A Supervisor’s Timesheet Approval Checklist for Government Contractors

A timesheet total can look reasonable while the entries behind it still need attention. A project code may be wrong. A leave request may be unresolved. An employee may have corrected an entry after an earlier review.

A useful supervisor review connects recorded time with the work performed, checks outstanding questions, and leaves a clear decision. The checklist below is a practical starting point to adapt to your organization’s timekeeping procedures.

Start with the employee’s record

DCAA’s accounting-system guidance describes employee completion and certification of time records, supervisor approval, and daily recording of all hours worked. It also describes reconciliation between labor records and payroll.

Your company’s procedures establish who reviews a particular employee, how exceptions are resolved, and how records move toward period close. This article is an operational checklist, not a substitute for those procedures.

1. Confirm the employee, period, and review authority

Check that you are reviewing the correct person and dates. Confirm you are the assigned reviewer or an authorized delegate under company policy. For a new hire, the onboarding checklist covers confirming the reviewer before the first submission.

Look for changes that could affect your understanding of the period, such as a new assignment or a change of supervisor. If you lack the information to review the work, involve the responsible person rather than approving on assumption.

2. Review the days behind the total

Read the daily entries and consider whether anything needs explanation. Missing entries, duplicate hours, or an unexpected pattern can be reasons to ask a question.

A standard work schedule helps identify questions, but it does not establish the hours someone actually worked. Resolve discrepancies with the employee. All time actually worked must remain accurately recorded; approval questions about overtime or a work assignment should be handled separately under company procedures.

3. Check the charge codes against the work

Review whether the selected projects and tasks match what the employee reports doing and the applicable work authorization.

A familiar project name is not enough if the employee worked across different tasks. If an appropriate code is missing, raise that with timekeeping or accounting. Do not substitute another code simply to complete the review or move hours to fit available funding.

4. Resolve leave and overlap questions

Check recorded leave against the applicable requests and approvals. Investigate apparent overlaps between work and leave, missing leave, or a request that remains pending.

The purpose is to establish an accurate record. A pending request does not by itself prove the employee was absent, and an approved request may need adjustment if the person’s actual day changed.

5. Read relevant changes and explanations

Look at revisions, late-entry reasons, and any outstanding questions attached to the period. Determine whether earlier concerns were answered and whether you are reviewing the current entries.

For the detailed correction process, see How to Correct a Timesheet Without Losing the Audit Trail. This review should preserve the explanation of a change rather than treating a clean-looking total as the whole record.

6. Confirm certification and record a decision

Confirm that the required employee certification applies to the entries being reviewed. If a correction has invalidated that certification, follow the process for renewed certification and review.

Then record the appropriate decision: approve a completed review, return a specific issue for correction, or request clarification. A useful note identifies the date, entry, and question. “Please explain the project code used on Tuesday afternoon” gives the employee a clearer next step than “Fix your time.”

A fictional review example

Imagine reviewing Elena’s period. The total matches her expected week, but Tuesday includes an unfamiliar task code and a Friday leave request is still pending.

Those observations are questions to resolve, not proof that the timesheet is wrong. The supervisor asks Elena about Tuesday’s work and routes the leave question to the appropriate reviewer. Any necessary correction follows the company’s documented process before the final decision.

The review remains focused on the record and the work behind it. The expected weekly total alone cannot answer either question.

Keep the checklist close to the approval screen

• Correct employee, dates, and authorized reviewer.
• Daily entries reviewed and apparent gaps or duplicates addressed.
• Charge codes checked against the work and applicable authorization.
• Leave questions and apparent overlaps resolved.
• Relevant revisions and explanations reviewed.
• Required employee certification current for the entries under review.
• Decision and any required explanation recorded.

Approval is one step in a broader process. Timekeeping and accounting still need to address outstanding items and reconcile the records used downstream.

How HelmRow supports the review

HelmRow separates employee certification from supervisor approval. The review screen presents recorded time, revision history, and the certification record. A supervisor can approve, reject with a reason, or ask a question; that role does not edit the employee’s entries, and anything a supervisor enters on an employee’s behalf is recorded under the supervisor’s name and waits for the employee’s affirmation.

A correction to certified time withdraws the earlier certification, keeping the need for renewed review visible. See the product tour for the current workflow, or request a demo to discuss your team’s review process.

HelmRow provides tools that support timekeeping controls. Compliance depends on the organization’s complete policies, procedures, internal controls, and implementation; the product is not government-certified or approved.