creating a timesheet template (NEW!)

Modified on Thu, 25 Sep at 9:59 AM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Timesheet Template: Your Blueprint for Time Tracking
Timesheet Positions
Walkthrough: Creating a Timesheet Template
Creating Your Timesheet Template
The Basics
Timesheet Template Name
Reminder Alerts
Reminder Alerts to Reporters or Timesheet Supervisors and Timesheet Directors
Finish Line Status & Time Off Calendars
Saving Your Timesheet Template & Enabling the Launch

The Timesheet Template: Your Blueprint for Time Tracking

Before your reporters can begin tracking their hours, you'll need to create a Timesheet Template and assign reporters to it. Think of the Timesheet Template as the blueprint for how your program wants hours to be tracked—it sets the structure reporters will follow and determines which features they'll see when completing their timesheets.

In this article, we’ll walk you through how to set up a new Timesheet Template, step by step. We’ll also introduce two powerful tools you can include in your template to boost clarity and accuracy:

Finish Line Status: A progress tracker that shows each reporter whether they’re on pace to meet their Goal Hours by the end of their term -- calculated using the reporter's personal start & end dates, anticipated time off, hours logged, and hours remaining.
Time Off Calendars: A built-in way to speed up timesheet completion when reporters have a consistent or semi-consistent schedule. Assigning Time Off Calendars to every reporter is essential when using the Finish Line Status feature.

For example, if reporters typically don’t serve on weekends and federal holidays, you can create a calendar that automatically marks Saturdays and Sundays as “Not Scheduled to Serve” and federal holidays as "Holiday".

Timesheet Positions

Before you can create a Timesheet Template, you’ll first need to create at least one Timesheet Position. This is where you define the Goal Hours for a group of reporters—the total number of hours each person is expected to complete during their term.

Check out this article for help creating or updating your Timesheet Positions.

Walkthrough: Creating a Timesheet Template

Creating Your Timesheet Template

Let’s get started:

On the left, in your Mission Control, click Timesheets.
On the right, select Create & manage timesheet templates.
On the next page, enter a name for your template.
Click Create Timesheet Template.

NOTE: Generally, it's best to name your template according to the program year the template will cover (e.g., Program Year 2025-26 or 2025-26 (Program Name))

If you intend to use two or more templates for a single program year, then also include the name of the program that will be linked to that template (e.g., 2026-27 (Program Name)).

The Basics

Items in this section cover all the essential settings to get your template ready.

Complete each step of the process to move on to the next.

Timesheet Template Name

After creating a name for your template, you'll be taken to the Create your Timesheet Template page.

You can change the name of your Timesheet Template any time by selecting the Edit button in this section.

Active Timesheet Positions

Select the Timesheet Positions relevant to this timesheet template.
Click Set.

If you need to change or edit your Timesheet Positions, use the Manage Timesheet Positions link. This page will open in a new tab.

Start & End Dates

Start & End Dates in your Timesheet Template should reflect the first and last possible date any single reporter may log hours. Check out this article for more information on setting Personal Start and End dates for each individual reporter.

Click the Set link.
A window will open.
Under Start Date, click Set and select the date your template should begin on.
Under End Date, click Set and select the date your template should end on.
Click Save.
Click Set.

NOTE: Start Dates can be changed up until the day your Timesheet Template launches. End Dates can be changed up until the day your Template’s last timesheet period launches.

If you do not see the option to edit the Start or End Dates, email support@americalearns.net.

Length of Each Timesheet Period

You have control over how often reporters will be asked to submit their timesheets. Select one of the many options listed. If you don’t see the one you need, select the Custom option.
Click Set.

Time Allocation Categories

You’re able to create an unlimited number of activity categories. You can also create new categories and hide ones that are no longer relevant at any point.

Here are the steps to follow for each category you create:

Click Create a Category, and a window will open.
At the top of the window, enter a name for your category (e.g., “Service”).
Next, you’ll see a section that reads, Hours thresholds for this category.

