Managing Time Recording and Approvals

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to schedule and monitor time entries for project accuracy, utilizing the Manage My Timesheet and Notify Missing Times applications under standard project conditions.

Process Steps for Time Recording

The workflow begins with a project being created, followed by a decision to allocate resources. If resources are allocated, time can be booked. If not, the process includes restricting unstaffed postings and optionally allocating resources later. Activities are added to My Tasks if not allocated. Booked time goes through an optional approval or rejection by the project or resource manager. Approved time is then posted. Key roles are project/resource managers and resources.

Once a customer project has been put into In Execution status, it will be possible for resources to book time against that project via the standard Manage My Timesheet application:

There are controls on the customer or internal project header to define whether only resources that are staffed to the project may book time to that project. This setting is called Restrict Unstaffed Posting and if it is set to Yes resources must be assigned to the project to be able to book time in it. If the indicator is set to Not , any resource can book time to that project, either assigned to it or not.

When resources book time to their projects, it is possible to add a workflow so that the project manager must approve the time bookings with comments. This setting can be varied for internal and external employees. If the time booking is rejected, the resource will receive a notification and have an opportunity to delete or update the time booking.

The project manager is also able to book time on behalf of their team in the event that the team member is unable to book time for themselves.

Once time, bookings are made and, if required, approved, the time will reflect against the project as both a time and cost posting which is visible in reporting and analytics.

Process Time Recording

After employees have been assigned to a project or a task has been created for them, if unstaffed postings are not restricted for the project, they can book time to the work package using the SAP Fiori application Manage My Timesheet.

Project managers can verify missing time and notify employees about it using the application Notify Missing Times. This same application allows project managers to update time sheets on behalf of the employees.

If time entries require approval from the project managers, the corresponding approval notifications are automatically created in their My Inbox application. The application is called Schedule Overhead Accounting Jobs.

Manage My Timesheet

SAP Manage My Timesheet Interface that displays hours and task with the option to submit week, save, and Close My Tasks.

Purpose

With this app, you can perform activity-based time recording to enable billing and invoicing for the projects assigned to you. You can also record time for non project related tasks such as administration, training, travel time, and so on. The non project related task types can be assigned to both internal and external employees.

By default, the system displays Administration Tasks, Miscellaneous, Training, and Travel Times in the My Tasks area. When an employee is staffed to a project, the project will automatically display in the My Tasks area for the employee to record time against. In addition, a project manager or line manager can record time on an employee’s behalf.

Key Features

If you have been assigned the business role, Employee Self Services (SAP BR EMPLOYEE), you can perform the following tasks:

  • View the time entries already recorded in your timesheet
  • View all the tasks assigned to you
  • In the My Tasks side panel, you can view the list of tasks assigned to you for the selected week, view the list of tasks grouped by accounting objects (like Customer Projects, Non-project related Task Types, and so on), and the total number of hours recorded (for the selected week) for each task. You can also search a task from the My Tasks list. The following accounting objects are also supported:
    • WBS Element
    • Cost Center

      Note

      Only four attributes are displayed for each task, irrespective of the number of attributes assigned to it.
  • Change the calendar settings

    You can change the calendar settings, such as showing the work week, setting the start day of the week, and setting the time format using the calendar settings.

  • Navigate to the required week

    • You can navigate to the required week using the navigation arrows. You can navigate to previous or future weeks.

    • Each week displays days of the week depending on the calendar settings. You can log up to 24 hours of time per day.
    • You can also navigate to any week by choosing the calendar week link. It opens the
    • calendar in a dialog box and then you can select the desired date from the dialog box. You can also navigate to the previous or next month in the dialog box using the arrow keys.
  • Create, edit, and delete time entries for the selected week

    You can update a time entry and if required, also add a note. If the work location is enabled in the configuration app Maintain Data Entry Profiles, then you can also add a work location. You can either save the time entries using Save or send them for approval using Submit.

