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A remote team has one extra problem: whose day is it? Get timezones right and everything else works. Get them wrong and every timesheet, every expected-hours figure and every reminder is off by a day for somebody.
The example: Northwind Studio with people in three timezones. Maya Ellis (Owner) sets it up. Priya Raman (Project Manager) approves asynchronously.

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Before you start

Plan requirement. Approvals are Pro, and a remote team needs them – an async team has no corridor to check a week in. See Free vs Pro.

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Timezones first

1

Maya sets the workspace timezone

The workspace timezone is the reference for reporting periods and month boundaries. Pick the timezone your business reports in, not the one where the most people live.→ General settings · Dates, times and timezones
2

Maya sets a schedule per timezone, not per person

A schedule carries its own timezone. That is what makes “9:00 to 17:00” mean the right nine o’clock for each person.Create one schedule per working pattern:→ Create a schedule · Schedule timezones
A person’s working timezone comes from the schedule they are on, not from the workspace. Someone with no schedule has no correct local day, and their expected hours will be wrong.
3

Maya assigns everybody a schedule

No exceptions. Expected hours, timesheet comparisons and reminders all resolve through the schedule.→ Assign a schedule · My schedule
4

Maya sets the public holidays that apply

A team across countries has different public holidays. Set them so a national holiday does not show as a short week.→ Holidays · Working hours and days off
5

Maya sets the date and time display format

One format for everybody removes a whole class of confusion between people who write 03/04 and people who read it the other way round.→ Date and time formats

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Make approvals work without meetings

An office team can chase a missing timesheet by walking over. A remote team cannot, so the process has to run itself.
1

Set the submission deadline and make it real

Friday end of local day. Everyone knows it. Nobody is asked twice.→ Submit a timesheet
2

Turn on timesheet reminders

The reminder does the chasing. Priya should never send a “have you submitted” message.→ Timesheet reminders · Reminders
3

Set workspace notification defaults, then let people tune them

Set sensible defaults for everyone, and let each person adjust their own. A person in a different timezone needs different notification habits, and forcing one setting on everyone means half the team turns email off entirely.→ Workspace notification defaults · Your notification settings
4

Priya approves on a fixed day

Monday morning in her timezone. Because the deadline is Friday local time everywhere, everything is in by then.→ Approve a timesheet · Weekly timesheet routine
5

Give a second person the approval role

One approver in one timezone is a single point of failure. When Priya is asleep or on leave, an entire team’s week waits. Give a second person time.approve and matching supervision scope.→ Change someone’s role · Supervision scope
6

Set up cover for submitting too

If someone is offline at the deadline, an Admin can submit their week for them.→ Submit on behalf of someone

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Who can see whose time

Remote teams often span countries with different privacy expectations. Two things control visibility, and they are different. A manager with time.viewOthers still only sees the people in their scope. Both have to pass. → Roles and capabilities · Supervision scope

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Do you need the Time Clock?

Time Clock records presence – clock in, clock out. Time tracking records hours against work. They are different products for different questions. Time Clock is off by default and needs Work schedules on, because expected minutes and absence come from the schedule. → Time Clock overview · Clock in and out · Time Clock vs time tracking

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Location rules, and when not to use them

Location rules can require someone to be on a known network or inside a set area before they can clock in. For a distributed team this is usually the wrong tool. Your people are remote by design, and a rule that assumes an office is a rule that will block them. Turn it on only for a specific site-based group, never as a blanket policy. Location rules are off by default, and are a Pro feature. → Location rules overview · Create a policy

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Plan capacity across timezones

The Resource Planner shows who is booked and who is free, per person, per week. In a remote team it also shows overlap – whether two people who need to work together actually share hours. → Plan work blocks · Capacity and workload

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Time off across countries

Leave policies and balances live in one place, so a manager in one country can see leave for someone in another without a spreadsheet. → Leave policies · Request time off · Approve time off · Leave balances

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Common questions

Almost always the schedule. Either they have no schedule, or the schedule’s timezone is not theirs. See Schedule timezones and Assign a schedule.
The week boundary follows their schedule timezone. If they are on a schedule set to the wrong region, their Monday starts on your Sunday. Fix the schedule, not the entries.
Reminders resolve against the person’s schedule. A person on the wrong schedule gets someone else’s morning. See Reminders.
Yes. Approval needs the time.approve capability plus supervision scope covering that person. Neither is tied to a country. See Approval permissions.
It helps if people track time away from a desk. See Mobile app.
Set holidays so they apply to the people they affect, and their week is not counted as short. See Holidays.

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Troubleshooting

Weekly timesheet routine

The habit that keeps async teams honest.

Onboard a new employee

Adding someone in a new timezone.

Setup for an agency

If your remote team is a client services business.

Set up a new workspace

The full setup order.

Manage contractors

Remote teams often lean on freelancers.