Skip to main content
The timesheet problems people hit most, and what to do about each.

​
Quick diagnosis

​
I cannot submit my timesheet

The Timesheets app is switched off, or Time tracking is – a timesheet totals time entries, so it needs them. Ask an Owner or Admin to check Settings → Apps.
You lack time.submit. Every internal role holds it by default, so this points to a custom role. Ask an Owner or Admin.
Someone submitted it for you, or you submitted it and the page is stale. Reload. If you need it back, withdraw it – that makes it editable again.
That period doesn’t line up with your workspace’s timesheet weeks. Pick a period from the list.
Your workspace runs weekly, fortnightly or monthly periods. Use the period picker rather than typing dates.
A time policy is blocking it. The common ones are a required task, a required description, no future entries, an editing window that has passed, or a daily limit. The message names which.
Your workspace uses location rules. Submitting is restricted to an office network or a named place.

​
I cannot approve a timesheet

Four things must all be true. Check them in this order.
1

The Approvals feature is on your plan

Approving is a Pro feature. On Free, people can submit and the submissions build up, but nobody can clear them. Upgrading clears the whole backlog at once. See plans and features.
2

You hold `time.approve`

Owner, Admin and Project Manager hold it by default. Finance does not.
3

That person is in your scope

This is the usual culprit. You may hold the permission and still not reach the person. See supervision scope.
4

The period was routed to you

When someone submits, they choose an approver from the people who may supervise them. If it went to a colleague, it sits in their queue.
“I have permission but the person is not in my list” is nearly always scope. Fix it by adding you both to a shared project, putting you in the same group, or widening your role’s scope.

​
The week is locked

Closing a period is deliberate and cannot be undone. That is the point of a closed period. See close a period.

​
Expected hours look wrong

Expected hours come from the person’s work schedule, not from the workspace’s default working hours.
1

Check they have a schedule

No schedule means no expected hours to compare against. See assign a schedule.
2

Check the schedule's timezone

A person’s day boundaries come from the schedule’s timezone. Two people on different schedules genuinely have different days. See schedule timezones.
3

Check days off and holidays

A day off or a public holiday lowers the expected total for that week. See working hours and days off.
4

Check approved leave

Approved time off reduces expected hours for the days it covers. See leave balances.
5

Check the Work schedules app is on

If it is off, timesheets stop showing expected hours entirely. Saved schedules are kept.
See expected vs tracked hours.

​
I approved it by mistake

Reopening puts the period back with its author for rework. You need time.reopenApproval, and the person has to be in your scope. See reopen an approval.
Reopening is refused once any entry in the period has moved past approved – to locked or invoiced. That protects a closed period and a sent invoice. Use an adjustment instead.

​
A submitted week is stuck

Check who it was routed to. The submitter picks an approver at submit time, and that person owns the queue. See approve a timesheet.
Someone with workspace-wide scope can still act on it. Ask an Owner or Admin.
Approving is Pro. Submissions accumulate safely and clear the day you upgrade. Nothing expires and nothing is thrown away.
Check their notification settings, and remember you are never notified about your own action. See email not arriving.

​
Submitting for someone else

If a person is away, someone with time.submitOnBehalf can submit for them – as long as that person is in their scope. See submit on behalf of someone.

​
Sending a reminder

Someone with time.remind can nudge people who have not submitted. Owner, Admin and Project Manager hold it. See timesheet reminders.

​
Common questions

Only if your role holds time.approve and your scope reaches you. Most workspaces route approvals to a manager instead.
There is no “rejected” status on a timesheet. Sending a week back is changes requested, and it lands straight back with its author, editable again.
Approving accepts them. Closing the period locks them. Approved time can still be reopened; locked time needs an adjustment.
They never submitted one. Timesheet reports count missing periods, so you can see exactly who. See report metrics.
Not while it is submitted. Request changes to hand it back, or reopen it if it was approved. See edit a submitted timesheet.

How timesheets work

The weekly cycle end to end.

Timesheet statuses

What each state allows.

Reopen an approval

Undoing an approval.

Adjustments

Correcting locked time.

Missing or wrong hours

When the numbers are the problem.

Supervision scope

Why a person is not in your queue.