> ## 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.

# Weekly timesheet routine

> A simple weekly habit for your team: track daily, review and submit on Friday, approve on Monday, so your hours are clean before you bill anyone.

The routine is short. Track daily, submit Friday, approve Monday.

Doing it every week is what keeps your billing accurate. A timesheet reviewed a month late is guesswork, and guessed hours become wrong invoices.

<Info>
  **The example:** Sarah Lin (Member) tracks the week. Priya Raman (Project Manager) approves it on Monday morning.
</Info>

## Before you start

<Note>
  **Plan requirement.** Filling in and submitting a timesheet is **free**. **Approving** one is **Pro**. On Free your team can submit every week – the submissions wait, and clear the day you upgrade. See [Free vs Pro](/billing/free-vs-pro).
</Note>

You need the **Timesheets** app on, which needs **Time tracking** on. See [Apps and modules](/concepts/apps-and-modules).

## Who does what

| Role                    | Capability                  | What they do                             |
| ----------------------- | --------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| Sarah, Jonas (Members)  | `time.track`, `time.submit` | Track daily. Submit Friday.              |
| Ana (Contractor)        | `time.track`, `time.submit` | Same as a Member.                        |
| Priya (Project Manager) | `time.approve`              | Approves Monday.                         |
| Tom (Admin)             | `time.submitOnBehalf`       | Submits for someone who is away.         |
| Maya (Owner)            | `period.close`              | Locks the month once it is all approved. |

## The week

<Steps>
  <Step title="Monday to Friday – everyone tracks as they work">
    The best time to record an hour is while you are working it.

    * Start a **timer** when you start a piece of work, and stop it when you stop. See [Using the timer](/time-tracking/using-the-timer).
    * If you forget, type it in the same day. See [Add time manually](/time-tracking/add-time-manually).

    Every entry needs a project or task, a duration, and a billable flag.

    <Tip>
      If your week looks much like last week, copy last week's timesheet and edit the hours. See [Fill in a timesheet](/timesheets/fill-in-a-timesheet).
    </Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Friday – Sarah reviews her week">
    Open the timesheet and look at the whole week in one grid before you send it.

    Sarah's week:

    | Day         | Hours  |
    | ----------- | ------ |
    | Monday      | 8      |
    | Tuesday     | 8      |
    | Wednesday   | 6      |
    | Thursday    | 8      |
    | Friday      | 7      |
    | **Tracked** | **37** |
    | Expected    | 40     |
    | Short by    | 3      |

    Three hours are missing. Sarah either finds them and adds them, or leaves the week short because she genuinely worked 37 hours. Both are fine – what is not fine is submitting without looking.

    → [Expected vs tracked hours](/timesheets/expected-vs-tracked-hours) · [Edit a time entry](/time-tracking/edit-a-time-entry)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Friday – Sarah submits">
    Submitting sends the whole week for review in one go. The week moves from `draft` to `submitted`.

    She can still see it. She can no longer freely edit it.

    → [Submit a timesheet](/timesheets/submit-a-timesheet) · [Timesheet statuses](/timesheets/timesheet-statuses)

    <Note>
      Submitted is not approved. Submitted means Sarah is finished. Approved means Priya accepted it and the time is locked.
    </Note>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Friday – Tom covers anyone who is away">
    Someone on leave or off sick cannot submit their own week. An Admin or a manager with `time.submitOnBehalf` can send it for them.

    → [Submit on behalf of someone](/timesheets/submit-on-behalf-of-someone)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Monday – Priya works the approval queue">
    Priya opens **Approvals**. She sees every submitted week for the people in her scope, with anything unusual flagged.

    For each week she either:

    * **Approves it.** The time is locked. Only an admin can change it now, and it becomes eligible for invoicing.
    * **Rejects it** with a reason. It returns to draft for the person to fix and resubmit.

