Updated in July - 2026Â Â |Â Subscribe to watch greytHR how-to video
Managing work hours across projects, teams, and billing cycles is a challenge for any growing organisation. greytHR's Timesheet module brings structure to this process by giving employees a simple way to log the time they spend on tasks and projects, while giving organisations the visibility they need to track productivity, manage project costs, and align billing accurately.
For employees, timesheets make it easy to record daily work — whether billable hours on a client project or internal tasks — without switching to a separate tool. For organisations, the data collected helps calculate project costs, support payroll processing, and generate insights into how work hours are utilised across teams.
Watch the video to know more on setting up Timesheets:
Setting up Timesheets involves two steps:
Configure a timesheet policy — define the rules employees follow when logging time, including how time is recorded, approval workflows, and submission cycles.
Configure projects — set up the projects employees log time against, define billability, and control employee access.
To create a timesheet policy, from the greytHR Admin portal go to Workforce Management > Admin Tools > Timesheet Settings > Timesheet Policy.
If no policies have been created yet, you'll see an empty state with a Create a Policy button. Click it to begin. The policy is set up across four steps.
In the Policy Name field, enter a name for the policy.
In the Policy Description field, enter a brief description. (Optional)
Under Policy Document, upload a reference document for employees if applicable. You can upload a file or drag and drop it here. (Optional)
Note: The policy document will be accessible in the document centre of the mobile app and web portal, allowing employees to read all policy details and guidelines.
Click Save and Next.
This step defines how time entries are logged, reviewed, and submitted.
In Time must be logged using, select how employees record time:
Start and End Times — employees log their shift login and logout times.
Total Hours — employees log the total number of hours worked.
In Show project selection, In Show project selection, select Yes or No. If Yes, the following rule applies:
In Project selection is, select Mandatory or Optional to define whether employees must select a project when logging a task.
In Each time entry must be at least, set the minimum duration for a single time entry.
In The request will be, select Reviewed Manually or Reviewed Automatically. If Reviewed Manually, the following rules apply:
Under Level 1, select the reviewer and the action they can take.
Click + Add more reviewers to add additional reviewer levels if needed.
In Auto Forward to next level after, enter the number of days of no response after which the request moves to the next reviewer level automatically. This is optional.
In Send Reminder to reviewers after, enter the number of days of inactivity after which a reminder is sent to the reviewer. (Optional)
In Timesheets must be submitted on a, select Weekly or Monthly.Â
If Weekly:
In Weekly timesheets must be submitted, select the submission window — on or after, on or before, or between specific days.
For example: on or after Friday (employees can submit from Friday onwards), on or before Monday (employees must submit by Monday), or between Friday and Monday (employees can submit only within this window).Â
In Weekly timesheet period must start on, select the start day of the week.
For example, if you select Monday, each timesheet week runs from Monday to Sunday.
If Monthly:
In Monthly timesheets must be submitted, select the submission window — on a specific date or between a date range.
For example: on the 25th of every month, or between the 25th and the 30th.Â
In Monthly timesheet periods must be based on, select the month type.
For example, a calendar month (1st to 31st) or an attendance cycle (such as 21st to 20th).Â
Expand Optional Rules to configure any of the following additional restrictions:
Restrict time entry beyond attendance hours — prevents employees from logging time beyond their actual sign-in and sign-out duration or actual work hours.Â
Time logged cannot exceed — set a maximum number of hours an employee can log per day, per week, and per month.
Note: The daily limit must not exceed the weekly or monthly limit, and the weekly limit must not exceed the monthly limit.
Restrict time entry on — select the days on which employees cannot log time: rest day, holiday, leave day, or off day.Â
Attachment and note — make it mandatory for employees to add a note, an attachment, or both when submitting a timesheet entry.
Click Save and Next.
Select one of the following options:
All Employees — applies the policy to all active employees.
New Employee Group — create a new filter group by defining criteria such as department, location, or date of joining, and apply the policy to matching employees.
Existing Employee Group — apply the policy to a group already configured in the system.
Review the employees listed under the selected option.
Click Save and Next.
Note: A filter group, once created, is saved for future use in employee group filters.
Review the policy configuration across the Details, Rules, and Employees tabs in the summary.
Choose one of the following:
Finish and Activate — activates the policy immediately. You will be prompted to set an activation date. You can select a past date, set it to today's date to activate right away, or choose a future date to schedule the activation. The policy will appear with a Scheduled for Activation tag until the activation date is reached.
Save to Drafts — saves the policy without activating it. You can return to it later from the Manage Timesheet Policies page and activate it when ready.
Note: You can download the list of assigned employees using the Download List option in the Employees tab before activating.
All policies are listed on the Manage Timesheet Policies page with details such as Policy Name, Employee Filter, Duration, and Status. Policies can be in one of three states: Draft, Active, or Closed.
