# WiseCost guide for AI assistants Generated on 2026-10-02 from the WiseCost Help Center (https://www.usewisecost.com/help). Audience of this pack: Admin. ## What WiseCost is WiseCost is a time tracking and labor cost allocation application that works on top of QuickBooks Online. Employees log their hours against contracts, grants or internal cost categories; approvers review and approve timesheets; admins run Labor Distribution, which allocates each employee's pay across what they worked on and posts a journal entry to QuickBooks Online. It is used by U.S. government contractors who follow DCAA timekeeping practices and by nonprofits and grant recipients who follow the Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200.430). QuickBooks Online stays the accounting system; WiseCost does not replace it. ## Who uses it - Admin: configures the company, manages users and employees, approves timesheets, runs Labor Distribution, generates reports. - Supervisor (approver): approves the timesheets of the employees assigned to them, and nothing else in the company. - Team member (employee): logs their own hours and submits their timesheet. A person can be an admin in one company and a team member in another. ## Vocabulary - Time activity: one block of time on one date. Timesheet: all of an employee's time activities in one payroll period. - Contract: what time is charged to. Depending on the company's setup it is a QuickBooks Class or a QuickBooks Project. An optional Location can be tagged on top. - Internal or indirect time: PTO, holiday, overhead and similar, charged to an account instead of a contract. - Timesheet statuses: Open, Pending (in review), Approved, Rejected, Locked (posted). - Labor Distribution: the admin process that turns approved hours plus pay into a journal entry in QuickBooks Online, one payroll period at a time. - Compliance presets: DCAA and Uniform Guidance. A preset is a starting point that only makes settings stricter; it is not a mode and it locks nothing. - Expected hours: an optional weekly figure per employee. When the company requires it, a timesheet cannot be submitted below it. ## How to answer 1. Answer only from this guide. If the guide does not cover something, say so and point the user to support@usewisecost.com. Do not guess at screens, buttons or menu paths. 2. Use the exact names of screens, buttons and menu paths as written here, for example "Company Setup → Employees". 3. Before giving steps, find out what you need: the user's role (admin, supervisor or team member), whether their company charges time to Classes or to Projects, and whether they follow DCAA or the Uniform Guidance. Many screens differ by these. 4. Give numbered steps, one action per step, and say what the user should see afterwards. 5. You cannot see the user's WiseCost account, their QuickBooks data or their settings. Never imply that you can. Do not ask for employee names, pay or other payroll data; you do not need them to explain a procedure. 6. Settings are decided by each company's admin. If a team member asks for something only an admin can change, tell them who to ask and what to ask for. 7. WiseCost supports compliance practices; it does not make a company compliant and it does not guarantee the result of an audit. Auditors evaluate the whole accounting system, including written policies. Do not give legal, tax or audit advice; suggest the user's CPA for that. 8. WiseCost changes often. If what the user sees does not match this guide, the guide may be out of date: tell them to download the latest version at https://www.usewisecost.com/help/ai. ## Contents - Getting Started - What is WiseCost? - Connect WiseCost to QuickBooks Online - Your first 30 minutes: setup checklist - Inviting your team - Logging your own hours as an admin - QuickBooks Integration - How WiseCost works with QuickBooks Online - Creating Projects in QuickBooks Online for WiseCost - Using WiseCost before you connect QuickBooks Online - Using QuickBooks Locations in WiseCost - Time Tracking - Configuring the time entry form - Internal and indirect time: PTO, holiday and overhead - Contract budgets and period of performance - Requiring employees to log their expected hours - Entering time for a team member - Distributed tracking for salaried employees - Reviewing and exporting time activities - Timesheet Approvals - Approving and rejecting timesheets - Approvers and supervisors: who can approve a timesheet - Reopening a payroll period or timesheet - Timesheet notifications and reminders - Labor Distribution - Running Labor Distribution in WiseCost - Importing payroll from Gusto, ADP or Paychex - Employer taxes, benefits and adjustments - Payroll frequencies and periods - Journal entries and reversals - Compliance - Compliance presets and settings - Setting up WiseCost for DCAA - What DCAA compliance actually means - Setting up WiseCost for the Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200.430) - Reports & Audit Trail - Generating a report in WiseCost - Labor Distribution report - Indirect Rate report: fringe, overhead and G&A - P&L report by class, customer or project - Budget vs Actual by Contract report - Report History: downloading a past report - Assigning account roles for indirect rates - Audit Trail - API - WiseCost API overview - Creating and managing API keys - Troubleshooting - Not receiving emails from WiseCost - "Location is required" when logging time - An employee cannot submit their timesheet - I cannot approve a timesheet - QuickBooks Online changed and WiseCost did not - A class that only exists in WiseCost cannot be sent to QuickBooks Online - My Projects do not appear in WiseCost - I cannot log time on a date - Something not working? Talk to us --- # Getting Started ## What is WiseCost? - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/getting-started/what-is-wisecost - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > WiseCost adds time tracking, timesheet approvals and labor distribution to QuickBooks Online for government contractors and nonprofits with federal grants. WiseCost is a time tracking and labor cost allocation application that works on top of QuickBooks Online. Your team logs hours against contracts, grants or internal cost categories, approvers review the timesheets, and WiseCost allocates each person's pay across what they worked on and posts the journal entry to QuickBooks Online. QuickBooks Online stays your accounting system. WiseCost does not replace it. ### What problem does WiseCost solve? If the government pays for your people's time, you have to show where that time went and what it cost. That is true for a contractor audited by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) and for a nonprofit that charges salaries to a federal award under the Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200.430). Most small organizations keep their books in QuickBooks Online, which has no timekeeping controls and no labor distribution. WiseCost fills that gap without a migration. It adds daily timekeeping tied to contracts or awards, an approval workflow, automated labor distribution, indirect rate reports and an immutable audit trail, all reading from and posting to the QuickBooks Online company you already have. ### Who is WiseCost for? - **Government contractors** that follow DCAA timekeeping practices: companies pursuing or holding cost-type or T&M contracts, preparing for a pre-award survey (SF-1408) or a floor check. - **Nonprofits and grant recipients** that need time and effort reporting for federal awards: salaries charged to grants have to be supported by records that reflect the work actually performed. - **CPA firms** that serve these clients and want them on one consistent process. In all three cases the organization uses QuickBooks Online and does not want to move to an enterprise ERP. ### What WiseCost does - **Time tracking.