In this section, you’ll see a list of all selected Timesheet Positions.
If you’d like reporters assigned to any of these positions to be flagged for review after they have tracked a certain number of hours, enter a threshold value in the corresponding box.
- When a reporter exceeds the threshold, the Impact Suite will highlight the value in red on reports and exports.
- This feature is for monitoring purposes only—it will not limit the number of hours a reporter can enter.

Next, you’ll see a section that reads, Should hours in this category qualify as Goal Hours?

In this section, you’ll decide whether hours tracked in this category should count toward a reporter’s Goal Hours (as defined by their assigned Timesheet Position).
- Yes – Hours tracked in this category will qualify as Goal Hours and will be deducted from the reporter’s Goal Hours total.
- No – Hours tracked in this category will not qualify as Goal Hours and will not be deducted from the total.
Use this setting to ensure each hour is counted just the way your program needs it to be.
Turn on written descriptions?

To turn on a text field so that reporters can describe their efforts in this category, use the drop-down menu to select one of the following options:

NOTE: To initiate the option Only for Specific Subcategories you will first need to create subcategories (more guidance on this in the section called Text Fields for Subcategories).
Next is the section called Which sites will see this category?

This option allows you to target categories to reporters by site. If all reporters assigned to the template should see the category, leave Everyone selected and move to the next section.

To target a category, choose Limit by Site Selection.
Optional: Subcategories
You can create up to 20 Subcategories for each main Category. Subcategories help you track time in more detail within a broader category.

For example, under the “Service” Category, you might create Subcategories like:
- School-Hour Tutoring
- After-School Tutoring
- Disaster Services
Important: If you create Subcategories, reporters will not enter time directly into the Category (e.g., “Service”). Instead, they’ll distribute their time across the Subcategories you’ve defined. All subcategory hours will roll up under the Category.

Creating a Subcategory
To add a Subcategory:
- Enter a name in the Subcategory field.
- Click Update to save.
  
  Optional Settings for Subcategories:
- Hour Threshold: You can set hours thresholds (expected number of hours) for each Subcategory, based on each Timesheet Position option.
- Limit by Site Selection: You can choose which sites will see each Subcategory by enabling the Limit by Site Selection setting.
Click Update to save your work.
To create another category, click Create a Category.
Once all of your Categories are created, click Set.

Additional Category Creation Support: After You’ve Created a Category

To the right of each Category you create, you’ll see:

Edit: Allows you to edit any Category and Subcategory settings.

Delete: Allows you to delete the Category before the Template launches. (This link disappears after the Template launches.)

Hide on Template: Prevents the Category and any of its Subcategories from being displayed on all un-submitted timesheets.

If any Category has been hidden, this link will read Show on Template. Clicking that link will display the category on future timesheets (not previously launched or currently active ones).
If you have Subcategories in any Category, you'll see a fourth link: Order Subcategories. If you need to reorder Subcategories within a Category, click Order Subcategories.

When the pop-up window opens, you can drag-and-drop your Subcategories or use the Move After drop-down menu to rearrange the order.

The Green Triangles
Click on the triangles to the left of each Category name to determine the order in which the categories will appear on timesheets.

Additional Category Creation Support: Goal vs. Non-Goal Hours

This is where you can update the labels for your hour types (Goal and, if relevant, Non-Goal) that will appear on the timesheet dashboard for both reporters and admins.

With Goal Categories Only

With Both Goal and Non-Goal Categories

Paid Time Off Tracking

This feature may not be enabled on your Impact Suite. If this is a program need, please contact your Client Success Manager or support@americalearns.net, so that we can help design a setup that meets your specific needs.

Time In and Time Out Functionality

By default, this Impact Suite will Require Time In and Time Out to be recorded. For AmeriCorps program, this is the method AmeriCorps strongly recommends.

If you choose the option Do not record Time in and Time Out. Reporters will only enter total hours for each category/subcategory, reporters will only need to enter total hours for each category/subcategory.

For AmeriCorps programs, choosing this option might put your program at risk of being non-compliant.
We suggest reaching out to your AmeriCorps Program Officer before making this change.

