How to Approve or Deny a Timesheet
Overview
As the final step in the approval chain, you review timesheets submitted by your team and give the official approval or denial. Approved timesheets are locked and recorded. Denied timesheets are returned to the employee with your reason attached.
This article covers how to find timesheets that need your attention, how to approve or deny them, and the special behavior that applies to timesheets that have been resubmitted after a previous denial.
This action requires manager-level access. The approval queue and approve/deny buttons described here are only available to users with manager permissions.
For an overview of the timesheet screens, see → Your Timesheet: Weekly View and Daily Breakdown.
--[Image: CM approval list showing pending timesheets with search bar and filter options]--
How to Access the Approval Queue
From the sidebar, tap Timesheet → Other. This opens the list of timesheets waiting for your review.
Status Tabs
| Tab | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Pending | Timesheets awaiting your approval — includes directly submitted timesheets and those already validated by a supervisor |
| Approved | Timesheets you have approved |
| Rejected | Timesheets you have denied |
Filtering the List
Use the search bar to filter by employee name. You can also narrow the list by:
- Project — show timesheets from a specific project only
- Employee type — filter between supervisors and field workers
Who Appears in Your Queue
Your approval queue includes timesheets from:
- Team members whose supervisor validated their timesheet
- Team members whose supervisor validated with comment
- Supervisors who submitted their own timesheets directly to you
Your own timesheet does not appear in this queue. To approve your own timesheet, go to Timesheet → Own. See → How to Submit Your Timesheet.
Reading a Timesheet Before Acting
Tap View on any entry to open the daily breakdown. This shows the full day-by-day view — punch times, total hours, regular hours, and overtime hours for each day.
From the day card's ⋮ menu, you have access to:
- View Activity — the full punch event log for that day
- Update History — a record of any previous edits made to that entry
- Edit — adjust punch times before approving (pending entries only)
--[Image: CM daily breakdown view showing day cards with the ⋮ menu open]--
You can edit entries before approving. If you spot an error in the punch times, open the ⋮ menu and tap Edit to correct them first, then approve. See → How to Edit a Timesheet Entry.
How to Approve
Review the timesheet
From the Pending tab, find the entry and tap View to review the hours. Check day cards for accuracy.
Tap Approve
The Approve button is at the bottom of the daily breakdown screen.
Confirm the approval
A confirmation popup appears. Tap Confirm to approve as-is, or tap Edit Hours to make a correction before approving.
Timesheet approved
The timesheet is locked and moves to the Approved tab. The employee receives a notification confirming their timesheet has been approved.
How to Deny
Review the timesheet
From the Pending tab, find the entry and tap View to review the hours.
Tap Deny
The Deny button is at the bottom of the screen alongside the Approve button.
- A comment popup opens — you must provide a reason for the denial.
- The employee will see this reason when they review their rejected timesheet.
Enter a reason
Type your reason in the comment field. Be specific — the employee needs enough context to know what to correct before resubmitting.
- Maximum 400 characters.
- The reason is required — you cannot deny without one.
Denial confirmed
The timesheet moves to the Rejected tab. The employee receives a notification and can review your reason and resubmit. See → [How to Resubmit a Rejected Timesheet](https://www.geo-cx.com/docs/how-to-resubmit-a-rejected-timesheet).
--[Image: Deny reason popup showing the comment input field]--
Resubmitted Timesheets
When an employee resubmits a timesheet you previously denied, it returns to your Pending queue with a visual indicator.
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| Normal entry | First-time submission — you can approve or deny |
| Resubmitted indicator | Previously denied — you can only approve on resubmission |
The Deny button is disabled on resubmitted timesheets. Once you have denied a timesheet and the employee has corrected and resubmitted it, you can only approve — not deny again. This prevents the timesheet from cycling back and forth indefinitely.
Things to Know
Approvals are final. Once you approve a timesheet, it is locked. If a correction is needed after approval, it cannot be undone from the app — contact your administrator.
Write specific denial reasons. The employee only sees what you write in the comment. Vague reasons like "incorrect hours" make it harder for them to know what to fix. A reason like "Thursday punch-out is missing — please check and resubmit" gives them a clear action.
You can edit before approving. If you catch an error and want to correct it yourself rather than returning it to the employee, use the ⋮ menu to edit the entry first, then approve. See → How to Edit a Timesheet Entry.