** Employees log hours against a contract (a QuickBooks Class or Project), with an optional Item, Location and description, or against internal time such as PTO, holiday and overhead. - **Timesheet approvals.** Each employee can have an approver and a backup approver. Admins and supervisors approve, reject or reopen timesheets, and every action is kept in the timesheet history. - **Labor distribution.** Labor distribution is the process that turns approved hours plus pay into labor cost per contract. WiseCost calculates it for each payroll period and posts a journal entry to QuickBooks Online. - **Reports.** Labor Distribution, Indirect Rate (fringe, overhead and G&A), P&L and Budget vs Actual by Contract. - **Compliance controls.** Presets for DCAA and for the Uniform Guidance set a strict starting point that you can adjust switch by switch. - **Audit Trail.** Every change is recorded with its old value and its new value, and nothing in it can be edited. - **API.** A read-only REST API to take your time data to a data warehouse or a BI tool. ### What WiseCost is not WiseCost is not an ERP and it does not replace QuickBooks Online. It does not handle accounts payable or receivable, payroll processing or invoicing. Those stay in QuickBooks Online and in your payroll provider. WiseCost supports your compliance practices. It does not make an organization compliant by itself, and no software can guarantee the result of an audit. Auditors evaluate your accounting system as a whole, including your written policies. For plans and pricing, see the [Pricing page](https://www.usewisecost.com/pricing). ### Next steps - [Connect WiseCost to QuickBooks Online](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/getting-started/connect-quickbooks-online) - [Your first 30 minutes: setup checklist](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/getting-started/first-30-minutes-setup-checklist) - [Set up WiseCost for DCAA](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/dcaa-compliance/setting-up-wisecost-for-dcaa) or [for the Uniform Guidance](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/dcaa-compliance/setting-up-wisecost-for-uniform-guidance) ### Common questions #### Does WiseCost replace QuickBooks Online? No. QuickBooks Online stays your book of record. WiseCost reads your employees, classes, projects and accounts from it and posts labor distribution journal entries back to it. #### Is WiseCost only for DCAA contractors? No. It is also used by nonprofits and grant recipients that follow the Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200.430). Each has its own compliance preset and its own setup path in this Help Center. #### Does using WiseCost make my company DCAA compliant? No software does that by itself. WiseCost gives you the timekeeping, approval, labor distribution and audit trail controls auditors look for, and they evaluate your whole accounting system, including your written policies. ### Further reading - [QuickBooks Online for Government Contractors: Can You Stay DCAA Compliant Without an ERP?](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/quickbooks-online-government-contractors-dcaa) - [Is There Such a Thing as DCAA-Approved Software?](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/is-there-dcaa-approved-software) --- ## Connect WiseCost to QuickBooks Online - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/getting-started/connect-quickbooks-online - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Connect WiseCost to QuickBooks Online with one Intuit authorization. It imports accounts, employees, classes, customers, projects, items and locations. To connect WiseCost to QuickBooks Online, click **Connect to QuickBooks** during onboarding, sign in to Intuit as an admin of your QuickBooks Online company and approve the permissions. WiseCost then imports your accounts, employees, contractors, classes, customers, projects, items and locations. It takes about a minute and nothing is changed in QuickBooks Online during the import. **Who can do this:** an Administrator in WiseCost who is also an admin of the QuickBooks Online company. ### Before you start - You need admin access to the QuickBooks Online company you want to connect. - You can start without it. WiseCost lets you create local employees and classes and connect QuickBooks Online later. Read [Using WiseCost before you connect QuickBooks Online](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/quickbooks-integration/using-wisecost-before-connecting-quickbooks) first, because local records do not merge with the ones that arrive later. ### Connect your company 1. **Start the connection.** During onboarding, click **Connect to QuickBooks**. If you skipped that step, the pages under **Company Setup** show a banner that lets you connect. 2. **Sign in to Intuit.** Use the credentials of a QuickBooks Online admin and choose the company. 3. **Approve the permissions.** Intuit shows what WiseCost is asking for. Confirm. 4. **Wait for the import.** WiseCost imports accounts, employees, contractors (1099 vendors), classes, customers, projects, items and locations. ### What happens next Open **Company Setup → Company settings → General**. Under **Integrations**, QuickBooks shows as **Linked**. [Screenshot: Company settings, General tab, showing company information, the QuickBooks integration and security options] From now on, changes you make in QuickBooks Online reach WiseCost on their own. Every page under **Company Setup** also has a **Re-Sync** button to pull the latest data on demand. WiseCost keeps the connection alive, so you do not need to authorize it again in normal use. ### Changing the connection A company cannot switch itself to a different QuickBooks Online company. If you connected the wrong one, write to [support@usewisecost.com](mailto:support@usewisecost.com). ### Common questions #### Does WiseCost change my QuickBooks Online data? The import only reads. After that, WiseCost writes to QuickBooks Online in two cases: when you post a labor distribution journal entry or send time activities, and when an admin creates or edits a class, customer, item or account from WiseCost with **Manage QuickBooks objects from WiseCost** turned on. #### Can I use WiseCost without QuickBooks Online? You can start without it, with local employees and classes, and connect later. Posting journal entries needs the connection. #### My plan is QuickBooks Online Essentials and it has no Classes. Can I still use WiseCost? Yes. Companies on QuickBooks Online Essentials can work with local classes created in WiseCost. --- ## Your first 30 minutes: setup checklist - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/getting-started/first-30-minutes-setup-checklist - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Set up WiseCost in two stages: payroll frequency, time entry form, compliance preset and team invitations first, then pay and your first labor distribution. To set up WiseCost, first choose your payroll frequency, the time entry form and a compliance preset, then invite your team so they can start logging hours. After that, enter pay, confirm your posting account and run your first labor distribution. You do not need to do it all at once: stage 1 gets your team tracking time today, stage 2 prepares your first journal entry. