Project timesheet settings
Route: /org/projects/:id → Timesheet Settings tab
Permission: View Projects Timesheet Settings
1. What these settings are
The governance policy for time capture on one project: when time may be logged, what a valid entry looks like, when the week locks, and who approves it.
Everything on the Log Time modal and much of My Timesheets is shaped from here. It is the reason the same action succeeds on one project and is refused on another.
| These settings | Task Configuration | |
|---|---|---|
| Governs | How time is captured | The task vocabulary |
| Scope | One project | One project |
| Lives on | Project Details | Its own hub |
Every project carries its own. A new project starts with No Policy Defined until someone sets one, and there is nothing to inherit from.
2. How the policy reaches the user
3. Setting the policy — step by step
Step 1 · If there is no policy
A new project shows NO POLICY DEFINED — "This project does not have a formal timesheet governance policy yet. Define how your team logs effort and what validations should apply." — above a preview of what a policy covers: GUARDRAILS (Min/Max hours), APPROVAL (Manager review) and LOCKING (Deadline control).
Configure Effort Policy creates one, seeded from the organization baseline:
| Default | Value |
|---|---|
| Submission frequency | weekly |
| Auto-lock after | 2 days |
| Requires approval | On |
| Route to | Primary Project Manager |
| Allow backdated entry | On |
| Backdate limit | 7 days |
| Allow future logging | Off |
| Min hours per day | 8 |
| Max hours per day | 14 |
| Require description | On |
| Description minimum length | 10 |
Step 2 · Submission Logic
"Define the core mechanism for capturing timesheet entries."
Submit Mode offers four scenarios:
| Mode | Label |
|---|---|
flat_weekly | Scenario 1: Flat Weekly Entry (Executive Total) |
task_effort | Scenario 2: Task Effort Sync (Professional Services) |
attendance_sync | Scenario 3: Attendance Based (Shift Sync) |
hybrid_validation | Scenario 4: Hybrid Compliance (The Auditor Mode) |
Then the two date rules:
| Setting | Effect on the Log Time modal |
|---|---|
| Allow backdated entry | Shows the date field, and sets its lower bound |
| Backdate limit (days) | "Backdating allowed up to N days" |
| Allow future logging | Shows the date field, and allows dates ahead |
Time is then always stamped today. Someone who forgets to log Friday's work cannot record it on Monday — by design, but it surprises people.
Step 3 · Validation Guardrails
"Set strict boundaries on what is considered a valid entry."
| Setting | Label under the field |
|---|---|
| Min / Day | Red flag if below |
| Max / Day | Block if exceeds |
Min raises a flag — it warns and lets the entry through. Max blocks. Setting Min to 8 does not stop anyone logging four hours; it marks the day for the approver.
| Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
| Require Description | "Mandatory notes for every entry" |
| Description minimum length | The threshold, and the placeholder text in the modal |
Step 4 · Deadline & Locking
| Setting | Values |
|---|---|
| Submission frequency | Every Day · Every Week · Every Month |
| Deadline Day | Which day of the period |
| Auto-Lock Days | "Entries will be locked for editing N day(s) after the <frequency> deadline." |
Step 5 · Approval Workflow
| Setting | Values |
|---|---|
| Manual Verification | "Require approval before entry is finalized" |
| Route To | Primary Project Manager · Reporting Manager (HR Hierarchy) · Specific Team Lead |
Choosing a specific team lead names one person.
Step 6 · Save
Changes can be discarded — Discard Changes? — or reset with Restore System Defaults?:
This will reset all guardrails, modes, and approval logic to the organization baseline. This action cannot be undone.
4. Field reference
| Field | Control | Default | Governs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Submit Mode | Select | flat_weekly | Capture mechanism |
| Allow backdated entry | Toggle | On | The Log Time date field |
| Backdate limit (days) | Number | 7 | How far back |
| Allow future logging | Toggle | Off | Dates ahead |
| Min hours / day | Number | 8 | A warning threshold |
| Max hours / day | Number | 14 | A hard block |
| Require Description | Toggle | On | Mandatory notes |
| Description min length | Number | 10 | The threshold |
| Submission frequency | Select | weekly | The period |
| Deadline Day | Select | — | Day of the period |
| Auto-Lock Days | Number | 2 | Grace after the deadline |
| Manual Verification | Toggle | On | Whether approval is needed |
| Route To | Select | project_manager | Who approves |
The two error messages users will see
| Message | Setting |
|---|---|
Backdating is restricted by project policy | Backdate limit exceeded, or backdating off |
Future logging is disabled for this project | Future logging off |
Both come from the server, so they can appear even when the date picker allowed the value.
5. The admin contract
| Prerequisite | Without it |
|---|---|
| View Projects Timesheet Settings | The tab is not shown |
| A project manager assigned | Primary Project Manager routing has no target |
| Reporting lines | Reporting Manager routing cannot resolve |
| A named lead | Specific Team Lead routing has no target |
Each of the three routing options depends on data held elsewhere — the project's manager, the HR hierarchy, or a named user. If that is missing, submissions have no approver and simply wait.
Check the routing target exists before turning Manual Verification on.
6. Downstream
| Consumer | What it takes |
|---|---|
| Log Time modal | Date field, limits, description rules |
| My Timesheets | Frequency, deadline, locking |
| Timesheet approvals | Whether approval is needed, and who |
| Guardrail flags | Min/max per day |
7. Don't confuse this with…
| Thing | Where | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Timesheet Settings (this page) | Project Details | One project's time-capture policy |
| Attendance policy | Organization | Standard working hours |
| Work week | Organization | Which days are working days |
| Approval Workflows | Organization Settings | Approval chains for every module |
| Billing Settings | Project Details → Billing | Rates, not time capture |
8. Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause |
|---|---|
| No Policy Defined | The project has never had one set |
| No date field when logging time | Both backdating and future logging are off |
Backdating is restricted by project policy | Beyond the limit |
| A short description is refused | Under the minimum length |
| A long day was blocked | It exceeded Max / Day |
| A short day was allowed but flagged | Min only warns |
| Submissions sit unapproved | The routing target does not exist |
| The same action works on another project | Policies are per project |
Related
- Time logs — where these rules are felt
- My Timesheets · Timesheet approvals