Under the Draft tab, you can Activate, Edit, or Delete a policy.
Under the Active tab, you can Deactivate or Edit a policy.
When activating a draft policy, you will be prompted to set the date from which the policy applies to employees.
Once your timesheet policy is in place, set up the projects employees will log time against.Â
From the greytHR Admin portal hover over the 9 dots and go to Workforce Management > Admin Tools > Timesheet Settings > Project Configuration.
Click Create a Project or Add Project. A right-side drawer opens.
In the Project Name field, select the project from the dropdown.
Use the Project Duration calendar picker to set the start and end dates for the project.
In the Is this project Billable? field, select Yes or No.
If the project is billable and you want employees to also log non-billable tasks, turn on the Allow Non-Billable Tasks toggle.
Note: Employees can add non-billable tasks in a billable project when this toggle is enabled.
In the Employee Filter field, select the filter that defines which employees can access this project.
Click Save.
The project is added to the list with a status of Enabled by default.
Project Name, Is this project Billable?, and Employee Filter are required fields. The project cannot be saved if any of these are left empty. The Employee Filter determines which employees can see and log time against this project — only employees who match the selected filter will have this project available to them in the mobile app.Â
After saving your first project, the Manage Projects list displays all configured projects. Projects are organised under two tabs: Enabled and Disabled.
Each project row has a three-dot menu (â‹®) with the following options:
Edit — opens the drawer with existing values pre-filled. Update as needed and click Save.
Disable / Enable — toggles the project's availability for timesheet use.
Newly created projects start as Enabled by default.
Existing projects (migrated from the Project Management module) are initially set to Disabled. You'll need to manually enable them before employees can log time against them.
Note: Project status is shared between the Project Management module and Timesheet Project Configuration — changes in either location are reflected in both.
When a project is disabled:
The project remains accessible to employees until 23:59 on the day it is disabled.
From the following day, employees cannot log time against it.
If an employee has already logged time on future dates for a project that is then disabled, timesheet submission will be blocked with an error message.
Employee access is based on effective dates. If an employee no longer meets the filter criteria, leaves the organisation, or the project is disabled, they are removed from the project effective the next day. New employees who become eligible are added effective the next day.
A project cannot be deleted if:
It is linked to any existing timesheet tasks.
It is in use in the Project Management module.
To remove a project from timesheet use without deleting it, disable it instead.
Note: Admins migrating from an earlier setup will find all existing projects in a Disabled state. Review the list under Project Configuration and enable the projects your teams need before timesheet entries begin.
greytHR's Timesheet module lets employees log the time they spend on tasks and projects directly within the platform. For employees, it provides a simple way to record daily work — whether billable hours on a client project or internal tasks — without switching to a separate tool. For organisations, it provides visibility into how work hours are distributed across projects, supporting project costing, payroll processing, and productivity tracking.
Admins need to complete two setup steps:
Configure a timesheet policy — defines how employees log time, the approval workflow, and the submission cycle.
Configure projects — sets up the projects employees log time against, with billability and employee access defined.
The policy must be configured first, followed by project configuration
A timesheet policy defines the rules employees follow when logging work hours — how time is recorded, whether project selection is required, how submissions are reviewed and approved, and how often timesheets are submitted. Admins can create multiple policies and apply them to different employee groups.
From the greytHR Admin portal, hover over the 9 dots and go to Workforce Management > Admin Tools > Timesheet Settings > Timesheet Policy and click Create a Policy. The setup involves four steps — Define Policy, Configure Rules, Assign Employees, and Review Policy.
Start and End Times requires employees to log their shift login and logout times. Total Hours requires employees to log the total number of hours worked. The method is configured in the Configure Rules step of the policy.
Yes. In the Configure Rules step, select Reviewed Manually as the review method. You can then add multiple reviewer levels using + Add more reviewers. Each level can have its own reviewer and permitted actions.
You can configure an auto-forward rule in the Configure Rules step. In Auto Forward to next level after, enter the number of days of no response after which the request is automatically forwarded to the next reviewer level.
Yes. In the Configure Rules step, use Send Reminder to reviewers after to set the number of days of inactivity after which a reminder is automatically sent to the reviewer.
Optional Rules let admins configure additional restrictions on time logging. These include:
Restrict time entry beyond attendance hours — prevents employees from logging time beyond actual sign-in and sign-out duration.
Time logged cannot exceed — sets a maximum number of hours employees can log per day, per week, and per month.
Restrict time entry on — prevents employees from logging time on rest days, holidays, leave days, or off days.
Attachment and note — makes it mandatory for employees to add a note, an attachment, or both when submitting a timesheet entry.
Yes. Under Optional Rules in the Configure Rules step, use the Restrict time entry on setting to select the day types on which employees cannot log time — rest day, holiday, leave day, or off day.