Sample timesheet day when time in and time out are not recorded:

Copy & Paste

To allow reporters to easily copy information from one day to another on a single timesheet, check the box in the section, Copy & Paste Feature.

Here's a sample of what the Copy & Paste functionality looks like on a timesheet:

Create a Default "Time In"

You can reduce the number of clicks your reporters need to make on a timesheet by setting a default "Time In" for them.

If you do not set defaults, the Time In drop-down menu will start at 12:00 AM for each day.

To set default Time In times for each timesheet position, under Default Daily "Time In", click Review and Update.

Time Off Reasons

You can set a customized drop-down menu of time off reasons for your reporters. Follow these steps to set up common time off reasons:

In the section Time Off Reasons, click Review and Update.
The language reporters see when prompted to select a time off reason can be customized here.
In the pop-up box that’s displayed, note that common reasons are pre-populated. You can edit or remove them entirely.
For each time off reason, you can select whether it is:
1. Available in Timesheets - This reason will appear as an option for reporters to select when filling out their timesheets.
2. Available in Time Off Calendars - This reason can be used when creating a Time Off Calendar as part of the Timesheet Template setup (best for time off reasons you can anticipate in advance).
  
  Based on the Time Off Calendar assigned to each reporter, these days will automatically appear as time off when they go to complete their timesheets. However, reporters can override this if they end up serving on those days.
  
  Learn more about Time Off Calendars here.
3. Both - This reason will be available both as a selectable option on timesheets and for scheduling anticipated time off in the Time Off Calendar.
Add an unlimited number of additional reasons and click Update at the bottom of the pop-up window.

NOTE: Edits take effect immediately, even for any unsubmitted timesheets. All customized time off reasons can be totaled in reports.

"Unallocated Time" Activity Tracking

This is the main tool for recording lunch, breaks, and other periods that occur between a reporter’s Time In and Time Out but are not covered by existing categories or subcategories.

There are four ways to record activities that happen during Unallocated Time — these are periods in a reporter’s daily schedule that are not linked to any category or subcategory on the timesheet. The options are:

Option 1: Feature On or Off

This feature is off by default. If you wish to activate the feature, click the On radio button.

By not activating this feature, reporters will not be prompted to account for what they were doing during any Unallocated Time on their timesheets.

Option 2: Custom Selections Only

You can prompt reporters to choose from a list of reasons for having Unallocated Time:

Click the On radio button in the Activate Feature section at the top of the window.
Enter a prompt in the Customize the Prompt for this Section field.
Enter each reason (i.e. Lunch, Break, Personal Appointment, etc.)
Click No, do not include an “Other Activities” box radio button.
Click Update to save.

Here’s what this option looks like from a reporter perspective. The red text is your custom prompt.

Option 3: Free Text Box

To allow reporters to write what they were doing during the time listed as Unallocated Time in their timesheets without selecting any pre-written activities:

Click the On button in the Activate Feature section at the top of the window.
Enter a prompt in the Customize the Prompt for this Section field.
Click Yes, include a box for reporters to note their own activities radio button.
Customize the prompt that appears in the text box.
Click Update to save.

Here’s what this option looks like from the reporter perspective:

Option 4: Hybrid – Custom Selections + Free Text Box

To ask your reporters to choose from a series of options of the most common reasons for having Unallocated Time, AND enable a text box for additional details:

Click the On radio button to enable the feature.
Enter a prompt in the Customize the Prompt for this Section field.
Enter each reason (i.e. Lunch, Break, Personal Appointment, etc.)
Click Yes, include a box for reporters to note their own activities radio button.
Customize the prompt that appears in the text box.
Click Update to save.

Here’s what this option looks like from the reporter perspective:

Submission Rules

Some programs (e.g. AmeriCorps) do not allow reporters to submit a timesheet before the end of a timesheet period. The Submission Rules section allows you to decide if this is an important compliance item for your program:

To prevent reporters from submitting timesheets before their last time out on the last day of a timesheet period, select the second radio button, Reporters may only submit their timesheets after the final time out on the last day of the timesheet.

