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Chapter 12.1

Entering your time

How a person who keeps time in BizBooks360 records it: acknowledging the policy, typing hours on the timesheet grid, giving a reason for anything late or changed, clocking in and out, and submitting the timesheet with a certification.

Level Beginner Time about 20 minutes to read You need the Timekeeping module on, and the owner must have added you under Timekeeping people Edition November 2026 (revised 5 November 2026)
Learning objectives

When you finish this chapter you will be able to:

  1. Explain why a timesheet is a signed record and not a scratch pad.
  2. Find your way around the Timekeeping landing and the three views of My Time.
  3. Enter hours on the grid, and answer the reason the books ask for a late or changed entry.
  4. Read the "things to fix" box and clear it before you submit.
  5. Clock in and out on a computer or on the phone's Punch screen.
  6. Submit a timesheet with its certification, and take it back if you must.
SECTION 1

Why a timesheet is a signed record

An hour of work is the most common cost a small business has, and the easiest to get wrong. Payroll pays from it, jobs and contracts are costed from it, and a customer may be billed from it. For a company that works on government contracts, the timesheet is also evidence: an auditor may ask any employee about their time without warning.

BizBooks360 therefore treats each timesheet as a record that its owner certifies. Three rules follow, and the program keeps all three whatever the settings say:

  1. Time is recorded as it happens. You cannot enter time for a day still to come, and an entry made after the "late" line asks you why.
  2. Nothing is overwritten. Every change to a saved entry asks for a reason, and the old figure stays in the change log.
  3. The timesheet is submitted whole, with your certification, and then waits for someone else to approve it (Chapter 12.2).
WordWhat it means in BizBooks360
PeriodThe span one timesheet covers. Summit Gear Repair uses two-week periods that start on a Sunday: Oct 18 - Oct 31, then Nov 1 - Nov 14.
Charge codeWhat the hour was spent on. A new book has overhead codes (OH-GEN, GA-LAB, TRAINING, UNALLOW) and leave codes (VACATION, SICK, HOLIDAY and others). Project codes come from Volume 7.
Time typeRegular, overtime, vacation and so on. Overtime is worked out by the books, not typed.
EntryOne amount of time on one code on one day: typed hours, typed start and end times, or a clock punch.
SECTION 2

Before you begin: the owner adds you

Nobody keeps time until the owner of the books says who does. Until then the Timekeeping page says Nothing to record: you do not keep time in these books. The owner opens People → Timekeeping people → Invite and chooses one of three options under Who:

  • A contact of these books or a new contact: someone who does not sign in to the books yet. They receive an invitation by e-mail and are listed as Invited, not yet signed in until they accept.
  • A member of these books: someone who already signs in (the owner included). No invitation is sent; they keep the role they have and keep time as an employee.

For a contact or a new contact the page also asks the Role, one of two cards. Employee: Keeps their own time, leave and expenses; sees nothing else. Stakeholder: Sees hours and spend on the projects they are named on. A stakeholder is usually a customer's contact who follows the hours on a project: the punch settings are not offered for them, and the page asks instead which Projects they see. Everyone in this chapter is an Employee. A member is not asked: A member keeps the role they have in these books. Here they keep time as an employee.

Alex is the owner, so Alex added themself as a member, and invited Casey Lin as a new contact, in the Employee role, with Alex as Casey's manager.2

Invite a person to keep time, owner's view: Who is set to A member of these books; the Contact is Alex Morgan and Their login is Alex Morgan; the Role card says a member keeps the role they have; Manager No manager yet; May punch the clock is ticked; Default charge code OH-GEN Overhead -- general; Cancel and Add them buttons
Figure 1. Adding the owner as a member who keeps time. 1 A member of these books. 2 the contact whose time it is (Alex first saved an employee contact for themself under People → All Contacts). 3 the login that keeps it. 4 the manager, who approves the timesheets first; the owner has none. 5 May punch the clock. 6 the default charge code a punch goes to. 7 Add them.

The answer reads Alex Morgan keeps time here, signed in as Alex Morgan. No invitation was sent. As soon as one person keeps time, the sidebar grows a Timekeeping menu: Punch, My Time, My Leave, My Expenses, My Pay, and for managers Review, Leave, Expense claims and the rest.

