Timesheet approval workflow

A timesheet approval workflow that leaves a record.

A timesheet approval workflow is the step where a manager checks a week of hours and signs off before anything reaches payroll. In ZeroBadge the week is built from badge records and the exceptions are listed. Corrections need a reason and keep an audit trail, workers can request one from the optional portal, and the approved week is kept as a PDF that cannot be changed.

Get started See the week in order

Exceptions listed, not hunted
Every correction logged with a reason
Weekly PDF kept unchangeable

ZeroBadgeTimesheetsExceptions

Timesheets

Generated

Shifts

120

Recorded

Open items

Before payroll

Late start · Hannah P. · Harbor Yard
Mon Oct 5 · Clocked in 7:24 AM; crew start 7:00 AM (24 min after).
Corrected
Late start · Connor J. · Northgate
Wed Oct 7 · Clocked in 6:52 AM; crew start 6:30 AM (22 min after).
Corrected
Missing clock-out · Ivan B. · Harbor Yard
Thu Oct 8 · No clock-out recorded. Shift closed at the last badge report (2:55 PM) pending supervisor review.
Needs review
Late start · Kenji H. · Riverside
Thu Oct 8 · Clocked in 7:18 AM; crew start 7:00 AM (18 min after).
Needs review
Early finish · Olivia V. · Northgate
Fri Oct 9 · Clocked out 12:15 PM; scheduled finish 1:30 PM (75 min before).
Needs review

Approved hours go to

Your payroll provider
CSVexport
Excelexport
PDFexport

The week in order

From a generated week to an approved one takes five steps and one decision.

The sheets run Saturday to Friday by default. The steps below are the review. Who does each one depends on the roles you set up.

01
The week is generated
The Saturday-to-Friday sheet exists for every worker without anyone typing a line. Open days are shown as in progress until they close.
System · Saturday
02
Exceptions are cleared
Supervisors work through the items for their own sites: a missing clock-out, a late start, an early finish, time outside approved sites. Each is accepted as recorded or corrected.
Supervisor · Monday
03
Worker requests are answered
If you have switched on the worker portal, requests for a correction come in with the worker's reason. The reviewer checks the badge record and accepts, edits or declines.
Reviewer · as they arrive
04
A manager approves
The manager reviews the week as a whole and approves it. That is the one signature the process needs.
Manager · once per week
05
Hours go to payroll
Approved hours are sent to your payroll provider. The weekly PDF is stored as a version that does not change.
System · on approval

What lands on the exceptions list

Four kinds of exception, and the decision each one asks for.

The list only shows what departs from the pattern. A clean week is a short list, and sometimes an empty one.

Four kinds of exception, and the decision each one asks for.
Exception	What the reviewer sees	The usual decision
Missing clock-out	The badge kept reporting after the shift should have ended, often from outside every approved site.	Set the real end time with a reason such as "left on in truck." The original run stays on file.
Late start	Power-on after the worker's scheduled start plus the grace period.	Accept it and note it, or correct it if the badge was switched on late for a reason.
Early finish	Power-off, or the last reading at a site, well before the scheduled end.	Accept it, or ask the supervisor whether the crew was released early.
Time outside approved sites	Minutes while the badge was outside every location you have drawn.	Decide whether it was a supply run you should draw as a location, or time to question.

Missing clock-out
What the reviewer sees
The badge kept reporting after the shift should have ended, often from outside every approved site.
The usual decision
Set the real end time with a reason such as "left on in truck." The original run stays on file.
Late start
What the reviewer sees
Power-on after the worker's scheduled start plus the grace period.
The usual decision
Accept it and note it, or correct it if the badge was switched on late for a reason.
Early finish
What the reviewer sees
Power-off, or the last reading at a site, well before the scheduled end.
The usual decision
Accept it, or ask the supervisor whether the crew was released early.
Time outside approved sites
What the reviewer sees
Minutes while the badge was outside every location you have drawn.
The usual decision
Decide whether it was a supply run you should draw as a location, or time to question.

Time off recorded in the worker portal or by the office is left out of late and missed-day checks, so a day off is never an exception.

One correction, field by field

A correction is an edit that keeps the thing it replaced.

Nothing is silently edited. This is the record a reviewer would open if an owner, an auditor or a worker asked what changed on a given Thursday.