    Note

    • Work Location can be country, region, or county (area/location). This field can be made mandatory by implementing the Business Add In (BAdI) HCM: Timesheet Validations (HCM CATS V1 TS VALIDATION).
    • Currently, both internal employees and contingent workers can submit their timesheets for approval.
    • - For contingent worker timesheets, an automatic posting is made to the service entry sheet for the approved time entries.
    • A note of up to 300 characters can be maintained while creating a time entry.
    • Employees can now view the notifications on the SAP Fiori launchpad for the rejected time entries and navigate to the timesheet by choosing the notification message.
    • By default, the approval process is enabled only for contingent workers. You can enable the approval process for internal employees using the configuration app Maintain Data Entry Profiles.
  • View the approved and rejected time entries

    The approved time entries are displayed with a green bar and the rejected entries are displayed with a red bar on the left of the entry. You can select a rejected entry to view the reject reason.

  • View last approved time entry

    You can view the last approved time entry's duration and note in the time entry's Details dialog box.

  • View deleted time entry (zero hour time entry)

    You can view the deleted or zero-hour time entries which have been saved, submitted for approval, or rejected by the manager in the timesheet. The zero-hour time entry will disappear when this entry is approved by the manager.

  • Manage your tasks
    • You can manage your tasks by using this function. You can select Create Task to create a new task, update a task by selecting the task to be updated, or delete a task in Manage My Tasks.
    • If a purchase order is created with account assignment category Cost Center (K) only then Activity Type is required to create a task. This is required for inter and intra company sub contractor processes.

Note

By default, the task list does not have any tasks for contingent workers. You will have to add tasks manually using Manage My Tasks.

How to Create a Time Entry

  1. Choose the time (in hours) to be recorded for the task for a relevant day in the selected week.
  2. Select a task from the My Tasks list.
  3. The selected time is blocked.
  4. Add notes if required.
  5. Save the time entry.

Note

If the AI-assisted note corrections for project billing feature is activated, notes entered in time bookings are dynamically reviewed and if necessary corrected during the billing process to ensure they are grammatically correct and professional when included in the customer billing documents.

For more information on this AI premium feature and its activation, visit AI-Assisted Smart Notes for Project Billing.

How to Update a Time Entry

  1. Choose the time entry to be updated.
  2. A Details dialog box opens.
  3. You can change the time recorded for the time entry. If required, you can also add a note for the time entry. If the work location is enabled in the configuration app Maintain Data Entry Profiles, you can also add a work location.
  4. Save the changes in the Details dialog box. Save the time entry by choosing Save.

Perform Time Recording Through Manage My Timesheet - Internal Employees

Watch the Performing Time Recording Through Manage My Timesheet - Internal Employees simulation to learn more about the system-related activities.

ExerciseStart Exercise

Approve Timesheets - My Inbox

SAP My Inbox interface displaying Approval of Working Times, All Tasks, Time Entries, with the option to Approve or Reject.

Purpose

An approver can use the My Inbox app to approve or reject time entries. Approval is currently only enabled only for the project related tasks by default. Other accounting objects such as WBS element, cost center, and nonproject related tasks are approved automatically by default. If you want to enable the approval for these accounting objects, then you must implement the custom BAdI using extensibility.

Note

  • This app supports approvals for both the internal employees and contingent worker timesheets.
  • This app supports approval of time entries for all the accounting objects (customer projects, nonproject related tasks, WBS element, and cost center) supported by the timesheet.

Key Features

  • View the timesheets sent for approval
    • You can view the list of employees who have sent their timesheets for approval. You can search for an employee or by the fields related to the accounting objects from the table list. The timesheet with the time entries sent for approval is displayed in My Inbox. You can view the planned hours for the project, approved and rejected hours for the purchase order in each time entry for the customer projects.
    • Approval is enabled by default only for the customer projects in the app, which means that all the fields related to customer projects are shown by default.
  • If you implement the custom BAdI for determining the approver for accounting objects, then the corresponding approver must select the related fields for approval. The approver can create a new variant and set it as a default variant for the first time so that from the next time, the app loads with the saved variant.
  • The following fields are always displayed:
    • Note: If the employee entered any note while recording time, then under this column, a note icon is displayed. When you choose the icon employee name the note is displayed in a popover.
    • Previous Time Entry: If the employee changes an approved time entry using timesheet, the approved entry is displayed under this column with an icon. When you choose this icon, the previous recorded time along with the note is shown.
  • The work location field can be now enabled to show in the approval list via Settings.
  • Priority

    The priority of the task is shown based on the first-time entry in the time entries that came for approval. If the first-time entry work date difference is greater than seven when it is compared with the current date, the priority is set to high. Otherwise, it is set to medium.