Pro tip: set the period first

The period length and its first day live in Settings → Timekeeping → General. Choose them before anyone opens My Time: the program makes a period the first time someone looks at it, and a period already made keeps its dates even if the setting changes afterwards.3

PROCEDURE

Acknowledge the timekeeping policy

The first time you open Timekeeping, the books show their timekeeping policy instead of the landing. You cannot record time until you acknowledge it. Read it: it is short, and it is the rule your manager and any auditor will hold you to.

  1. 1

    Open Timekeeping and read the policy

    Its three paragraphs say: record every day, charge each hour where the work was done, give a reason for every change, and expect floor checks.

  2. 2

    Tick the box and press I acknowledge

    The acknowledgement is kept with the policy's version. If the owner later issues a new version, you are asked again.

Timekeeping policy, version 1, effective Nov 1, 2026: the policy text about daily recording, reasons for every change and floor checks; a ticked box I have read the policy and understand my obligations under it, the full acknowledgement sentence, and the I acknowledge button
Figure 2. The policy. 1 its version and the day it took effect. 2 the text. 3 the acknowledgement box, ticked. 4 I acknowledge.
SECTION 3

The landing: today and this period

After the acknowledgement, Timekeeping opens on a landing page built around two questions: what am I doing today? and where does my timesheet stand?

The Timekeeping landing for Alex Morgan on Sunday Nov 1: the Today card says Not clocked in, the charge code OH-GEN Overhead -- general and a large Clock in on OH-GEN button; This period Nov 1 - Nov 14, Draft, due Nov 17, with a chip for each day; Needs your attention says nothing is waiting; Waiting across the people you see shows Review 0, Leave 0, Claims 0, Forgotten punches 0
Figure 3. The landing on Sunday, November 1. 1 the Today card: not clocked in. 2 the code a clock-in records to. 3 Clock in on OH-GEN. 4 one chip for each day of the period; a dash marks a day off. 5 the period's state, Draft, and its due day, Nov 17 (three days of grace after the period ends). 6 anything waiting on you. 7 for a manager, what waits across the people they see.

The landing fills in as the period goes on. Once you have used a charge code, the Today card lists it under Your codes, one press away. Each day chip shows the hours entered that day, and a past work day with nothing on it reads none in red; under the chips a red link counts them (3 work days without an entry). Needs your attention then lists each thing waiting on you with Open or View, such as a timesheet that was approved.

SECTION 4

My Time: one timesheet, three views

Timekeeping → My Time shows the same timesheet in three ways. Use whichever suits the way you work; every view saves to the same entries.

ViewBest forHow you enter time
CalendarPeople who think in clock timesClick an empty part of a day for an hour from there, or drag a start and an end. Each day's + adds time from the keyboard.
ListReviewing what you entered+ Add time entry opens the entry form; each card has Open and a menu.
TimesheetFast entry of hours by code and dayType in a cell: 8, 7.5 or 7:30. Tab moves along the row, Enter moves down, Esc puts the saved figure back.

Week and Period switch between one week and the whole timesheet. The arrows and the date button move between weeks.

PROCEDURE

Enter a period's hours on the grid

The task. Timekeeping started at the shop on November 1, but the bookkeeper wants the previous period, Oct 18 - Oct 31, on record too. Alex kept a paper job log: eight hours of shop work every weekday, ten days in all. Every one of those days is now past the late line, so every entry will ask for a reason. That is exactly how it should be.

  1. 1

    Open the period

    My Time → Timesheet, then the left arrow until the label reads Oct 18 - Oct 24. The box at the top lists ten missing days.

My Time, Timesheet view, week Oct 18 - Oct 24 of the timesheet Oct 18 - Oct 31: the state chip Draft, due Nov 3; Calendar, List and Timesheet switch; week navigator; Submit timesheet greyed with Fix the 10 things above first; a red box listing ten missing work days from Mon Oct 19 to Fri Oct 30; the grid row OH-GEN Overhead, Regular, with empty day cells
Figure 4. The empty timesheet. 1 the state, Draft, due Nov 3. 2 the view switch. 3 the week shown, week 1 of 2. 4 Submit timesheet, greyed: Fix the 10 things above first. 5 the things to fix, one per missing work day, each with Go to day. 6 the Monday cell of the OH-GEN row, the owner's default code.
  1. 2

    Type the hours and press Tab

    Alex typed 8 in the Monday cell and pressed Tab. Because Oct 19 is past the late line, the reason box opened beside the cell before the cell was saved.

