Timesheet Approval

Timesheet Approval is the manager-facing workspace where you review, verify, and authorize the work time submitted by your team members.

Why Timesheet Approval Exists

Employees record their own work time in My Timesheet.

Timesheet Approval is the approver-facing area used to review these submitted time records before they reach their final locked state.

Review matters for several reasons:

• Confirming Recorded Work: Ensuring the employee actually worked the hours reported.
• Reviewing Project Allocation: Checking that the effort was logged against the correct projects and tasks.
• Authorizing Effort: Formally accepting the timesheet, which permanently locks it and may allow downstream systems to use the data.

Employee, Timesheet and Approver

Actor / Record	Purpose	Typical Action
Employee	The person recording their work time.	Logs hours daily and clicks "Submit Week".
Timesheet	The submitted collection of time entries for a specific 7-day period.	Waits in "Pending" status for a decision.
Approver	The user responsible for reviewing the submitted timesheet.	Reviews the hours and clicks "Authorize" or "Reject".

How the Approval Process Works

Here is a simple example of the complete lifecycle:

How to Access Timesheet Approval

You can access Timesheet Approval from the main application layout:

1. Navigate to the sidebar or your user dropdown menu.
2. Select Timesheet Approval.
3. You will be taken to /org/timesheets-approval.

Whose Timesheets Can I Review?

A timesheet will appear in your queue if the dynamic workflow engine determines you are the assigned approver for that specific employee and period.

Typically, you will see timesheets for employees who report directly to you based on the organization's Team Hierarchy. You will not see "Draft" timesheets—an employee must explicitly click "Submit Week" before their timesheet appears in your queue.

Understanding the Timesheet Approval Screen

The Timesheet Approval screen uses a "Cockpit" layout designed for rapid, informed decision making.

UI Element	What It Shows	Why It Matters
Sidebar Queue	A searchable list of all pending timesheets assigned to you.	Allows you to quickly switch between team members.
Pending / History Tabs	Toggles between timesheets waiting for your decision, and those you have already processed.	Helps you find a historical record of your approvals.
Employee Header	The name, avatar, employee ID, and organizational unit of the submitter.	Ensures you know exactly whose time you are reviewing.
Timesheet Period	The start and end date (e.g., Monday to Sunday) of the submitted week.	Confirms which specific week the hours apply to.
Performance Hub	Quick-glance tiles showing the Total Hours submitted and the current Status.	Provides an immediate sense of the employee's total effort for the week.
Effort Summary List	A breakdown of the total hours logged against each specific project, alongside a daily grid.	Shows you exactly where the employee spent their time.
Review Task Details	A button that opens an audit drawer showing specific tasks and descriptions.	Allows deep inspection if you suspect project hours are incorrect.
Review Sidebar	A timeline of the workflow and any previous comments (Audit Notes).	Shows if the timesheet was previously rejected and what was said.

Reviewing a Submitted Timesheet

When you select a timesheet from the sidebar, the main cockpit populates with their data.

1. Understanding the Timesheet Period

Optima Orbit timesheets are submitted weekly. The header will display the exact period (e.g., Period: Oct 9 - Oct 15, 2026). Always verify that you are reviewing the correct week.

2. Reviewing Projects and Daily Totals

In the Effort Summary List, you will see a card for every project the employee logged time against.

• Total Effort: The total hours spent on that specific project for the week.
• Daily Breakdown: A 7-day grid showing exactly how many hours were logged on Monday, Tuesday, etc., for that project.

3. Reviewing Individual Time Entries (Tasks)

If the project required the employee to log time against specific tasks (Task-Wise or Hybrid mode), you will see a Review Task Details button in the header.

Clicking this opens the Audit Drawer.

• You will see a table breaking down the week by specific Tasks (e.g., #TASK-123).
• It will show the exact hours logged per task, per day.
• It will display the text description the employee entered when logging the time.

Before You Approve: A Checklist

Before making a decision, quickly run through this checklist:

• Confirm Employee & Period: Are you reviewing the right person for the right week?
• Check Total Hours: Does the total effort match their expected weekly capacity?
• Review Projects: Did they log time to the correct active projects?
• Inspect Tasks: If task logs exist, do the descriptions match the work you assigned them?
• Check the Review Sidebar: Was this rejected previously? Did they fix the issue?

