On your timesheet grid, click 
icon to submit your timesheet for approval. A pop-up notification will be displayed indicating the timesheet has been submitted.
The Timesheet menu includes the ability to manually create new timesheets as well as view, edit, or recall existing timesheets. If your user account has been granted additional roles (other than the Standard User role), you may have additional options under the Timesheet menu.
Role: Users with User role
The user’s position must have the ‘Timesheet Required' selected in USPS>Positions for one or more positions a user needs to create a timesheet for in ESS. Also in order for the employee’s timesheet to process through the approval workflow, their position record(s) must have a supervisor defined.
The user’s position must have the ‘Timesheet Required' selected in USPS>Positions for one or more positions a user needs to create a timesheet for in ESS. Also in order for the employee’s timesheet to process through the approval workflow, their position record(s) must have a supervisor defined.
If positions were entered in the Automatic Period Generator, once the period is automatically generated, it will also automatically create a timesheet for the specified positions. The employee can then view, edit (if needed), and submit their automatically created timesheet for approval.
If positions were entered in the Automatic Period Generator, once the period is automatically generated, it will also automatically create a timesheet for the specified positions. The employee can then view, edit (if needed), and submit their automatically created timesheet for approval.
The steps provided below are for employees who need to create a timesheet manually:
NOTE: A period and shift must be created for the employee’s position(s) prior to the employee creating their timesheet.
Under My Timesheets, click ‘Create’
Select the timesheet period and position you are creating your timesheet for and click ‘Create Timesheet’. NOTE: If a timesheet already exists for the employee, an alert notification will display on the screen and the employee will be redirected to their existing timesheet.
The timesheet will be pre-filled with the information from the corresponding period and shift set up.
Click on a line item in order to edit the pre-filled information. You may overwrite any columns shaded gray. Once the timesheet has been exported, the exported column will display a checkmark.
Please refer to Flexible Shift for more information on shifts enabled with the ‘flexible shift’ option.
b. By default, timesheets will not include weekend days. Select ‘+' to add additional line items to your timesheet (i.e. weekend work). To remove any items, check the box to the left of the item(s) and select '-'.
If the employee has an approved leave request inclusive of the timesheet period, the leave request line item is added to the employee's timesheet automatically after clicking Create.
Leave request items are not editable in the timesheet. After creating your timesheet, it will automatically adjust the times on the REG line item (or removes entirely if the entire time is taken up by the leave request line item) to accommodate the leave request items. Depending on what leave types are configured for the district, the leave request items may include Calamity, Comp Time, Dock, Holiday, Jury Duty, Military, Other, Personal, Professional, Sick, Unknown, Vacation
If there is an exported Leave Request within the timesheet period; it will be displayed on the timesheet and will not be editable.
Click 'Create’ to add your timesheet to your timesheet grid. Your timesheet is currently at a status of Initiated. The employee can review the timesheet after creation to confirm leave request(s) inclusive of the timesheet period are included.
The creation of the timesheet does not submit the timesheet to the workflow process. You must submit the timesheet for approval. See below. |
You may submit your timesheet for approval one of two ways:
On your timesheet grid, click icon to submit your timesheet for approval. A pop-up notification will be displayed indicating the timesheet has been submitted.
Or click 
to view your newly created timesheet. Click ‘Submit for Approval’ to submit your timesheet to the approval workflow. Again, a pop-up notification will be displayed indicating the timesheet has been submitted.
Displays a user’s existing timesheets in a grid format.
Approval Status indicates where in the approval workflow the timesheet is currently at:
Initiated: Originator has created their timesheet
Submitted: Originator has submitted their timesheet for approval
Approved: Timesheet has been through the entire approval workflow
Rejected: Timesheet was rejected at some point during the approval workflow
Exported: Approved timesheet was exported to a CSV (in order to be posted to USPS).
Cancelled: N/A
User may view the details of their timesheet regardless of the approval status.
User may edit their timesheet as long as the approval status is ‘initiated'. Once the timesheet has been submitted to the approval workflow process, the user can no longer edit it.
User may submit their timesheet for approval. Once submitted, if the timesheet has not been approved yet (and the period is still open), the user may recall the timesheet in order to make additional changes.
User may recall a submitted timesheet (as long as it hasn’t been approved and the period is still open). Once recalled, the timesheet is back at an initiated status in order for the user to make additional changes. Once changes are complete, the user will need to re-submit their timesheet for approval.
User may delete their timesheet as long as it’s at an initiated status and the period is open.
User may Print Approval Trail Report for their timesheet from the Timesheet grid.
Timesheet Details: includes the information entered on the timesheet. If the timesheet has NOT been submitted for approval yet, the user may edit the timesheet to make any changes. Click on ‘Submit for Approval’ to submit the timesheet to the timesheet approval workflow.
Timesheet Approval Trail: Tracks the activity on the timesheet from original requester to final approver. May be printed from Timesheet grid using the Print Approval Trail report button. 
