Approve, unapprove, and reject timesheets

Learn how to approve, unapprove, or reject timesheets for QuickBooks Time and QuickBooks Online. 

If you have QuickBooks Online Essentials, QuickBooks Online Plus, QuickBooks Online Advanced, QuickBooks Online Accountant, or QuickBooks Online Payroll Premium or QuickBooks Online Payroll Elite, you can approve time there. 

In this article, you'll learn how to:

• Approve timesheets
• Unapprove or reject timesheets
• Add a timesheet using the approvals report
• Edit or delete a timesheet using the approvals report

Approve timesheets

Note: If you want to give your team members permission to submit their time for approval, set this up in QuickBooks Time. 

In QuickBooks Online 

1. Go to All apps , then Time, then Approvals.
2. Find the time you want to approve. Change the Date range or filter the Status to Unapproved to view unapproved timesheets. You can also search the specific team member.
3. Select Approve next to the team member's time, then Approve and lock time to confirm.
   • If you want to make sure the info is correct before approving the time, select the team member’s name you want to review. Then select Approve time, and select Approve and lock time.

In QuickBooks Time

1. Go to Approvals.
   1. If you want to change the total hours worked format from decimal to HH:MM (hours and minutes), select HH:MM.
2. Select the report dates, team members, and select Run Report.
3. Select either Select all unapproved, or select individual team members.
4. Select Approve Selected.
5. Alternatively, select Approve next to the team member's name individually.

Note: Approving the displayed hours approves and locks all time data up to and including the chosen report dates.

Unapprove or reject timesheets

In QuickBooks Online

1. Go to All apps , then Time, then Approvals.
2. Find the time you want to Unapprove. Change the Date range or filter the Status to Approved to view approved timesheets. You can also search the specific team member.
3. Select Unapprove next to the team member’s time you want to unapprove. 
4. Select Unapprove and unlock time to confirm.

In QuickBooks Time

1. Go to Approvals.
2. Select the report dates, team members, and select Run Report.
3. To unapprove the team member's timesheet, select Unapprove.
   • If the time has already been exported, it will need to be separately unlocked if accessing from within QB Time. Note that you can only unlock time up to 90 days in the past.
     1. In QuickBooks Time, from the QuickBooks ▼ dropdown, select Unlock Exported Time.
     2. Choose a Start Date and an End Date.
     3. Select All employees to select which employees you want to unlock time for.
     4. Review the timesheets, then select Unlock Timesheets.
     5. In the notice that displays, select Confirm unlock.
4. To reject it, select Reject.
5. Enter the reason for the rejection, and select Send.

Note: Unapproving or rejecting the displayed hours unlocks all hours from the present back to and including the displayed report dates.

Add a timesheet using the approvals report

In QuickBooks Online

1. Go to All apps , then Time, then Approvals.
2. Find the team member you want to review and add time for. Change Date range or search a team member to display their timesheets.
3. Select the team member’s name.
4. Select Add time, fill in the timesheet details, then Save.

In QuickBooks Time

1. Go to Approvals.
2. Select the report dates, team members, and select Run Report.
3. At the right under the hours, select view details.
4. On the left, select Add timesheet.
5. In the Timesheet Editor, enter the information, and select Save.

Note: The date range must be in the "unapproved" state to add more time.

Edit or delete a timesheet using the approvals report

In QuickBooks Online

1. Go to All apps , then Time, then Approvals.
2. Find the team member you want to review and edit. Change Date range or search a team member to display their timesheets.
3. Select the team member’s name you want to edit or delete time for.
4. Next to the timesheet you want to edit or delete:
   1. To edit: Select Edit, make your changes, then select Save. 
   2. To delete: Select Expand Menu , then select Delete, and select Yes to confirm.

In QuickBooks Time

1. Go to Approvals.
2. At the right, under the hours, select view details.
3. Do one of the following:
   • To edit: Select Edit , make the changes, and then Save.
   • To delete: Select Delete , then Delete again to confirm.

Note: A timesheet must be in the "unapproved" state to edit or delete the time.