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. ### Stage 1: start tracking time 1. **Connect QuickBooks Online.** See [Connect WiseCost to QuickBooks Online](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/getting-started/connect-quickbooks-online). You can also start with local employees and classes and connect later. 2. **Set your payroll frequency.** Go to **Company Setup → Company settings → Payroll** and choose weekly, biweekly, semimonthly or monthly, and the start date. The start date cannot be changed once it is saved, so check it twice. Details in [Payroll frequencies and periods](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/labor-distribution/payroll-frequencies-and-periods). 3. **Choose what time is charged to.** In **Company Setup → Company settings → Time Tracking**, pick the **Contract field**: Project or Class. Then choose which fields employees see. Details in [Configuring the time entry form](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/configuring-the-time-entry-form). 4. **Enable internal time.** On the same tab, under **Internal / Indirect Time**, choose the accounts your team can charge PTO, holiday and overhead to. 5. **Apply a compliance preset.** In **Company Setup → Company settings → Compliance**, click **DCAA** or **Uniform Guidance** and review the changes it lists. See [Compliance presets and settings](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/dcaa-compliance/compliance-presets-and-settings). 6. **Assign approvers.** In **Company Setup → Employees**, set an **Approver** and, if you want, a **Backup approver** for each employee. 7. **Invite your team.** See [Inviting your team](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/getting-started/inviting-your-team), and send them the [For employees](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/employees) guide. 8. **Log your own time, if you work on contracts.** See [Logging your own hours as an admin](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/getting-started/logging-your-own-hours-as-admin). [Screenshot: Company settings, General tab, showing company information, the QuickBooks integration and security options] Your team can now log hours by contract and cost category. ### Stage 2: prepare your first labor distribution 1. **Enter pay for each employee.** In **Company Setup → Employees**, enter each person's pay per period or hourly rate. You can also import the real payroll of the period later, from Gusto, ADP or Paychex. 2. **Confirm the credit account.** In **Company Setup → Company settings → General**, check the **Default credit account**. It is the account that balances the journal entry. 3. **Assign account roles.** In **Company Setup → Accounts**, give each account its role so the Indirect Rate report can calculate fringe, overhead and G&A. See [Assigning account roles](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/indirect-rates-assigning-pools-to-accounts). 4. **Run Labor Distribution.** Once the period's timesheets are approved, follow [Running Labor Distribution in WiseCost](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/labor-distribution/running-your-first-distribution). ### Common questions #### Can I change the payroll start date later? No. The start date of a frequency is fixed once saved. If it is wrong, write to support@usewisecost.com. #### Do I have to finish stage 2 before my team logs time? No. Stage 1 is enough for timekeeping. Stage 2 is only needed before your first labor distribution. ### Further reading - [Setting Up Your Accounting System for Your First Cost-Type Government Contract](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/accounting-system-setup-first-cost-type-contract) - [How to Make QuickBooks Online DCAA-Compliant: A Step-by-Step Guide](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/how-to-make-quickbooks-online-dcaa-compliant) --- ## Inviting your team - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/getting-started/inviting-your-team - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Invite admins and team members from Company Setup → Users in WiseCost, link them to an employee record, and resend or copy the link if the email fails. To invite someone to WiseCost, go to **Company Setup → Users**, click **Invite user**, choose **Admin** or **Team member**, enter their email address and send the invite. Team members have to be linked to an employee record, so their hours land on the right person. WiseCost emails them their sign-in details, and tells you right away if that email could not be sent. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. ### Before you start - The person's employee record has to exist in **Company Setup → Employees**. Employees are synced from QuickBooks Online, or created locally if you have not connected it. - Decide the role. There are three roles in WiseCost: - **Administrator:** full access to settings, billing and all company data. - **Team Member:** logs their own time and submits their timesheet. Nothing else. - **Supervisor:** a team member who also approves the timesheets of the people assigned to them, and sees nothing else in the company. You do not invite a Supervisor directly: naming a Team Member as someone's approver promotes them to Supervisor automatically. See [Approvers and supervisors](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/timesheet-approvals/approvers-and-supervisors). ### Invite a user 1. Go to **Company Setup → Users** and click **Invite user**. 2. Choose **Admin** or **Team member**. 3. Under **Link to an employee record**, select the employee. It is required for a team member and optional for an admin. An admin linked to an employee record can also track their own time. 4. Enter the **Email address**. Add a **CC** or a **Personal message** if you want. 5. Click **Send invite**. [Screenshot: Invite user dialog with the Admin and Team member options] You can also invite a team member directly from their row in **Company Setup → Employees**. ### What happens next The person receives an email from WiseCost with the subject "Welcome to WiseCost. Your account is ready", with their login and a temporary password. Their first steps are in [Your first login](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/employees/your-first-login). If the invitation email could not be sent, WiseCost tells you at that moment. On the row of the pending invitation you can **Resend** it, or use **Copy link** in the row menu and send the link through another channel. The link works even if the email never arrived. If several people are not receiving emails, read [Not receiving emails from WiseCost](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/troubleshooting/not-receiving-emails-from-wisecost). ### Share the employee guide with your team The [For employees](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/employees) guide is three short reads that get anyone logging hours in minutes. Paste this link in your internal announcement: Share this with your team: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/employees ### Common questions #### How do I make someone a Supervisor? Assign them as **Approver** or **Backup approver** of at least one employee in **Company Setup → Employees**. A Team Member named as approver becomes a Supervisor automatically. #### The person never got the invitation. What do I do? Open the pending invitation in **Company Setup → Users** or **Company Setup → Employees**, click **Resend**, or use **Copy link** and send it yourself. Then check [Not receiving emails from