> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.paypunch.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Reviewing Time

> Open a pay period, inspect each employee's punches, correct bad entries, and reject the ones that need a redo before you submit payroll.

Before you submit a period to your bookkeeper, you review the hours. Open a period from
[Timesheets](/client/timesheets) by clicking **View** — the detail page shows every
employee's entries for that period and is where you correct or reject anything that's
wrong. The header shows the date range and *"Review timesheet entries for this period."*

<Frame />

## What the period detail shows

Four summary cards sit at the top: **Status**, **Total Hours** (all employees), **Employees**
(with a count of how many are fully approved), and **Pay Date**.

Below that, each employee gets a card showing their total, regular, and overtime hours and a
badge — **All Approved** (green) or **Pending Review** (yellow). Inside each card is a table
of that employee's entries:

| Column        | What it shows                                                      |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Date**      | The day of the entry                                               |
| **Clock In**  | Start time                                                         |
| **Clock Out** | End time (a dash if still open)                                    |
| **Hours**     | Hours for the entry                                                |
| **Status**    | The entry's state (see below)                                      |
| **Actions**   | **Edit** and **Delete** — shown only when you can act on the entry |

### Entry statuses

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Pending" icon="clock">
    Awaiting review. This is the only state you can edit or delete.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Approved" icon="circle-check">
    Cleared for payroll. Approved entries can't be modified.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Rejected" icon="circle-xmark">
    Sent back to the employee to fix. Can't be modified further.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Exported" icon="file-export">
    Already pulled into a payroll export. Locked.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Correcting an entry

If a punch is wrong — a missed clock-out, a long lunch not deducted — fix it instead of
tossing it. Click the **Edit** (pencil) button on a **Pending** entry to open the **Edit
Time Entry** dialog:

* **Clock In** and **Clock Out** (date and time)
* **Break Minutes** (0–480)
* **Notes** (up to 500 characters)

Click **Save**. PayPunch recalculates the hours and marks the entry as edited; you'll see
**"Time entry updated successfully."** Clock-out must be after clock-in, the shift can't
exceed 24 hours, and break minutes can't exceed the shift length.

## Rejecting an entry

When an entry is wrong enough that the employee should redo it, **reject** it. Click the
**Delete** (trash) button on a **Pending** entry to open the **Delete Time Entry** dialog,
confirm, and the entry is sent back. When you reject with a reason, PayPunch:

* Marks the entry **Rejected**
* **Emails the employee** with the entry details, the reason, and a link to correct and
  resubmit it (a rejection reason must be at least 10 characters)

You'll see **"Time entry rejected successfully. Employee has been notified."**

<Note>
  **Editing and rejecting require the Owner or Manager role.** A **Viewer** sees the same
  entries and statuses but no **Edit** or **Delete** buttons. Only **Pending** entries can
  be changed — approved, rejected, or exported entries are locked, and a tooltip explains
  why (e.g. *"Approved entries cannot be modified"*).
</Note>

<Warning>
  If the period is **locked**, a red banner reads *"This pay period is locked. Time entries
  cannot be modified."* A period locks after it's submitted (and your bookkeeper can lock
  it sooner). To change a locked period, contact your bookkeeper.
</Warning>

## How entries get approved

The client portal doesn't have a per-entry **Approve** button. Entries arrive already
carrying a status, and your review job is to **correct** the ones that are off and
**reject** the ones that need a redo. A period is ready to submit only when every entry
shows **Approved** — the [submit screen](/client/submitting-payroll) blocks submission while
any employee still has entries that aren't approved. If approved entries aren't appearing as
expected, check with your bookkeeper on how approval is configured for your company.

## Next step

Once every entry is squared away, head to [Submitting payroll](/client/submitting-payroll)
to send the period to your bookkeeper.