Approving a Timesheet

Once you are satisfied that the timesheet is accurate:

1. Locate the action buttons at the bottom of the Cockpit.
2. Ensure you have reviewed the Decision total (the large number displaying the total hours you are about to approve).
3. (Optional but recommended) Open the Review Sidebar and type an approval comment.
4. Click Authorize (or the corresponding approval transition button).
5. A confirmation may appear. The system will process the workflow.

What Happens After Approval?

• The timesheet status changes to Approved.
• It is moved from your "Pending" tab to your "History" tab.
• The timesheet remains permanently locked. The employee can no longer edit or delete any time entries for that week.
• The approved hours are officially recognized by the system and may be used downstream for project costing or resource utilization metrics.

Rejecting a Timesheet

If you find an error—such as hours logged to the wrong project, missing days, or insufficient task descriptions—you must reject the timesheet.

1. Open the Review Sidebar by clicking the comment icon.
2. You must type a comment. Explain exactly why you are rejecting the timesheet so the employee knows how to fix it (e.g., "Please log your Tuesday hours to the Apollo project, not internal overhead.").
3. Click the Reject button at the bottom of the Cockpit.

What Happens After Rejection?

• The timesheet status changes to Rejected.
• It is moved out of your pending queue.
• The timesheet is unlocked for the employee.
• When the employee opens their My Timesheet page, they will see your rejection reason. They can then edit their cells, correct the mistakes, and click Submit Week again.
• Once resubmitted, the timesheet will reappear in your Pending queue for a fresh review.

Can Approvers Edit Employee Time?

No. Timesheet Approval is a review-only interface. If an entry is incorrect, you cannot change the number yourself. You must Reject the timesheet, provide a reason, and require the employee to correct their own records. This ensures a strict audit trail where employees are solely responsible for their submitted effort.

Search and Filters

• Search: Use the search bar at the top of the sidebar to quickly find a specific employee by name.
• Tabs: Switch between Pending (timesheets awaiting your action) and History (timesheets you have already approved or rejected).

My Timesheet vs Timesheet Approval

Feature	My Timesheet	Timesheet Approval
Primary User	Employee	Manager / Approver
Purpose	To record and submit work time.	To review and authorize submitted time.
Data Flow	Pushes data to the workflow.	Pulls data from the workflow.
Editability	Can edit entries (while in Draft or Rejected status).	Read-only. Cannot edit entries.

Permissions and Access

Access to this page is restricted to users with managerial or approver responsibilities.

Permission	What It Controls
task.timesheet.approve	Grants access to the /org/timesheets-approval route and allows the user to process pending workflow instances for timesheets.

Note: You will only see timesheets in your queue if the system's dynamic workflow engine has routed them to you.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Likely Cause	What To Do
No timesheets appear in my queue.	Your team hasn't submitted their timesheets yet.	Timesheets do not appear while they are still Drafts. Remind your team to click "Submit Week".
I cannot click Authorize/Reject.	You haven't provided a mandatory comment.	Open the Review Sidebar, type your justification/reason, and try again.
I approved a timesheet by mistake.	Approvals are permanent and lock the timesheet.	Contact a System Administrator to intervene if an approved timesheet must be reversed.
The "Review Task Details" button is missing.	The employee only logged "Flat Weekly" project hours.	This is normal for projects that do not require task-level tracking. There are no task details to show.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why am I the approver? The dynamic workflow engine determines the approver based on organizational rules, most commonly the Team Hierarchy (e.g., you are set as the employee's direct reporting manager).

Does approving a timesheet affect project costs? Yes. Once approved, the reported hours are officially recognized. Depending on your organization's configuration, these hours may be multiplied by the employee's Resource Cost Rate to calculate the actual labor cost consumed by the project.

Where can I see previously approved timesheets? Click the History tab in the sidebar of the Timesheet Approval page.

Technical Reference

• Route: /org/timesheets-approval
• Main Component: src/routes/org/TimesheetApprovalsPage.tsx
• Services: approvalService.ts, timesheetService.ts
• Key API Endpoints:
  • GET /approval/my-pending (Filtered on frontend by module_code === 'TIMESHEET')
  • GET /org/timesheet/submission/:id (Fetches the specific timesheet context/projects)
  • GET /org/timesheet/submission/:id/audit (Fetches task-level breakdowns)
  • POST /approval/instance/:id/process (Submits the APPROVE or REJECT action)
• Permissions: task.timesheet.approve

Related Features

• My Timesheet
• My Work

Submitted weeks waiting on your approval, and the hours behind each one.