SAP Knowledge Base Article - Public

2738965 - Time Sheet Automatic Submission and Workflow Processing Behavior

Symptom

This KBA explains the automatic submission logic in Time Sheet. 

For example, 

  • When is a time sheet submitted automatically by Submit Time Sheet background job?
  • What are the conditions considered by the Submit Time Sheet job for triggering workflow or not for the current time sheet week?
  • Is there any possibility to set up customer logic in time sheet auto submission ?
  • Is it possible to decide a customer auto submission date for time sheets ?
  • Is it possible to set up an auto submission date different from time sheet approval period ? For example, is it possible to set up auto submission based on payroll period rather than time sheet period ?
  • How far into the past can the time sheet submission job pick up the pending time sheets ?

Environment

  • SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central - Time Sheet
  • SAP SuccessFactors Time Tracking

Resolution

Default Auto Submission Logic

When the current time sheet week is finished, the system automatically runs the 'Submit Time Sheet' job to selects time sheets in 'To Be Submitted' status and submits them for payroll processing based on a default logic hardcoded (below chart shows the details on the logic).
The job runs daily, but it only submits time sheets with an end date of today or in the past.

Note: All time sheet background jobs runs automatically based on the configuration for TLMTriggerTasks job in Provisioning. The Time Sheet Submit job is part of the TLMTriggerTasks job.
When TLMTriggerTasks is started, the following jobs are triggered automatically one after another: Trigger Recalculation job → Import External Times job → Generate Working Times job → Submit Time Sheets job
By default, TLMTriggerTasks job is scheduled in provisioning and runs every day (usually, in the small hours). If the job is not scheduled, it needs to be done like follows: go to company provisioning → Manage Scheduled Jobs → Create New Job → create a job of type TLMTriggerTasks and schedule it.
The 'TLMTriggerTask' Job can be referred to for more details.

For testing purposes, it is also possible to create a job of type Submit Time Sheets in provisioning and schedule it, or to start it each time manually. This, however, is not the recommended way to use time sheet jobs.

Optional: It is possible to define how far into the past automatic submission of time sheets should be done. For this reset the field 'Weeks relevant for time sheet submit job' in Time Management Configuration object. By default the field is not visible and set to 13 weeks counting back from the job run date. Can be set from 1 to 60. For any value outside of this range, the system will use the default of 13.

The table below displays the hardcoded default auto submission logic performed by the system based on specific conditions and existing time sheet entries.

Time Recording Method Existing Entries / Conditions Action Taken
Positive Time Recording External Time Data (Imported Entries) Only Submit with Workflow
Absences Only + Full Work Schedule Covered Submit with Workflow
Absences Only + Full Work Schedule Not Covered No Action
Manual Entries Only No Action
Manual Entries + Generated Entries No Action
Absences + Manual Entries No Action
Absences + External Time Data (Imported Entries) Submit with Workflow
Manual + External Time Data (Imported Entries) Submit with Workflow
Absences + External Time Data (Imported Entries)+ Manual Entries Submit with Workflow
No Entries No Action
Single record approval missing No Action
Negative Time Recording System Generated Entries Only Auto approve
Absences Only Auto approve
Manual Entries Only Submit with Workflow
Absences + Manual Entries Submit with Workflow
Absences + System Generated Entries Auto approve
Manual Entries + System Generated Entries Submit with workflow
Absences + System Generated Entries + Manual Entries Submit with Workflow
No Entries Auto approve
Single record approval missing No Action
Overtime Recording
 No Action regardless of Existing Entries / Conditions

On-call times  are handled as attendance (manual or imported entry). Allowances are handled as manual entry.

 

Enhanced Configurabilities on Auto Submission and Auto Approval with Time Tracking

With Time Tracking Functions, we also provided Time Sheet Submission Rule, Auto Submission Deviation and Time Recording Calendar capabilities for customers to customize time sheet auto submission logic and auto approval.

  • Time Sheet Submission Rule supports positive and overtime time recorders. 
    It is possible to overwrite above hardcoded default auto submission logic so that you can decide whether the time sheets should be auto submitted. For example, the time sheet should be auto submitted as long as there is any absence in the time sheet period. 
    But it does NOT change the auto submission date. That is, the time sheet will still be auto submitted by the 'Submit Time Sheet' job on the end date of the time sheet period, as long as the customer logic in the time sheet submission rule is met. 
    If your requirement is not to auto submit any time sheet always, please refer to KBA 3497038 - Stop Auto Submission for positive or overtime timesheet recorders (Time Tracking)

  • Auto Submission Deviation supports negative, positive and overtime time recorders.
    It is possible to auto submit time sheets some days before or after the time sheet end date by giving a positive or negative value to Deviate Automatic Submission By (+/- Days) field in Time Sheet Submission Configuration object.
    A positive number submits the time sheet the number of days after the end date of the time sheet.
    A negative number submits the time sheet the number of days before the end date of the time sheet. To avoid an excessive number of amendments, you can't enter a value below -2.
    But this deviation configuration alone does NOT overwrite auto submission logic, either default logic without time sheet submission rule, or customer logic configured through time sheet submission rule.
    It only impacts the date when the time sheet should be considered by the 'Submit Time Sheet' job for auto submission.

