In this article, we will review Timesheet Approvals in PPM Express.
If Timesheet Approvals are used, time is not automatically accepted once entered, it must first be reviewed and approved by the appropriate manager. This helps ensure accuracy, accountability, and better control over project and administrative time.
Turning Timesheet Approvals On
By default, Timesheet Approvals are turned off for the tenant. To start using this functionality, a PPM Express Administrator must enable it in Time Tracking Settings -> Timesheet Approvals section.
Next, in the Time Tracking Settings, open Time Reporting Periods.
For the newly created Time Reporting Periods, the Approval Required setting is ON by default (once enabled on the tenant).
For existing Time Reporting Periods, Timesheet Approvals can be enabled in bulk.
Once the Timesheet Approvals are enabled on the tenant level and in the Time Reporting Periods:
- Users can submit their timesheets for approval.
- Managers can review requests in the Approval Center.
- Timesheets receive approval statuses (Draft, In Progress, Pending Approval, Approved, Rejected).
- Email reminders can be configured.
Also, on the Tenant Settings page, PPM Express Administrators can enable the 'Synchronize only approved time' setting.
It allows synchronization only of the approved reported time to the Task Completed Work and Resource Plan Actuals across all projects in your tenant. This setting does not affect periods where the approval is not required. Time from such periods will continue to be synchronized (if synchronization is enabled), regardless of this setting.
Submitting Time for Approval
To send the reported time for approval, the process is as follows:
1. A user reports time as usual for the time reporting period.
2. When project, non-project, or administrative time is reported, the approval status for the time period becomes In Progress.
Once the required time for the period is reported, the user clicks the Submit button in the Summary section of the Time Tracking page.
3. After confirmation, the system sends approval requests to the correct managers.
4. A manager reviews the time in the Approval Center and either approves or rejects it.
Approval requests for reported time are sent to the appropriate approvers:
- Administrative time is approved by the user’s Direct Manager.
- Project time is approved by the Project Manager assigned to the project.
To submit time for approval, the corresponding manager must be assigned. If a Direct Manager or Project Manager is not yet assigned, the system will display a message prompting the user to contact their administrator so the correct approver can be set.
5. The user is notified about the decision.
Once submitted, the timesheet is locked until a decision is made. The approval status changes to Pending Approval.
If the timesheet is still in the Pending Approval status, the user can click the Recall button to recall it. In this case, all approval requests are canceled, and the period returns to In Progress. Editing becomes available again, and users can make additional changes.
If the timesheet is approved, the user cannot recall it or change the time. Only the PPM Express Administrator can recall even fully approved periods and return them to In Progress.
If the submitted time is rejected, the submitter receives an email with the rejection comment.
The period status becomes Rejected. In this case, only rejected entries become editable; approved entries remain locked. The user must fix the issues and submit again. Navigating to the Approval Status icon opens the pop-up with the details about the Approval.
When resubmitting, only rejected entries are sent for approval again.
Approving Time in the Approval Center
After the user clicks Submit, the reported time appears in the Approval Center (available in the navigation menu on the left).
Depending on the type of time reported, the Approvals are accepted or rejected by:
- Project/Non-Project time → Project Manager(s)
- Administrative time → Direct Manager(s)
- Administrators can see and process all requests
If multiple managers are assigned, all of them receive the request. However, only one needs to approve or reject it. Once one decision is made, the request is considered processed for everyone.
Approvers are determined at the moment of submission. If managers change later, the approval request is not reassigned automatically.
Inside the Approval Center, managers can see:
- The reporting period
- Current status
- The total hours submitted
- The project or administrative category
- Who submitted it
- Submission date
- Decision date
- Submission comments
Managers can select requests and approve or reject them directly from this page. They can open and review the detailed reported time before making a decision.
To approve or reject the submitted timesheet, the manager can select the required items in the list and click Approve or Reject.
When a manager approves:
- The request status becomes Approved
- The submitter receives an email
- If all entries in the period are approved, the entire period becomes Approved
- The timesheet is locked
No further edits are allowed unless an administrator recalls the approval.
When a manager rejects:
- A comment is required
- The request status becomes Rejected
- The submitter receives an email with the rejection comment
- The period status becomes Rejected
Email Notifications
On the Time Tracking Settings page, administrators can configure the approval reminders and their frequency.
- How often approvers receive reminders
- Overdue approval reminder frequency
- When approval requests become overdue
- How often users are reminded to submit timesheets
- When submission reminders start
- When timesheets are considered overdue
- Timesheet approval reminder notification schedule (browser timezone is used)
Once configured by the PPM Express Administrator, the system automatically sends emails in the following situations:
To Approvers:
- When a new approval request is submitted
- When requests are pending
- When requests become overdue
To Users:
- Reminder to submit timesheets
- Reminder about overdue timesheets
- Notification when time is approved
- Notification when time is rejected (including comments)
