Reviewing and approving time entries prior to payroll processing or data export is a critical step in effective business management. This process ensures that recorded hours accurately represent actual work performed and helps identify any discrepancies among crew members.

In this article, you will learn how to manage and approve time registrations submitted by your crew members and, to enhance oversight and minimize the risk of payroll inaccuracies.

Real-life scenarios

Here are some examples of how this functionality can be used:

Getting started with time registrations approval

Before you can start using time registration approval, a few initial setups steps are required: 

• Configure user role permissions for crew members and managers.
• Enable approval for submitted worked hours.
• Configure the minimum paid hours (if necessary).

User role permissions

Users should have appropriate rights and access to functionalities relevant to their roles. To enable crew members to submit their working hours and enable managers to review and approve them in the watch_later Time registration module, the right permissions must first be configured within the settingsConfiguration module. 

Enable approval for submitted worked hours

The next step in initiating time registration approval is to enable approval for the Worked hour type. 

1. Navigate to the settingsConfiguration module > Time registration and leave > Hour types.
2. Select the Worked hour type and click on edit EDIT
3. Select "Yes" for the Requires approval option.
4. Confirm
5. Save

Minimum paid hours

In some countries, a minimum number of hours must be paid for each job performed by a crew member. Depending on local legislation, you may need to configure this minimum paid hours setting. If configured, it will be used in the approval check column to compare the number of hours in each time registration with the required minimum paid hours.

1. Navigate to the settingsConfiguration module > Time registration and leave > Time registration.
2. Enter an amount of hours.
3. Save

Manage time registrations

In the watch_later Time registration module, you will see all the submitted hours entered by the crew members, in the time period selected. They will appear as Pending in the Status column of the overview. Once the submitted hours have been validated, they will appear as Approved.

Rentman Tip: Add the column Status to your Time registration overview, in order to see which time registrations are pending and need to be approved. You can also use the default column set for this.

Rentman Tip: It is also possible to see the status of a time registration, via the app, in the Registered tab of watch_later Time registration module.

The approval check column

The icons help you track which time registrations need your attention. The icon colors indicate what action may be required. 

Approve time registrations using the bulk approval option

1. Navigate to the watch_later Time registration module
2. Select one or more time registrations.
3. In the upper part of the overview, click on APPROVE

Approve time registrations using the Details time registration sidebar

1. Navigate to the watch_later Time registration module.
2. Hover over a time registration.
3. Click on menu_openDetails to open the Details time registration sidebar.
4. Click on APPROVE

Approve time registration using the flow

This option is useful when you need to review, possibly adjust, and approve many time registrations.

1. Navigate to the watch_later Time registration module.
2. Double-click on a time registration or select one and click on edit EDIT in the upper part of the overview. 
3. (Optional) Adjust the data.
4. Save.
5. Click on APPROVE to approve the time registration.
6. Click on  chevron_left to go back to the previous time registration, or chevron_right to go to the next time registration.

Rentman Tip: Once approved, the time registrations go to read-only mode and cannot be changed, unless they are reverted to Pending status.

Adjust time registrations

You must have the right permissions to edit other people s time registrations.

1. Navigate to the watch_later Time registration module.
2. Select a time registration and click on  edit EDIT in the upper part of the overview. 
3. Adjust the data.
4. Save

Revert time registrations to Pending status

If a mistake is made during the approval process, such as incorrect hours being approved or changes needing to be made, it is possible to revert the approval. This allows managers to make the necessary adjustments and re-approve the corrected time registration

From the Details time registration By editing a time registration

1. Navigate to the watch_later Time registration module.
2. Hover over a time registration.
3. Click on menu_openDetails to open the Details time registration sidebar.
4. Click on Back to pending

1. Navigate to the watch_later Time registration module.
2. Double-click on a time registration to edit it, or select a time registration and click on  edit EDIT in the upper part of the overview. 
3. Click on check Approved to revert the status.
4. Adjust the data and Save your changes (if necessary).

Export time registrations

You can export the registered times to a .xlsx file, so you can process your crew's worked hours in your preferred accounting software. Note: When exporting time registrations, a warning message will appear if any time registrations remain pending.

Keep track of changes in time registrations

FAQs