  • Time Recording Calendar supports negative, positive and overtime time recorders.
    It provides calendar based auto submission and auto approval capability so that the time sheets from a certian period can be auto submitted and auto approved on particular dates as configured in the Time Recording Calendar object.
    Time Recording Calendar does NOT disable default logic without time sheet submission rule, NOR disable the customer logic configured in time sheet submission rule that happens with the time sheet period. 
    It only works as an additional date beyond the time sheet period to auto submit the pending submission time sheets and pending approval time sheets. 
    It is submitted by 'TLM Trigger Tasks job' rather than 'Submit Time Sheet' job, so when the time sheet is auto submitted by Time Recording Calendar by  'TLM Trigger Tasks job', it does not check the hardcoded default auto submission logic nor the time sheet submission rule if configured. As long as there is no non-approved Single Record Approval, the time sheet will be auto submitted. 
    If you want the Time Recording Calendar to be the only configuration to auto submit time sheet,
    • for positive and overtime recorders, please refer to KBA 3497038 - Stop Auto Submission for positive or overtime timesheet recorders (Time Tracking) to stop auto submission with the time sheet period
    • for negative recorders, please set Deviate Automatic Submission By (+/- Days) in Time Sheet Submission Configuration object to 420 and Weeks relevant for time sheet submit job in Time Management Configuration object to 60. 
      Attention! Please ensure there will not be any non-approved Single Record Approval or Error that would block the auto submission of such negative time sheets! Remember, there will NOT be the Submit button for manual submission of the negative time sheets!

 

Attention! Any non-approved single record approval will prevent the time sheet from being submitted regardless of which logic is submitting the time sheet!

You can find more details in blog post: Automatic Time Sheet Submission and Approval Capabilities in SAP SuccessFactors Time Tracking

 

 

Appendix: List of Time Tracking Enhancements on Auto Submission Configurability

2305 Time Tracking Enhancement: 

2311 Time Tracking Enhancement: 

  • With 2311 release, it possible to change below auto submission system logic for positive recorders with Time Sheet Submission Rule, now custom critria can be defined for time sheets automatic submission. For example, Manual Entries only timesheet can also be auto-submitted.
    If no Time Sheet Submission Rule is used, then default auto submission logic as shown in below chart will be followed.
  • With 2311 release, it's possible to define a time sheet submission with a deviation, which means that time sheets are automatically submitted some days before or after the end date of the time sheet. For example, time sheets can be defined to auto-submitted one day later.
  • With 2311 release, to pay employee on time, now it's possible to auto-submit and auto-approve timesheet before based on calendar date with Calendar-Based Automatic Time Sheet Submission. Please note, with 2311 release, the calendar based auto-approval of time sheet has no workflow process involved.

2405 Time Tracking Enhancement: 

  • With 2405 release, it is possible to auto-approve pending time sheet workflow requests via Calendar-Based Automatic Approval of Pending Time Sheet Workflow Requests. The Processing User field is automatically available in the time recording calendar for SAP SuccessFactors Time Tracking customers. And it is needed to make sure the user assigned to the Processing Users field has been given the permissions required to approve time sheet workflows. A summary of auto submission and workflow triggering depending on Time Sheet Submission Rule and Workflow Configuration is like below.
  • If there is a workflow approval process configured in the system for time sheet and there is also Time Sheet Submission Rule assigned, then relevant conditions defined in the Time Sheet Submission Rule assigned to the employees and existing entries are considered to determine whether the time sheet should be submitted with workflow.
    Workflow will always be triggered with the auto submission as long as the workflow approval process is defined.
  • If there is a workflow approval process configured in the system for time sheet and no Time Sheet Submission Rule configured, then relevant conditions depending on the time recording method assigned to the employees and existing entries are considered by the system to determine if a workflow should be triggered upon submission of the time sheet.

See Also

Implementation of Time Sheet

Implementation of SAP SuccessFactors Time Tracking

Creating a Calendar for Automatic Time Sheet Submission and Approval

2778044 - Time Sheets Are Auto Submitted And Workflow Triggered

Keywords

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Product

SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central all versions ; SAP SuccessFactors HCM Core all versions ; SAP SuccessFactors Time Tracking all versions