WiseCost](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/troubleshooting/not-receiving-emails-from-wisecost). #### Can the same person belong to more than one company? Yes. One person can be an admin in one company and a team member in another. **My Profile → My Companies** shows their role in each. --- ## Logging your own hours as an admin - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/getting-started/logging-your-own-hours-as-admin - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Admins do not track time by default in WiseCost. Link your user to your employee record and Time Tracker appears, with the same approval flow as everyone. Admin accounts do not track time by default. To log your own hours as an admin in WiseCost, link your user to your employee record. Once linked, **Time Tracker** appears in your sidebar and your timesheets follow the same approval flow as everyone else's. **Who can do this:** an Administrator who also works on contracts, grants or internal projects. ### Link your user to your employee record 1. Make sure your employee record exists in **Company Setup → Employees**. It comes from QuickBooks Online, or you can create it locally. 2. Open **My Profile** and link your user to your QuickBooks Online employee. If you are inviting a new admin instead, select their record under **Link to an employee record** in the **Invite user** dialog. 3. Check the sidebar. **Time Tracker** now appears, and you log hours like any employee. See [Logging your hours and submitting your timesheet](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/employees/logging-hours-as-an-employee). ### Check which employee you are linked to **My Profile → My Companies** lists every company you belong to, with your role, the QuickBooks status and the employee record you are linked to in each one. [Screenshot: My Companies card showing the role and the linked QuickBooks employee for each company] ### Who approves an admin's timesheet Your timesheet goes to your approver like any other. Whether you can approve your own depends on **Allow approving your own timesheet** in **Company Setup → Company settings → Compliance**. Both compliance presets turn it off, so another approver or administrator signs off on your hours. ### Common questions #### Why don't I see Time Tracker in my sidebar? Time Tracker only appears for admins who are linked to an employee record. Link your user in **My Profile**. #### Can I be an admin in one company and an employee in another? Yes. **My Profile → My Companies** shows your role and your linked employee in each company. # QuickBooks Integration ## How WiseCost works with QuickBooks Online - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/quickbooks-integration/how-the-integration-works - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > WiseCost syncs accounts, employees, classes, projects, items and locations from QuickBooks Online and posts labor distribution journal entries back to it. WiseCost reads your master data from QuickBooks Online and posts labor cost back to it. Accounts, employees, contractors, classes, customers, projects, items and locations are synced from QuickBooks Online; your team tracks and approves time in WiseCost; Labor Distribution posts a journal entry to QuickBooks Online. QuickBooks Online remains your book of record. **Who this is for:** Administrators. ### The flow in one line Set up your contracts in QuickBooks Online, track and approve time in WiseCost, run Labor Distribution, and WiseCost posts the journal entry to QuickBooks Online. ### What is synced from QuickBooks Online | QuickBooks Online | In WiseCost | Used for | |---|---|---| | Chart of accounts | **Company Setup → Accounts** | Posting accounts, internal time and indirect rate roles | | Employees | **Company Setup → Employees** | Who logs time, pay, approvers | | Contractors (1099 vendors) | **Company Setup** | Contractors who log time | | Classes | **Company Setup → Classes** | Contracts or awards, when your contract field is Class | | Customers | **Company Setup → Customers** | The customer behind each contract | | Projects | **Company Setup → Projects** | Contracts or awards, when your contract field is Project | | Items | **Company Setup → Items** | Optional service item on a time entry | | Departments or Locations | **Company Setup → Locations** | Optional location tag on time entries and journal lines | A **contract** in WiseCost is what time is charged to. Depending on your setup it is a QuickBooks Class or a QuickBooks Project, never both. You choose it in [Configuring the time entry form](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/configuring-the-time-entry-form). ### How changes arrive Changes you make in QuickBooks Online reach WiseCost on their own. If you need them right now, click **Re-Sync** on the matching page under **Company Setup**. An employee terminated in QuickBooks Online shows a **Terminated** badge in WiseCost and keeps all their history. ### Creating records from WiseCost In **Company Setup → Company settings → General → Integrations** there is a toggle, **Manage QuickBooks objects from WiseCost**. - **On:** admins can create and edit classes, customers, items and accounts from WiseCost, and the change is written to QuickBooks Online. - **Off:** those pages are read-only in WiseCost. You cannot create, activate or deactivate classes, customers, items, accounts, locations or employees from WiseCost, and everything is managed in QuickBooks Online. Projects are the exception: they can only be created in QuickBooks Online. See [Creating Projects in QuickBooks Online](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/quickbooks-integration/creating-projects-in-quickbooks-online). [Screenshot: Company settings, General tab, showing company information, the QuickBooks integration and security options] ### What WiseCost writes to QuickBooks Online - The journal entry of each labor distribution, and its reversal if you reopen a posted period. See [Journal entries and reversals](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/labor-distribution/journal-entries-and-reversals). - Time activities, when an admin sends them from **Time Activities**. - Records created or edited from WiseCost, when **Manage QuickBooks objects from WiseCost** is on. ### Without a connection If QuickBooks Online is not connected, the pages under **Company Setup** show a banner to connect and hide **Re-Sync**. You can still work with local employees and classes. See [Using WiseCost before you connect QuickBooks Online](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/quickbooks-integration/using-wisecost-before-connecting-quickbooks). A company cannot switch itself to a different QuickBooks Online company. Write to [support@usewisecost.com](mailto:support@usewisecost.com) for that. ### Common questions #### Does WiseCost post to QuickBooks Online automatically? No. Nothing is posted until an admin reviews the labor distribution and clicks **Post Journal Entry**. #### I changed something in QuickBooks Online and WiseCost does not show it. What do I do? Open the matching page under **Company Setup** and click **Re-Sync**. More in [QuickBooks Online changed and WiseCost did not](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/troubleshooting/quickbooks-changes-not-showing). #### Does WiseCost work with QuickBooks Online Essentials? Yes. QuickBooks Online Essentials has no Classes, so those companies work with local classes created in WiseCost. ### Further reading - [QuickBooks Online for Government Contractors: Can You Stay DCAA Compliant Without an ERP?](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/quickbooks-online-government-contractors-dcaa) --- ## Creating Projects in QuickBooks Online for WiseCost - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/quickbooks-integration/creating-projects-in-quickbooks-online - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Projects are created only in QuickBooks Online. Add the Project there, then click Re-Sync in Company Setup → Projects and it appears in WiseCost. Projects are created only in QuickBooks Online, never in WiseCost. To add one, create it in the Projects area of QuickBooks Online, then open **Company Setup → Projects** in WiseCost and click **Re-Sync**. WiseCost lists real QuickBooks Projects only, so a sub-customer that was never converted to a Project will not appear. **Who can do this:** an Administrator in WiseCost with access to QuickBooks Online. ### Add a Project 1. In QuickBooks Online, open the **Projects** area and create the Project under the right customer. 