Skip to main content
Two things decide what you can do with a timesheet – the capability you hold, and the supervision scope that decides whose timesheet you reach. Both have to pass.

​
Capability vs scope

This is the distinction people get wrong most often. A Project Manager with time.viewOthers and a project scope can see the timesheets of people on their projects, and nobody else. Widening the capability does not widen the scope. See /concepts/supervision-scope.

​
The timesheet capabilities

​
Which role holds what

Holds every timesheet capability, including period.close, time.reopenApproval and time.viewCost. The only capability an Owner has that an Admin does not is deleting the workspace.

​
The matrix

These are the defaults. Your workspace can build custom roles with different sets, and can deny a specific capability to one person. See /team/custom-roles and /team/per-person-permissions.

​
Why some capabilities sit higher than others

Three of them are deliberately kept above the Project Manager tier. Finance holds time.adjust but not time.approve. Finance corrects the books after the fact; it does not sign off delivery.

​
What each capability changes on screen

Hiding a control is a convenience. Every action is re-checked on the server, so a hidden button is never the only thing standing between someone and an action they cannot take.

​
Example

Northwind Studio’s setup.
  • Maya Ellis (Owner) can do everything, including closing the month and reopening an approval.
  • Tom Whitfield (Admin) closes the period at month end and reopens an approval when Priya asks.
  • Priya Raman (Project Manager) approves timesheets for the people on her projects, submits for Ana when she is on leave, and sends reminders. She cannot see cost rates.
  • Daniel Okafor (Finance) never approves a timesheet. He posts adjustments after the month closes and exports hours for payroll.
  • Sarah Lin and Jonas Bergman (Members) track and submit their own time.
  • Ana Ferreira (Contractor) does the same.
  • Ruth Castillo (Client) sees nothing of any of this.

​
Plan gating

Capability and plan are two different gates. On the Free plan, a Project Manager who holds time.approve still cannot approve. The capability is there; the plan is the wall. Submissions keep queueing, and the day the workspace upgrades the backlog clears.

​
App gating

The Timesheets app must be switched on in Settings → Apps. It depends on the Time tracking app. An app that is off hides its surface entirely. A feature not on your plan stays visible behind a paywall. They are not the same thing – see /concepts/apps-and-modules.

​
Common questions

Your supervision scope reaches nobody. Capability and scope are separate – ask an owner to widen your scope.
Your workspace can build a custom role that includes period.close. Only workspace.delete can never be granted to a non-owner.
Yes, if you hold time.approve. Your own submitted period appears in your queue.
Finance corrects settled records after the fact. Delivery sign-off belongs to the delivery roles.
Yes, for the capabilities that support a per-person override. See Per-person permissions.

​
Troubleshooting

  • “You can’t approve time.” Your role does not hold time.approve, or you are on the Free plan.
  • “You can’t see other people’s time.” You do not hold time.viewOthers.
  • “You can’t reopen an approved timesheet.” Ask a workspace admin.
  • “You can’t close a period.” period.close is Owner and Admin only by default.
  • A control is visible but does nothing. You have the capability but not the plan. Look for the Pro badge next to the item.

Roles and capabilities

The full permission model.

Supervision scope

Why capability alone is not enough.

Approval permissions

The reviewer side, across all four domains.

Custom roles

Build a role with the exact set you need.

Plans and features

What Free includes and what Pro adds.

Permissions matrix

Every capability against every role.