If you choose to only allow submission after the final time out period, here’s what your reporters will see at the bottom of their timesheets prior to the last day of any timesheet period:

NOTE: You can use these Rule Exceptions to allow reporters to submit their timesheet before the end of the timesheet period if they did not serve during that time:

Reporters with Blackout Days including the final day of a timesheet period can submit their timesheets on their last active day.
Reporters who have indicated that they did not serve on dates that include the final day a timesheet period can submit those timesheets on their last active day.

Hours Notification Alerts

You can have the system send instant alerts to designated admins and reporters when a reporter submits a timesheet with an abnormally low or high number of hours.

To activate Insufficient Hours Notifications (in which e-mail alerts are sent when reporters log an abnormally low number of hours):

Click the Insufficient Hours Notifications checkbox.
In the window that’s displayed, you’ll see a section called Insufficient Hours. In this section, note the minimum number of hours that reporters belonging to each Timesheet Position should log on any one timesheet.

E-mail alerts will only be sent when hours on a given timesheet fall below the limit you enter. If you select “No Limit” for any Timesheet Position, e-mail alerts will never be sent for those reporters.
In the section, Who Should Receive These E-mails? select whether Timesheet Directors and/or Timesheet Supervisors should receive the notifications.

Timesheet Supervisors and Timesheet Directors will only receive these notifications if you have selected that permission (see Step 3 above).

To activate Excessive Hours Notifications (in which e-mail alerts are sent when reporters log an abnormally low number of hours):

Click the Excessive Hours Notifications checkbox.
In the window that’s displayed, you’ll see a section called Hours Limits. In this section, note the maximum number of hours that reporters belonging to each Timesheet Association should log on any one timesheet.

E-mail alerts will only be sent when hours on a given timesheet exceed the limit you enter. If you select “No Limit” for any Association, e-mail alerts will never be sent for those reporters.
In the section, Who Should Receive These E-mails?, select whether Timesheet Directors and/or Timesheet Supervisors should receive the notifications.

Timesheet Supervisors and Timesheet Directors will only receive these notifications if you have selected that permission.

NOTE: You can update these settings at any time by returning to your Timesheet Template management page.

Text Above the Signature Area

Use this section to control the text that reporters and timesheet signers see when signing timesheets.

To make edits, click on the hyperlink for each respective group and adjust their signature prompt in the box that appears:

Number of Signers

Use this section to determine the number of signatures you’ll need for each site on a given timesheet.

NOTE: You can update these settings at any time by returning to your Timesheet Template management page.

Here are more detailed descriptions of each of the three options:

One Signer Per Site

For each site where a reporter served during a timesheet period, a Timesheet Supervisor must approve the hours.

If a Timesheet Director approves the timesheet before any Timesheet Supervisor has signed, the Director’s approval will serve as the final signature for all sites involved -- Timesheet Supervisors will no longer be able to sign.
Two Signers Per Site: Timesheet Supervisor, then Timesheet Director

For each site where a reporter served during a timesheet period, a Timesheet Supervisor must approve the hours. The Timesheet Director will sign after all required Supervisor approvals are completed.

If no Timesheet Supervisor is assigned to a site, the Timesheet Director must approve the hours for that site.
1. Allow Timesheet Directors to approve before Timesheet Supervisors. Their signature will count as final approval for the sites involved.
  
  Use this option with caution. When enabled, a Timesheet Director can approve a timesheet before any Timesheet Supervisor has signed. Once a Timesheet Director approves the timesheet, Timesheet Supervisors will no longer be able to sign, effectively bypassing their required approval.
Two Signers per Site: Two Timesheet Supervisors

For each site where a reporter served during a timesheet period, two Timesheet Supervisors must approve the hours. They can sign the timesheet in any order.

If no Timesheet Supervisor is assigned to a site, the Timesheet Director can serve as the second signature for that site.
1. If only one Timesheet Supervisor is assigned to a site, only their signature is required.
  
  When enabled, the requirement for a second supervisor signature is bypassed. Only one Timesheet Supervisor signature will be required to fully approve this timesheet.
2. Allow Timesheet Directors to approve before Timesheet Supervisors. Their signature will count as final approval for the sites involved.
  
