> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://kb.theloops.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://kb.theloops.io/digitalworkers/ifs-loops-digital-workers/digital-worker-guides/time-entry-manager/core-concepts/fundamentals.md).

# Fundamentals

## Overview&#x20;

The Time Entry Manager is an AI-powered Digital Worker that prepares and submits project time reports in IFS Cloud. It uses an employee’s historical time reporting patterns to identify the project activities they’re most likely to report and estimate the hours for each one, validates those suggested entries against the activities and report codes that are valid for that employee and date, and automatically submits the resulting Project and MCPR time entries.&#x20;

The Time Entry Manager runs on a predetermined schedule, so no manual trigger is required. It processes the signed-in employee, named employees, or an entire team on a manager’s behalf, handling each employee and date independently so that one issue never holds up the rest.&#x20;

## Key Benefits&#x20;

No more end-of-week guesswork: Employees no longer have to piece together where their hours went from memory after the fact.&#x20;

**Hours reclaimed:** Employees and their teams get back the time once spent reconstructing timesheets from scratch.&#x20;

**Fewer correction cycles:** Suggested entries are validated against valid activities and report codes before submission, reducing the back-and-forth that used to follow a timesheet review.&#x20;

**Full visibility into every outcome:** Submission outcomes, successful, partial, or failed, are reported for every employee processed, so nothing is left unclear.&#x20;

Nothing submitted incomplete: Where an employee can’t be resolved or required information is missing, the timesheet is held back rather than submitted with gaps.&#x20;

**The Challenge It Solves**&#x20;

Every week, employees try to remember exactly where their time went, piecing together project hours after the fact and hoping nothing got missed. That guesswork costs supervisors and payroll teams hours reviewing, correcting, and revalidating entries before a timesheet is ready to submit.&#x20;

Reconstructing a timesheet from memory is slow and error-prone, and the review burden it creates falls on supervisors and payroll just as much as it falls on the employee doing the remembering.&#x20;

## Before and After&#x20;

**Before**&#x20;

Before the Time Entry Manager, preparing a timesheet requires manual effort at every stage:&#x20;

{% stepper %}
{% step %}
Try to recall which project activities were worked on and when, often days after the fact&#x20;
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Estimate hours for each activity from memory, with no structured record to check against
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Submit the timesheet and wait for a supervisor to review it
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Have entries corrected and revalidated when something doesn’t hold up to review
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Repeat the correction cycle until the timesheet is finally accepted
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

**After**&#x20;

With the Time Entry Manager, the same process runs automatically:&#x20;

{% stepper %}
{% step %}
The worker looks at an employee’s historical time reporting patterns to identify the project activities they’re most likely to report
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
It estimates the hours for each activity, weighing scheduled hours and time already reported to limit estimates to what’s actually left for the target day
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Suggested entries are checked against the activities and report codes valid for that employee and date
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Project and MCPR time entries are submitted directly to IFS Cloud once they’re ready
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
A confirmation email is sent to the employee with an embedded button to review and edit any entry before it goes further
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Only after the employee verifies the entries does the timesheet move on for manager approval
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

## How It Works&#x20;

The Time Entry Manager follows a consistent process for every employee and date it processes.&#x20;

**Resolve scope:** The worker resolves who is in scope, whether that’s the signed-in employee, a named employee, or a manager and the people who report to them.&#x20;

**Read reporting history:** For each person, it reads their actual reporting history and ranks the activity and report code combinations they use most, weighted toward what they’ve done most recently.&#x20;

**Validate codes:** Each suggested code is checked to confirm it’s still valid for the target date, since codes expire and assignments change over time.&#x20;

**Estimate hours:** The worker weighs scheduled hours and time already reported, keeping estimates limited to what’s actually left for the target day.&#x20;

**Submit or hold:** Once entries are ready, the Time Entry Manager submits Project and MCPR time directly to IFS Cloud. Where an employee can’t be resolved or required information is missing, that timesheet is held back rather than submitted incomplete.&#x20;

**Notify and verify:** Following verification, a confirmation email is sent to the employee with an embedded button to return to their time entry page and make any necessary edits. Entries are submitted, not confirmed: any line the Digital Worker gets wrong is corrected by the employee before it’s sent on for manager approval.&#x20;

**Report the outcome:** Submission outcomes, successful, partial, or failed, are reported for every employee processed.&#x20;

## What Triggers the Time Entry Manager&#x20;

**A predetermined schedule:** The Time Entry Manager runs on a schedule, so no manual trigger is required for entries to be reviewed and prepared.&#x20;

**A user-initiated request:** Processing can also be initiated directly, for the signed-in employee, a named employee, or a manager acting on behalf of their direct reports.&#x20;

**Each employee and date independently:** Every employee and target date is processed on its own, so an issue with one person’s entry never delays the rest of the team.&#x20;