How-ToFinance & Operations

How to Track Time with Timesheets in Business Central

Learn how to configure and use timesheets in Business Central to capture resource hours, route them through manager approval, and post them to project ledger entries.

Stein Sæstad
8 min read

Timesheets in Business Central give resources, employees, contractors, or machines, a structured way to record hours worked against projects, service orders, or absence. Entries go through a manager approval flow before they are posted to the project ledger.

The timesheet feature is part of the Projects module (formerly called Jobs in versions before Business Central 2023 Wave 2).

Enable Timesheets in Resources Setup

Timesheets are off by default. Enable them and configure the basic period settings before anything else.

  1. Search for Resources Setup using Alt + Q.
  2. Set Use Timesheets to Yes.
  3. In the First Weekday of Timesheet field, select the day your timesheet periods start (typically Monday).
  4. In the Timesheet Period field, select how long each timesheet covers. The standard option is Week.
  5. In the Time Sheet Nos. field, confirm or assign a number series for timesheet documents.
  6. Close the page.

Set Up Resources

Each person or machine that records time must have a resource card.

  1. Search for Resources using Alt + Q.
  2. Select New to create a resource, or open an existing one.
  3. In the No. field, enter a resource code (e.g., EMP001).
  4. Enter a Name for the resource.
  5. Set the Type field to Person or Machine.
  6. On the Invoicing tab, enter the Direct Unit Cost (what the resource costs internally) and the Unit Price (what you bill to clients).
  7. In the Time Sheet Owner User ID field, assign the Business Central user who will fill in timesheets for this resource.
  8. In the Time Sheet Approver User ID field, assign the manager who approves this resource’s timesheets.

Each resource must have both an owner and an approver assigned before timesheets can be submitted.

Assign Resources to Projects

To enter time against a project task, the resource must be listed on a planning line for that task.

  1. Open the relevant project from Projects.
  2. Select a Posting task line and navigate to Project Planning Lines.
  3. Add a line with Type set to Resource, and select the resource in the No. field.
  4. Set the Line Type to Budget or Both Budget and Billable depending on whether the hours should feed the budget comparison.
  5. Enter the expected Quantity (planned hours).

Create a Timesheet

Timesheets are created by the resource owner, the person recording their hours.

  1. Search for My Timesheets using Alt + Q. This page shows timesheets assigned to the currently logged-in user.
  2. Select New to create a new timesheet for the current period. Business Central generates a timesheet covering the configured period (e.g., Mon–Sun).
  3. The Resource No. field is filled automatically based on the logged-in user’s resource assignment.
  4. Confirm the Starting Date and Ending Date for the period.

Enter Hours on a Timesheet

Each row on the timesheet represents a work type, a project task, a service order, or an absence reason.

  1. Open the timesheet and select Edit Timesheet.
  2. On the first empty line, set the Type field:
    • Projects, to log time against a project (formerly Jobs)
    • Service Order, to log time against a service order
    • Absence, to record absence
  3. For a Projects line, select the Project No. and Project Task No..
  4. Enter hours in the day columns (Monday through Sunday). Each cell represents one day.
  5. Add additional lines for other projects or work types as needed.
  6. Save the timesheet.

You can add a Description to each line to provide context for the hours logged.

Submit a Timesheet for Approval

Once all hours for the period are entered, the resource submits the timesheet.

  1. On the timesheet, select Submit from the action bar.
  2. Confirm the submission. The timesheet status changes from Open to Submitted.

The assigned approver receives the timesheet in their queue. The resource can no longer edit lines after submission unless the approver returns it.

Approve Timesheets as a Manager

Managers review and approve submitted timesheets from the Manager Time Sheets page.

  1. Search for Manager Time Sheets using Alt + Q.
  2. The list shows all timesheets pending approval for resources where you are the assigned approver.
  3. Open a timesheet to review the hours entered per day and project.
  4. To approve, select Approve from the action bar. The status changes to Approved.
  5. To return a timesheet with corrections needed, select Reject. The resource can then edit and resubmit.

Post Approved Timesheets to Project Ledger Entries

Approved timesheets do not automatically create project ledger entries. You need to transfer them to a project journal and post.

Option 1, Suggest Project Journal Lines

  1. Search for Project Journals using Alt + Q.
  2. Open a journal batch.
  3. Select Suggest Project Journal Lines from the action bar.
  4. In the request page, set the Timesheet Date filter to cover the period you want to post.
  5. Select OK. Business Central pulls in all approved timesheet lines as journal lines.
  6. Review the lines, then select Post.

Option 2, Post Directly from the Timesheet

Some configurations allow posting directly from the approved timesheet:

  1. Open the approved timesheet in Manager Time Sheets or My Timesheets.
  2. Select Post if the action is available.

Using Suggest Project Journal Lines is more common as it gives you a chance to review entries before they hit the project ledger.

Once posted, the hours appear as usage entries on the project and feed into the budget comparison on the Project Statistics page. To see how those entries compare to your planned budget and understand WIP, see How to Manage Project Budgets and Resources in Business Central.