How To Submit Time On Workday: A Step-by-Step Employee Guide To Time Tracking

To submit time on Workday, access the "Time" application from your user dashboard, select the target calendar week, input your daily hours under the correct time type, and click the orange "Submit" button at the bottom of the interface. This action triggers a Workday Business Process that locks your recorded hours and routes them directly to your supervisor's queue for payroll approval. Ensure all timesheets are submitted before your organization's internal cutoff—typically Sunday at midnight or the final day of the bi-weekly pay cycle—to avoid processing delays.

Pre-Submission Requirements and System Preparation

Before you enter and submit your hours in Workday, you must verify your employee configuration profile and gather the necessary operational details. Workday routes time transactions based on strict organizational rules, meaning an error in your profile setup can cause submission failures, routing errors, or payroll delays.

Whether you are an hourly non-exempt employee, a salaried employee tracking project time, or an administrator supervising staff, understanding these baseline system conditions is critical.

System Configuration Checklist

• Essential Hardware & Access:
  
  
  • An active Workday user account with Single Sign-On (SSO) credentials or multi-factor authentication (MFA) configured on your mobile device.
  • An updated web browser (Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or Apple Safari) or the official Workday Mobile App (iOS/Android) connected to your employer's unique tenant URL.
• Mandatory Prerequisite Knowledge:
  
  
  • Your assigned pay group schedule (e.g., weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly).
  • Your status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or local labor laws, which dictates if you must record exact clock-in/clock-out times (positive time reporting) or only hours worked (exception time reporting).
  • Your team's designated approver profile, ensuring you know who will receive and review your submitted timesheet.
• Estimated Duration & Benchmarks:
  
  
  • Daily time logging: 1 to 2 minutes per entry.
  • Weekly timesheet review and submission: 3 to 5 minutes.
  • System processing window: Real-time routing to your manager's Workday Inbox upon clicking submit.

Executing the Workday Time Entry and Submission Process

The Workday Time Tracking interface uses a dynamic calendar grid designed to prevent double-booking hours and to flag system policy violations immediately. Follow these instructions to enter and submit your time accurately.

Step 1: Access the Workday Time Application

Begin by authenticating into your company’s Workday tenant on a desktop or mobile web browser.

1. From the Workday homepage, navigate to the applications grid or global search bar.
2. Search for and click on the Time application, which is represented by an icon featuring an analog clock face.
3. If using the search bar, type "Enter Time" and select the corresponding task from the search results.
4. Once clicked, the main dashboard will display options under two primary sections: Enter Time and View. Select the option labeled Enter Time or click on the specific week highlighted on your screen to open your active timesheet.

Step 2: Navigate and Orient to the Time Entry Calendar

Workday presents your timesheet in a standard weekly calendar grid. Before writing any data, you must confirm that you are editing the correct pay cycle.

1. Locate the date range indicator at the top left of the calendar screen. Verify that the start and end dates match the payroll cycle you intend to submit.
2. Use the Previous (left arrow) or Next (right arrow) buttons to navigate to past or future weeks if necessary.
3. Note the color-coded status banners on the calendar display. Days colored grey indicate unentered time, days marked in yellow or blue represent saved but unsubmitted entries, and days colored green indicate hours that have been submitted and approved by your supervisor.

Step 3: Input Your Hours and Define Time Types

How you enter hours depends on your organization's configuration. You will either enter total block hours or record specific clock-in and clock-out intervals.

1. Click directly on the specific calendar day or slot where you want to log your hours. A modal pop-up window titled Enter Time will appear on your screen.
2. If your company uses Total Hours entry: Input the total decimal hours worked (e.g., write 8 or 8.5 for eight and a half hours) directly into the Hours field.
3. If your company uses In/Out Time entry: Input your exact start time in the In field, your exact end time in the Out field, and your unpaid meal break length (if applicable) in the dedicated break field. The system will automatically calculate the net working hours.
4. Locate the Time Type dropdown menu. You must assign a classification code to these hours. Select the appropriate designation from the list, such as Regular Time, Overtime, Remote Work, or Training.
5. If your organization tracks project-based hours or cost centers, complete the optional fields like Cost Center, Project, or Worktag to ensure your hours are billed to the correct budget.
6. Click OK at the bottom of the pop-up window. Your hours will now appear as a shaded block on your calendar grid, labeled as "Draft" or "Not Submitted." Repeat this process for each day in the pay period.

Pro-Tip: If your work schedule is consistent throughout the entire week, you can save time by using the Enter Time dropdown menu at the top of the calendar and selecting Quick Fill. This utility allows you to copy hours from a previous week or apply a standard daily schedule block across the entire active week in a single click.

Step 4: Review Your Recorded Hours and Address Alerts

Before finalizing your entry, review the weekly summary panel located on the right side of the desktop interface.

1. Check the cumulative total of hours logged for the week to ensure it matches your scheduled hours (e.g., 40.00 hours).
2. Review the breakdown of Time Types to ensure regular hours, holiday hours, and paid time off (PTO) are allocated correctly.
3. Check for any system notifications displayed at the top of the calendar.
   
   
   • Soft Alerts (Orange Flags): These are warnings that point out discrepancies, such as logging hours on a holiday or exceeding standard daily thresholds. You can still submit your timesheet with these warnings active, but they may require a justification note.
   • Hard Errors (Red Flags): These indicate critical policy violations, such as overlapping shifts, negative time entries, or logging hours in a locked payroll period. You must resolve all red flags before the system will allow you to proceed to the final submission.

