The Timesheet Approval workflow ensures that every hour logged by an employee is reviewed and validated by their manager before it flows into billing and payroll. This guide covers the pending approvals queue, how to approve or reject timesheets, the reject-approved action, approval history, the homepage approval widget, and how administrators can manually assign approvers.
Pending Approvals Queue
Stay on top of your team’s timesheet submissions. See exactly who has submitted, how many hours they logged, and whether the time is billable or non-billable, all from a single queue.
Navigate to Time Management > Timesheet > Approvals from the left sidebar. The Approvals screen opens, showing your name and role at the top along with two tabs for managing requests.
Approvals Header
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Approver Identity | Displays the approver’s name and title (e.g., “Approvals Of James Cooper, Chief Executive Officer – NA”). This confirms whose approval queue you are viewing. |
| Awaiting Request (Red Tab) | Shows all timesheets currently waiting for your action. The red highlight indicates items that need attention. |
| Previous Request (White Tab) | Shows timesheets you have already approved or rejected. Use this to review past decisions or audit your approval history. |
| Total Count | The number of pending requests in the current view (e.g., 1). |
Queue Filters and Search
- Search bar: Type an employee name or charge code to quickly find a specific submission in the queue.
- Month picker: Filter the queue by month (e.g., May 2026) using the calendar dropdown. Only timesheets for the selected month are displayed.
- Filter icon: Click the funnel icon to apply advanced filters such as location, charge code, or workstream.
Queue Table Columns
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Submitted By | The employee who submitted the timesheet. Click the name to open their full weekly timesheet for detailed review. |
| Charge Code | The project charge code the hours were logged against (e.g., PNJBSNDBSOW00002 – Digital Transformation). |
| Workstream | The workstream or sub-project within the charge code, if applicable. |
| Location | Whether the employee worked Offshore or Onsite during the period. |
| Hours | Total hours submitted for the week (e.g., 40h 00m). This is a clickable link that opens the detailed weekly breakdown. |
| Billable | Portion of the hours classified as billable to the client. |
| Non Billable | Portion of the hours classified as non-billable (internal, administrative, training). |
| Month & Year | The timesheet period (e.g., May 2026). |
Expanding Weekly Details
Each employee row can be expanded by clicking the arrow icon on the left. This reveals the week-level breakdown (e.g., “Week – 3”) showing the same columns at a weekly granularity. The Reject and Approve buttons appear at the week level, allowing you to act on individual weeks rather than the entire month.
Approve, Reject, and Reject-Approved Actions
Take the right action on each timesheet submission to ensure accurate billing, proper cost allocation, and timely corrections when errors are found.
Approve
Confirms the submitted timesheet is accurate and complete. Approved timesheets move to “Approved” status and flow into Finance for billing and revenue recognition. Once approved, the employee cannot edit the timesheet unless you use the Reject-Approved action.
Reject
Sends the timesheet back to the employee for corrections. You should provide a reason for the rejection so the employee knows what needs to change. The timesheet moves to “Rejected” status, and the employee receives a notification prompting them to revise and resubmit.
Reject-Approved (Revoke Approval)
Reverses a previously approved timesheet. Use this when you discover an error after approval, such as hours logged to the wrong charge code or incorrect billable/non-billable classification. The timesheet moves back to “Rejected” status, and the employee can make corrections and resubmit.
Steps to Approve a Timesheet
- 1Navigate to Time Management > Timesheet > Approvals.
- 2Review the Awaiting Request tab. Check the total count of pending items.
- 3Expand the employee’s row by clicking the arrow to see the week-level breakdown.
- 4Click the Hours link (e.g., 40h 00m) to view the full daily breakdown and verify entries.
- 5Verify that the charge code, hours, and billable/non-billable split are correct.
- 6Click Approve (green button) if everything is correct, or Reject (grey button) if corrections are needed.
Steps to Reject-Approve a Timesheet
- 1Switch to the Previous Request tab to see your previously approved timesheets.
- 2Find the timesheet that needs to be revoked.
- 3Click the Reject-Approved action (available on previously approved entries).
- 4Provide a reason for revoking the approval.
- 5The timesheet reverts to “Rejected” status, and the employee is notified to make corrections.
Approval Detail View
Make informed approval decisions by reviewing the employee’s complete daily breakdown, task-level entries, and total hours before approving or rejecting.
