Set a Weekly Deadline
Pick one day and time when the week's hours are due, such as Monday at noon for the week before, and keep it the same every week. Ask people to fill in their hours daily and submit once at the end of the week. Hours written down the same day are far more accurate than hours remembered on Friday.
What to Check Before You Approve
- Total hours against what you expect from the person: 40 for full-time, 20 for part-time, or the weekly hours you agreed with a contractor.
- Empty weekdays, which usually mean missing time.
- The right projects: hours on a client they don't work for, or on internal work that should be billable.
- Descriptions clear enough to go on a client invoice.
- Budgets: projects running past their estimate, so you can tell the client early.
Send It Back With a Note
When something's off, send the week back with a specific note (“Tuesday is empty; was that the site visit?”) and let the person fix it. Correcting someone's hours yourself works in a pinch, but they learn more from fixing it, and their record stays their own.
Approve, Lock, Then Bill
Approved weeks should lock, so hours can't change after you've billed them or paid for them. If something has to change later, reopen the week on purpose. Then invoice clients from approved hours only, and pay contractors from the same hours. How to Pay Contractors and Bill Clients for Their Work covers the rest.
Handle People Who Fall Behind
- Send an automatic reminder on the deadline day to anyone behind.
- Follow up personally with anyone two weeks behind.
- Keep it about the process: late hours mean late invoices, and late invoices mean late pay for everyone.