How to Automate Your Timesheet Reminders (Without Annoying Your Team)

Let's be honest—nobody looks forward to filling out their timesheet. But as a manager, tracking time is essential for billing, payroll, and productivity. The tricky part? Reminding your team to submit their timesheets without becoming *that person* who nags every Friday.

The good news is you can automate timesheet reminders in a way that's helpful, efficient, and team-friendly. Here's how.

Why Manual Reminders Fail

We've all seen it: a frantic end-of-week email chain or a Slack ping that gets lost in the noise. Manual reminders are:

• Time-consuming for admins and managers
• Easy to overlook or ignore
• Often perceived as micromanagement

That's why automation isn't just convenient—it's crucial.

Step 1: Choose a Tool That Sends Smart Reminders

Start with a time tracking solution like TimeRewards that includes built-in reminder automation. Look for features like:

• Customizable reminder days and times
• Only notify users who haven't submitted their time
• Email + in-app + Slack/Teams options

💡 Pro Tip: Send reminders just before the time entry deadline—not days in advance. It keeps it relevant without spamming.

Step 2: Keep the Message Friendly and Clear

Avoid cold, robotic notifications. Instead, craft a message that's warm and specific. Here's a good example:

👋 Hey there! Just a quick heads-up — your timesheet for this week isn't in yet. Please take a minute to submit it before 5pm today. Thanks for staying on top of it!

Clear. Polite. No passive-aggressiveness required.

Step 3: Don't Overdo It

Too many reminders can cause alert fatigue. Stick to one or two nudges per week. You can also:

• Send different reminders for daily vs. weekly entry policies
• Disable reminders for users on leave or holidays

Step 4: Make It Easy to Comply

Reminders are only half the battle. The other half? Making it dead simple to submit time:

• Enable mobile time entry
• Use calendar-style or autofill timesheets
• Show hours remaining to enter

What TimeRewards Users Say

🗣️ "Before using TimeRewards, our Friday afternoons were pure chaos. Now, timesheet reminders go out automatically, and submissions are 95% on time." — Lisa M., Ops Director

Final Thoughts

You don't have to be the timesheet police. With the right tools and a thoughtful strategy, you can automate timesheet reminders that work—without annoying your team.

Want to try it? Start your free trial or book a demo and we'll show you how easy it can be.