> ## 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.

# Timesheet reminders

> Send a manual nudge to someone who has not submitted their timesheet, and learn about the daily not-submitted reminder and the overdue-approval escalation.

TimeTracker nudges people about timesheets in three ways – a manual reminder you send, a daily not-submitted reminder, and an escalation when a submission sits unreviewed.

## The three kinds of nudge

| Nudge                      | Who gets it                              | When                                       |
| -------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| **Manual reminder**        | The person who has not submitted         | When a manager clicks **Send reminder**    |
| **Not-submitted reminder** | The person who has not submitted         | Once a day, automatically                  |
| **Approval escalation**    | The reviewer, then the owners and admins | 24 hours, then 72 hours after a submission |

## Send a manual reminder

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Approvals">
    Click **Approvals** in the sidebar, then the **Timesheets** tab.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Go to Not submitted">
    The sub-tab lists people with draft time in the current period who have not submitted it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open the row menu">
    Click `⋮` on their row and choose **Send reminder**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm">
    A dialog reads "Remind `<name>`? This sends `<name>` a notification to submit their timesheet for `<period>`." Click **Send reminder**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Done">
    You get `Reminder sent to <name>.`
  </Step>
</Steps>

The reminder is a notification. It names the period so they know exactly what to submit.

You can send it more than once. Each nudge is its own notification, so a second reminder is not swallowed as a duplicate. Use that carefully.

## The daily not-submitted reminder

Once a day, TimeTracker checks every workspace member against the period that contains today. Anyone who has not submitted or had their period approved gets a reminder.

Key details:

* **One per person, per period.** A re-check on the same day does not send a second one.
* **Client-portal contacts are skipped.** They never submit timesheets.
* **It is off when the app is off.** If the Timesheets app is switched off, nobody is chased.
* **It uses the workspace timezone.** The period it names is the same one the person sees on their own grid.

You do not configure the schedule of this reminder. You control whether it reaches you, in your notification settings.

## The overdue-approval escalation

A submission that nobody acts on does not sit silently.

| After    | Who is nudged                             |
| -------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| 24 hours | The reviewer the submission was routed to |
| 72 hours | The workspace owners and admins           |

Each level fires once per submission. This applies to timesheet submissions, leave requests, and expenses alike.

## Timesheet notifications you might get

| Notification            | Goes to                               | When                                             |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| Timesheet submitted     | The reviewer, or the workspace admins | Someone submits a period                         |
| Timesheet approved      | The person whose period it is         | A reviewer approves                              |
| Changes requested       | The person whose period it is         | A reviewer sends it back, with the reason        |
| Timesheet reopened      | The person whose period it is         | A reviewer reverses an approval, with the reason |
| Timesheet withdrawn     | The pending reviewer                  | The submitter pulls it back                      |
| Timesheet reminder      | The person who has not submitted      | A manager sends a manual nudge                   |
| Timesheet not submitted | The person who has not submitted      | The daily check                                  |
| Timesheet period closed | Each affected person                  | An owner or admin closes a period                |

You are never notified about your own action. If you approve a timesheet, you do not get an email about it.

Choose which of these reach you, and by which channel, in **Settings → Notifications** and your own notification preferences. See [/notifications/your-notification-settings](/notifications/your-notification-settings).

## Example

It is Monday at Northwind Studio. Priya Raman opens **Approvals → Timesheets → Not submitted** and sees two people.

Jonas Bergman tracked 38 hours last week but never submitted. Priya clicks `⋮` → **Send reminder**, confirms, and Jonas gets a notification naming last week's dates.

Ana Ferreira tracked 12 hours and is on leave. Priya uses **Submit on behalf** for her instead.

By Tuesday morning Jonas has submitted. Priya does not review it until Thursday, so on Wednesday the escalation nudges her – 24 hours have passed. Had she left it until Saturday, Maya Ellis and Tom Whitfield would have been nudged too.

## Permissions

| Action                     | Capability     | Default roles                 |
| -------------------------- | -------------- | ----------------------------- |
| Send a manual reminder     | `time.remind`  | Owner, Admin, Project Manager |
| See the Not submitted list | `time.approve` | Owner, Admin, Project Manager |

Supervision scope also applies. You can only remind people you supervise.

If you do not hold `time.remind`, the **Send reminder** item does not appear in the row menu.

## Plan and app gating

The **Approvals** area is **Pro**, so the manual reminder lives behind the paid plan.

Automatic reminders and escalations run for any workspace with the **Timesheets** app switched on.

## What happens next

* The person sees the reminder in their inbox, and by email if their settings allow it.
* The reminder names the period, so they can go straight to it.
* Nothing about their timesheet changes. A reminder never submits anything.

## Common questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can I set my own reminder schedule?">
    No. The automatic reminder runs once a day. The only reminder you time yourself is the manual one.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does a reminder submit the timesheet?">
    No. It only notifies. To actually send the period, use <a href="/timesheets/submit-on-behalf-of-someone">Submit on behalf</a>.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why did someone not get chased?">
    They tracked nothing, they already submitted, their role cannot submit time, they are a client-portal contact, or they have turned that notification off.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I turn timesheet reminders off for myself?">
    Yes, in your notification settings. Workspace defaults set the starting point, and you can override them.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does the escalation email the whole team?">
    No. Level one goes to the routed reviewer. Level two goes to the workspace owners and admins.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Troubleshooting

* **"You can't send timesheet reminders."** You do not hold `time.remind`.
* **The reminder never arrived.** Check the recipient's notification settings, and see [/troubleshooting/email-not-arriving](/troubleshooting/email-not-arriving).
* **Someone keeps being reminded after submitting.** Confirm they submitted the period that contains today, not a past one.
* **No Not submitted rows at all.** Everyone with tracked time in this period has submitted, or nobody in your scope has draft time.

## Related guides

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Submit on behalf of someone" icon="users" href="/timesheets/submit-on-behalf-of-someone">
    Submit for a teammate who cannot.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Reminders" icon="bell" href="/notifications/reminders">
    Every reminder TimeTracker sends.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Your notification settings" icon="sliders" href="/notifications/your-notification-settings">
    Choose what reaches you, and how.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Notification types" icon="list" href="/notifications/notification-types">
    The full catalogue of notifications.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Approvals overview" icon="check-check" href="/approvals/overview">
    Where the Not submitted tab lives.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Weekly timesheet routine" icon="repeat" href="/guides/weekly-timesheet-routine">
    A practical weekly rhythm for a team.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>