An approval cycle can be enabled that requires users to submit their timesheets for approval once they have been completed in the [Timesheets] module. If the approval workflow is not enabled, users will mark their timesheets complete directly.

The update of assignments in the [Projects] module (workload and/or status) can be dependent 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, as long as the corresponding timesheet is being edited, or to prevent tasks from being completed automatically when the resources mark their assignments 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 by the user. Then an authorized user can approve or deny the timesheet. An authorized user is either allowed to approve the timesheets of all users or the timesheets of a group of users, for instance a department. The first case is achieved through the "Approver" role, whereas in the second case the authorized approver is the "Responsible" of the "Resource".

• By the project leaders: as resources often work on several projects at once, this approval process usually involves more than one project leader. Thus the approval will not occur on the 'Timesheet' document, as for the first two approval modes, but on the "Timesheet detail" documents. The timesheet is approved if all its timesheet details are approved.

Note:  Setup Menu only to change by Application Manager. See Administration Manual.

The approval cycle depends on the parameters set in the General setup document of the [Timesheets] module. According to these parameters, the resource responsible or the project leader will have to manage submitted Timesheets or Timesheets detail documents, either to approve or deny them.

The denial of a timesheet requires the user to modify and submit it again 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).

1. Submitting timesheets for approval

To submit a timesheet for approval all that is required is to change its status to "To be approved" From the timesheet, click "Workflow" on the menu action 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 did submit her/his timesheet before the end of the week, and the automatic generation agent is enabled, then it can create a duplicate.

2. 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 [My workspace] tab

• Select "My timesheets" from the contextual navigation menu and click "To be approved"
  

• All timesheets awaiting approval will be displayed in the content window. Open, the one you want to review in Edit mode

• The actions the responsible can take are limited and simple. 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. And if the system has been setup so that workload and assignments are only updated once timesheets have been approved, they will be updated now.

Multiple timesheets can be approved at the same time by using the view action "Approve" on the view menu action bar.

Approval in Genius Live!

1. 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 to. 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.

3. 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 be processed/ 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" too.

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.

1. Deny a Time Detail

If the responsible selects "Deny", the status of the "timesheet detail record" changes to "Denied" and an optional denial reason can be added to it. 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 are marked with a warning sign. The denied details are prefixed with an exclamation mark ("!"). The whole list of denied details (line and day) can be seen by selecting "Denied" from the contextual navigation menu.

After correcting the timesheet, the user must submit it again for approval.