    → [Approve a timesheet](/approvals/approve-a-timesheet) · [Reject a timesheet](/approvals/reject-a-timesheet) · [Approvals overview](/approvals/overview)

    <Tip>
      Approve in one sitting on Monday morning. Split across the week it becomes a background chore nobody finishes.
    </Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Monday – Priya fixes small problems in place">
    If a week is right apart from one entry, an adjustment is faster than a rejection. It edits the entry and keeps the audit trail of what changed.

    Rejection is for a week that needs real rework.

    → [Adjustments](/approvals/adjustments)
  </Step>

  <Step title="When a week is approved by mistake, reopen it">
    Approved time is locked. If a week was approved too early, someone with the right permission can reopen it, which unlocks the entries so they can be edited and re-approved.

    → [Reopen an approval](/approvals/reopen-an-approval) · [Edit a submitted timesheet](/timesheets/edit-a-submitted-timesheet)
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Make it automatic

You should not have to nag anyone.

| Set up                                                                            | What it does                                          |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| [Timesheet reminders](/timesheets/timesheet-reminders)                            | Nudges people who have not submitted.                 |
| [Your notification settings](/notifications/your-notification-settings)           | Each person chooses how they hear about it.           |
| [Workspace notification defaults](/notifications/workspace-notification-defaults) | The default for everyone who has not chosen.          |
| [Inbox](/notifications/inbox)                                                     | Priya sees new submissions without checking the page. |

## Why the habit matters

| If you approve weekly          | If you approve monthly                       |
| ------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------- |
| People remember what they did. | People reconstruct it.                       |
| Errors are found in days.      | Errors are found after the invoice went out. |
| The budget bar is current.     | The budget bar is a month behind.            |
| Month-end close takes an hour. | Month-end close takes two days.              |

## Common questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can I approve my own timesheet?">
    Approving your own week is not the intent of the queue. Approval is a review by someone else, and it locks the time so it can be billed. Give the reviewer role to a manager, and check [Supervision scope](/concepts/supervision-scope) so they can actually see the right people.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens to my time after it is approved?">
    It is locked. You cannot edit it. An admin can adjust it, and it becomes eligible for invoicing. See [Approve a timesheet](/approvals/approve-a-timesheet).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do non-billable hours go on a timesheet?">
    Yes. Non-billable hours are still tracked and still count toward the week. They just cannot appear on an invoice. See [Billable vs non-billable](/concepts/billable-vs-non-billable).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Someone forgot a whole week. What now?">
    They add the entries manually, dated to the right days, then submit. If the period has already been closed, the entries in that range are locked and an admin has to reopen it. See [Close a period](/approvals/close-a-period).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="We are on Free. Should the team still submit?">
    Yes. Submissions are free and they accumulate. The day you move to Pro the whole backlog becomes approvable. Nothing is lost. See [When a plan lapses](/billing/when-a-plan-lapses).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Troubleshooting

| Problem                         | Fix                                                                                                         |
| ------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| A week will not submit          | An entry is missing a project or a duration – see [Timesheet problems](/troubleshooting/timesheet-problems) |
| Priya cannot see someone's week | Her supervision scope does not include them – see [Supervision scope](/concepts/supervision-scope)          |
| Expected hours look wrong       | The person has no schedule, or the wrong one – see [Assign a schedule](/schedules/assign-a-schedule)        |
| Hours are missing or wrong      | See [Missing or wrong hours](/troubleshooting/missing-or-wrong-hours)                                       |
| Reminders are not arriving      | See [Email not arriving](/troubleshooting/email-not-arriving)                                               |

## Related guides

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Month-end close" icon="calendar-days" href="/guides/month-end-close">
    What this routine feeds into every month.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Track work for a client" icon="route" href="/guides/track-work-for-a-client">
    Where the week fits in the whole chain.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Export hours for payroll" icon="file-export" href="/guides/export-hours-for-payroll">
    Turning approved weeks into a payroll file.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Setup for a remote team" icon="globe" href="/guides/setup-for-a-remote-team">
    Running this routine across timezones.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>