Configure pay period deadlines

Overview

You will learn how privileges and pay period deadlines work together, how to configure pay period deadlines, what each field means, and the rules for closing and reopening pay periods.

This article is intended for:

• Payroll administrators: Configure pay period deadlines, close and reopen pay periods, and manage timesheets at any time.

• Managers with the Manage timesheet privilege: Review, edit, approve, or deny timesheets until the approval deadline passes.

Privilege rules for deadlines

Timesheet access is controlled by a combination of user privileges and pay period deadlines.  

• Privileges determine what actions a user can take, such as editing or approving timesheets.

• Deadlines define how long those privileges remain in effect for each pay period.

For privilege definitions, see Privilege descriptions by module > Time and Attendance.

Manage timesheet privilege (Managers)

• Managers can create, edit, approve, or deny timesheets until the approval deadline passes.

• If no approval deadline is set, managers can only manage timesheets until the end of the pay period.

• After the deadline, managers lose access to these actions.

Timesheet Administrator privilege (Payroll administrators)

• Admins can manage employee timesheets at any time while the pay period is open, regardless of deadlines.

• They can close or reopen pay periods.

• If approval workflows are enabled, multiple approvers may be required before a period is closed or reopened.

Configure pay period deadlines

1. Go to Global Settings.

2. Expand Time Tracking.

3. Select Pay Period Configuration.

4. Choose the pay period you want to configure (for example, Timesheet – Weekly).

5. Click the ellipsis (…) menu and select Edit.

6. Under Deadlines, configure the following:

   • Approval after pay period end (days + time of day)

   • Close after pay period end (days + time of day)

   • Deadline time zone

7. Click Save.
   

Field explanations with examples

Approval after pay period end + Time of Day

Defines how long managers can approve timesheets after the pay period ends.

Example: If the pay period ends on Sunday, Sep 7, 2025, and you set 1 day at 12 P.M., the approval deadline is Monday, Sep 8, 2025 at 12 P.M.

Close after pay period end + Time of Day

Defines how long payroll administrators have to finalize and close the pay period.

Example: If the pay period ends on Sunday, Sep 7, 2025, and you set 2 days at 12 P.M., the pay period can be closed on Tuesday, Sep 9, 2025 at 12 P.M.

Important:

• The Close Pay Period button only becomes available after the approval deadline has passed.

• If the approval deadline is set to 0, the button is available at the end of the pay period.

• The system blocks closing if any timesheets are still unapproved.

Deadline time zone

All deadlines follow the configured deadline time zone, not the user’s local device time.

Additional rules

Closing rules

• All previous pay periods must be closed in chronological order before closing a new one.

• If past periods were left open, they must be closed one by one, starting from the oldest.

• We recommend closing a pay period once payroll has been processed. Closing prevents further edits and keeps reports consistent.

• Closing is not required to run reports, exports, or send data to integrations.

Reopening rules

To reopen a past pay period, all subsequent closed pay periods must first be reopened.

Example: To reopen July, you must reopen August and September first.

Integration behavior

• If you use integrations, you can send hours at any time during the pay period.

• Sending multiple times overwrites the data in the integrated account.

• If you do not use integrations, the Send Data option is replaced by a placeholder labeled In Process.

FAQs