How Costpoint Timesheet Approval Works
The approval workflow generally begins when an employee completes and submits a timesheet for the applicable work period. The designated supervisor or approver then reviews the entries before approving or returning them for correction.
- Employee entry: Employees record hours against the appropriate projects, tasks, charge codes, and other required fields.
- Submission: The completed timesheet is submitted through the configured Costpoint workflow.
- Review: An authorized approver verifies hours, project assignments, charge codes, and supporting information.
- Correction: If information needs to be updated, the timesheet can be returned to the employee according to organizational procedures.
- Approval: Once validated, the approver authorizes the timesheet for downstream labor and accounting processes.
The specific routing depends on organizational configuration, employee assignments, project structures, approval authority, and applicable policies.
What Approvers Review
Timesheet approval is more than confirming that an employee entered a number of hours. The reviewer should determine whether the time is properly associated with the work performed and whether the resulting labor costs will flow to the correct financial and project records.
A practical review considers the employee, reporting period, hours worked, project or task, charge code, indirect or direct classification, and any required explanations. Approvers may also verify that unusual entries, overtime, leave, or adjustments comply with applicable organizational policies.
Accurate coding is particularly important because approved labor can ultimately feed project costing and financial reporting. Similar controls are used in invoice workflows, where capture, validation, matching, GL coding, approval, and posting must align with the chart of accounts to support accurate accounting records.
Approval Workflow and Controls
A Timesheet Approval Workflow defines how submitted time moves from an employee to the appropriate reviewer and, where applicable, through additional approval levels. Organizations can establish routing based on department, project, employee role, supervisor, or other business rules.
Approval controls should clearly establish who can approve time and under what circumstances. Separation between time entry and approval can provide an important control because the person reviewing the hours is able to validate the employee's submission independently.
Organizations can also apply configurable workflow principles used elsewhere in finance. A Flexible Workflow can tailor routing according to department, role, or threshold, while Flexible Vendor Workflows demonstrate how approval steps and thresholds can be customized across teams and departments.
Timesheet Approval and Project Accounting
Approved labor hours can become an important input into project accounting. For organizations managing multiple contracts, tasks, or cost centers, accurate timesheet approval helps ensure labor is assigned to the intended project structure before costs are incorporated into project reporting.
Procurement approval follows a related principle. Requisitions and a purchase order may require authorization before commitments enter the procure-to-pay process. The Purchase Order Approval Process: Policies & Routing 2025 similarly illustrates how approval matrices, routing rules, and authorization levels can structure procurement decisions.
Keeping these approval processes aligned helps finance teams maintain consistent authorization practices across labor, procurement, invoices, and other transactions.
Timesheet Approval and Accrual Accounting
Approved time can also contribute to period-end labor accruals when employees have worked during a reporting period but the related payroll or accounting entry is processed later. Finance teams need timely information about submitted and approved hours to support appropriate cut-off and expense recognition.
Manual Accruals provide a structured way to enter accrual information, follow approval workflows, and integrate the resulting data with ERP systems. For organizations using AI-supported finance processes, Agentic AI for Accrual Approval Workflows can apply policy-driven routing based on business unit, department, and approval thresholds.
This connection between timesheet approval and accrual management helps finance teams maintain a clearer relationship between work performed, labor expense, project costs, and period-end reporting.
Approval Visibility and Supporting Systems
Effective approval processes benefit from clear visibility into submitted, pending, returned, and approved transactions. Managers need to know which timesheets require action, while finance teams need reliable status information for payroll, project accounting, and closing activities.
A Vendor Portal illustrates the same visibility principle in another finance workflow by providing access to payment, invoice, and approval status information. Although vendor approvals and employee timesheets serve different purposes, both benefit from transparent workflow status and clearly assigned responsibilities.
Organizations should also distinguish timesheet approval from other approval activities such as invoice approval. Invoice workflows focus on validating supplier charges and authorizing payments, whereas timesheet approval primarily validates employee labor information and its project or accounting treatment.
Best Practices for Costpoint Timesheet Approval
A consistent approval process improves the reliability of labor information used throughout finance and project operations. Organizations can establish clear expectations for employees and approvers while using workflow controls to support timely review.
- Set clear submission deadlines for each timekeeping period.
- Define approval responsibility for every employee and project assignment.
- Review project, task, and charge-code accuracy before approval.
- Require explanations or supporting information for applicable adjustments.
- Monitor pending and returned timesheets before period-end close.
- Use a Timesheet Approval Checklist to standardize recurring review procedures.
- Apply specialized controls where industry requirements call for them, including workflows supported by Legal Timesheet Software.
Summary
Costpoint Timesheet Approval is the controlled review and authorization of employee time entries before approved labor information flows into payroll, project costing, billing, accruals, and financial reporting. A well-defined process establishes responsibility, validates coding and project assignments, supports period-end accuracy, and provides visibility into the status of labor transactions. Consistent approval practices help finance and project teams maintain reliable labor records and stronger financial performance reporting.