Time Tracking with Approval – Review, Approve and Only Then Bill Working Hours

Employees record their hours via app, NFC or terminal. Supervisors review the entries and approve them. Only after approval do the hours flow into payroll processing and project evaluation. Corrections and amendments are logged with a reason. This ensures that only reviewed, accurate data enters billing – and you retain full control over working hours, overtime and project hours.

Only approved times are billed
Corrections with mandatory justification and audit log
Overtime and additions under control

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Record, review and approve working hours before payroll – for clean wage data and controlled overtime.

What happens when working hours are processed without review

Without an approval process, all recorded times flow directly into payroll – whether they are correct or not.

Incorrect entries are only noticed once the payroll has already been processed – corrections take twice as much time
Overtime is recorded without a manager having reviewed or approved it – costs spiral out of control
Amendments are submitted without any explanation – no one knows whether the employee genuinely forgot to clock in or whether the time was inflated after the fact
Project hours are allocated incorrectly – the post-calculation is inaccurate and the client receives an imprecise invoice
The administration has no way of checking entries before payroll is processed – errors only come to light during the payroll audit

The solution: time tracking with an approval workflow

An approval step between recording and payroll – so that only verified data enters the wage calculation.

In Jobilino, employees record their working hours as usual via app, NFC or terminal. The entries are automatically forwarded to the responsible supervisor or administration for review. In the dashboard, the approver sees all pending entries at a glance: Who clocked in when? Are the project assignments correct? Are there any overtime hours or anomalies? With a single click, entries can be approved, corrected or rejected. Only after approval are the times released for payroll export and project analysis. Subsequent entries and corrections are logged with a mandatory reason – every change is transparent and traceable.

No more incorrect times in payroll

Supervisors review every entry before it flows into the export. Incorrect bookings, wrong project assignments and forgotten breaks are corrected before payroll – not after.

Overtime under control

Overtime becomes visible before it is billed. The supervisor approves or rejects it – with a reason. No more unpleasant surprises at the end of the month.

Amendments are transparent

If an employee has forgotten to clock in or out, they can add the time retroactively – but only by providing a mandatory reason. The correction is logged and visible to supervisors.

Only approved data in the export

The payroll export contains exclusively approved times. The tax adviser or payroll office receives clean, verified data – without discussions and without rounds of corrections.

Responsibilities clearly defined

Employees record. Managers approve. Administration exports. Everyone knows what their role is – clear processes instead of informal arrangements.

Roles and permissions

Who may approve? Who may only view their own times? Who may export? Role-based permissions ensure that everyone has exactly the functions they need.

How time tracking with approval works

Employee records working time

Via app, NFC or terminal – just as usual. The employee clocks in, selects the project and gets to work. The entry is saved in the system.
Entry is sent to the approver

The supervisor, team leader or administration sees the entry in the dashboard. Pending approvals are displayed clearly – with timestamp, project and duration.
Review, correct or approve

Approve with a single click, correct if necessary, or reject. Corrections are logged with a reason. The employee is notified of the approval or rejection.
Export approved times

Only approved entries are taken into account for payroll export and project evaluation. The export contains exclusively verified data.

Approval Dashboard

All open entries at a glance: employee, date, project, duration, overtime. Approve individually or in bulk – with a single click.

Supplementary Entries with Mandatory Reason

Forgotten bookings can be added retrospectively, but only with a reason. The correction is logged separately and marked as a supplementary entry.

Overtime Approval

Overtime is displayed separately and must be approved before billing. No uncontrolled accumulation of overtime accounts.

Rejection with Comment

If an entry is incorrect, the approver can reject it – with a comment to the employee. The employee corrects the entry and resubmits it.

Role-Based Permissions

Employees, team leaders, administration and management each see only what they need. Who is authorised to approve is defined per team or department.

Notifications

Approvers are notified of pending entries. Employees are informed when their times have been approved or rejected.

Audit Log

Every change to a time entry is recorded with a timestamp, user, and reason. Complete traceability for regulatory inspections and internal audits.

Leave Approval

Leave requests and absences are also handled through the approval workflow. Employees submit the request, and managers approve it with a single click. Remaining leave is calculated automatically.

The approval process in practice

Pending Approvals

All entries to be reviewed at a glance

Approval with a single click

Approve, correct or reject

Fits into your workflows

The approval workflow complements existing time tracking – without changing the recording process itself.

App + NFC + Terminal

Regardless of how time is recorded – the approval process is the same for all methods

CSV and Excel export

Only approved times are exported – unreviewed entries remain in the system

Web Dashboard

Approvals in the browser – at your desk or on the go with your tablet

GDPR-compliant

All data encrypted, role-based access rights, European servers

Approval workflow by industry

Particularly useful for businesses with multiple teams, construction sites or project managers.

Frequently asked questions about time tracking with approval

Who can approve working hours?

This is defined per team or department. Typically, line managers, team leaders or project managers approve the hours of their employees. Administration can act as a second authority. The roles are configured in the system – each person only sees the entries they are responsible for.

What happens if an employee forgot to clock in?

The employee can add the time retrospectively, but must provide a reason for doing so. The retrospective entry is flagged as such in the system and must be approved by the line manager. The change is logged with a timestamp and reason.

Can I amend times after they have been approved?

Yes, with the appropriate authorisation. Changes to already approved times are logged separately and require renewed approval. This keeps the documentation complete and every change traceable.

Are unapproved times exported anyway?

No. Only approved entries appear in the payroll export and in the project evaluations. Open and rejected entries remain visible in the system but are not included in the export.

How are overtime hours handled in the approval process?

Overtime hours are displayed separately in the approval dashboard. The line manager can see at a glance which employees have logged overtime and can approve or reject these entries individually. This keeps you in full control of your staffing costs.

Does the approval process also work for holiday requests?

Yes. Employees submit holiday requests directly in the app. The line manager receives a notification and approves or rejects the request with a single click. Remaining holiday entitlement and days taken are calculated automatically and are visible in the dashboard.

How time-consuming is the approval process for line managers?

Minimal. Open entries are displayed clearly in the dashboard. In most cases, a single click on Approve is all that is needed. Only when there are irregularities – overtime, retrospective entries, unusual hours – is a closer look required. For a team of 15 employees, the weekly approval takes just a few minutes.

What does time tracking with approval cost?

The approval workflow is included in the Premium package from €12.99 per employee per month. Basic from €5.99. There is no separate approval module that needs to be purchased additionally. All core features are available from day one. Try it free and without obligation.

Try time tracking with approval free of charge today

Activate the approval workflow and process only verified hours from tomorrow onwards. No contract commitment and no credit card required.

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