Yes. Under Optional Rules, use the Time logged cannot exceed setting to define limits per day, per week, and per month.
Note: The daily limit must not exceed the weekly or monthly limit, and the weekly limit must not exceed the monthly limit.
Yes. In the Assign Employees step, select New Employee Group and define criteria such as department, location, or date of joining. The policy will be applied only to employees who match the filter. The filter is saved for future use once created.
Yes. At the Review Policy step, click Save to Drafts. The policy will be saved in Draft state and can be activated later.
In the Manage Timesheet Policies list, click the three-dot menu (â‹®) next to the draft policy and select Activate. You will be prompted to set the date from which the policy applies to employees.
A policy can be in one of three states — Draft, Active, or Closed.
Yes. In the Manage Timesheet Policies list, click the three-dot menu (â‹®) next to the policy and select Edit.
Project Configuration lets admins set up and manage the projects employees log time against. For each project, you can define billability, set a duration, and control which employees can access it through employee filters. Once a project is enabled, it is available to employees on both the greytHR web portal and the mobile app.
To create a project for Timesheets, from the greytHR Admin portal, hover over the 9 dots and go to Workforce Management > Admin Tools > Timesheet Settings.
On the Project Configuration page, click Create a Project or Add Project.
Select the Project Name from the dropdown.
Use the Project Duration calendar picker to set the start and end dates.
Select whether the project is billable under Is this project Billable?
If billable, turn on Allow Non-Billable Tasks if employees should also be able to log non-billable tasks.
Select the applicable Employee Filter.
Click Save.
Project Name, Is this project Billable?, and Employee Filter are all required. The project cannot be saved if any of these are left empty.
When enabled, it allows employees to log non-billable tasks within a project that is marked as billable, giving employees more flexibility while the project itself remains classified as billable.
Projects that existed in the system before the Timesheet module was set up are disabled by default. Admins need to manually enable the projects that the teams need. Click the three-dot menu (â‹®) next to each project and select Enable.
Enabled projects are available for employees to log time against. Disabled projects are not. A project disabled on a given day remains accessible to employees until 23:59 that day and becomes unavailable from the following day onward.
No. Once a project is disabled, employees cannot log time against it from the next day onward. If an employee has already logged time for future dates and the project is then disabled, timesheet submission will be blocked with an error.
Yes. Project status is shared between the Project Management module and Timesheet Project Configuration. Changes made in either location are reflected in both.
A project cannot be deleted if it has existing timesheet tasks linked to it or if it is in use in the Project Management module. To remove a project from timesheet use without deleting it, disable it instead.
If an employee no longer meets the filter criteria — for example, due to a role change or exit — they are removed from the project effective the next day. Employees who become newly eligible are added effective the next day.
Yes. Each task has a billable/non-billable toggle at entry. This setting is optional.
No. Once submitted, entries cannot be altered by the manager or admin.
No, managers cannot submit a timesheet on behalf of a team member.
Yes, from the "By Teammates" tab — view-only, per employee, per date range.
Yes policies can be activated immediately or saved as a draft and scheduled for a future activation date. The same applies to deactivation (a "Scheduled for Deactivation" tag appears).
"Billable" classifies the project itself. "Allow Non-Billable Tasks" is a separate toggle that lets employees log non-billable work within an otherwise billable project — useful for consultants or service-based engagements with mixed billing.
Not currently — only single-level project configuration is available today. This has been raised as a customer request; Product is compiling account-level data on demand before scoping it.
No, custom/additional fields cannot be added to the timesheet entry form
No. Attendance continues to work exactly as it does today, independent of timesheet submissions. There is no sync in either direction — logging hours in a timesheet does not mark attendance as present/absent, and attendance sign-in/out is not required for timesheet submission.Â
Yes this is configurable. Admins can restrict employees to only log time as per their swipes or total hours (e.g., 9 AM–6 PM).Â
No, time entry cannot be restricted based on shift hours.
 Admins should create separate projects for each company/entity. Employees log time against the relevant project, and reports can be filtered/grouped by project so hours can be shared with the specific client company without exposing unrelated data.Â
Yes — reports can be filtered and grouped by project to show hours logged per project/employee using Query Builder/ Analytics hub.
Yes, we can automate the data flow from Timesheets to Payroll. Based on approved timesheet data, the following scenarios can be supported:
Capture the total number of days for which timesheets have been submitted in a month.
Calculate the total hours worked during the payroll period.
Automatically compute overtime or additional hours pay when the total worked hours exceed a configured threshold.
Support fixed payouts based on the number of hours or days worked through configurable payroll rules.
Process hourly-paid employees by calculating earnings directly from the approved timesheet hours.
This enables organizations to seamlessly integrate Timesheets with Payroll and automate time-based salary calculations with minimal manual intervention.
▶ Video - Watch our how-to videos to learn more about greytHR.
📢 Product Update - Read about the product updates.