  • Approve or reject time entries

    • You can select the time entries and approve or reject their time entries using the checkbox. You can approve or reject the submitted time entries of employees or contingent workers.

      Note

      You can now change an entry even after approval. You can also view the previous and new time entry or note changes under the Previous Time Entry column.
    • You can select one rejection reason for the multiple entries selected for rejection. A dialog box displays all the available rejection reasons when you choose Reject.
  • Sort, group, or filter time entries
    • You can sort the time entries based on any of the fields available in the table.
    • You can filter the time entries based on any of the fields available in the table.
    • You can group the time entries based on any of the fields available in the table.

      Note

      The sort, filter, and group settings are reset to default every time when you navigate to the object pages in a new window.
  • View employee, customer project, and purchase order details

    You can also view the employee, customer project, and purchase order details by choosing the employee, customer project, or purchase order names in the time entry. You are then automatically navigated to the relevant apps where the details are displayed.

  • Manage Substitutes

    Using this feature, you can create a substitute and assign the workflow task to someone else in your absence.

    Note

    By default, the submitted time entries will go only to the Project Manager for approval. If the Project Manager would like to enable the approval for the Project Controller or any other approver, he or she must use the substitute feature.

    Note

    Employees can use the Manage My Timesheet app to record time and send for approval.

Approve Timesheets

Watch the simulation Approving Timesheets to learn more about the system-related activities.

ExerciseStart Exercise

Schedule Overhead Accounting Jobs

Using this app, you can schedule a job to send email reminders to project managers to approve pending time entries.

Email notifications can be sent to managers in scheduled frequency with the list of open time entries.

Steps

  1. In the Schedule Overhead Accounting Jobs App, click Create.

    SAP Application Jobs interface displaying Jobs data that includes Status, Log, Results, Steps, Job Name, Planned Start, and Create By information.

  2. Select the Job Template Email Notification for Timesheet Approvers (SAP), enter a Job Name and click on Step 2.

    SAP New Job: Send Email Reminders interface with Job Template-Template Selection- Email Notification for Timesheet Approvers (SAP) highlighted.

  3. Set the Job Start time and the recurrence pattern. Choose Step 3.

    Scheduling Options interface highlighting Job start time and Define Recurrence Pattern with the Scheduling Information field displaying Recurrence Pattern indicating Single Run, On Non-working Day, and Calendar data.

  4. You can define the Approver Selection Criteria to select certain approvers and in the Period Selection the period in which the job will run.

    Parameter Section interface displaying Approver Selection Criteria, Assignment Selection Criteria, and Period Selection.

  5. Choose Schedule.

    The approvers receive email reminders.

    The .csv file attached to the email contains a list of timesheet entries to be approved with the following information: Employee ID, Employee Name, Date, WBS Element, WBS Element Name, Project ID, Project Name, Cost Center, Cost Center Name, Task Type, Task Type Name, Hours.

    CSV file that contains Notifications for Timesheet Entries that require action

    Note

    Employees are notified when their time entries have been rejected by their managers. In addition to receiving an email notification, employees can also use the Manage My Timesheet app to view the list of rejected time entries in the Alerts section and navigate from the list directly to the appropriate week to correct the rejected time entries. Rejected Time Entries interface that displays timesheet entries that are rejected and their alerts.

Analyze Team Utilization

Watch the Approving Timesheets simulation to learn more about the system-related activities.

ExerciseStart Exercise

Reviewing a Customer Project

Watch the simulation Reviewing a Customer Project to learn more about the system-related activities.

DemoStart Demo

Test Business Processes for Time Recording (J12)

Note

An SAP S/4HANA Cloud training system is required to complete the following exercise.

