Setting up approvals

If your organization requires that employee timesheets, expense sheets, and time off bookings be approved, you will need to:

Set up approval paths that specify who approves items and in what sequence
Choose the default timesheet, time off, and expense approval paths, as applicable, that are assigned to all newly created users
Check that approvers are assigned the permissions they need to carry out approvals
Configure approval-related notifications
Assign approval paths and approval-related notifications to users in their user profiles
Optionally, set up a notice for approvers to see when they are approving timesheets

For more information on approvals, refer to How approvals work.

Setting up approval paths

Refer to Setting up approval paths for information on that topic.

Setting default approval paths

A Supervisor approval path is assigned to new users by default for all types of approval paths (timesheet, expense, and time off).

You can change the default to your most commonly-assigned path. To do this:

Go to the administration page for the type of path you want to change the default for, either:

Administration > Timesheets > Timesheet Approval Paths,
Administration > Expenses > Expense Approval Paths, or
Administration > Time Off > Time Off Approval Paths

Click the path name in the Default Approval Path field at the top of the page.
Choose a new path from the drop-down in the window that displays.

Setting up approval permissions

Approval permissions are defined in the approver’s assigned supervisor, project management, or client representative permission set, as applicable.

Ensure each user who is included in an approval path has the appropriate approval permissions assigned. Approvers will need Approve permission to complete approvals. You can also allow all approvers except client representatives to edit items they approve, and all approvers to reject items without including rejection comments.

Update approvals at Administration > Employees and Organization > Permission Sets . Assign permission sets to users on the Roles & Permissions page in user profiles.

If you set up the Show Notice when Approving permission, a notice will display in the confirmation dialog when supervisors approve timesheets. Refer to Setting up approval notices for more information.

Setting up approval notifications

Polaris includes several approval notifications that can alert users when items are awaiting their approval or when their items are due. These can help ensure approvals are completed in a timely manner.

For approvers, you can send automatic email or mobile notifications that notify them:

When an item is awaiting their approval
When their timesheet and expense approvals are due or overdue

For employees, you can set up mobile or email notifications that alert them:

When their timesheets are due or overdue
When their timesheets, expense sheets, or time off bookings have been approved, rejected, or modified

To set up notifications, enable the ones you want to use at Administration > Notification System > Email Notifications or Administration > Notifications System > Notifications. Assign applicable notifications to users on the Notifications page of user profiles.

Setting up approval notices

You may have the option to display a notice to supervisors when they approve timesheets. Notices are defined in the supervisor's permission set.

The notice will display when the approver is prompted for comments.

FAQs

What does the Override Validation permission for time off approvals in Supervisor permission sets mean?

When creating or editing a booking on behalf of one of their reports, a supervisor assigned this permission can submit the booking even if it triggers validation errors. For example, the supervisor could overdraw the time off balance beyond the overdraw limit allowed in the assigned time off policy.

Can I set items to be approved automatically?

Yes. Select the Automatic Approver option when assigning a timesheet, time off, or expense approval path in user profiles, and the items will be approved automatically when they're submitted.

Can I have a substitute make my approvals for me?

Yes. See Assigning a substitute user for more information.

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