Who it’s for: Managers
Platform: Forms
Before you begin
Before reviewing Weekly Timesheets, ensure that:
☑️ You have access to Forms
☑️ Your organisation uses the Manager Approval workflow
☑️ You have permission to review employee Weekly Timesheets
🖊️ Note: If your organisation uses Auto Approve, managers won’t receive Weekly Timesheet review sessions.
Overview
If your organisation uses Manager Approval for Weekly Timesheets, submitted timesheets are sent to the relevant manager for review before they are approved.
You’ll receive a separate Forms session for each submitted timesheet awaiting your approval.
From the review session, you can:
review the employee’s submitted working time and other information
approve the timesheet
decline the timesheet
send the timesheet back to the employee for changes
Open a Weekly Timesheet for review
When an employee submits a Weekly Timesheet that requires approval, a Timesheet Pending Review session appears in your Forms Inbox.
To open it:
Open Forms.
Click Inbox.
Find the Timesheet Pending Review session for the employee and week you want to review.
Click Open.
Open the Timesheet Pending Review session for the employee and week you want to review.
Review the submitted timesheet
Review the employee’s entries carefully before choosing an outcome.
The review displays a summary of the employee’s submitted working time, organised by day.
Depending on how your organisation has configured Weekly Timesheets, you may see information including:
date
project
total hours
start and end times
break taken
selected rate
whether the work was overnight
the employee’s weekly comment
If the employee has recorded time against multiple projects, review the entries for each project.
If you expect the employee to have recorded time against multiple projects but only one project is shown, select Send back for resubmission. In the Comment field, ask the employee to use + Add another project to add the missing project and record the relevant time before resubmitting.
🖊️ Note: The information displayed depends on your organisation’s Weekly Timesheet configuration, so your review session may look different from the example in this article.
Review the employee’s submitted Weekly Timesheet before choosing an outcome.
Choose an outcome
After reviewing the timesheet, choose the appropriate outcome.
Approve
Choose Approve when the employee’s submitted timesheet is complete and correct.
Once approved, the timesheet is locked in as an approved submission and can continue to any subsequent processing configured by your organisation.
Decline
Choose Decline when the submitted timesheet should be rejected rather than corrected and resubmitted.
A comment is required when you decline a timesheet.
Use the comment to clearly explain why the submission has been declined.
Send back for resubmission
Choose Send back for resubmission when the employee needs to correct or add information before the timesheet can be approved.
A comment is required when you send a timesheet back.
Explain what needs to be changed so the employee can correct the timesheet and submit it again for review.
💡 Tip: Use Send back for resubmission rather than Decline when the timesheet can be corrected and resubmitted.
Add a comment
Use Comment to provide additional information about your decision.
A comment is required when you:
Decline the timesheet
Send back for resubmission
Comments are particularly important when changes are required, as they tell the employee what needs to be corrected before resubmitting.
What happens next?
What happens after your review depends on the outcome you choose.
Outcome | What happens |
Approve | The timesheet is approved and continues to any subsequent processing configured by your organisation. |
Decline | The timesheet is rejected. |
Send back for resubmission | The timesheet is returned to the employee so they can make changes and submit it again. |
Your organisation may also have notifications configured to tell employees, managers, or administrators when a timesheet is approved or requires further action.
If your organisation uses the optional monthly payroll process, approved timesheets can subsequently be included in the monthly payroll summary. Timesheets that are still pending, declined, or returned for changes aren’t included until they reach an approved status.
Best practices
When reviewing Weekly Timesheets:
✔️ Review the entire submission before making a decision
✔️ Provide clear comments whenever changes are required
✔️ Return timesheets promptly to avoid delays
✔️ Only approve timesheets that accurately reflect the employee’s working time
Clear feedback helps employees correct any issues quickly and keeps the approval process moving efficiently.
FAQs
Click for answers to frequently asked questions
Click for answers to frequently asked questions
Q: Why haven’t I received any Forms Weekly Timesheets to review?
A: You won’t receive a Weekly Timesheet to review if your organisation uses Auto Approve, because submitted timesheets are approved automatically. If your organisation uses Manager Approval and you expected a review session, check with your administrator.
Q: What should I check before approving a Weekly Timesheet?
A: Before approving a Weekly Timesheet, review all of the employee’s submitted entries for the week. Depending on your organisation’s configuration, this may include working time, projects, breaks, rates, overnight work, and the employee’s weekly comment.
Q: What’s the difference between declining a Weekly Timesheet and sending it back for resubmission?
A: Declining a Weekly Timesheet rejects the submission outright. Sending a Weekly Timesheet back for resubmission returns it to the employee so they can correct or add information and submit it again. Use Send back for resubmission when the timesheet can be corrected.
Q: Can I edit an employee’s working time from the manager review session?
A: No. The manager review session is used to review the submitted information and choose an outcome. If the employee needs to correct their working time or other information, select Send back for resubmission and explain what needs to be changed.
Q: What happens after I approve a Weekly Timesheet?
A: After you approve a Weekly Timesheet, it becomes an approved submission and continues to any subsequent processing configured by your organisation. If the optional monthly payroll process is enabled, the approved timesheet can be included in the relevant monthly payroll summary.