Timesheet Approval and Project Cost Rollup
Turning logged timesheet hours into actual project cost sounds like simple multiplication, but it usually isn't done in real time, because someone has to manually chase down unsubmitted timesheets, review and approve the ones that come in, and then apply the right billing or cost rate per person per project to roll everything up into a cost figure. When billing rates change partway through a project, a rate renegotiation, a promotion, a different rate for overtime hours, the manual rollup often keeps applying the old rate because nobody remembered to update the calculation, and by the time the discrepancy is caught, weeks of project cost reporting have been quietly wrong.
STARTING PRICE
From €299
Standard tier · Multi-step workflow with AI extraction/decisioning and 2-3 integrations.
Get a quote →Saves roughly 3-5 hrs/week for PMs and finance combined.
How the automation works
We automate timesheet approval routing, sending timesheets to the correct approver based on project assignment as soon as they're submitted, with automatic reminders for anyone who hasn't submitted by the deadline, so cost data doesn't sit incomplete waiting on stragglers. Approved hours roll up into project cost automatically using a rate table that tracks effective dates per person per project, so a mid-project rate change applies exactly from the date it took effect rather than retroactively or with a lag, and any hours logged against a rate that's about to expire or hasn't been set yet are flagged before they enter the cost rollup rather than defaulting silently to a wrong number.
Process flow
- 01
Timesheet period closes trigger
The timesheet submission period ends, or a timesheet is submitted, triggering the approval and rollup workflow.
- 02
Chase unsubmitted timesheets output
Automatic reminders go to anyone who hasn't submitted by the deadline, escalating to their manager if still outstanding after a defined grace period.
- 03
Route for approval integration
Submitted timesheets are routed automatically to the correct project or line manager approver based on project assignment.
- 04
Apply effective-dated billing rates ai
Approved hours are matched to the correct billing or cost rate using effective-dated rate tables, so mid-project rate changes apply from the exact date they took effect.
- 05
Flag rate gaps ai
Hours logged against a person or project with no current rate defined, or a rate that's expiring, are flagged and held out of the rollup rather than defaulting to a stale or zero rate.
- 06
Deliver project cost rollup output
Approved, correctly rated hours roll up into an accurate, current project cost figure delivered to project managers and finance.
Inputs
- Submitted timesheet data by person and project
- Approver assignment by project
- Effective-dated billing/cost rate table
- Project budget for cost-vs-budget comparison
Outputs
- Routed timesheets pending or completed approval
- Accurate project cost rollup with correct rates applied
- Rate gap alerts before rollup
- Cost vs. budget comparison per project
Works with
Prefer a fully custom build instead of an off-the-shelf integration? We scope both options during your free consultation — most jobs like this one work fine on standard connectors, but higher-volume or non-standard systems sometimes need bespoke API work, reflected in the complex tier.
Where this goes wrong if you get it wrong
- Mid-project billing rate changes are the single most common cause of quietly wrong project cost reports — a rate renegotiation or promotion that isn't reflected with an effective date means hours logged after the change keep costing at the old rate until someone manually notices the discrepancy, sometimes months later during a project close-out review.
- Overtime, weekend, and premium-rate hours often use a different rate than standard hours for the same person on the same project, and a rollup that applies one flat rate per person regardless of hour type will misstate cost on any project with irregular hours, which is common in project-based and client services work.
- A timesheet approved for accuracy of hours worked isn't automatically approved for billability — some logged hours are internal, non-billable, or written off, and the cost rollup needs to distinguish billable cost from total labor cost explicitly, or project margin reporting will be wrong even when the hours and rates are both correct.
- Retroactive corrections to a submitted and approved timesheet (a correction after the fact) need to flow through to the cost rollup and any downstream client billing, not just sit corrected in the timesheet system while the cost report and invoice still reflect the original, wrong hours.
Frequently asked questions
How does this handle a billing rate that changes partway through a project?
Rates are tracked with effective dates, so hours logged before and after a rate change are costed correctly from the exact date the new rate applies, rather than the whole project retroactively shifting to one rate.
What happens to hours logged for a person with no rate currently set up?
Those hours are flagged and held out of the cost rollup rather than defaulting to zero or a placeholder rate, so the gap gets resolved before it silently understates project cost.
Can it distinguish billable from non-billable hours in the rollup?
Yes, the rollup separates billable cost from total labor cost, which matters for accurate project margin reporting even when all the hours and rates themselves are correct.
Does this integrate with our existing timesheet and finance systems?
Yes, it connects to Harvest, Toggl Track, Jira time tracking, or similar tools on one side and your finance system like NetSuite on the other, rather than replacing either.