Approving Timesheets

Effective June 25, 2021, the Payroll Office deployed a new supervisor timesheet approvals process. The timesheet approval process takes place by email. This change takes one more task off the approver's plate to focus on the most important tasks.

If the approver supervises non-exempt employees, there must be a timesheet for each pay period to be approved.
If the approver supervises hourly/part-time employees, a timesheet will be issued if the employee worked any hours during the pay period.
If the approver supervises exempt employees, a timesheet will only be issued if the employee has used any leave-type hours.

Supervisors will receive the customary email reminder that timesheets are ready to be approved. The email will list the employee and hours reported. The approver can now approve directly within the email without having to log in to Banner Self-Service unless corrections are necessary.

This process provides the approver with alerts to help ensure that all required timesheets have been approved. It outlines the errors that may require action by the approver or the employee.

Timesheet Policy (DOC)Training for Timesheet Approval by Email (ppsx)

Tips & Guidance for Approving Timesheets

Getting Set Up as an Approver

If you are having trouble accessing the system, please contact HR for training by sending an email to [[askhr]].

Approver Responsibilities

As an approver you are responsible for approving time submitted by each employee reporting to you. You do not have to wait until the published deadlines to review and approve a time sheet that has already being submitted by your employee. You are able to approve at any time using self-service.

Employee Does Not Appear in your Approval Queue

If you can’t yet see your employee on your reports to list, you will need to contact HR to report the problem. Reporting relationships must be created and updated by the HR team by sending an email to [[askhr]].

Deadline to Approve Time

Supervisor deadline to approve timesheets is 10 a.m. on the 10th and 25th of each month. Employees must submit the timesheet for your approval no later than 6 p.m. the prior day. However, if the employee submits his/her timesheet before 6 p.m., you can review and approve as soon as it has been submitted. Please ask your employees to notify you once they have submitted or check periodically to see if timesheets are in your queue awaiting approval. This will prevent the last-minute rush to approval all timesheets on the due date.

In addition, please note that if the 10th or the 25th fall on a weekend or holiday, the deadline to approve is generally the next business day (with exceptions in November and December as published on the Payroll Processing Calendar). If the deadline has passed you will not be able to approve the timesheet. You must approve those timesheets by responding to the email sent from [[timesheets]] requesting confirmation of hours paid.

Approving Time

You must hit the “approve” button in order to approve a time sheet. The timesheet Queue Status will go from Pending Approval to Approved. You must complete this action for all employees before 10 a.m. on the payroll approval day.

Correcting Time

You may send the time sheet back to your employees for corrections prior to approval day. The employee won’t be able to make changes to the time sheet on approval day. In the event that you see an error on the time sheet, you, as the employer are able to make corrections directly on the time sheet and approve those changes. You should enter comments to support any changes made to the timesheet. If you approved the time sheet with errors; you will be unable to make changes. Please let Payroll know what changes are needed by sending an email to [[payofc]]. Payroll may be able to correct the time sheet on payroll processing day; if unable to do so, Payroll will offer guidance on how to make corrections on a manual timesheet.

Understanding Time Status

After the employee enters the time and submits it for approval, the Queue Status says “Pending Approval”. Once the supervisor has approved the time, the Queue Status is updated to “Approved.”

Understanding a Proxy

There are times when you are unavailable to approve time. We encourage ALL approvers to set up a proxy to act on their behalf and to approve the time sheets assigned. Proxies must be set up in advance, and you can designate more than one proxy if need be. A proxy assumes your approval responsibilities. Make sure you communicate with your proxy whenever you require them to approve timesheets on your behalf. Your proxy must have access in Banner HR to your ORG in order to view and approve those timesheets. If you are unsure about an individual's HR access, please send an email to [[askhr]] requesting clarification.

Errors Requiring Additional Action

The non-exempt employee did not submit a timesheet as required each pay period
If an employee requests leave more than the available leave
The timesheet has started, but the employee has not submitted for approval
The error has occurred within the approving process
Confirmation that the timesheet was returned to the employee
The timesheet was approved in Self-Service before the supervisor reviewed the email