To ensure accurate time tracking and prevent unauthorized changes to logged hours, you can define a period after which timesheets automatically lock in Productive.
This feature is useful for teams that require consistent and finalized time entries for billing, payroll, or project tracking purposes.
Timesheet locking is available on the Ultimate subscription plan.
Setting Up Timesheet Locking
To configure the timesheet locking feature:
1) Navigate to Settings
Go to Settings > Time tracking.
2) Set the Lock Schedule
Here, you can define when timesheets will lock:
Daily: Timesheets lock at the end of each day.
Weekly: Timesheets lock at the end of each week.
Monthly: Timesheets lock at the end of each month.
📌 Note: Email notifications are only available for weekly or monthly locking.
3) View the Next Lock Date
After setting up the lock time, you can see the exact date when the next timesheet lock is scheduled.
4) Enable Email Notifications
Optionally, select Send an email notification to remind teammates that they have until the end of the day to add or edit their time entries.
📌 Tip: If you lock timesheets monthly and have users in multiple time zones, consider setting the lock for the 2nd of each month instead of the 1st. This ensures that teammates in later time zones still have access to log hours for the last day of the previous month.
Notifications and Locking
End of Period Notification
On the day the timesheets are scheduled to lock, a banner will notify your teammates that their timesheets will be locked at 23:59. It will also show how many hours they tracked in the previous period (week or month, depending on your settings).
Dismissing the Notification
Teammates can dismiss the banner by clicking the X button on the right side.
Locked Timesheets
Once locked, the timesheet will no longer be editable, and it will display as locked.
Managing Locked Timesheets
If a teammate is unable to track their time before the deadline, managers or admins can unlock timesheets for specific users.
📌 Note: This must be done individually for each person who requires their timesheet to be unlocked.
Unlocking for a Specific User
Go to Settings > Users or Resourcing > Employees.
Select the person's profile.
Open the three-dot menu on the right and click to unlock time tracking for the desired period.
Time Zone Considerations
Priority:
The user's time zone is prioritized over the organization’s.
Example:
Organization’s time zone: "London" (Settings > General)
User's time zone: "Tokyo" (Settings > Account)
Timesheet locking: According to Tokyo time at the end of Sunday.
London equivalent: At approximately 4:00 p.m. on Sunday in London.
Because locking happens based on each user's local time, there may be differences across time zones.
Each teammate’s timesheet locks at 23:59 in their own time zone. This usually works well, but it can cause issues when logging time for the last day of the previous period.
Let’s say your headquarters is in New York, and a teammate is in Tokyo (13 hours ahead). If timesheets lock on the 1st of the month, the Tokyo teammate’s timesheet will lock at 23:59 JST, while it’s still the afternoon of May 31st in New York. As a result, they won’t be able to log time for May 31st, even though it’s still open at HQ.
📌 Tip: If your team is spread across time zones, consider setting the monthly lock to the 2nd of the month. This gives everyone enough time to log hours for the previous period, regardless of where they’re located.