Request approval
Approval-request emails identify the hirer, agency user, or worker who requested approval. Individual request subjects include the timesheet reference: Name has requested approval for timesheet (reference). Bulk request subjects show the count: Name has requested approval for 9 timesheets. Timesheet details remain in the email body.
For hirers and agencies requesting approval, both single and bulk requests follow the hiring company's approver settings. With Specific timesheet approvers off, active, verified project approvers and requestors with timesheet approval permission are eligible for notifications. With it on, eligible recipients must also be listed as timesheet approvers on the assignment. Email and browser notification preferences still apply.
Hirers configure Timesheet Request Approval separately from Timesheet Adjustment in company Agency Actions. Projects can override who may request approval. Agency users can request approval when supplier access is enabled; hirer users need company or project access. Existing user permissions still apply to both single and bulk requests. Allowing requests does not allow agencies to amend timesheets, and allowing amendments does not allow requests.
Request approval from the Pending tab or the timesheet detail page when the timesheet has a positive combined charge, approved expense, and pending expense value and the action is available. Hirers and agencies with request permission can submit a zero-hour timesheet containing only pending expenses; the expenses do not need separate approval first. The timesheet moves to Require Approval.
Recipient selection is available only for hiring companies included in the trial. For other companies, approval requests notify all eligible approvers automatically, excluding the requester and respecting notification preferences.
For hirers and agencies requesting approval, the requester is excluded from notification recipients. When 5 or fewer eligible approvers remain, all are notified automatically, subject to their notification preferences.
Hiring companies can enable Choose notification recipients in company configuration under Timesheets → Approval Settings. This defaults to off; when off, hirer and agency approval requests notify all eligible approvers. When enabled and 6 or more eligible approvers remain, select between 1 and 5 people to notify before submitting. The selection applies to both email and in-app approval-request notifications and does not change who can approve.
For bulk requests, timesheets with the same eligible approvers share a selection. Groups with 5 or fewer eligible approvers are notified automatically. Cancelling the selection leaves the timesheets unchanged.
Approve
Approve from the Require Approval tab row menu, bulk action menu, or the detail page Actions menu. The confirmation dialog reminds approvers that the hours will be used for invoicing and that unapproved expenses will be automatically approved.
On the detail page, hirers with approval permission can approve eligible timesheets even when rate access controls hide financial values. The timesheet must be awaiting approval, contain timelogs, and have a positive combined charge, approved expense, and pending expense value. Approving a zero-hour timesheet also approves its pending expenses. Required PO checks still apply. Agencies requesting approval do not need to expose rates to the hirer's approver.
Individual approval emails sent to the requester and agency, and to the worker when enabled, include the timesheet reference and project name in the subject: Timesheet (GAN-T43) approved - Project name.
Bulk approve
Use Bulk Approve on the Require Approval tab. Select eligible rows, then confirm. Rows can be unavailable when the user lacks approval permission, a required PO is invalid, the timesheet is not in the right status, or validation fails.
Worker SMS approval notifications
When SMS approval notifications are enabled, approvals are queued into an hourly digest for each worker and hiring company. Approvals from both individual and bulk actions are combined with eligible expense approval notifications, so the worker receives one combined approval SMS for that company in each hourly run. Timesheet-only messages show the reference for one timesheet or a count for multiple timesheets. Mixed timesheet and expense approvals use a single count summary, followed by a short View link when portal access is enabled. A timesheet that is unapproved before the digest is sent is excluded from the message.
Reject
Reject is available to approvers on timesheets requiring approval. The user must enter a comment. Rejection moves the timesheet back to pending so amendments can be made.
Recall
Recall is available to agency users with recall permission where supplier-side timesheet adjustment is allowed. Recall requires a comment and moves the timesheet back to pending.
Unapprove
Unapprove is available for approved timesheets when the user has approval permission and the timesheet is not linked to an invoice or AfP, including an MSP-to-client invoice. Unapproving returns the timesheet and timelogs to pending and clears the approval date and approver.
Validation blockers
Mandatory PO rules can block approval if the timesheet lacks a valid PO.
Cost-code rules can block approval if worked hours are not fully allocated.
Already approved, absent, cancelled, invoiced, or AfP-linked records can block specific actions.
Specific approver restrictions can prevent non-exempt users from viewing or acting on a timesheet.
For agencies: your part in approvals
Approval is the hiring company's decision, but agencies still play a part in getting timesheets ready and correcting them.
You can request approval for your workers' pending timesheets when the action is available, which sends them to the hiring company's approver.
Approving, rejecting, and unapproving are normally hiring-company actions, so you would not usually see these for the company's timesheets.
If a timesheet is awaiting approval and needs a correction, use Recall where you hold recall permission and supplier-side adjustment is allowed; recall moves it back to pending so you can amend it.
If the hiring company rejects a timesheet, it returns to pending with their comment so you can fix the hours or expenses and request approval again.