Approval Flows

Understanding Approval Flows for Timesheets in Operating

Approval flows in Operating help ensure that submitted hours are reviewed by the right people before they are finalized. This is especially important when projects have different stakeholders, billing rules, or internal/external client requirements.

With approval flows, you can configure exactly who needs to approve timesheets and when, from project owners to managers or even specific group members, based on flexible rules.

Approval flows spread the responsibility of reviewing hours across the team, ensuring those with the most context approve them. This prevents last-minute scrambles for the finance team, reduces busywork, and makes the process more accurate and efficient.

How Approval Flows Are Configured

Approval flows can be set up to apply to specific projects based on following filters:

• Project parameters: Project Group, Project Site, Billing Type

• Person parameters: Person Group, Person Site

• Client Parameters: Client is internal, Client is not internal

Configuring Who Is Responsible for Approving Timesheets

When creating or editing an Approval Flow in Operating, you decide who should review and approve time entries before they are finalized.
This configuration is additive, meaning multiple approvers can be responsible, and if more than one person qualifies, any of them can approve.

If no one matches the configured criteria (e.g., a project has no project owner and no applicable manager/group approver), the hours will be automatically approved.

Based on the Project Owner

Assigns approval responsibility to the person listed as the Project Owner for any matching project. Use this if you want the person overseeing the project to approve all hours logged to it.
Some projects may not have an assigned owner. If so, this approver condition won’t apply.

Based on Reporting Structure

Assigns approval responsibility to the direct manager (and higher-level managers) of the person who submitted the hours, following the organization’s reporting structure. (This is based on the “reports to” field that can be enabled in settings, and added for each individual)
Useful if approvals should follow a manager–team member hierarchy. If a person does not have a manager in the system, this rule won’t apply. Managers’ managers can also approve.

Based on Group Membership

Assigns approval responsibility to members of a specific Group in Operating.
Ideal for setting a fixed set of people (not tied to project or reporting structure) to approve certain hours. For example, a “Finance” group might approve all billable hours. You can create a group with only the designated approvers for more control.

Examples of common approval flows

You can choose different approvers depending on your workflows. For example:

• Example 1: Project owners approve all hours for projects where the client is not internal.

• Example 2: Managers approve all hours for their team members for projects where the client is internal.

Naming the Approval Flow

Give your approval flow a clear, descriptive name so it’s easy to identify later, such as:

• Timesheets – External Projects

• Internal Projects – Manager Approval

• Sweden Office – All Hours

This flexibility lets you align approvals with your organization’s structure and billing rules, without forcing a one-size-fits-all process.

How the Approval Process Works

1. Consultant tracks and locks their timesheet
   Once a consultant has entered their hours for the week (or other reporting period), they lock their timesheet to signal that it’s ready for review.

2. Operating checks for approval requirements
   The system automatically detects whether an approval flow applies to the submitted time entries.

3. If no approval is required
   hours will be automatically approved

4. If approval is required
   The assigned approver (e.g., project owner, manager) receives a notification in the top navigation bar for New Hours to Approve.

5. Reviewing pending approvals
   Approvers can open the Approvals tab in the top navigation to see all pending timesheet entries awaiting their review.

6. Comparing actual vs. planned hours
   The approval screen shows the deviation (delta) between actual tracked hours and planned hours in the project timeline. This helps approvers make informed decisions.

7. Discuss, edit, and approve
   If something looks incorrect or unexpected, the approver can discuss it with the submitter, make necessary edits, and then approve the hours.

Why Use Approval Flows?

Approval flows add an extra layer of quality control and accountability. They help:

• Ensure billing accuracy for client work.

• Keep internal hours aligned with budgeted time.

• Maintain visibility for project owners and managers.

• Catch discrepancies early, before they affect invoices or reports.

• Have a more efficient month-end invoicing process