Training Systems for Self-Paced Students: If you are working through the training content self-paced in the SAP Learning Hub, please purchase an SAP Learning System Access contingent to access the training system designed to accompany exercises in the training course content. Navigate to SAP Learning System Access Quick Startand search for the course code to locate the correct training system.

To execute this exercise with best system performance you can remove any other business roles assigned to your user except for S4C Generic Role provided. You can assign further roles as required in the subsequent exercise anyway and can perform this task in the same step if necessary.

Some exercises use the characters ### as placeholders for your three digit user number. Once you are on the SAP Fiori Launchpad of the training system, open the user profile icon in the upper right corner. There you will see your user: A followed by digits. Please use the last three digits of your user consistently instead of ### whenever you see ### in an exercise.

Task 1: Time Recording Through Manage My Timesheet

In this exercise you will test the business process for Time Recording in your SAP S/4HANA Cloud system according to scope item J12.

Note

An employee must be staffed to a project to record their own time against the project, or have a project manager or line manager record time on the employee’s behalf. You must complete Customer Project Management (J11) or Internal Project Management (1A8) to record time against a project.

Steps

Show All Solutions

  1. Log into the SAP S/4HANA Cloud training system with your user credentials and assign the following business roles to your user, if you have not already allocated these roles in a previous exercise:

    Business Role IDBusiness Role
    BR_PROJECT_MANAGER_PROFProject Management - Professional Services
    BR_EMPLOYEEEmployee
    BR_ADMINISTRATORAdministrator
    BR_MANAGER_HRINFOManager - HR Info

    Note

    For the Administrator role, you may have several Business Role IDs to choose from. Please select BR_ADMINISTRATOR.

      Log into the SAP S/4HANA Cloud training system with your user credentials.

      Navigate to the Maintain Business Users application.

      Scroll through the list of users to locate your business user.

      Select your business user.

      If the business roles mentioned above have already been assigned to your user, go to step j. Otherwise, select the Add button and search for the business roles listed in the exercise.

      Select the checkbox next to the business role.

      Select Apply, then OK to close the dialog box. You should now see the business roles assigned.

      Select Save.

      Refresh your browser.

      Select the SAP logo in the upper left corner to navigate to the home page.

  2. Verify the following application is available on your launchpad: Manage My Timesheet.

      Navigate through the displayed tiles or use the enterprise search at the top of the screen to locate the app Manage My Timesheet app.

  3. Open the Manage My Timesheet app.

      Open the Manage My Timesheet app.

  4. Choose the Calendar Settings button and make the following selections:

    • Show Work Week: Yes

    • Start Week From: Monday

    • Time Format: Clock Notation

      By default, the timesheet shows the current week. Select the arrows on either side of the displayed date range to change the date range to the previous week.

      Choose the Gear button in the upper right corner of the timesheet and select the settings as provided above.

      Choose Save.

  5. Record your time against the tasks listed in the table below.

    TasksMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFriday
    Training (TRAI)5 hours5 hours5 hours5 hours5 hours
    Travel Times (TRAV)1 hour1 hour1 hour1 hour1 hour
    Administration Tasks (ADMI)2 hours2 hours2 hours1 hour1 hour
    Miscellaneous (MISC)---1 hour1 hour

    Note

    An employee must be staffed to a project to record time against the project. By default, the system displays Administration Tasks, Miscellaneous, Training, and Travel Times in the My Tasks area. When an employee is staffed to a project, the project will display in the My Tasks area for the employee to record time against. In addition, a project manager or line manager can record time on an employee’s behalf. To record time against a project, you must first complete the Customer Project Management (J11) exercise and assign employees to some roles.

      From the list, My Tasks, select a task and record the hours listed in the exercise for each day of the week. Repeat for each individual task.

      Choose the Save & Submit button in the lower right corner. You should see the colored bar to the left of each recording change from blue (In Process) to green (Approved).

  6. Make the following changes to your timesheet:

    • Change the duration of one of the task entries to six hours.

    • Delete one of your entries.

      Select one task and change the Duration to six hours by inserting the number of hours in hh:mm format.

      Choose the Delete button on the cross icon on the top-right corner of an entry.