  Use this option with caution. When enabled, a Timesheet Director can approve a timesheet before any Timesheet Supervisor has signed. Once a Timesheet Director approves the timesheet, Timesheet Supervisors will no longer be able to sign, effectively bypassing their required approval.

Audit Trail Customizations

This setting controls how you view these timestamps in the Audit Trail for key timesheet actions, including when timesheets are:

Submitted
Approved
Returned for edits
Re-submitted (after corrections were made)
Re-Approved (after edits were approved)

Choose whether or not you would like the audit trail to:

Include date and time stamps of all activity or
Include only date stamps of all activity.

NOTE: This choice will be reflected in all the places where the Audit Trail is displayed:

Timesheet screening page
Printable Timesheet Exports -- both Full and Condensed PDF Exports
Timesheet Period Export

Reminder Alerts

Want automatic email or text reminders to Timesheet Directors and Timesheet Supervisors responsible for signing off on timesheets? This section of the Timesheet Template will help you set that up

NOTE: Email alerts will be sent from donotreply@americalearns.net. Individual Reporters, Timesheet Supervisors, and Timesheet Directors must opt-in to text message alerts in order to receive text message reminders. Reporters using the Timesheet App can choose to receive Mobile App Alerts in their app settings.

Reminder Alerts to Reporters or Timesheet Supervisors and Timesheet Directors

Scroll to the section Reminder Alerts.
Open the panel for either

a) Reminder Alerts for Reporters or

b) Reminder Alerts for Timesheet Supervisors and Timesheet Directors.
You’ll see that there are options to set up e-mail and text message alerts. Select the Start link next to the type of alert you’d like to set up first.
The customization window has two sections: Frequency and Customize the Alert.
1. In the Frequency section, use the drop-down menu to set how many days after a timesheet period’s last day that the alert should be sent.
2. In the Customize the Alert section, customize the text you’d like to include in the alert.

NOTE: The e-mail alert for reporters automatically includes the list of timesheets that are late for each person. Reporters will only receive an alert if they have at least one outstanding timesheet.

The e-mail alert for Timesheet Supervisors and Timesheet Directors automatically includes the list of timesheets that supervisors need to sign. Supervisors will only receive an alert if they have at least one timesheet that needs to be screened.

Here’s how to edit or stop the Reminder Alerts:

On the left-hand side of your Mission Control, click Timesheets.
On the right, click Create & Manage Timesheet Templates.
On the right, select the template that you’d like to edit or stop reminders for.
Scroll to the section called Reminder Alerts.
Select either To Reporters or To Timesheet Supervisors and Timesheet Directors.
Select the Edit link alongside the alert at issue.
To stop an alert, click the Stop checkbox at the top of the pop-up window and click the Update link at the bottom of the window.
To edit any aspect of the alert, simply adjust the frequency settings and/or text and click the Update link at the bottom of the window.

Finish Line Status & Time Off Calendars

Finish Line Status is a powerful tool to help you and your reporters track progress towards their Goal Hours. It informs you of whether a reporter is Ahead, On Track, Behind, or Really Behind, and gives the reporter actionable data on how many hours they need to average per day and per week in order to finish their term successfully by their Personal End Date. To calculate this accurately, it takes into account each reporter's Personal Start Date, End Date, Blackout Days, and Time Off Calendar.

For a more comprehensive overview of how to optimize use of Finish Line Status & Time Off Calendars, check out this article.

Walkthrough: Enabling Finish Line Status

Finish Line Status

To enable Finish Line Status in your existing Timesheet Template:

Open the Finish Line Status & Time Off Calendars section of your Timesheet Template.
Select On under Use Finish Line Status?
Decide whether you'd like to use Submitted Time or Approved Time to monitor Finish Line Status. Under Monitor Finish Line Status using: select either:
1. Submitted Time (Approved + Pending) - Finish Line Status updates automatically when a reporter submits a timesheet, providing reporters with the most current view of their status and daily/weekly goals.
2. Approved Time - Finish Line Status updates only after a reporter's timesheet is fully approved, which may delay the information shown reporters about their status and daily/weekly goals.