2. In WiseCost, go to **Company Setup → Projects**. 3. Click **Re-Sync**. 4. Check that the Project is in the list. Your team can now charge time to it, if your contract field is Project. The Projects page in WiseCost has a help button that shows these same steps. ### Why it works this way Projects can only ever be created inside QuickBooks Online itself. That is why **Manage QuickBooks objects from WiseCost** never affects Projects, whatever its position. ### Set a budget and a period of performance Once the Project is in WiseCost you can give it an hours or dollars ceiling and start and end dates. See [Contract budgets and period of performance](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/contract-budgets-and-period-of-performance). ### Common questions #### My Projects do not appear in WiseCost. Why? Usually they are sub-customers in QuickBooks Online that were never converted to Projects, or you have not clicked **Re-Sync** since creating them. See [My Projects do not appear in WiseCost](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/troubleshooting/projects-not-appearing). #### Can I use Projects and Classes at the same time? One of them is the contract. If your contract field is Project, you can still include Class on the form as a secondary tag. --- ## Using WiseCost before you connect QuickBooks Online - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/quickbooks-integration/using-wisecost-before-connecting-quickbooks - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Start WiseCost with local employees and classes and connect QuickBooks Online later. Local records do not merge with the synced ones; they coexist. You can start using WiseCost before you connect QuickBooks Online. WiseCost lets you create local employees and local classes, so your team can begin logging time, and you connect QuickBooks Online later. One thing to know before you do: records created locally do not merge with the ones that later come from QuickBooks Online. Both sets live side by side. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. ### Start with local records 1. In **Company Setup → Employees**, click **Add Employee** and create the people who will log time. 2. In **Company Setup → Classes**, click **Add Class** and create the contracts, awards or cost categories they will charge time to. 3. Set up your payroll frequency and time entry form as in the [setup checklist](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/getting-started/first-30-minutes-setup-checklist). 4. Invite your team. See [Inviting your team](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/getting-started/inviting-your-team). While QuickBooks Online is not connected, the pages under **Company Setup** show a banner to connect and the **Re-Sync** button is hidden. ### What changes when you connect When you connect, WiseCost imports your QuickBooks Online employees, classes and the rest of your lists. The local records stay as they are. If the same person or class exists in both places, you will see two records: the local one and the one from QuickBooks Online. To keep things clean: - If you know you will connect soon, create only what you need to start. - After connecting, link users and assign new time to the QuickBooks Online records. - A class that exists only in WiseCost cannot be sent to QuickBooks Online as a time activity. See [A class that only exists in WiseCost](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/troubleshooting/local-class-cannot-be-sent-to-quickbooks). ### Companies on QuickBooks Online Essentials QuickBooks Online Essentials has no Classes. Those companies can connect and keep working with local classes in WiseCost as their contracts. ### Common questions #### Will my local employees merge with my QuickBooks Online employees when I connect? No. Local records and QuickBooks Online records coexist. Nothing is merged. #### Can I run Labor Distribution without QuickBooks Online? Posting the journal entry needs the connection, because the entry is posted to QuickBooks Online. --- ## Using QuickBooks Locations in WiseCost - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/quickbooks-integration/using-quickbooks-locations - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Sync your QuickBooks Online Locations to WiseCost, add Location to the time entry form, and labor distribution posts each journal line with its Location. Locations in WiseCost are the Departments or Locations of your QuickBooks Online company. When you include Location on the time entry form, employees tag each time entry with a location, and Labor Distribution posts each journal line with its QuickBooks Location. It is an optional tag on top of the contract, useful for sites, offices, programs or state-by-state reporting. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. ### Turn Locations on 1. Make sure location tracking is set up in QuickBooks Online and that your locations exist there. 2. In WiseCost, go to **Company Setup → Locations** and click **Re-Sync**. Your locations appear in the list. 3. Go to **Company Setup → Company settings → Time Tracking**. In the **Time Entry Form** table, turn on **Include in form** for **Location**. Turn on **Required** if every entry must carry one. [Screenshot: Locations list synced from QuickBooks] ### What happens next - Employees see a Location field when they log time. If it is required, they cannot save an entry without it. - Labor Distribution posts each journal line with its QuickBooks Location. - The Labor Distribution report can be filtered by location. - Employees on distributed tracking get a separate percentage distribution by Location. See [Distributed tracking for salaried employees](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/distributed-tracking-for-salaried-employees). ### Common questions #### An employee sees "Location is required". What does it mean? Your time entry form requires a Location and the entry does not have one. See ["Location is required" when logging time](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/troubleshooting/location-is-required). #### Are Locations the same as Classes? No. The Class or the Project is the contract the time is charged to. Location is an extra tag on top of it. # Time Tracking ## Configuring the time entry form - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/configuring-the-time-entry-form - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Choose in WiseCost whether time is charged to a QuickBooks Project or Class, and which fields (Item, Location, Description) employees see or must fill in. To configure what employees fill in when they log time in WiseCost, go to **Company Setup → Company settings → Time Tracking**. In the **Time Entry Form** card, choose the **Contract field** (Project or Class, never both) and then decide, field by field, what is included in the form and what is required. