> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.timetracker.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Setup for a remote team

> Set up TimeTracker for a distributed team: timezone-correct schedules, async approvals, notification defaults and clear expected hours across countries.

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.

<Info>
  **The example:** Northwind Studio with people in three timezones. Maya Ellis (Owner) sets it up. Priya Raman (Project Manager) approves asynchronously.
</Info>

## Before you start

<Note>
  **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](/billing/free-vs-pro).
</Note>

## Timezones first

<Steps>
  <Step title="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](/settings/general) · [Dates, times and timezones](/concepts/dates-times-and-timezones)
  </Step>

  <Step title="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:

    | Schedule                 | Hours                         | Timezone  |
    | ------------------------ | ----------------------------- | --------- |
    | Standard week – Europe   | 40 hours, Mon–Fri, 9:00–17:00 | Europe    |
    | Standard week – Americas | 40 hours, Mon–Fri, 9:00–17:00 | Americas  |
    | Part time – 3 days       | 24 hours, Mon–Wed             | As needed |

    → [Create a schedule](/schedules/create-a-schedule) · [Schedule timezones](/schedules/schedule-timezones)

    <Warning>
      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.
    </Warning>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Maya assigns everybody a schedule">
    No exceptions. Expected hours, timesheet comparisons and reminders all resolve through the schedule.

    → [Assign a schedule](/schedules/assign-a-schedule) · [My schedule](/schedules/my-schedule)
  </Step>

  <Step title="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](/time-off/holidays) · [Working hours and days off](/schedules/working-hours-and-days-off)
  </Step>

  <Step title="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](/settings/date-and-time-formats)
  </Step>
</Steps>

## 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.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Set the submission deadline and make it real">
    Friday end of local day. Everyone knows it. Nobody is asked twice.

    → [Submit a timesheet](/timesheets/submit-a-timesheet)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Turn on timesheet reminders">
    The reminder does the chasing. Priya should never send a "have you submitted" message.

    → [Timesheet reminders](/timesheets/timesheet-reminders) · [Reminders](/notifications/reminders)
  </Step>

  <Step title="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](/notifications/workspace-notification-defaults) · [Your notification settings](/notifications/your-notification-settings)
  </Step>

  <Step title="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](/approvals/approve-a-timesheet) · [Weekly timesheet routine](/guides/weekly-timesheet-routine)
  </Step>

  <Step title="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](/team/change-someones-role) · [Supervision scope](/concepts/supervision-scope)
  </Step>

  <Step title="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](/timesheets/submit-on-behalf-of-someone)
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Who can see whose time

Remote teams often span countries with different privacy expectations. Two things control visibility, and they are different.

|                       | What it decides                                                        |
| --------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Capability**        | Whether you **may** see other people's time at all (`time.viewOthers`) |
| **Supervision scope** | **Whose** time you may see                                             |

A manager with `time.viewOthers` still only sees the people in their scope. Both have to pass.

→ [Roles and capabilities](/concepts/roles-and-capabilities) · [Supervision scope](/concepts/supervision-scope)

## 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.

| Use                | When                                                                   |
| ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Time tracking only | You care what people worked on. Most remote knowledge teams.           |
| Time Clock as well | You have hourly staff, or a labour rule that needs attendance records. |

Time Clock is **off by default** and needs Work schedules on, because expected minutes and absence come from the schedule.

→ [Time Clock overview](/time-clock/overview) · [Clock in and out](/time-clock/clock-in-and-out) · [Time Clock vs time tracking](/concepts/glossary)

## 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](/location-rules/overview) · [Create a policy](/location-rules/create-a-policy)

## 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](/planner/plan-work-blocks) · [Capacity and workload](/planner/capacity-and-workload)

## 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](/time-off/leave-policies) · [Request time off](/time-off/request-time-off) · [Approve time off](/time-off/approve-time-off) · [Leave balances](/time-off/leave-balances)

## Common questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Someone's expected hours are wrong. Why?">
    Almost always the schedule. Either they have no schedule, or the schedule's timezone is not theirs. See [Schedule timezones](/schedules/schedule-timezones) and [Assign a schedule](/schedules/assign-a-schedule).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A week shows the wrong days for one person.">
    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.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Reminders arrive at a strange hour for some people.">
    Reminders resolve against the person's schedule. A person on the wrong schedule gets someone else's morning. See [Reminders](/notifications/reminders).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can a manager in one country approve time in another?">
    Yes. Approval needs the `time.approve` capability plus supervision scope covering that person. Neither is tied to a country. See [Approval permissions](/approvals/approval-permissions).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do we need the mobile app?">
    It helps if people track time away from a desk. See [Mobile app](/integrations/mobile-app).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do we handle a public holiday that only some people get?">
    Set holidays so they apply to the people they affect, and their week is not counted as short. See [Holidays](/time-off/holidays).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Troubleshooting

| Problem                             | Fix                                                               |
| ----------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Expected hours are wrong            | [Assign a schedule](/schedules/assign-a-schedule)                 |
| A day lands in the wrong week       | [Schedule timezones](/schedules/schedule-timezones)               |
| Emails are not arriving             | [Email not arriving](/troubleshooting/email-not-arriving)         |
| A manager cannot see someone's week | [Supervision scope](/concepts/supervision-scope)                  |
| Someone cannot see a feature        | [I cannot see a feature](/troubleshooting/i-cannot-see-a-feature) |

## Related guides

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Weekly timesheet routine" icon="calendar-check" href="/guides/weekly-timesheet-routine">
    The habit that keeps async teams honest.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Onboard a new employee" icon="user-plus" href="/guides/onboard-a-new-employee">
    Adding someone in a new timezone.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Setup for an agency" icon="building" href="/guides/setup-for-an-agency">
    If your remote team is a client services business.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Set up a new workspace" icon="rocket" href="/guides/set-up-a-new-workspace">
    The full setup order.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Manage contractors" icon="handshake" href="/guides/manage-contractors">
    Remote teams often lean on freelancers.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>