How does marking time or expense entries as exported work? – Help Center

Question:

How does marking time entries as exported work?

Answer:

Background

Before reading this article, familiarize yourself with how to run a timesheet export.

When exporting finalized time or expense entries from Pacific Timesheet, best practice is to "mark" the entries as having been exported. This provides strict controls to avoid paying an employee, or billing or costing entries two or more times.
This feature raises important questions for exporting other entries:

What happens if I create a new entry within an exported time period?
What happens if I add a correction?

Exporting and Editing Scenarios

For these scenarios, assume there are two time entries on a timesheet.

Unsubmitting Timesheets Marked as Exported

Merely unsubmitting a timesheet does not disturb any of its time entries' status and exporting marks. .

For example, if you unsubmit a timesheet marked as exported:

Approval status data (e.g. approved, approval date/time, approver) will be retained.
The original exported "mark" will be retained.

Submit the same timesheet again and the "Exported" blue checkbox will still display again on the Timesheets tab, as if you never unsubmitted and re-submitted the timesheet.

Unsubmitting Timesheets and Editing Time Entries Marked as Exported

Unsubmitting a timesheet and editing one time entry, for example, will change the status and export markings of time entry edited. For example, if you unsubmit an exported timesheet and edit a time entry on Monday:

The "approved" green checkmark and all underlying data (e.g. approved, approval date/time, approver user name/id, and exported "mark" data will be cleared.
To test this, after editing, saving and submitting the timesheet again:
- Navigate to the Approval View of the timesheet
  - Note that the edited time entry has no approved checkmark, and
  - The unedited time entry retains its original approved checkmark
- Approve the edited time entry and export the entire timesheet again, using the
  - Export data that has NOT been marked as exported filter, and
  - Note that the timesheet Exported blue checkmark displays again, and
  - Inspect the timesheet export file, noting that it only contains the edited time entry, not previously exported time entries.

While it is true that Pacific Timesheet's export tool will allow you to surgically edit single time entries while not exporting unedited time entries again, editing already exported and processed time entries is not a best practice, and runs the risk of your ERP or payroll system paying, costing or billing hours more than once.

Using Export Tool and Making Corrections Time Entries

Rather than editing an already exported and processed time entry, best practice is to create a new correction entry.

See: How to Make Correction Entries in Pacific Timesheet for step-by-step instructions.

A correction time entry is creating of new time entry with the advantage of not having to unsubmit the timesheet. When a timesheet is in submitted state the Add Correction button displays next to the Undo Submit button.

Here are the steps when making a correction entry.

Following the steps to create a correction entry on a submitted timesheet in How to Make Correction Entries in Pacific Timesheet
Note that a new correction added to a timesheet