Select the Timesheet Position(s) you'd like to monitor with Finish Line Status.

NOTE: Finish Line Status is only intended to be used for reporters with a set number of Goal Hours in a defined timeframe or term. It should not be used for reporters without these requirements.

For each Timesheet Position, you can customize when reporters will see the Ahead or Really Behind status. A higher percentage means there's more flexibility — a larger gap is allowed between their Target Hours and Daily Goal before the status changes.
For each Timesheet Position, you can add a custom buffer to the Daily Goal shown on the reporter’s Timesheet Dashboard. This buffer does not increase the total Goal Hours.

This optional feature encourages reporters to serve a small amount of additional time each day, helping them "bank" time if they need to take an unplanned sick, personal, or vacation day (not already listed on their Personal Time Off Calendar).
For each Timesheet Position, you can customize how aggressive the buffer is. A higher percentage means a more ambitious buffer — reporters will be encouraged to serve more hours per day.

Walkthrough: Creating Time Off Calendars

Time Off Calendars

You can use Time Off Calendars even if you're not using Finish Line Status. Assigning Time Off Calendars to reporters can help them complete their timesheets more quickly and accurately. Any days marked as time off will be pre-filled on their timesheet, but reporters can still override those entries if they end up serving on those days.

Follow these steps to create a Time Off Calendar:

Open the Time Off Calendars section of your Timesheet Template.
Select Yes under Use Time Off Calendars?
Enter a unique name for your Time Off Calendar:
You'll see the Time Off Reasons that you have designated to be used for the Time Off Calendar listed, if you'd like to make changes to this list click update next to Time Off Reasons:

A new window will open where you can make adjustments to your Time Off Reasons. Here's an example of how you can add a new Time Off Reason to be used in your Time Off Calendar:
1. Name your new Time Off Reason.
2. Check the box to make it Available in Time Off Calendars.
3. Select Add.
4. Click Update to save.
Click Add next to the Time Off Reason you'd like to assign dates for in the Time Off Calendar.
A new window with a calendar will open. There are a few ways you can select dates in this space:
- One-by-one - simply select a date on the calendar
- Click Optional: Use a pre-selected date group - to quickly select all Weekend Days, all Federal Holidays, all Mondays, etc.
- If you use a pre-selected date group - you can still add more dates or deselect a date as needed.
Once finished selecting dates for this Time Off Reason, scroll to the bottom of the calendar and select Confirm Dates to save.
You'll see the Total Days Selected count get updated based on the date selections you made.
Follow Steps 9-11 again to add dates to the other Time Off Reasons. You'll notice that if a date has already been given another Time Off Reason, it will no longer be selectable in the calendar:
Once you have finished assigning dates to all your Time Off Reasons, you can preview your completed calendar by selecting Preview Time Off Calendar.

A new window will open. Hovering over a date will let you know it's assigned Time Off Reason:
If you ever need to make changes to the dates, simply select Edit next to the Time Off Reason dates you'd like to update.
Click Create Calendar to finish.
Your saved Time Off Calendar will appear on this table, there are a number of actions you can take in this space to manage your existing Time Off Calendars and create new ones:
1. Select Create Another One to add a new Time Off Calendar
2. Select Assign to assign reporters to this Time Off Calendar.
  
  NOTE: You will only see reporters who have been assigned to this Timesheet Template listed here.
3. Select Clone to create a copy of your calendar.
4. Select Edit to make updates to selected dates and their assigned Time Off Reasons.
5. Select Delete to delete the calendar.
Finally, select Set when you have finished creating or updating your Time Off Calendars.

Saving Your Timesheet Template & Enabling the Launch

To save and enable your Timesheet Template’s launch, at the bottom of the page, click Create Timesheet Template.

If you set your start date as today or earlier, your Timesheet Template will launch immediately once you connect it to Reporters.

Any changes made after the Timesheet Template is saved will be applied immediately and automatically for any unsubmitted timesheets.

You can Delete a template until Reporters are assigned and have allocated time to one more categories.