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. ### Choose the contract field The **contract** is what time is charged to: the government contract, the grant or federal award, the task order. In WiseCost exactly one QuickBooks object identifies it for Labor Distribution. 1. Go to **Company Setup → Company settings → Time Tracking**. 2. Under **Contract field**, click **Project** or **Class**. Choose **Class** if you track contracts or awards as QuickBooks Classes. Choose **Project** if you track them as QuickBooks Projects. The contract field is always included in the form and always required. ### Choose the other fields The table lists **Project**, **Class**, **Item**, **Location** and **Description**. Each has two switches: **Include in form** and **Required**. | Field | What it is | |---|---| | Project or Class | The contract. Locked on, because every entry needs one. | | Class (in Project mode) | Can be included as a secondary tag on top of the Project. | | Item | A QuickBooks service item, for example the labor category or the role on the contract. | | Location | A QuickBooks Department or Location. See [Using QuickBooks Locations](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/quickbooks-integration/using-quickbooks-locations). | | Description | A short note about the work. | 1. Turn on **Include in form** for every field your team should see. 2. Turn on **Required** for the ones they must fill in. [Screenshot: Time Tracking settings with the time entry form fields and internal time accounts] ### What happens next The form your team sees in **Time Tracker** changes right away. Entries that are already logged are not modified. If you make a field required, employees cannot save a new entry without it. The most common case is ["Location is required"](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/troubleshooting/location-is-required). Time that does not belong to a contract, such as PTO, holiday or overhead, is set up on the same tab. See [Internal and indirect time](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/internal-and-indirect-time). ### Common questions #### Can employees charge time to a Project and a Class at the same time? One of them is the contract. In Project mode you can include Class as a secondary tag, so an entry carries both, but Labor Distribution allocates by the contract field. #### Should I make Description required? That is a policy decision. Many DCAA contractors and grant recipients require it, because a description supports what the hours were for. Your CPA can advise. ### Further reading - [How to Make QuickBooks Online DCAA-Compliant: A Step-by-Step Guide](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/how-to-make-quickbooks-online-dcaa-compliant) --- ## Internal and indirect time: PTO, holiday and overhead - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/internal-and-indirect-time - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Let employees log PTO, holiday, overhead and other indirect time in WiseCost by enabling indirect labor accounts in Company settings → Time Tracking. Internal or indirect time is time that does not belong to a contract: PTO, holiday, overhead, G&A, bid and proposal. To let your team log it in WiseCost, go to **Company Setup → Company settings → Time Tracking** and, in the **Internal / Indirect Time** card, choose the indirect labor accounts they can charge time to. Employees then pick one of those accounts instead of a contract. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. ### Before you start The accounts offered come from accounts already classified with an indirect labor role in **Company Setup → Accounts**. If the list is empty, assign roles first. See [Assigning account roles](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/indirect-rates-assigning-pools-to-accounts). ### Enable accounts for time entry 1. Go to **Company Setup → Company settings → Time Tracking**. 2. In the **Internal / Indirect Time** card, open **Accounts for time entry**. 3. Select each indirect account your team can log time against, and give it an alias your team will recognize, such as "PTO" or "Holiday". 4. Optional: under **Posting class for indirect entries**, choose the QuickBooks Class coded onto every indirect journal line. Leave it empty if your company uses Projects and no Classes. [Screenshot: Time Tracking settings with the time entry form fields and internal time accounts] ### What happens next When employees log time they see the enabled accounts, by their alias, next to their contracts. Labor Distribution posts that labor cost to the indirect account, which keeps direct labor and indirect labor apart in QuickBooks Online and feeds the [Indirect Rate report](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/indirect-rate-report). ### Why it matters Both DCAA timekeeping and time and effort reporting under the Uniform Guidance expect a record of all the time an employee works or is paid for, not only the hours charged to a contract or award. Internal time is how the day adds up. If you also [require expected hours](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/requiring-expected-hours), it is what lets an employee reach their total in a week with a holiday. ### Common questions #### Where do employees log PTO or a holiday? In the same Time Tracker. They choose the internal account, for example "PTO", instead of a contract. #### The account I need is not in the list. Why? Only accounts with an indirect labor role appear. Give the account its role in **Company Setup → Accounts** and come back. ### Further reading - [5 DCAA Compliance Mistakes That Small Contractors Keep Making](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/dcaa-compliance-mistakes-small-contractors) - [Direct vs. Indirect Costs in Government Contracting: A Practical Guide](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/direct-vs-indirect-costs-government-contracting) - [How to Classify Indirect Costs (Fringe, Overhead, and G&A)](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/how-to-classify-indirect-costs-govcon) --- ## Contract budgets and period of performance - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/contract-budgets-and-period-of-performance - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Give each Class or Project a period of performance and a budget in hours or dollars. WiseCost blocks time outside the dates; the budget only informs. In WiseCost, each Class or Project can have a period of performance and a budget. Set them in **Company Setup → Classes** or **Company Setup → Projects**, in the **Period** and **Budget** columns. The period of performance blocks time outside its dates. The budget is a ceiling in hours, dollars or both, and it is informational: it never blocks an entry. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. ### Two definitions - **Period of performance:** the start and end dates during which work can be charged to a contract or federal award. Work outside those dates generally cannot be charged to it. - **Budget:** the ceiling of a contract or award, in hours, in dollars or both. ### Set the period of performance 1. Go to **Company Setup → Classes**, or **Company Setup → Projects** if your contract field is Project. 