Overview
Approve timesheets is the manager hub for reviewing submitted time, exporting hours for payroll, and locking completed pay periods.
Warning: Dirt Face tracks time and estimated burdened labor cost for job costing — it does not run payroll. See Time export for QuickBooks sync vs payroll CSV.
Where in the app: Manage → Approve timesheets
Open: Approve timesheets
Who can access: Account owner, App Admin, users with Manager job role, or anyone granted timesheet approval permission. Requires Crew plan or higher plan and Operations portal enabled.
Configure pay periods and export defaults under Timesheets settings.
Dashboard widgets
At the top of the page, stats for the selected week:
| Widget | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Open clocks | Workers still clocked in |
| Pending approval | Submitted hours awaiting action |
| Not submitted | Employees with no submission this period |
| QBO blocked | Approved entries with unmapped QuickBooks employees |
A banner shows when a pay period is closed through a date (entries on or before that date cannot be edited).
Review and approve
Use the week arrows to browse pay weeks (aligned to Week starts on in settings).
Pending approval lists submitted entries. For each entry or in bulk:
| Action | Effect |
|---|---|
| Approve | Locks entry; posts labor to job costing; triggers QBO TimeActivity sync when enabled |
| Approve all | Bulk-approve visible pending entries |
| Reject | Returns entry to draft with optional reason |
| Edit | Correct hours while not in a closed period |
| Add time | Manager-added entry for missing time |
Watch for Long hours — review flags on unusual entries.
Time export (manual download)
The Time export panel downloads reports for the selected period. No automatic email — managers export when ready. See the full Time export guide.
Period presets
Daily · Weekly · Biweekly · Twice monthly (1st & 15th) · Monthly · Custom date range
Report types
| Report | Use |
|---|---|
| Summary | Payroll handoff — one row per employee: regular hrs, OT hrs, total, optional burdened labor cost, PTO hrs |
| Detail | Audit — one row per entry with job, function, entry method, regular/OT split |
| Daily | Employee × day grid |
| Exceptions | Open clocks, unapproved entries, long hours, manager-added pending, QBO-unmapped approved |
| QBO sync status | Which approved entries synced, blocked, or pending |
Filters and downloads
- Status: Approved (default), Submitted, or All
- Employee: Optional single-employee filter
- Download CSV — all report types
- Download PDF — Summary and Daily only
Summary CSV uses the payroll template (Generic, Gusto, ADP, Paychex) from Timesheets settings.
Close pay period
After payroll is processed, use Close pay period to set the last date of the locked range. Entries on or before that date cannot be edited or corrected.
Typical end-of-period checklist:
- Clear exceptions (open clocks, unsubmitted employees)
- Approve valid entries
- Fix QBO blocked employee mappings if using time sync
- Download Summary CSV for payroll
- Close pay period
QuickBooks TimeActivity
When QuickBooks job costing sync includes Time cards (TimeActivity), approved entries push after approval. Map employees and jobs under Business Settings → Integrations → QuickBooks.
Use the QBO sync status export to find approved entries that could not sync.