if I forget to submit my timesheet?
A: If you miss the submission deadline, you might receive:
📧 An email reminder.
📌 A notification in Productive (if enabled by your admin).
✔️ Your manager can also submit your timesheet on your behalf.
Q: What if I need to edit a submitted timesheet?
A: You can only edit a submitted timesheet entry if you un-submit it first—but only if it hasn’t been approved yet.
Q: What if a manager approves my timesheet but I need to change it?
A: Approved timesheets are locked. To make changes, you’ll need to ask a manager to un-approve and un-submit it for you.
Q: Can a manager submit or un-submit timesheets on behalf of employees?
A: Yes! Managers can:
✔️ Submit timesheets for employees who forgot.
✔️ Un-submit timesheets that need corrections.
To do this, go to Company Time, find the relevant employee’s week, and select Submit for Approval or Un-submit.