Time sheets in Business Central

Time sheets in Business Central let resources (typically employees and contractors) record the hours they spend on jobs (projects), service orders, or general activities. The data feeds project billing, project profitability, resource utilisation analysis, and — through integration — payroll. For services-led businesses, time sheets are the linchpin between work done and revenue / cost recognised.

The setup. Each resource in Business Central represents a person, equipment item, or generic capacity unit. Resources have unit costs (the internal hourly cost) and unit prices (the billable hourly rate, defaulted to the job line). For time sheet functionality, the resource needs:

• A Time Sheet Owner User — the user who fills in the time sheet (typically the resource themselves; can be a supervisor for shared admins).
• An Approver User — the user who approves submitted time sheets.

The time sheet. A weekly grid (or other period configured) where the resource enters hours per day against jobs, job tasks, service orders, or generic activity types (admin, training, sick leave). Each line captures:

• Type — Resource (general), Job, Service Order, Assembly Order, Absence.
• Object reference — which job + job task, which service order, etc.
• Description — what was done.
• Hours per day — across the week.
• Status — Open, Submitted, Approved, Rejected.

The flow.

1. Resource fills in the time sheet during the week or at end of week.
2. Submit — the resource finalises and submits. Status moves to Submitted; further editing is blocked unless rejected.
3. Approve / Reject — the approver reviews. Approved lines move to Approved status. Rejected lines come back to the resource with comments.
4. Posted — approved time becomes:
   • Job ledger entries if associated with a job, contributing cost (cost rate × hours) and billable revenue (price × hours) per the job's billable plan.
   • Service ledger entries if associated with a service order.
   • Resource ledger entries for general resource work.

Integration with billing. For billable jobs, approved hours feed into the Job Sales Invoice generation process. Hours billed are subtracted from the available billable plan, and the invoice draft shows time entries grouped per the configured billing rule.

Integration with payroll. Time sheet hours can feed payroll systems via Power Automate flows, the API, or a partner connector. Common patterns:

• Hours per pay period exported to the payroll provider (Visma, Hogia, Lønn360, ADP, Paylocity, etc.).
• Differentiated rates — regular, overtime, weekend, holiday — captured via line type or absence type.
• Approval status as the trigger for payroll inclusion.

Mobile. Time sheets are usable from the Business Central mobile experience for field workers and consultants who don't sit at a desktop.

Workflow. Built-in workflow can route time-sheet approvals to a hierarchical chain — supervisor, then project manager, then department head — with escalation on delay.

Reporting. Standard reports cover:

• Resource utilisation — billable hours vs total hours.
• Job profitability — actual cost vs billed revenue.
• Time sheet status — open, submitted, awaiting approval.
• Absence summaries.

Common pitfalls.

• No time sheet discipline — resources fill in at the end of the month, guessing what they did. Configure weekly approval cycles and enforce them.
• Missing approver setup — submitted time sheets sit indefinitely. Audit the approver setup quarterly.
• Incomplete cost rates — postings reflect partial cost when a resource's rate is zero. Maintain rates rigorously.

When BC's time sheets aren't enough. Heavy services-led organisations with complex resourcing, multi-stage approvals across project managers and account managers, and sophisticated billing scenarios often outgrow BC's time sheets and move to Project Operations for a richer model.