A timesheet approval workflow for consultancies: who approves what, and when
The right approver for a timesheet entry is the person who knows whether the work happened: usually the project lead for that client, not the line manager. A workflow that assigns approvers per client, falls back to a named backup, clears pending entries daily in bulk and locks the month after invoicing is the one that keeps invoices defensible and payroll on time.
CrewClock team20 October 2026 5 min read
Who should approve
Two models work. Approver per client: the lead on each account approves every entry logged against that client, whoever logged it. Approver per person: a manager approves everything their reports log. In practice consultancies need both, with the client lead taking precedence because they can judge the description and the hours.
Whoever approves must not be able to approve their own entries. The owner's own time goes to a second approver or is auto-approved with a visible flag.
The backup approver
Approvals stop when the approver is on leave, which is exactly when a backlog builds. Name a backup per approver. When the primary has approved leave for a date, pending entries for that date route to the backup automatically; nobody has to remember to reassign.
Daily, in bulk
An approver should spend five minutes a day, not two days a month. That needs one view of every pending entry across the team, grouped by client, with an approve-all for the clean ones. Reject the few that need a better description or the wrong client, with a reason the person sees, and move on.
What to reject, and what not to
Rejections should be rare and specific. Good reasons:
- Wrong client or ticket, which would put the hours on the wrong invoice.
- A description the client would not understand.
- Hours on a day the person was on approved leave or a holiday.
The month lock
Once a month has been invoiced and payroll finalised, the entries in it should not change. A period lock makes the month read-only for everyone, with a reopen action that is logged. Corrections then go through a reopen, a change and a re-lock, and the activity log shows who did what.
How CrewClock does it
CrewClock assigns approvers per client and per person, with a backup approver used automatically during the primary's approved leave. Approvers get one pending view with bulk approve and rejection reasons. The period lock closes a month after payroll is finalised, and every approval, rejection, lock and reopen is in the activity log with an undo for edits.
Frequently asked
- Should timesheets be approved weekly or daily?
- Entries can be approved as they arrive; the person submits by day or week, the approver clears the queue daily. Weekly submission with daily approval is the common pattern.
- What if an approver leaves the company?
- Reassign their clients and people to a new approver; pending entries move with the assignment. Historic approvals stay under the old name in the log.
- Can a resource see why an entry was rejected?
- Yes, the reason is shown on the entry and in a notification, and the entry goes back to draft for correction.
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