Project Approvals Overview

Project Approvals add a review step at the Project level before a timesheet period can be approved. Use this when project leads must validate scope, notes, or billable coding for specific work. Project entries that require review are routed to a Project Approver first; after they’re approved, the timesheet moves to the person’s Default Timesheet Approver for final approval/lock.

Availability & enablement

• Plans: Available on Premier/Enterprise.
• Enable: Company → Preferences → Time & Expenses → Enable Project Approvals (then Save).
  
• Mobile: Not supported in the mobile app.
• Submission path: Employees can submit from Timesheet View. If your account uses a weekly model and Week View is enabled, submission may also be available from Week View.

Roles & permissions

• Admins: Can approve project time across the account.
• Managers / Project Leads: Can approve only if designated as Project Manager on the project.

Setup & assigning approvers

1. Enable Project Approvals (see above).
2. Go to Company → Projects, click the edit pencil.
3. On Project Details, assign a Project Manager.
4. Check Project Manager approves time for this project.
5. If Division permissions are used, ensure the Project Manager’s scope includes the relevant people.
   

Reviewing & approving project entries

• Open Company → Timesheets → Project Approvals tab. A red indicator shows pending items that need a project-level decision.
  
• Filters: Filter by Project, Date, Person, Status (Pending / Approved / Rejected).
• Details drawer: View date, hours, client/project/task, notes, and custom fields; then click Approve or Reject (Reject requires a comment).
  
• Timesheet Review filtering: On the Timesheet Review tab, you can filter the list to show timesheets that include entries Waiting for Project Approval (Status). This helps Timesheet Approvers identify periods blocked by project-level decisions.
  

What happens next

When all approval-required project entries for a person/period are Approved, the timesheet routes to the person’s Default Timesheet Approver for final approval/lock (they will receive the submission email at that point).

Dashboard (Approval Inbox)

The Approval Inbox on Company → Dashboard surfaces pending items for approval as well.  Project Approvals can be performed here or from Company → Timesheets → Project Approvals.

Notifications

• Project Approver: Email when a submitted timesheet contains entries that require their review; pending work also appears in the Project Approvals tab and in the Approval Inbox on the Dashboard.
  
• Employee: Email on Reject that includes the approver’s comment.
• Timesheet Approver: Receives the submission email after all required project approvals for that person/period are complete.
  

Best practices

• Keep comments clear and actionable (e.g., “Move 6/14 to Non-billable Admin,” “Add client feedback note”).
• If multiple people need the same fix, send a templated message from Send Email in Timesheet Review.
• Limit approver scope to projects they actually own; avoid unnecessary visibility.

Troubleshooting

• Timesheet won’t approve — At least one project entry is Pending or Rejected. Resolve project approvals first.
• Approver can’t see entries — Ensure they are set as the project’s Project Manager (and have Division scope if applicable).
• Employee can’t fix — Edits to timestamps require Day View (Start/End/Stopwatch rows). After editing, resubmit.

Known limitations

• DCAA: Accounts with DCAA Compliance features enabled cannot use Project Approvals.
• Override Timesheets: Not available while a period is in Waiting for Project Approval or Waiting for Approval; reject/unlock first if edits are needed.
• Disabling Project Approvals: Turning the feature off will remove existing project-approval data associations for past entries.
• Mobile: Project Approvals are not available in the mobile app; use the web app for review/approval.