2. In the **Period** column of the contract, choose the start date and the end date. From then on, nobody can log time on that contract for a date outside the range. The date is rejected and the employee has to pick another contract or another date. ### Set a budget 1. On the same row, find the **Budget** column. 2. Enter a ceiling in **Hrs**, in **$**, or both. Leave a field empty for no cap. [Screenshot: Classes table with period of performance and budget columns] ### What happens next When someone logs time on a contract with a ceiling, they see an indicator with the hours logged and approved against it. It informs. It never stops an entry, because going over a ceiling is a management decision, not a timekeeping error. To follow every contract at once, run the [Budget vs Actual by Contract report](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/budget-vs-actual-by-contract): logged hours, approved hours and actual dollars from QuickBooks Online, limited to each contract's period of performance. ### For grants and federal awards Under the Uniform Guidance, this is how you keep each award inside its dates and its budget: one Class or Project per award, with its period of performance and its ceiling in hours and dollars. See [Setting up WiseCost for the Uniform Guidance](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/dcaa-compliance/setting-up-wisecost-for-uniform-guidance). ### Common questions #### Does the budget stop employees from logging time when it runs out? No. The budget indicator is informational and never blocks. Only the period of performance blocks, and only for dates outside its range. #### What if a contract has no period of performance? Time can be logged on any date, and the Budget vs Actual by Contract report shows its lifetime totals. #### An employee cannot log time on a date. Is it the period of performance? It may be. See [I cannot log time on a date](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/troubleshooting/cannot-log-time-on-a-date). --- ## Requiring employees to log their expected hours - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/requiring-expected-hours - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Require employees to log 100% of their expected hours in WiseCost: set hours per week per employee and turn on Require expected hours to submit. To require employees to log 100% of their expected hours in WiseCost, turn on **Require expected hours to submit** in **Company Setup → Company settings → Compliance**, and enter each person's expected hours per week in **Company Setup → Employees**. An employee with expected hours cannot submit a timesheet until the period's total reaches them. Hours above the expectation are always allowed and are flagged for the approver. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. ### What expected hours are **Expected hours** are an optional weekly figure per employee, for example 40. They exist so a timesheet reflects the total of a person's activity, not only the hours charged to contracts or awards. That is what DCAA calls total time accounting, and what time and effort reporting under 2 CFR 200.430 asks of records that support salaries charged to federal awards. ### Set it up 1. Go to **Company Setup → Employees**. 2. In the **Expected hrs/week** column, enter the weekly hours of each employee it applies to. Leave it empty for anyone it does not apply to. 3. Go to **Company Setup → Company settings → Compliance**. 4. In the **Time entry** card, turn on **Require expected hours to submit**. [Screenshot: Employees table with expected hours per week, approver and backup approver columns] ### What the employee sees The header of their timesheet shows "X of Y hours" for the period. Until X reaches Y, they cannot send the timesheet for approval. To get there they log the rest of their time, including internal time such as PTO or holiday. See [Internal and indirect time](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/internal-and-indirect-time). ### What the approver sees Hours over the expectation are never blocked. In the **Time Sheets** list the timesheet carries a badge, "Over expected: +Xh", so the approver notices. It is informational. ### Who it does not apply to - An employee with no expected hours entered. The requirement does not touch them. - Everyone, while **Require expected hours to submit** is off. The figure on the employee is then only a reference. Compliance presets never change this switch. It is yours to decide. ### Undo it Turn the switch off, or clear the employee's **Expected hrs/week**. The change is recorded in the Audit Trail with its old and new value. ### Common questions #### An employee says they cannot submit their timesheet. Why? Most likely their total is below their expected hours for the period. Send them [Why can't I submit my timesheet?](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/employees/why-cant-i-submit-my-timesheet). #### Can employees log more than their expected hours? Yes. Hours above the expectation are always allowed. The approver sees an "Over expected" badge. #### Do part-time employees need a different number? Yes. Expected hours are set per employee, so enter each person's own weekly figure. ### Further reading - [DCAA Timekeeping Requirements: What Auditors Actually Check and How to Pass](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/dcaa-timekeeping-requirements-auditors-check) - [How to Prepare Your Team for a DCAA Floor Check](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/prepare-team-dcaa-floor-check) --- ## Entering time for a team member - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/entering-time-for-a-team-member - Audience: Admins and approvers - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > An approver can enter time for an employee in WiseCost when the company allows it, with a reason (absent, no connectivity, other) and a full audit record. In WiseCost, an approver can enter time on behalf of someone on their team when the company allows it. Open **Time Tracker**, choose the employee in the **Enter time for** selector, pick a **Reason** (**Employee absent**, **No connectivity** or **Other**) and log the entry. WiseCost records who keyed it, marks the entry "Entered by" with your name, and marks the timesheet "Contains delegated entries". **Who can do this:** Administrators and Supervisors, for the employees they approve, when **Allow entering time on someone's behalf** is on. ### What a delegated entry is A **delegated entry** is a time entry keyed by an approver instead of the employee who did the work. It is meant for exceptions: someone is out and the period is closing, or a crew works on a site with no access to the application. ### Before you start An Administrator turns it on in **Company Setup → Company settings → Compliance**, in the **Certification and approval** card: - **Allow entering time on someone's behalf** lets approvers log hours for the employees they approve. - **Require a different approver** means whoever entered hours for an employee cannot also approve that timesheet. Another approver or an administrator has to. It is separation of duties, and it is recommended. Neither compliance preset turns delegated entry on. It is your decision, based on your written timekeeping policy. ### Enter time for someone 1. Open **Time Tracker**. 