A correction is an edit that keeps the thing it replaced.
What is stored	Example	Why it matters
Original reading	Badge powered off at 5:12 PM, after a drive home with it still on.	The first record is never overwritten.
Corrected value	Shift end set to 3:30 PM.	The sheet and the payroll hours use this value.
Reason	"Forgot to power off, left site at 3:30."	A reason is required, so a bare edit cannot be saved.
Who and when	The supervisor's account, Monday 8:05 AM.	The edit is attributable and dated.

Original reading
Example
Badge powered off at 5:12 PM, after a drive home with it still on.
Why it matters
The first record is never overwritten.
Corrected value
Example
Shift end set to 3:30 PM.
Why it matters
The sheet and the payroll hours use this value.
Reason
Example
"Forgot to power off, left site at 3:30."
Why it matters
A reason is required, so a bare edit cannot be saved.
Who and when
Example
The supervisor's account, Monday 8:05 AM.
Why it matters
The edit is attributable and dated.

Three scenarios

The review on a real Monday, a worker request and a change after approval.

Names and times are illustrative. Each step is something the product does.

The review on a real Monday, a worker request and a change after approval.
When and who	What happened	What the process does
Monday 7:30 AM. Site supervisor	Opens the week for the two sites he runs. Four exceptions: one missing clock-out, two late starts, one block of time outside approved sites.	He clears the clock-out with a reason, notes the late starts and finds the outside time was a supply house run. He asks the office to draw that supplier as a location so it stops flagging.
Tuesday 9:15 AM. Apprentice, through the worker portal	His badge went flat at 1:40 PM on Thursday and he worked on until 3:30. He requests a correction for the missing 1 hour 50 minutes with that reason.	The request reaches the reviewer. The badge record shows its last report at 1:40 PM. The reviewer corrects the end to 3:30 PM, writes why and keeps the original reading. The apprentice sees his own corrected hours in the portal.
Tuesday 11:00 AM. Office manager	Approves the week. On Wednesday she finds a correction was missed on one worker.	She makes the correction with a reason and the week is regenerated. The first PDF is marked superseded and stays on file. The new version is the current one.

Monday 7:30 AM. Site supervisor
What happened
Opens the week for the two sites he runs. Four exceptions: one missing clock-out, two late starts, one block of time outside approved sites.
What the process does
He clears the clock-out with a reason, notes the late starts and finds the outside time was a supply house run. He asks the office to draw that supplier as a location so it stops flagging.
Tuesday 9:15 AM. Apprentice, through the worker portal
What happened
His badge went flat at 1:40 PM on Thursday and he worked on until 3:30. He requests a correction for the missing 1 hour 50 minutes with that reason.
What the process does
The request reaches the reviewer. The badge record shows its last report at 1:40 PM. The reviewer corrects the end to 3:30 PM, writes why and keeps the original reading. The apprentice sees his own corrected hours in the portal.
Tuesday 11:00 AM. Office manager
What happened
Approves the week. On Wednesday she finds a correction was missed on one worker.
What the process does
She makes the correction with a reason and the week is regenerated. The first PDF is marked superseded and stays on file. The new version is the current one.

The badge reports about every 5 minutes, so a dead battery leaves a clear last report to check a request against. A low-battery alert is raised at 25% by default.

Four ways to approve a week

The approval step is only worth something if it can be reviewed later.

How each method handles review, change and proof
Compare	ZeroBadgeExceptions, approval, locked PDF	Paper sign-offForeman and PM sign the sheet	Spreadsheet by emailSent, edited, sent back	Time app with approvalApprove entries in the app
What the approver looks at	The exceptions list, with the badge record behind each item.	Every line, with nothing to check it against.	Every cell, with nothing to check it against.	Entries workers made or punches they took.
How a correction is made	A reason is required and the original reading is kept.	A cross-out or an initial.	An overwritten cell.	Varies by app.
A worker disputes a day	Requested in the optional portal, answered with the record.	A conversation, remembered differently by both.	An email thread.	Possible in the app, if enabled.
After approval	The weekly PDF is kept unchangeable. A change is a logged correction and a new version.	The sheet in the file. Anyone can add to it.	The version someone saved last.	Locked or not, depending on the app.

