ApproveThis manages your Timely Time Tracking Integration approvals.

When Time Tracking Meets Approval Power

Let’s cut to the chase: time tracking and approval processes are two of the most universally hated parts of running a business. One feels like micromanagement, the other like red tape. But what if you could make them work together so smoothly that they actually save time instead of wasting it?

That’s exactly what happens when you connect ApproveThis and Timely Time Tracking through Zapier. We’re talking about automating the grunt work of chasing down approvals for timesheets, project hours, or client billing – while keeping everyone honest about where the time actually goes. For companies between 50-5,000 employees juggling multiple approval layers, this isn’t just nice-to-have. It’s survival.

Why This Combo Works (When Others Don’t)

Timely’s great at passively tracking time across projects without turning your team into data entry clerks. ApproveThis cuts through approval bottlenecks like a chainsaw through butter. Together, they handle the two biggest leaks in operational efficiency: unaccounted time and decision paralysis.

Here’s the kicker: ApproveThis approvers don’t need Timely licenses. That means you can loop in external clients or department heads without racking up SaaS subscription costs. They approve via email, you maintain control in Timely – no extra logins, no added complexity.

Real-World Use Cases That Actually Matter

1. Killing Timesheet Tetris

Picture a marketing agency where freelancers log hours in Timely. Instead of someone manually compiling spreadsheets and chasing down approvals, ApproveThis auto-generates approval requests the moment entries hit Timely. Approval thresholds automatically route small invoices to team leads and escalate anything over $5K to finance. Project managers get real-time dashboards showing approved vs. pending hours without a single status meeting.

2. Project Budget Enforcement

Software teams using Timely to track dev hours can set up ApproveThis calculated fields to flag when a project hits 75% of allocated time. The system auto-triggers approval requests requiring explicit sign-off before burning into overtime budgets. CFOs get guardrails, PMs get alerts, and the board gets fewer heart attacks during quarterly reviews.

3. Client Workflow Automation

For consultancies, new ApproveThis client intake requests can auto-create client profiles in Timely via Zapier. Every approved scope change automatically updates tracked time categories. Clients receive approval requests via email (no login required) while internal teams maintain a single source of truth in Timely. It’s like having a self-updating contract that everyone actually follows.

Setup That Doesn’t Require an IT Degree

Connect ApproveThis and Timely in three steps:

1. Create a Zapier account (they’re the middleman here)
2. Choose your trigger – like “New Time Entry” in Timely or “Request Approved” in ApproveThis
3. Set the action – creating approval requests or logging approved time

Pro tip: Use ApproveThis’ conditional logic to auto-approve routine entries under 2 hours, but require sign-off for anything labeled “overtime” or “client-billable”. Saves your team 100+ approval clicks per month.

Department-Specific Wins

Finance Teams

No more invoice surprises. Approval thresholds in ApproveThis lock down budgets, while Timely’s tracking provides audit trails. If someone tries to bill 40 hours to a maxed-out project, the system blocks it until you say otherwise.

Project Managers

See real-time approval statuses alongside Timely’s time data. Conditional routing means urgent requests skip the queue – critical when dealing with client deadlines.

HR & Operations

Automatically reassign approval duties when managers are OOO (thanks to vacation delegation). Plus, track approval response times to identify process bottlenecks – because sometimes the problem isn’t the team, it’s the workflow.

Features You’ll Actually Use

Beyond basic approvals, this integration shines with:

• Email approvals: Clients/executives approve directly from their inbox – no new logins
• Calculated fields: Auto-flag entries that exceed project budgets or hourly limits
• Dual dashboards: ApproveThis shows approval workflows, Timely shows time data – together they show cause/effect

Common Questions (Answered Honestly)

“Will this create more work for my team?”
Flip that – it automates the chasing. Approvers spend less time in meetings explaining why they rejected something, requesters stop hounding people for status updates.

“What if we need to override approvals?”
ApproveThis lets admins fast-track or reroute any request. Power stays with you, but 80% of approvals will handle themselves.

Bottom Line

Companies using ApproveThis + Timely through Zapier typically cut approval delays by 60-70% in the first quarter. Not because people work faster, but because they stop working on approvals altogether. The system handles the grunt work, humans handle the exceptions.

Ready to stop being the approval bottleneck? Get started with ApproveThis or schedule a demo to see how it plays with your Timely setup. No sales scripts, just real workflows that make your team wonder how they ever worked without it.