From the Approvals queue, click the employee’s name (blue link, e.g., “Isaac Kapoor”) or the Hours value (e.g., “40h 00m”) to open the full detail view. This shows the employee’s complete weekly timesheet exactly as they filled it in.
What You See in the Detail View
- Daily breakdown: Hours logged for each day of the week (Monday through Sunday), with totals per day and per charge code.
- Task-level entries: The specific tasks and sub-projects the employee logged time against, including task names and descriptions.
- Weekly Off (WO) indicators: Non-working days appear with a “WO” label, confirming the employee did not log hours on their days off.
- Charge code details: The full charge code name, project reference, and any linked workstream information.
- Comparison with expected hours: Compare the total logged hours against the employee’s configured daily hours and work schedule to spot discrepancies.
What to Look for During Review
- Total hours match expectations: For a standard Monday-to-Friday employee, the weekly total should typically be 40h 00m. Significant deviations may indicate overtime, time off, or data entry errors.
- Correct charge code: Verify the employee logged time against the correct project. Misattributed hours affect billing and project profitability.
- Billable vs. non-billable split: Ensure billable hours are correctly classified. Non-billable hours logged to billable charge codes inflate client invoices.
- Consistent daily entries: Look for unusual patterns such as identical hours every day (which may indicate auto-fill without verification) or large blocks on a single day.
Approval History
Maintain a complete audit trail of every approval and rejection decision you have made, with timestamps and details for compliance and dispute resolution.
Click the Previous Request tab on the Approvals screen to view your complete approval history. This tab shows all timesheets you have previously approved or rejected.
What the History Shows
- Employee name and charge code for each past decision.
- Hours, billable, and non-billable values that were submitted at the time of the decision.
- Month and year the timesheet covered.
- Action taken (Approved or Rejected) with the date the decision was made.
- Rejection reasons, if the timesheet was rejected, are stored for reference.
Using History for Audits
The approval history serves as a compliance record. In case of billing disputes, payroll questions, or internal audits, you can trace exactly when a timesheet was approved, by whom, and what the hours looked like at the time of approval.
Homepage Approval Widget
Never miss a pending approval. The Homepage widget surfaces outstanding timesheet approvals as soon as you log in, so you can act on them without navigating to the Time Management module.
The KEBS Homepage includes a Pending Approvals widget in the bottom-right section of the dashboard. This widget aggregates all items awaiting your approval across modules, including timesheet submissions.
How the Widget Works
- The widget shows a count of all pending approval items, including timesheets, expense claims, and other module-specific approvals.
- Click on a pending timesheet approval in the widget to navigate directly to the Approvals screen in the Time Management module.
- The widget updates in real time as employees submit timesheets and as you process approvals.
- If there are no pending approvals, the widget displays “No Pending Approvals Available!”
Manual Approver Selection (Admin)
Handle special scenarios such as manager transitions, cross-project approvals, or temporary delegation by manually configuring who approves an employee’s timesheet.
By default, timesheet approvals are routed to the employee’s Direct Manager as defined in their employee profile. However, administrators can override this default and manually assign a different approver.
When to Use Manual Approver Selection
- Manager transitions: When an employee’s reporting manager changes and the system hasn’t been updated yet.
- Cross-project approvals: When a project manager (not the direct manager) needs to approve timesheets for employees working on their project.
- Temporary delegation: When a manager is unavailable and a backup approver needs to handle their queue.
- Multi-level approvals: When the organization requires both a project manager and a direct manager to approve the timesheet sequentially.
How to Configure Manual Approvers
- 1Navigate to Time Management > Settings > Approvals from the left sidebar.
- 2Search for the employee whose approver needs to be changed.
- 3Select the new approver from the available list of managers and project leads.
- 4Specify whether this is a permanent change or a temporary override with an end date.
- 5Save the configuration. Future timesheet submissions from this employee will be routed to the new approver.
Approval Routing Rules
| Scenario | How Approvals Are Routed |
|---|---|
| Default | Timesheets go to the employee’s Direct Manager as defined in their HR profile under Organisation > Managerial Details. |
| Manual Override | Timesheets go to the manually assigned approver configured by the administrator in Timesheet Settings. |
| Multi-level | Timesheets pass through two or more approvers in sequence. The second approver only sees the timesheet after the first has approved. |
| Auto-approval | Timesheets are automatically approved without manual review, based on rules configured by the administrator (e.g., for specific employee groups or project types). |