  7. Save your timesheet and get back to the home screen.

      Choose the Save & Submit button for the timesheet.

      Choose the SAP logo to get back to the home screen.

Task 2: Time Booking on Behalf

In the previous task you booked not billable tasks using the Manage My Timesheet application. In this task you will take the position of the Project Manager to notify missing time to the employees assigned to roles in the project you manage, or book time on their behalf.

Caution

To complete this task, you must have completed the staffing of at least one role in the previous exercise.

Steps

  1. Use the application Notify Missing Time - Time Recording Status to verify the planned effort assigned to the employee in your project.

    1. Verify the project you created in the previous exercise is in stage In Execution. Update its stage if necessary. For updating search for and open the application Plan Customer Projects. Select the customer project you created in previous exercises. In the displayed project section (Information) verify the Stage field is "In Execution". If the stage is different, click on Edit, set the status "In Execution" and save.

    2. Open the application Notify Missing Time and search for your project. Search for the application from the search bar or open the page Project Management – Professional Services to find the application. Click on the application tile to open it. If necessary, type your project ID in the filter section and filter. The displayed list should only show employees assigned to your project.

  2. As Project Manager, notify employees about missing time entries.

    Note

    The selected Time Period is by default the current month. Depending on the dates of your project work packages it may be the displayed employees in the list are not the ones you expect. Try changing the Time Period to display the data you need.

    1. Select one of the items displaying assigned employees in the project and edit the employee’s time sheet. Select the check box in the left side of the chosen item, this should enable the options "Send Reminder" and "Edit Timesheet" above the selection table. Click on Edit Timesheet to open the employee’s timesheet.

  3. As a Project Manager, book time on behalf of the employees in the Explore work package.

    1. Select one of the items displaying assigned employees in the project and select Edit Timesheet to open the employee’s timesheet.

      Note

      Using this application, you are updating the timesheet of a different employee, not yourself. The entered time is "on behalf" of that employee.

    2. Verify the timesheet settings and answer the following questions:

      In the toolbar of the timesheet application select "Calendar Settings". A pop-up screen is displayed with various configuration options.

      1. Is the work week displayed or the full week instead (including weekend)?

        The full week. Work Week option is by default set as "No".

      2. What is the day set as first day of the week?

        Monday

      3. What are the options for time format?

        Clock Notation and Decimal Notation

      4. What is the supported granularity for time bookings?

        The default minimum time slot supported by the timesheet is 30 minutes.

    3. In the My Tasks panel, make sure a work package from the project you created in previous exercises is selected and the displayed week is within a month where the employee is assigned to the project. In the My Tasks panel to the right, look for and select the work package from your project to which the employee is assigned. This is necessary to ensure the time is booked and collected in the right project, work package and role. Note additional information in the project task, including currently booked hours to the task and hours planned and recorded by month. If necessary click on the side arrows to move the selected week forward or backward.

    4. Enter hours of work for each of the week days. Hours are entered by placing the cursor on the day columns and clicking when the selected number of hours is displayed in the simulated column. You can eliminate a time entry after entered clicking on the Delete icon in its upper right corner or modify it by clicking on any place of the time column. A pop-up screen will display the entered hours in editable form.

    5. Update a simple note for each entered time. For example "Work on design", "Documentation", etc. For each one of the time entries, click on the booking bar and in the details pop-up screen type a simple note. Once entered, click on Save.

    6. Select the button "Save and Submit".

      Note

      The default configuration of the education system does not require approval of the booked times. Once you save and submit, the vertical left band on the stacked time entries should be green.

      If the color of the band is orange, the configuration has been changed to require approval. Check in the solution of this exercise the additional step needed if this is the case.

    7. Go back to the Notify Missing Time application. You should now see the booked time in column "Recorded Hours". Click on the back button to close the timesheet application and re-open the Notify Missing Time application.

    8. Repeat the previous steps at will to enter additional times for other assigned employees.

    9. Additional step for time approval: If after submitting the time entries, the bar is displayed in color orange, it will indicate time approval is necessary in order to commit the actual cost posting for those hours in the project. Close the Notify Missing Time application and search and open the My Inbox – All Items application. In the task bar to the left of the application you should see the time entries pending approval.