  2. 3

    Give the reason and save

    Kind of change is already Late entry. In What was wrong and what is right say what happened in a way a stranger would understand. Press Save with reason.

The reason dialog that opened after 8 was typed on Mon Oct 19: Why the change? This day was 13 days ago. Time is recorded daily, so say why it is entered now. Kind of change Late entry; What was wrong and what is right: Timekeeping started Nov 1; Oct 19 copied from my shop job log; beside it an extract From the timekeeping policy
Figure 5. The reason box. 1 the cell being saved. 2 why it is asked: This day was 13 days ago. 3 the kind of change. 4 the reason in Alex's words. 5 the policy's own words, as a reminder. Save with reason sits under the text box.

The mistake caught. On the Tuesday, Oct 20, Alex was in a hurry, wrote only late and pressed Save with reason. The box did not close. It outlined the text in red and answered: At least 10 characters: say what was wrong and what is right. Nothing was saved; the 8 waited in the cell until a real reason was given.4

The reason box refusing a one-word reason, on the current period's grid: 8.00 typed in the Monday Nov 2 cell; This day was 3 days ago; Kind of change Late entry; the text box, outlined in red, holds only the word late; under it the example sentence, the hint At least 10 characters (20 for Other), and in red At least 10 characters: say what was wrong and what is right; Cancel and Save with reason; beside it the extract From the timekeeping policy
Figure 6. A one-word reason, refused (shown here on the current period's grid, Monday Nov 2, because the October timesheet is now approved and locked; the box and its rule are the same). 1 the cell waiting to be saved. 2 the reason, late, outlined in red. 3 the rule, always shown under the box: At least 10 characters (20 for Other). 4 the refusal. 5 Save with reason, which tries again once the text is long enough; Cancel (or Esc) closes the box and leaves the cell unsaved.

Alex wrote the real reason, Timekeeping started Nov 1; Oct 20 copied from my shop job log., and repeated the steps for the other eight days. Each saved cell shows a small circle: the late mark.

Caution: a good reason and a poor one

The ten-character rule stops "late", and the books also refuse a reason that is only the name of its kind, such as "Late entry". But a count cannot judge sense: "Correction" has ten letters and still says nothing. "Timekeeping started Nov 1; Oct 19 copied from my shop job log" tells a reviewer where the figure came from and where to check it. The policy's example, "Charged 2.0 h to 1001-A on 3/4; the work was on 1002-B", is the model.

PROCEDURE

A mistake the grid catches

On the second week Alex's finger slipped and the Wednesday cell, Oct 28, received 80. The grid does not save a figure it cannot accept. The cell turns red and the things-to-fix box names it: Type hours as 7.5 or 7:30, up to 24.

A cell refused: 80 typed in the OH-GEN cell shows a red outline, and the box at the top says 1 thing to fix before you submit: OH-GEN on Sun Nov 1: Type hours as 7.5 or 7:30, up to 24, with a Go to cell link; Submit timesheet is greyed
Figure 7. A figure the grid refuses (shown here on the current period's grid, where the same check applies). 1 the line in the box, with Go to cell. 2 the cell in red, not saved. 3 Submit timesheet stays grey.

Alex reloaded the page without noticing. The 80 was gone, because it was never saved, and the box had one line left:

Week Oct 25 - Oct 31 after the first pass: the box reads 1 thing to fix before you submit, No entry on Wed Oct 28; the OH-GEN row has 8.00 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, small circles marking each as entered late, Wednesday empty; total 32.00
Figure 8. Week 2 with one day missing. 1 No entry on Wed Oct 28. 2 the empty Wednesday cell. 3 the late mark on a saved cell. 4 the week's total, 32.00. 5 Submit still grey.
  1. 1

    Type the right figure

    Alex typed 8 in the Wednesday cell and answered the reason box again.5

  2. 2

    Check the whole period

    Press Period. Ten days of 8.00 make 80.00 hours, and the box turns green: Ready to submit.