Warning: Double-check your PM and AM designations when typing hours into the In/Out fields. Entering a clock-in of 8:00 PM instead of 8:00 AM can cause critical error flags or result in severe under-reporting of your hours.

Step 5: Finalize and Submit the Timesheet

Once you have verified that your hours are correct and free of errors, you can complete the submission.

1. Locate the orange Submit button at the bottom-right corner of the calendar screen. Click it once.
2. A confirmation page will appear, displaying a summary of the hours you are about to submit, along with a legal attestation statement verifying the accuracy of the logged time.
3. If required by your organization, write a brief explanation in the Comment box (for example, to explain overtime or modified shift arrangements).
4. Review the legal disclosure statement, then click the Submit button on this confirmation screen.
5. The page will reload to show a success message: "Up Next: [Manager's Name] | Approval." Your calendar grid colors will update to show that these hours are now officially locked and waiting for approval.

Workday Time Tracking Parameter Specifications

Workday supports several time-capture models depending on your organization’s size, structure, and technological setup. The table below outlines the primary input systems, their design goals, and how they handle errors.

Common Workday Submission Failures and Operational Fixes

System errors, policy violations, and configuration issues can occasionally block you from submitting your timesheet. Below are the most common issues you might run into and how to fix them.

Scenario 1: The Period Lockout Error

• The Problem: You try to submit or edit hours for a previous week, but the calendar day is greyed out and you receive an error message stating: "The payroll period for these dates is locked."
• Root Cause: The HR payroll department has closed the active processing window for that pay cycle to calculate checks. No further self-service updates are permitted.
• Actionable Fix: Do not try to force the entry. You must contact your direct manager or HR payroll administrator. They will need to initiate a manual payroll correction or temporarily open a retro-processing window to log your hours manually.

Scenario 2: Overlapping Time Blocks

• The Problem: Workday displays a red validation error when you try to save your hours: "Time entry overlaps with another time entry on this date."
• Root Cause: You entered two separate time events that cover the same timeframe—for example, logging regular hours from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM and project-tracking hours from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
• Actionable Fix: Open the detailed calendar view for that specific day. Inspect each logged block. Click on the overlapping entries and update their start and end times so they do not overlap. If you are tracking project hours alongside regular hours, ensure the total hours for both entries do not exceed your actual worked hours for that window.

Scenario 3: The Missing Approver Warning

• The Problem: Your hours are successfully submitted, but the status stays stuck as "Submitted" and does not move to "Approved." Your supervisor reports that they cannot see your timesheet in their queue.
• Root Cause: There is an issue with your department's reporting structure in Workday. Your profile may not have an active manager assigned, or the approval workflow is routing to an empty role.
• Actionable Fix: Click on the submitted timesheet, open the Process History tab, and view the current step of the approval chain. Identify the name or role listed under the "Current Task" field. Provide this information to your HR department so they can update your manager assignment or fix the reporting structure.

Scenario 4: The Maximum Daily Hours Error

• The Problem: A red block warning appears saying: "Time entry exceeds maximum allowed hours per day."
• Root Cause: The system has detected an entry that exceeds standard limits (usually 16 or 24 consecutive hours), often caused by entering AM instead of PM by mistake.
• Actionable Fix: Click on the flagged entry and check your AM/PM selections. If you did work an exceptionally long shift, you will need to add a mandatory comment explaining the situation and obtain a policy override from your supervisor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I edit a timesheet after I have submitted it on Workday?

Yes, you can edit your timesheet after submitting it, provided that the payroll period has not been locked by your administrator. To make changes, navigate back to your calendar grid, click on the specific entry you need to adjust, input the correct details, and click Submit again. This new submission will override your previous entry and route the updated timesheet back to your manager's inbox for re-approval.

What is the difference between "Saved" and "Submitted" time in Workday?

Saved time remains in draft status and is only visible to you; it serves as a personal record and will not be routed for approval or payroll processing. Submitted time is officially locked, sent directly to your supervisor's approval queue, and flagged for inclusion in the upcoming payroll cycle.

How do I enter time on the Workday mobile app?

To log hours on your mobile device, open the Workday app, tap the Time applet on your dashboard, and select Enter Time. You can choose to enter time block-by-block or tap Quick Fill to apply your standard shift details, then tap Submit to finalize and route your hours.

Why can't I see the option to enter time for a specific date?

If a date is greyed out or does not let you enter hours, you may be looking at a future pay period that has not opened yet, or a past pay period that has been locked for processing. Alternatively, check your profile settings to ensure you are active in the system for that specific date range and have not been placed on an inactive payroll status.

How do hours calculate automatically for paid holidays?

Depending on your company’s system setup, official company holidays may be pre-loaded onto your calendar grid automatically. If they are not, you will need to click on the holiday, select the Holiday Pay time type from the dropdown list, and enter your standard scheduled hours for that day before submitting.

Optimize Your Corporate HR Operations

Ensure your workforce management remains compliant, accurate, and completely aligned with modern payroll practices. Reach out to your internal Workday administrator today to discover advanced integrations, custom approval workflows, and mobile time-tracking strategies designed to fit your team's specific needs.