Reopen an approval

Reopening reverses an approval. The period goes back to the person to edit and resubmit. Only an owner or admin can do it, and it is blocked once anything is locked or invoiced.

​

What reopening does

Nothing is deleted. The hours stay exactly as they were tracked – only their status changes.

​

When to reopen

If none of those apply and the time has already been locked or invoiced, you need an adjustment instead.

​

How to reopen

​

Why it is blocked once time is locked

This is the rule that catches people out, and it exists to protect the books. Once a period is closed, the approved hours are a financial record. Something may already be on an invoice a client has seen. Quietly rewinding it would change a number someone has already been billed for. So the rule is simple. An adjustment leaves the original intact and records the correction next to it. That is an honest audit trail. A silent rewind is not.

​

Reopen vs request changes

They look similar but happen at different points. Both land the period on Changes requested. The difference is what you are undoing – a pending decision, or a decision already made.

​

Example

Priya Raman approves Sarah Lin’s 32-hour week on Monday. On Wednesday, Bluebird Coffee asks why 4 hours of “competitor research” were billed to Website Redesign when it was agreed as internal work. Priya cannot reopen it – she is a Project Manager. She asks Tom Whitfield, an Admin. Tom opens Approvals → Timesheets → History, filters to Approved, and clicks Sarah’s week. He clicks Reopen and writes “4h competitor research billed in error – should be non-billable per the client agreement.” Sarah’s entries go back to draft. She sees the reason at the top of her timesheet, flips the 4 hours to non-billable, and resubmits. At $100/hour that removes **$400** of billable value from the project. Priya approves the corrected week. The activity log reads: Submitted, Approved, Reopened (Tom, with the reason), Resubmitted, Approved. Two weeks later Tom closes the month. Sarah’s hours lock. If the same question came up now, an adjustment would be the only route.

​

Permissions

time.reopenApproval is deliberately kept above the Project Manager tier. It reverses a decision that has already been recorded, so it sits at the same level as closing a period. Supervision scope also applies. Reopening someone’s period is a cross-member write.

​

Plan gating

Reopening is never plan-gated. This is deliberate and worth stating clearly. Approving is sold, because it resolves work. Taking an approval back must work on every plan – otherwise a workspace whose subscription lapses mid-week would be left holding a decision it can neither complete nor undo. The same asymmetry applies to withdrawing an expense approval and withdrawing a leave approval.

​

What happens next

• The period status becomes Changes requested.
• Every approved entry returns to draft, carrying your reason.
• The person is notified, with your reason in the message.
• Your reason and name are written into the activity log as a Reopened event.
• They edit and resubmit, and the period goes through review again.

​

Common questions

​

Troubleshooting

• “That period is closed.” An entry is locked or invoiced. Use an adjustment, or void the invoice first.
• “You can’t reopen an approved timesheet.” You do not hold time.reopenApproval. Ask an owner or admin.
• “Give a reason for reopening this, so the history explains itself.” The reason field was empty.
• “Someone else changed this while you had it open.” The period changed state. Reload and check where it stands.
• No Reopen button at all. The period is not approved, something is locked, or you lack the capability.

​

Related guides