The whole timesheet Oct 18 - Oct 31 in the Period view: the box says Ready to submit; the grid shows 8.00 on each of the ten work days, each marked late, total 80.00, overtime 0.00; Timesheet note and Leave balance cards; the Change history with search, Who and What filters and rows such as Added 8.00 h on Wed Oct 28, OH-GEN, Wrong hours: Typed 80 h for Oct 28; the day was 8.0 h
Figure 9. The whole timesheet, ready. 1 Ready to submit. 2 Period. 3 each saved day carries its late mark. 4 the total, 80.00 (10 days × 8.00). 5 the Timesheet note, which prints on the timesheet. 6 the Change history, with search and Who and What filters. 7 every change, newest first: when, who, what, the reason, and the browser and address it came from.
SECTION 5

Reading your time in the List view

The List view shows the same entries as cards, grouped by week and day. It is the easiest place to read what you entered and why.

List view of the whole timesheet: + Add time entry and Show removed (0); Week of Oct 18 - Oct 24 folded, 5 entries, total 40.00 h; Week of Oct 25 - Oct 31 open with cards for Mon Oct 26, Tue Oct 27 and Wed Oct 28: each card says Hours only, Draft, Typed, OH-GEN Overhead, 8.00 h, (late), the sentence entered 6 days late with its reason, and Open and more buttons
Figure 10. The List view of the whole period. 1 + Add time entry. 2 Show removed: a deleted entry is kept and can be shown. 3 a folded week. 4 its total and the split of regular and overtime. 5 the card's words: Hours only (no start and end), Draft, Typed (not from the clock), the code and its class. 6 how late it was entered, and the reason. 7 the late mark and the hours. 8 Open, for the entry's own panel and its change log.
PROCEDURE

Clock in and out

Typing hours suits people who record at the end of the day. People who work by the clock press a button instead, and the books write the entry with its times. Alex clocked in on the Sunday while setting up Timekeeping.

  1. 1

    Clock in

    On the landing, check the charge code and press Clock in on OH-GEN. The Today card changes to In since 7:30 pm with Clock out, Start break, Start lunch and an Undo for a press made by mistake.

  2. 2

    Use the clock bar anywhere in My Time

    While you are clocked in, every My Time view carries a clock bar. The arrow beside it opens the full clock.

My Time Calendar view while the clock runs: the clock bar reads Working 0:00 OH-GEN with Clock out, Break and Lunch; the Clock panel shows a running timer 0:00:10, Working on OH-GEN since 7:30 pm, Switch to OH-GEN Now, Choose code and description, Today 0.00 h and the punch 7:30 pm In OH-GEN with Undo; below, the week's calendar starting Sun Nov 1, Today
Figure 11. My Time while the clock runs. 1 the clock bar: working, on OH-GEN. 2 Clock out. 3 Break and Lunch. 4 the running timer. 5 Switch to another code without clocking out. 6 today's punches, each with Undo. 7 the calendar of the week, today first. 8 Submit is grey: This timesheet cannot be submitted yet, because the period has only just begun.

On a phone. Timekeeping → Punch is a screen made for a phone held in one hand: large buttons, today's punches, and the week's hours against a 40-hour week. It offers to put itself on the phone's home screen.

The Punch screen at phone width: Online, Company time Pacific; a green card WORKING OH-GEN Overhead -- general since 7:30 pm, 16 s; Today 0 m, Week 0 m of 40 h; PROJECTS with OH-GEN Now and More codes; TODAY 7:30 pm In OH-GEN with Undo; a card to put Punch on the home screen; I forgot to clock in / out; Break, Lunch and Clock out buttons at the foot
Figure 12. The Punch screen at phone width. 1 working on OH-GEN since 7:30 pm. 2 your codes; the one you are on says Now. 3 More codes.... 4 today's punch with Undo. 5 I forgot to clock in / out. 6 Break and Lunch. 7 Clock out.

Alex clocked out a minute later. The landing then read Clocked out at 7:31 pm, and the punch pair became a timed entry of 0.02 hours on Nov 1.6

Pro tip: forgot to clock out?

Use Forgot to clock out? on the landing (or I forgot to clock in / out on the phone) the next morning. It records a back-dated punch with a reason. The books allow this up to the number of days set in Settings → Timekeeping → General (seven by default).

PROCEDURE

Submit the timesheet

  1. 1

    Write a timesheet note if the approver needs one

    Alex wrote: Timekeeping started Nov 1, so every day of this sheet was entered late from my shop job log. and pressed Save under the note.

  2. 2

    Press Submit timesheet

    The dialog shows the totals, the revision and the certification in full.

  3. 3

    Read the certification, tick it, and submit

    The button stays inactive until the box is ticked: Tick the certification first.

