Approving or rejecting items

You’ll need to approve timesheets, time off bookings, or expense sheets if you’re assigned to be an approver for any of these items.

Knowing when an item is awaiting your approval

If an item is awaiting your approval:

You will receive a notification stating an item is waiting for your approval (assuming your administrator has set up these automatic notifications for you)
The item will appear on the My Team > Approvals page

Knowing what to look for when approving items

Refer to your organization’s policies regarding carrying out approvals if you’re not sure what you should be looking for.

In general, your role is to check that submitted items are accurate before approving them:

When approving timesheets, be sure to review hours submitted, along with the project/task or activity they were entered against, and comments the item’s owner entered
When approving expenses, ensure you examine the itemized list of expenses, particularly their type, billable status, the amount of each, and whether or not they are reimbursable
When approving time off bookings, ensure the employee’s work can be covered during the time off period they’ve requested

How to approve items

To approve or reject an item:

Go to My Team > Approvals.

All items awaiting your approval display, organized under Timesheets, Time Off Booking, and Expenses headings, as applicable.

View the item you want to approve by clicking the name of the item’s owner.

Review the content of the item.
Click Approve or Reject.

Or, if you're approving timesheet entries, ensure the entries you want to approve are selected:

Then, click the Approve X Time Entry/s button. X will be replaced with the number of entries selected.

You can't edit when approving time entries.

Use the arrows in the top, right-hand corner of each timesheet to easily move to the next timesheet without returning to the list page.

You can mass approve items on the My Work > Approvals page by selecting the check box next to each item, and clicking Approve. However, you should typically open and view details of an item before approving it; many organizations have policies that require this of approvers.

FAQs

Can I edit the item before approving it?

You may be able to, depending on what permissions you’ve been assigned.

Am I the only one who approves the item?

Not necessarily. Multiple approvers can be assigned to approve an item. Approvers can be the item owner’s supervisor or another named supervisor in the system.

Or, in the case of timesheets and expense sheets, a project manager or client representative associated with a project the owner worked on can be assigned as an approver. In this case, the approver may only be able to see data associated with the project they are connected to.

How are users notified that their item was approved or rejected?

Employees will typically receive a notification if their item is rejected, and may receive one if their item is approved (especially in the case of time off bookings and expense sheets). They can also view the status of their items in Polaris.

How do I communicate the reason why I rejected an item to its owner?

When you reject an item, you’ll be prompted to enter comments. You can include your reason for rejection here.

These comments will display in the Approval Details table at the bottom of the item, and in the email the timesheet owner receives, notifying them that the item was rejected.

How quickly must I approve items?

Approving items quickly promotes accuracy, so you should aim to approve items soon after receiving them. Your organization may have specific policies regarding approval time limits, and may have set up automated emails that notify you when timesheet and expense sheet approvals are due or overdue.

How can I see timesheets and expenses I previously approved?

You can view approved items belonging to your direct reports and others whose items you approve on the My Work > Timesheets, My Work > Time Off, and My Work > Expenses pages. Filter by Approved status to see approved items only.

How do I see time entries I previously approved?

To view time entries on the the Team > Timesheets page, you need to select Time Entries from the View By field, located in the top, right-hand corner of the page.

How can I tell who hasn’t submitted their timesheet?

You may receive an automatically-generated email that lists all users who didn’t submit their timesheet on time. You can also view timesheets by timesheet period and the Not Submitted approval status on the My Work > Timesheets page, or in timesheet reports – such as the Timesheet Period Details report – to find overdue items.

How can I assign someone else to approve for me while I'm away?

You can assign a substitute user who can temporarily access your account and approve items on your behalf.

How can I see data for my projects while approving?

If you are approving as a project manager, you can edit the settings on the My Work > Approvals page to show totals for your projects. Enable the My Projects columns to see these totals.

Additionally, if you are using our latest notifications system, your administrator can configure the approval notification to include totals for your projects.

If I approve all time entries on a timesheet, is the whole timesheet approved?

No. Time entry and timesheet approval are separate workflows. Timesheets still need to be approved, even after all entries have been approved. Similarly, a timesheet can be approved while entries are still awaiting approval.

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