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A submitted period is frozen. To change it, you either pull it back yourself, ask your reviewer to send it back, or let a manager correct it during review.

Why a submitted period locks

Once you submit, the period is a shared record. A reviewer is looking at those numbers. If the hours could shift under them, the approval would mean nothing. So the moment you submit, TimeTracker refuses new entries, edits, and deletions in that range. The refusal reads: “That period has been submitted for approval, so it can’t be changed.”

Pick the right route

Route 1 – withdraw it yourself

The fastest route, and the only one you can do alone.
1

Open the period

Go to Time and navigate to the period. The button on the right reads Withdraw submission.
2

Click Withdraw submission

A confirmation opens – “Withdraw <period>? This pulls the timesheet back from approval and returns it to draft so it can be edited.” It shows the total you submitted.
3

Confirm

Click Withdraw timesheet. You get Timesheet withdrawn – the period is editable again.
4

Fix and resubmit

Every entry is back to draft. Make your changes, then click Submit timesheet again.
Your pending reviewer is told the review is off, so nobody wastes time on a version you pulled. Withdrawing only works while the status is Submitted.

Route 2 – ask your reviewer to send it back

If a reviewer is already looking at it, they can click Request changes and write what needs fixing. Every entry in the period returns to draft with the reason attached. The period reads Changes requested, and the reason appears at the top of your timesheet in a red panel, with the reviewer’s name. Individual affected entries show as Rejected until you redo them, and their cells are tinted in the grouped grid so you can find them fast. See /approvals/reject-a-timesheet for the reviewer’s side.

Route 3 – a manager corrects it in review

A reviewer with time.editOthers does not have to bounce a whole week back over one wrong description. On the review screen they can:
  • Click the pencil on any entry row and correct it in place.
  • Click Add entry to add one you missed.
This works even while the entry is still submitted, so the period stays under review while the fix lands. The period total and entry count update straight away.
This is the only case where a submitted entry can be edited. It is limited to reviewers acting during review. Approved, locked, and invoiced entries stay frozen for everyone.

Route 4 – reopen an approved period

Once the period is approved, withdrawing is no longer available. An owner or admin has to reopen it. Reopening reverses the approval, returns every entry to draft, and sets the period to Changes requested so you can edit and resubmit. It is blocked if any entry has already been locked or invoiced. See /approvals/reopen-an-approval.

Route 5 – adjust settled time

Locked and invoiced time cannot be edited or reopened by anyone. It is corrected with an adjustment – a separate, linked entry carrying a signed correction. The original stays exactly as it was. See /approvals/adjustments.

Example

Sarah Lin submits her week on Friday with 32 hours. On Saturday she realises Thursday’s 90 minutes on Harbor Logistics never got entered. Nobody has reviewed the week, so she opens Time, clicks Withdraw submission, confirms, adds the 1.5 hours, and resubmits. Total: 33.5 hours. The next week she submits again. This time Priya Raman is already reviewing it and spots that one 3-hour entry is missing its description. Rather than bounce the whole week, Priya clicks the pencil on that row, types the description, and approves. Sarah never has to touch it. Two weeks later, after Tom Whitfield has closed the month, a client questions 2 hours. Those entries are locked. Daniel Okafor posts an adjustment of -2 hours against the original, with a reason. The original entry is untouched and the corrected total nets out.

Permissions

Plan gating

Withdrawing is free. Requesting changes and approving are Pro. Reopening an approval is never plan-gated – a workspace that lapses can always take a decision back.

What happens next

  • Withdrawing tells your pending reviewer the review is off.
  • Requesting changes notifies you, with the reason.
  • Reopening notifies you, with the reason.
  • Resubmitting starts a fresh review. The previous verdict is cleared.

Common questions

Not yourself. You withdraw the whole period, fix the entry, and submit again. A reviewer can edit a single entry in place during review.
No. Withdrawing only changes status. Every entry stays exactly as you tracked it, back in draft.
The period is no longer Submitted. It has probably been approved. Ask an owner or admin to reopen it.
No. The period has to be editable first.
No. The activity log records every step honestly – submitted, withdrew, resubmitted – so the history explains itself.

Troubleshooting

  • “That period has been submitted for approval, so it can’t be changed.” Withdraw it, or ask your approver to send it back.
  • “That period is closed.” The time is locked or invoiced. Use an adjustment.
  • “That day’s timesheet is locked, so time can’t be added or changed.” A period close covers that date.
  • “This entry is no longer a draft, so it can’t be changed.” The entry has moved past draft. Everything already tracked is safe.
  • “You can’t change someone else’s time.” You do not hold time.editOthers.

Submit a timesheet

Submitting, withdrawing and resubmitting.

Reject a timesheet

How a reviewer sends a period back.

Reopen an approval

Reverse an approval that has already been made.

Adjustments

Correct locked or invoiced time.

Timesheet statuses

Exactly what each state allows.

Timesheet problems

More fixes for common timesheet errors.