The Submit timesheet: Oct 18 - Oct 31 dialog: Regular 80.00, Total 80.00, Revision 1; Your certification, a long statement that the timesheet is a true, accurate and complete record of all hours, recorded daily and charged to the right code, with the federal statutes it names; the box I certify the statement above ticked; After you submit, your approver reviews it. You can take it back until it is approved; Cancel and Submit timesheet
Figure 13. The certification. 1 the period. 2 the totals (Regular 80.00, Total 80.00) and the revision. 3 the statement you sign.7 4 I certify the statement above. 5 Submit timesheet.
After submitting: the state chip reads Submitted; Take it back replaces Submit timesheet; a green line Timesheet submitted. Your approver will review it; the band Submitted on Nov 1. Waiting for review; the grid is now read-only
Figure 14. Submitted. 1 the state chip now reads Submitted. 2 Take it back replaces Submit. 3 Timesheet submitted. Your approver will review it. 4 Submitted on Nov 1. Waiting for review. The grid is read-only from now on.

Taking it back. Until it is approved you can press Take it back. The timesheet returns to Draft with the words Timesheet taken back. Change what you need, then submit it again. After approval, a change goes through the manager instead (Chapter 12.2).

Caution: who approves the owner's timesheet?

The message says an approver will review it, but Alex is the owner and has no manager, and nobody may approve their own timesheet. Chapter 12.2 shows what the books offer a one-person office: the sole-approver exception.

CHECKLIST

Every period

  • [x] Each work day has an entry: hours worked, leave, or unpaid time.
  • [x] Every hour is on the code where the work was done.
  • [x] Every late or changed entry has a reason a stranger could follow.
  • [x] No punch is left open; forgotten ones are fixed with a reason.
  • [x] The things-to-fix box says Ready to submit.
  • [x] The certification is read, ticked and submitted by the due day.
SECTION 6

Check your understanding

1. You type 7:30 in a cell. How many hours is that?

Answer

7.50. The grid accepts decimal hours or hours and minutes.

2. Why did every one of Alex's October entries ask for a reason?

Answer

Each was saved more than one day after the day worked, which is past the books' late line; a late entry always needs a reason and is marked late.

3. You typed 80 by mistake and left the cell. Was 80 hours recorded?

Answer

No. The grid refuses any figure over 24, marks the cell red and lists it as a thing to fix; nothing is saved.

4. Can you enter tomorrow's hours today, to save time?

Answer

No. Time cannot be recorded for a day or a time still to come; this rule is always on.

5. You submitted and then noticed a wrong code. What do you do?

Answer

Press Take it back, fix the entry with a reason (kind Wrong code), and submit again. If it is already approved, ask your manager.

Notes

  1. In Summit Outfitters Inc. the practice user is a member, not the owner, and only the owner of the books may add people to Timekeeping (the invitation page answers anyone else with Only the owner of these books can manage their users.). The pictures therefore come from Summit Gear Repair, which the practice user owns. Casey Lin and every figure in this chapter are made up for the example. ↑
  2. Inviting yourself by your own e-mail address is refused with That is your own e-mail address. To keep time yourself, choose "A member of these books" above. ↑
  3. Summit Gear Repair's periods are two weeks long starting Sunday, October 18. The setting can be changed only until the first timesheet is submitted. ↑
  4. Since November 2026 every reason a person types needs at least 10 characters, and 20 for the kind Other (At least 20 characters.). A reason that only repeats the name of a kind, such as "Late entry" or "Wrong hours!!", is refused with Say it in your own words, not the reason's name. The same rule applies in the manager's Correct... and Reopen dialogs (Chapter 12.2). ↑
  5. Alex chose the kind Wrong hours and wrote "Typed 80 h for Oct 28; the day was 8.0 h." Strictly, the 80 was never saved, so this entry was simply late and Late entry would have been the better kind. The reason is still honest, and it stays in the change log as written. ↑
  6. The clock keeps time to the minute. Punches can be rounded to 6 or 15 minutes in Settings → Timekeeping → Rules and certification, always to the nearest, never always up or always down. ↑
  7. The certification names federal statutes because it is written for companies with government contracts. The owner can edit its text, which is versioned. This manual is not legal advice. ↑

Volume 12: Timekeeping

  1. 12.1Entering your time
  2. 12.2Approving time and month-end
  3. 12.3Leave and expense claims
  4. 12.4Timekeeping reports

All volumes and chapters