Timesheet Approvals (v10.xx)
Cerri Project allows for timesheets to be submited and approved once they have been completed in the [Timesheets] module. If the approval workflow is not enabled, users will mark their timesheets as complete directly.
The update of assignments in the [Projects] module (workload and/or status) can depend on the approval or completion of timesheets and timesheet lines. By default, this information is updated automatically, regardless of the timesheet status. However, the system can also be setup to prevent tasks from being updated with timesheet information while the corresponding timesheet is being edited, or to prevent tasks from being completed automatically when resources mark their assignments as completed in their timesheets.
There are three possible types of Timesheet approvals:
- By the author of the timesheet: This is the simplest mode, where the user marks the timesheet as "Completed".
- By a responsible: Once completed, the timesheet is submitted for approval. An authorized user can then approve or deny the timesheet. An authorized user is either allowed to approve the timesheets of all users or only those of a defined group (e.g. a department). The first case is managed through the "Approver" role, while the second case is handled by the "Responsible" of the "Resource".
- By the project leaders: Since resources often work on mulitple projects at once, this approval process typically involves more than one project leader. In this case, the approval occurs not on the 'Timesheet' document itself but on the individual "Timesheet detail" documents. The timesheet is considered approved only when all its detail records are approved.
Note: The Setup Menu can only be modified by the Application Manager. See the Administration Manual.
The approval cycle depends on the parameters defined in the General setup document of the [Timesheets] module. Based on these parameters, either the resource responsible or the project leader must approve or deny submitted timesheets or timesheet detail documents.
If a timesheet is denied, the user must modify and resubmit for approval. As soon as a timesheet has the status "To be approved", "Approved," or "Completed", it is no longer editable by its author and cannot be deleted.
Submitting timesheets for approval
To submit a timesheet for approval, simply change its status to "To be approved." From the timesheet, click "Workflow" on the action menu bar and select "To be approved".
Based on the application configuration, the timesheet will be submitted to the designated user(s) responsible for its approval.
Note: If the user submits their timesheet before the end of the week, and the automatic generation agent is enabled, a duplicate can be created.
Approving a timesheet
Timesheets as a whole can be approved by a single person, usually the resource manager; however, the system can be configured so the approver is someone else.
Once a user has submitted a timesheet for approval, the input fields in the grid are no longer editable, and the user cannot delete it. The designated approver then has to take action on it.
To access timesheets to be approved:
- Navigate to the Timesheets tab
- Select "All Timesheets" from the contextual navigation menu
- All timesheets awaiting approval will be displayed in the content window.
- Open, the one you want to review in Edit mode
- Click "Workflow" on the menu action bar and select either "Approve" or "Deny"
If the responsible selects "Approve", the status of the Timesheet is changed to "Approved". The timesheet is no longer editable. If the system has been setup so that workload and assignments are only updated once timesheets have been approved, they will be updated now.
Approval in Project Live!
Deny a Timesheet
If the responsible selects "Deny", the status of the Timesheet is changed to "Denied" and an optional denial reason can be added. The user is notified by e-mail and the Timesheet becomes editable again to allow the user to make the required changes. After correcting the timesheet, the user must submit it again for approval.
Approving timesheet details
For "Approval on the details" mode, approval is necessary for individual timesheet details instead of the entire timesheet document as a whole. A timesheet detail corresponds to a single day's work on a given task. The responsible for the approval is the project leader.
Once a user has submitted a timesheet for approval, the project leader can access all corresponding timesheet details to be approved from the [Timesheets] tab in the "Approval\Timesheet details" view. Actions of approval or denial can then be taken on each individual 'Timesheet detail' document. The main difference between this mode of approval and the "Approval on Timesheets" mode is that all of the timesheet details must be processed before the timesheet itself is can also be approved.
If the responsible selects "Approve", the status of the "timesheet detail record" changes to "Approved". All of the details for a timesheet need to be approved before the timesheet itself can be considered "Approved".
Note: Although timesheet record details are entered in a timesheet form in the [Timesheet] module, the project leaders responsible for approving them are only identified once the update to the assignment has been pushed to the [Projects] module(s). Therefore, it is not possible to have workload and assignment updates dependant on the approval of timesheet details - they must happen immediately.
Deny a Timesheet Detail
If the responsible selects "Deny", the status of the "timesheet detail record" changes to "Denied" and an optional denial reason can be added. The timesheet itself is considered "Denied" if all lines have been processed but at least one timesheet detail has been denied. The user is then notified by e-mail and the timesheet becomes editable again to allow the user to make the changes.
The denied detail lines can be accessed by clicking on the "Denied details" button. A popup with the list of the denied details appears.
After correcting the timesheet, the user must submit it again for approval.
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