      Note

      To see the approval workflow for the hours in your inbox application your user should be assigned as the Project Manager in the project. Check the Information screen in the project and make sure your user is displayed in the Project Manager field.

      Select the time entry item and click on the "Approve" button in the details screen.

      Repeat this step for all time entries in your project requiring approval.

Conclusion

Personal Reflection

Reflect on a time when you managed a project, either at work or in a personal scenario, such as planning a community event or organizing a big family occasion. Think about how you kept track of tasks, allocated time to different activities, and the overall accountability of the project.

  1. How did you ensure that each task was being attended to by the right people?
  2. Was there a method you used for tracking the time spent on each task?
  3. If something was missed or went off track, how did you handle the notifications and corrections?

This reflection aims to connect these everyday organization and project management skills to the structured processes of time recording in SAP, such as using the Manage My Timesheet application. Consider the parallels between this tool and the method you used in your experience.

Expert Response

In my professional experience with project management, especially in environments utilizing systems like SAP for time recording, aligning day-to-day management practices with structured software tools has been pivotal. For instance, in a large-scale project, just as in planning a community festival, the assignment of tasks and management of time are critical.

  1. Task Assignment

    Just as you might delegate specific roles at an event based on individual skills and capabilities, in project management within SAP, roles and permissions are defined to ensure everyone knows their responsibilities. This is akin to ensuring volunteers at an event know whether they're handling logistics, catering, or guest management.

  2. Time Tracking

    Similar to perhaps using a simple spreadsheet or a checklist to track progress in personal projects, SAP Fiori's "Manage My Timesheet" application provides a more robust, real-time digital solution where employees can enter their time against specific tasks or projects. This transition from manual to digital helps in tracking more accurately and provides historical data that's useful for future project planning.

  3. Handling Deviations

    Just as in personal scenarios, where we might follow up via calls or meetings if a task isn't completed, in SAP, the "Notify Missing Times" function serves a similar purpose. It helps project managers promptly address any discrepancies or missing entries, ensuring that the project remains on track without significant time lapses between identifying and correcting errors.

The methodologies we apply, whether in personal tasks or professional settings, share a common foundation: efficiency, accountability, and clarity. Using sophisticated tools like SAP can amplify these elements, providing a structured pathway to handle complex projects similar to simpler, everyday tasks. This reflection helps bridge.

Lesson Summary

In this session, we explored the essentials of Time Recording (J12) in SAP, focusing on how it supports project management through effective time tracking. Here's a recap of the key points that relate to our learning objectives:

  1. Understanding Time Recording

    We examined the importance of accurately recording work hours, whether they're billable or non-billable. This distinction is fundamental for precise project costing and billing, ensuring accountability and financial integrity in project execution.

  2. Key SAP Fiori Applications

    The session highlighted crucial SAP Fiori applications such as Manage My Timesheet, My Inbox for time sheet approvals, and Notify Missing Times for addressing time recording discrepancies. Familiarity with these applications enables efficient daily operations and problem resolution within the time recording framework.

  3. Role Differentiation and Permissions

    We discussed how different roles within the SAP system, like project managers and team members, have specific capabilities and permissions that streamline the task management process. Understanding these roles helps in effectively navigating the system and delegating responsibilities.

  4. Settings and Configurations Affecting Time Recording

    The lesson covered various system configurations, like the Restrict Unstaffed Posting setting, which can be tailored to meet project-specific requirements and compliance needs. Knowledge of these settings allows for customization and enhanced control over the time recording process.

  5. Benefits of Effective Time Recording

    Key benefits include improved project management through accurate labor cost tracking, enhanced compliance with billing and employment regulations, and the ability to provide detailed project performance insights. Such benefits are crucial for maintaining transparency and optimizing operational efficiency.

By understanding and utilizing these elements, you are now better equipped to manage and optimize the Time Recording process in SAP. This knowledge not only supports effective project management but also ensures that financial and operational objectives are met, aligning with our lesson's objectives.

Learning

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