Role: For users with Timesheet Approver, District Manager or Admin role.
To approve a timesheet, the supervisor must have the Timesheet Approve role. Supervisor can approve timesheets via the Home screen (under Pending Workflow Tasks - Timesheet Approval or the Timesheet Approval menu option. |
Allows supervisors the ability to view their staff’s timesheet information regardless of approval status.
Timesheet Details: includes the information entered on their staff’s timesheets
Timesheet Approval Trail: Tracks the activity on the timesheet, from original requester to final approver. The ‘Note’ column on the grid will indicate the Group Chain the timesheet is tied to.
Approval Status indicates where in the approval workflow the timesheet is currently at:
Initiated: Supervisor can edit or submit their staff’s timesheets for approval
Submitted: Supervisor can recall their staff’s timesheets
Approved: Supervisor can view their staff’s timesheets only
Rejected: Supervisor can edit or submit their staff’s timesheets for approval
Exported: Supervisor can view their staff’s timesheets only
Cancelled: N/A
Role: For users with Timesheet Manager, District Manager or Admin role
Allows user the ability to view timesheets for anyone in the district regardless of approval status.
Timesheet Details: includes the information entered on all staff’s timesheets
Timesheet Approval Trail: Tracks the activity on the timesheet, from original requester to final approver. The ‘Note’ column on the grid will indicate the Group Chain the timesheet is tied to.
Allows user the ability to delete initiated or approved timesheets.
User may Print Approval Trail Report for their timesheet from the District Timesheet grid.
Approval Status indicates where in the approval workflow the timesheet is currently at:
Initiated: User can edit staff’s timesheet or submit staff’s timesheets for approval
Submitted: User can recall staff timesheets
Approved: User can view (only) staff timesheets
Rejected: User can edit staff’s timesheet or re-submit staff’s timesheets for approval
Exported: User can view (only) staff timesheets
Cancelled: N/A
Role: For users with Timesheet Manager, District Manager, or Admin role
Allows users the ability to export timesheets with a status of ‘approved’ in order to post timesheet information into USPS
User may filter approved timesheets by:
Specific Period: Select a specific timesheet period. You may only select one period to export.
Specific Employees: Select one or more specific employee(s) approved timesheets to be included in the export.
Selecting Only show timesheets with exception and/or overtime hours will filter the grid to only display timesheets on the grid that include timesheet activity marked as overtime or exception hours.
Once all items on a timesheet are marked exported, the status of the timesheet will change from ‘Approved’ to ‘Exported’ and the timesheet will no longer appear in the Timesheet Export grid.
This section is in draft mode. ESS-1274 (2025.6.0 release) will improve the timesheet export options. |
Once your grid displays the desired timesheets you would like to export, click on ‘Export Timesheets.' Selecting one or more of the options (in the image below) will generate a spreadsheet (CSV format) of the timesheet data included in the filtered grid. The default filename is called timesheet-export.csv. The file can then be imported into USPS manually using the USPS Utilities> Attendance/Absence Import option. Please refer to the USPS Attendance/Absence Import specs for more information on the format of the CSV file.
This option may be used for:
employees who do not get credit for attendance in USPS (as indicated on the Position>Job Calendar) and must obtain attendance credit via their timesheet.
employees who are non-contract compensation employees (Compensation>Type = Non Contract) and must obtain their payroll payments via their timesheet.
will include any REG (Regular Pay Type when posted on the USPS side), EXC (Miscellaneous Pay Type when posted on the USPS side), or OT (Overtime Pay Type when posted on the USPS side) items from the timesheet in Column Q.
will set the Attendance Posting Flag to Y (yes) from the timesheet for all items in Column U.
will include the Compensation Label from the timesheet for all items in Column Y.
will not include leave entries from the timesheet. Leave entries are posted separately using the ESS Leave Request Export option.
will not include holiday entries. Depending on the employee’s contract, holidays may be considered a paid day (these days would be indicated with a H on their Position>Job Calendar). If an employee worked on a holiday, a timesheet entry should be added using the EXC (Miscellaneous Pay Type when posted on the USPS side) or OV (Overtime Pay Type when Posted on the USPS side) activity.
will update the ESS Approval Status of all items included in the CSV file to an Exported status.
Go to Utilities>Attendance/Absence Import.
Attendance Import File - Click Choose File and browse to find the saved CSV file.
Location Code - None.
Post to Payroll Processing Options - Any payment information included in the CSV file can be posted to either Payroll Payments - Current or Payroll Payments - Future. Select the appropriate option from the drop down. If None is selected, no payment entries will be created.
Combine Attendance Entries - If posting payment information to Payroll Payments - Future or Payroll Payments - Current, should multiple attendance entries for the same day be combined into one entry when the payment is created?
