How do I Setup "Two-Step" Timesheets?

Requirements

Ensuring compliance with the approval process for timesheets requires a two-stage approval. Genius Project currently only offers a one stage approval, either by project managers (project owners) or team leader, not both.

Solution

First-stage approval is configured using out-of-the-box setting. Project managers are identified with the field “Project Leader” found in the project description.

Second-stage approval is by the resource’s team leader per the user’s resource document. Sequencing between the two stages is serial where all timesheet lines are to be approved by project managers (project owners) before a team leader can approve the whole timesheet.

The timesheet status won’t change throughout the entire approval process and will show “to be approved”.

This will be a configuration added to the setup of the timesheet database under the Approval mode section.

Assumptions

• Several team leaders can be defined in the resource document. The 2nd-stage approval allows any of those to approve. There is no set order. Whoever approves the timesheet first triggers timesheet status to change to “Approved”. The timesheet lines and the timesheet status only change once the 2nd-stage approval goes to completed.

• If a timesheet is rejected by the team leader, the process starts over with project manager approval.

• Any timesheet lines rejected will allow the user to edit all timesheet lines in the timesheet. This is outof the-box

• As soon as one timesheet line item is rejected, the whole timesheet and its lines are as well. This is out-of-the-box.
  
  
• No email or Genius Live notifications are sent to project managers during the 1-stage approval. -The approval tracking view it to be used. This is out-of-the-box.
  
  
• The 2nd-stage approval will notify team leader through Genius Live.

• Timesheet approval will be tracked using two separate views, for project managers and one for team leader(s). This is out-of-the-box.

How to setup - Two-Stage Approval

1. Ensure you are logged in as an admin.
   
   
2. Click Settings - GP Timesheet database.
   
   
3. Click the Timesheets tab.
   
   
4. Ensure that the Approval mode is “On the details then on the timesheets”.
   
   
5. Ensure approval by the team leader is set to Yes and update existing timesheets.

Revisions made to Two-Stage Approval

New icons for the end user to see:

 

New status for timesheets:

History is more informative for all users dictating which stage the timesheets is in:

Workflow for denied timesheets has been modified:

• Resources whose timesheets are denied are now able to “modify them” and resubmit the timesheets without any errors appearing.
  
  
• Resubmitted timesheets will now re-enter “waiting for details approval” and undergo the two-stage approval process.

Admins can no longer bypass any step of the two-stage approval process.

Incongruences have been corrected between status and timesheets lines.