QuickBooks Workforce Settings and Permissions: What Admins Can Control

QuickBooks Time administrators overseeing mobile workforce activity through the QuickBooks Workforce app have a layered set of permissions at their disposal. The platform allows granular control over how employees track hours, where location services apply, and who can edit or submit timesheets. Understanding where these toggles live — and how they interact — is essential for keeping time data accurate before payroll runs.

Mobile Time Entry and Timesheet Management

By default, QuickBooks Time separates the ability to clock in via a mobile device from the ability to edit one’s own timesheet. Admins navigate to Company Settings, select Time Options, and then Time Entry to establish the baseline rules.

At the company level, enabling the option to allow team members to track time on the mobile app activates the mobile time entry feature. A broader setting allows all team members to sign in from any platform — desktop or mobile — and manage their own timesheets. Activating this company-wide timesheet management feature automatically enables mobile time entry and locks it as an active requirement. When this occurs, the mobile time entry checkbox becomes greyed out in both the overarching company settings and the individual user profiles, meaning the system enforces mobile access as a baseline for timesheet management.

Customizing Individual Permissions

If a company prefers a mixed approach — granting full timesheet management to some employees while restricting others to basic mobile clock-ins — administrators must configure permissions at the individual level.

To achieve this, the company-wide setting for timesheet management must first be disabled, leaving only the standard mobile time entry option active. Once saved, administrators can navigate to the My Team directory, select a specific employee, and open their Permissions tab. From here, the administrator can toggle Mobile time entry for basic clock-in capabilities. For employees who need broader access, the administrator can independently select the option allowing that specific individual to manage their own timesheets. This process must be repeated for each applicable employee.

Location Tracking and Geofencing

Location settings dictate whether the application records GPS data when an employee clocks in or out. Administrists configure this by navigating to Account and Settings, selecting the Time tab, and editing the Geolocation settings. Three primary options exist: Required, which forces location services to be active on the employee’s device to track time; Optional, which allows the employee to toggle location services on or off without impacting their ability to clock in; and Never, which disables all location tracking.

Geofencing adds a geographic boundary to time tracking. Admins manage these boundaries in the Location and Tracking sections of the company settings. If location tracking is set to “Never” at the company level, geofencing cannot function. For specific geographic rules, administrators can apply custom location parameters to individual team members from the Location tab within their specific employee profile.

Mileage Tracking Configuration

Mileage tracking functions as an add-on feature. Administrators must first ensure the feature is installed via the Feature Add-ons menu. Once installed, mileage tracking requires location services to be active. The administrator must enable mileage tracking within the Geolocation settings under the Time tab.

For automatic mileage tracking to function while an employee is clocked in, location tracking must be active at the company level. The employee must then configure their mobile device to permit the application to always access their location. On iOS devices, this requires navigating to the device’s general settings, selecting the Workforce application, and setting the location permission to “Always.” The employee’s global device location setting must also be active for the application to passively log mileage.

Approvals and Supervisory Roles

Administrators can install the Approvals add-on to require a review process before hours are finalized. Once installed, preferences can be configured to allow team members to review and submit their own time, creating a formal submission step in the workflow.

Additionally, administrators can delegate oversight by assigning specific roles to team members. Within an employee’s Permissions tab, administrators can assign roles such as Admin, Payroll Manager, or a Custom designation. Granting a supervisory role, such as the ability to manage timesheets for all team members, gives that specific employee the clearance to review and edit hours logged by their colleagues, streamlining the approval process for larger teams.