If yes, mark the checkbox. This will combine multiple attendance entries for the same day into one entry in Payroll Payments - Future or Payroll Payments - Current. Keep in mind, in order for entries to be combined in Payroll Payments - Future or Payroll Payments - Current, the Employee ID, position number, pay type, tracking unit, and unit amount must be the same on all entries.
If no, unmark the checkbox. This will not combine multiple attendance entries for the same day into one entry in Payroll Payments - Future or Payroll Payments - Current - leaving multiple line entries for the same day.
Allow Negative Leave Balances - Leave unchecked.
Payroll Account to Charge - Defined Payroll Account for Position.
Click Import. The Records Loaded, Errors, Total Records, Future Pays Loaded (if applicable), Current Pays Loaded (if applicable) will be displayed. Verify for accuracy.
Any errors will be generated in the ATTERR.TXT report. Verify for accuracy.
Will create Attendance records. The SSDT Attendance Journal Report can be run for verification purposes.
This option may be used for:
employees who need to create a timesheet but only need their exception and overtime items posted to USPS. Their regular hours are already accounted for in their contract compensation in USPS. Their attendance is already accounted for based on their job calendar in USPS.
will only include EXC (Miscellaneous Pay Type when posted on the USPS side) and OT (Overtime Pay Type when posted on the USPS side) items from the timesheet in Column Q.
will set the Attendance Posting Flag to N (no) from the timesheet for all items in Column U.
will include the Compensation Label from the timesheet for all items in Column Y.
will not include leave entries from the timesheet. Leave entries are posted separately using the ESS Leave Request Export option.
will not include holiday entries. Depending on the employee’s contract, holidays may be considered a paid day (these days would be indicated with a H on their Position>Job Calendar). If an employee worked on a holiday, a timesheet entry should be added using the EXC (Miscellaneous Pay Type when posted on the USPS side) or OV (Overtime Pay Type when Posted on the USPS side) activity.
will update the ESS Approval Status of EXC and OT items included in the CSV file to an Exported status
When posting the CSV export file via USPS Attendance/Absence Import:
Go to Utilities>Attendance/Absence Import.
Attendance Import File - Click Choose File and browse to find the saved CSV file.
Location Code - None.
Post to Payroll Processing Options - Any payment information included in the CSV file can be posted to either Payroll Payments - Current or Payroll Payments - Future. Select the appropriate option from the drop down. If None is selected, no payment entries will be created.
Combine Attendance Entries - If posting payment information to Payroll Payments - Future or Payroll Payments - Current, should multiple attendance entries for the same day be combined into one entry when the payment is created?
If yes, mark the checkbox. This will combine multiple attendance entries for the same day into one entry in Payroll Payments - Future or Payroll Payments - Current. Keep in mind, in order for entries to be combined in Payroll Payments - Future or Payroll Payments - Current, the Employee ID, position number, pay type, tracking unit, and unit amount must be the same on all entries.
If no, unmark the checkbox. This will not combine multiple attendance entries for the same day into one entry in Payroll Payments - Future or Payroll Payments - Current - leaving multiple line entries for the same day.
Allow Negative Leave Balances - Leave unchecked.
Payroll Account to Charge - Defined Payroll Account for Position.
Click Import. The Records Loaded, Errors, Total Records, Future Pays Loaded (if applicable), Current Pays Loaded (if applicable) will be displayed. Verify for accuracy.
Any errors will be generated in the ATTERR.TXT report. Verify for accuracy.
This option may be used:
to update the remaining items on the timesheet (that were not included on the export CSV file) to an ‘exported’ status. This will ensure the timesheet will no display on the timesheet export grid since all items on the timesheet now reflect an ‘exported’ status.
may be blank if the only items remaining on a timesheet (that do not contain an exported status) are leave and/or holidays items.
may contain REG and/or HO items if they are the only items remaining on a timesheet (that do not contain an exported status).
does not apply to this option. There is no need to import the CSV file generated when only selecting the ‘Mark All Timesheets as exported’ option. As noted above, the intention of this option is to update remaining timesheets items in a timesheet included in the timesheet export grid.
This option provides the ability to generate a CSV file of summarized timesheet data. All timesheets will be automatically included in the report unless you filter by entering a specified period and/or employee(s) located in the filter area in the top half of the screen. On the bottom half of the screen, by default, it will display all existing timesheets unless filtering has been applied, in which case it will only include the timesheets inclusive of the selected filters. You can sort by period start/end dates or employee.
For example, to review all existing timesheets for the 11/1/24-11/15/24 pay period, select the pay period and click ‘Generate Overview Report’. The resulting CSV file includes all timesheet data (regardless of status) inclusive of that period.
The timesheet-export.csv file is formatted to be imported via USPS Attendance/Absence Import. Please refer to the import specs for further details. NOTE: Column Q on the CSV file is mapped to the following Pay Types in USPS: REG = REG; OV = OT; EXC = MIS