ApproveThis manages your TimeLive Integration approvals.

When Time Tracking Meets Approval Power

Let’s be real – nobody got into business to chase down signatures or play detective with expense reports. Yet here we are. TimeLive’s great at tracking hours and expenses, but when you need actual decisions made? That’s where things get messy. Enter ApproveThis: the sidekick that turns “Where’s that approval?” into “It’s already handled.”

Connect them through Zapier, and you’ve got something smarter than your average workflow automation. We’re talking about real-time handoffs between tracking work and approving it – no more spreadsheets-as-middlemen or approval requests lost in Slack purgatory.

What This Duo Actually Does

TimeLive’s Wheelhouse: Tracking billable hours, monitoring project budgets, logging expenses. Solid for knowing what happened.

ApproveThis’ Add-On: The “now what” piece. Automatic routing of time sheets for approval, instant alerts when project budgets hit thresholds, and enforceable rules so a $50k project doesn’t get greenlit by an intern.

The Hidden Benefit Everyone Misses

Your CFO will care about audit trails. Your project managers will obsess over real-time statuses. But here’s the quiet win: ApproveThis approvers don’t need TimeLive licenses. Client needs to sign off on hours? Vendor waiting on PO approval? Add them as approvers without buying another seat. That’s the kind of move that keeps SaaS costs from bleeding you dry.

Real-World Use Cases That Don’t Suck

1. Killing Expense Report Ping-Pong

The Zap: New TimeLive expense sheet → Auto-create ApproveThis request with receipts + policy check

Who Cares: Marketing agencies with client billbacks. Construction firms tracking subcontractor costs.

How it actually works:

• Field rep submits mileage + meals in TimeLive
• Zapier fires the details to ApproveThis
• ApproveThis runs compliance checks (using calculated fields to flag overspending)
• Accounting lead gets email with one-click approve/deny

Bonus move: Set approval thresholds so anything under $500 auto-approves if it matches project codes. Suddenly, finance isn’t drowning in petty cash requests.

2. Projects That Don’t Start Until They’re Actually Approved

The Zap: New TimeLive project → Create multi-tier approval chain in ApproveThis

Who Cares: Software dev shops, consultants, anyone where scope creep starts day one.

Example: A $120k dev project pops up in TimeLive. ApproveThis:

• Routes to tech lead for feasibility check
• Then to legal for contract review
• Finally to CTO for budget sign-off

All while the PM sees real-time status in ApproveThis’ dashboard. No more “We started coding before legal reviewed” disasters.

3. Turning Approvals Into Actions Without the Human Relay Race

The Zap: Approved request in ApproveThis → Auto-create TimeLive task

Who Cares: HR teams onboarding new hires, facilities managing equipment requests.

Scenario: Office manager approves $2k for new monitors. Instead of someone manually creating a procurement task:

1. ApproveThis pings Zapier
2. Zapier creates TimeLive task for IT with approved specs
3. Task auto-assigned to purchasing team

Denied a request? Zapier can log it in TimeLive with “Reason: Budget freeze Q3” so everyone’s looped in.

Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind

Zapier’s the glue here. You’ll need:

1. A TimeLive account (sign up here)
2. An ApproveThis account (get started here)
3. 18 minutes (seriously – we timed it)

Basic flow:

- Pick your trigger (New expense? New project?)
- Map TimeLive fields to ApproveThis’ request form
- Set up approval rules (who approves what, in which order)
- Test with a $5 expense before going live with the $50k project

Pro tip: Use ApproveThis’ vacation delegation so approvals don’t stall when Karen from accounting is off grid.

Why Different Teams Will Claim This as Their Own

Finance Teams

They care about controls. With ApproveThis’ thresholds and TimeLive’s data, they can:
- Auto-flag expenses exceeding per-diem rates
- Require dual approvals for projects over budget
- Audit every decision without digging through emails

Project Managers

They want things moving. The combo lets them:
- Start timer tracking only after client signs SOW
- Get alerts when approvals stall
- Prove compliance without manual reporting

Department Heads

They’re tired of being bottlenecks. Now they can:
- Approve PTO requests directly from TimeLive entries
- Delegate approvals during conferences
- See team capacity before approving new projects

The Bottom Line

TimeLive tells you where the time went. ApproveThis decides where it should go next. Together via Zapier, they turn “Did that get approved?” from a daily annoyance into a system that just… works.

Best part? You’re not building some fragile Rube Goldberg machine. We’re talking pre-built Zaps, email-based approvals even your least techy client can handle, and permissions that keep everyone in their lane.

Ready to stop being a approval traffic cop? Spin up a free ApproveThis account or book a 10-minute demo to see how it plays with your TimeLive setup.