Compare ZeroBadge with

How each method handles review, change and proof: ZeroBadge compared with Paper
ZeroBadge	Paper
What the approver looks at
The exceptions list, with the badge record behind each item.	Every line, with nothing to check it against.
How a correction is made
A reason is required and the original reading is kept.	A cross-out or an initial.
A worker disputes a day
Requested in the optional portal, answered with the record.	A conversation, remembered differently by both.
After approval
The weekly PDF is kept unchangeable. A change is a logged correction and a new version.	The sheet in the file. Anyone can add to it.

The tradeoff

Paper sign-off works for a small crew whose foreman sees everyone every day. The weakness shows when the foreman signs for people on another site, and a signature then says the sheet was read, not that the hours are right.

What approval does and does not do

What a manager signs, and what they still have to judge.

Who approves
A manager. Roles are admin, supervisor and worker, and supervisors see their assigned sites. Decide up front who reviews exceptions and who gives the one weekly approval.
What approval locks
The week's hours are marked approved, an approved week is skipped when the system reprocesses, and the weekly PDF is kept as a version that cannot be changed. Changing an approved week is a logged correction and a new version.
What it does not prove
Approval means a manager reviewed the record. It does not make the badge right: a badge left on in a truck or a weak indoor reading can still need a correction.
What workers see
With the optional portal on, a worker sees their own hours, can request a correction and can record time off. They never see other workers.
What payroll receives
Approved hours go to your payroll provider. ZeroBadge integrates with payroll providers and exports CSV, Excel or PDF. It does not run payroll.
Approval and certified payroll
ZeroBadge aids certified payroll reporting by supplying verified hours by worker, day and jobsite. It does not produce or file certified payroll on its own; final certified payroll reports require review by a qualified person.

ZeroBadge AI

Ask ZeroBadge AI what needs a decision

Approve the clean ones quickly and spend your time on the rest. ZeroBadge AI lists what is waiting, with the reasons, from your own records. It is read-only, so approval always stays with a manager, and admins control who can ask.

You ask
Which timesheets are waiting for my approval?
Nine of 38. Six are clean and three carry exceptions: two missed power-offs and one 55-minute gap. The exceptions are listed first.
You ask
What did supervisors change before approval?
Seven edits across 6 timesheets, each with who made it and why. The largest moved a power-off time by 1 h 20 min after a missed power-off.
You ask
Who has approved time off this week, and how does it show?
Four workers, 7 days in all. Those days are excluded from late and missed-day flags.

Answers come only from your company's own records. Every number links to the records behind it. Read-only; admins control access.

How ZeroBadge AI works

Questions

Questions about timesheet approval.

What is a timesheet approval workflow?

The steps that take a week of recorded hours to a signed-off week: review of anything unusual, correction of what is wrong, and an approval by a manager. Only then do the hours go to payroll. In ZeroBadge the weekly timesheet is built from badge records, so the review starts from a list of exceptions.

Who should approve timesheets in a construction company?

A manager who can judge the week as a whole, with supervisors clearing exceptions for the sites they run. ZeroBadge has admin, supervisor and worker roles, and supervisors only see their assigned sites, so the split follows who knows the work.

Can a worker dispute or correct their hours?

Yes, through the optional worker portal. A worker sees their own hours and requests a correction with a reason. The reviewer checks the badge record and accepts, edits or declines it. Workers also record time off there.

What happens if a timesheet is wrong after it has been approved?

It is corrected with a reason, the correction is logged and the week is regenerated as a new version. The earlier PDF stays on file marked as superseded, so what was approved before is never lost.

Are corrections logged?

Yes. A correction needs a reason, records who made it and when, and keeps the original reading beside the edit. Nothing is silently edited. See automatic timesheets for how the sheet is built before it reaches review.

Does approval send hours straight to payroll?

Approved hours are sent to your payroll provider. The approval is the gate, so nothing unapproved goes. See payroll integration for exactly what payroll receives.

Keep exploring

Next: automatic timesheets, payroll and overtime.

Last updated October 29, 2026

Get started

See a week go from exceptions to approved.

We will open a generated week, clear its exceptions, log a correction and show the locked PDF.

Get started Explore the platform

What we will walk through

01The exceptions list and the record behind each item
02A worker's correction request from the portal
03What changes, and what does not, after approval

A timesheet approval workflow that leaves a record.

From a generated week to an approved one takes five steps and one decision.

The week is generated

Exceptions are cleared

Worker requests are answered

A manager approves

Hours go to payroll