2. In the employee selector at the top of the form, choose the person you are entering time for. 3. Open **Reason** and choose one: - **Employee absent** - **No connectivity**, which covers work on a site with no access to the application - **Other** 4. Add a note. It is required for **Other** and optional for the other two. 5. Fill in the entry as usual: what the time is charged to, the description, the date and the duration. Click **Add**. [Screenshot: Time entry form in Enter time for mode with the reason dropdown open] ### What happens next - The entry shows a badge, "Entered by" followed by your name. - The timesheet shows "Contains delegated entries", in the employee's view and in the **Time Sheets** approval list. - The Audit Trail records the entry under your name, with the reason. - Submitting the timesheet is still the employee's certification of their hours. ### Common questions #### Can a supervisor enter time for an employee under DCAA? WiseCost allows it only if your admin turns it on, and then it requires a reason, records who keyed the entry and flags the timesheet. Whether your policy permits it is for you and your CPA to decide. DCAA expects employees to record their own time, so treat it as a documented exception. #### I entered time for someone and now I cannot approve their timesheet. Why? **Require a different approver** is on. Another approver, the backup approver or an administrator has to approve it. See [I cannot approve a timesheet](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/troubleshooting/cannot-approve-a-timesheet). #### Can I enter time for anyone in the company? No. Supervisors can only enter time for the employees they approve. --- ## Distributed tracking for salaried employees - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/distributed-tracking-for-salaried-employees - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Distributed tracking lets salaried employees skip time entries: an admin sets a percentage split by Class or Project, which labor distribution then uses. Distributed tracking is for salaried employees who do not log time entries. Instead of daily entries, an admin sets a percentage distribution of their time by Class or Project, and WiseCost uses it in Labor Distribution. It is only available when **Distributed tracking** is on in **Company Setup → Company settings → Compliance**. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. ### Before you start Check that it fits your rules. The DCAA preset turns distributed tracking off, because DCAA timekeeping expects employees to record their own time daily. The Uniform Guidance preset leaves it as it is, and you turn it on only if your written policy allows it. ### Turn it on 1. Go to **Company Setup → Company settings → Compliance**. 2. In the **Time entry** card, turn on **Distributed tracking**. ### Set an employee's distribution 1. Go to **Company Setup → Employees** and find the employee. The **Tracking** column shows how each person records time. 2. Switch the employee to distributed tracking. 3. Enter the percentage for each Class or Project. The distribution can also include Internal / Indirect accounts, for example a share of overhead. 4. If your company uses Locations, enter the separate percentage distribution by Location. ### What happens next The employee does not log time entries. Labor Distribution allocates their pay with the percentages you set. ### Turn it off Turning **Distributed tracking** off in Compliance moves those employees back to time entries. WiseCost asks you to confirm first. The change is recorded in the Audit Trail. ### Common questions #### Do employees on distributed tracking need to log hours? No. They have no time entries. Their pay is allocated with the percentage distribution an admin configured. #### Is distributed tracking allowed under DCAA? The DCAA preset turns it off. If you work under DCAA rules, keep your people on time entries. #### Can the distribution include indirect time? Yes. It can include Internal / Indirect accounts along with Classes or Projects. --- ## Reviewing and exporting time activities - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/reviewing-time-activities - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Use Time Activities in WiseCost to filter every time entry, edit inline, send entries to QuickBooks Online in bulk and export the filtered list to CSV. **Time Activities** is the admin list of every time entry in the company. Open **Time Activities** in the sidebar to filter entries, edit them inline, send them to QuickBooks Online in bulk and export everything you filtered to CSV. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. A **time activity** is one block of time on one date, charged to one contract or internal account. A **timesheet** is all of an employee's time activities in one payroll period. ### Find what you need 1. Open **Time Activities**. 2. Use the filters at the top to narrow the list. The totals above the table follow your filters. [Screenshot: Time Activities table with filters, totals and posting status] ### Edit an entry Edit a value directly in its row. The change is recorded in the Audit Trail with the old value and the new value. Entries on a Locked timesheet belong to a posted period. To change them, reopen the period first. See [Reopening a payroll period or timesheet](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/timesheet-approvals/reopening-a-closed-period). ### Send time activities to QuickBooks Online Select the entries and send them in bulk. The posting status column shows which ones have not been posted. A class that exists only in WiseCost cannot be sent. See [A class that only exists in WiseCost](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/troubleshooting/local-class-cannot-be-sent-to-quickbooks). ### Export to CSV Click **Export CSV**. The file contains everything that matches your filters, not only the rows on screen. For a recurring export to a data warehouse or a BI tool, use the [WiseCost API](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/api/wisecost-api-overview) instead. ### Common questions #### How do I export WiseCost time data? For a one-time file, filter **Time Activities** and click **Export CSV**. For an automated feed, use the read-only API. #### Does the CSV include delegated entries? Yes. Entries keyed on someone's behalf are marked as delegated on the entry, on the timesheet and in exports. # Timesheet Approvals ## Approving and rejecting timesheets - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/timesheet-approvals/admin-approval-workflow - Audience: Admins and approvers - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Approve or reject timesheets in WiseCost from Time Sheets, one by one or in bulk. Admins approve anyone; supervisors approve only their own team. To approve timesheets in WiseCost, open **Time Sheets**, review each submitted timesheet and click **Approve** or **Reject**. Admins can approve any timesheet. Supervisors approve only the timesheets of the employees assigned to them. A rejection needs a comment and sends the timesheet back to the employee; an approval makes it ready for Labor Distribution. **Who can do this:** Administrators, and Supervisors for their own team. Video: Manage Timesheet Approvals Efficiently (https://embed.app.guidde.com/playbooks/vz6Y5yFFKzipKKcBjnATns) The same steps in writing: ### 1. Open Time Sheets Log in and go to **Time Sheets**. You'll see every timesheet you can act on, with its status. [Screenshot: The Time Sheets section with every timesheet and its status] ### 2. Filter, or approve in bulk Review timesheets one by one or act on several at once: tick the checkboxes and approve or reject them in bulk. You can filter by status, period, or employee, including the **Pending approval** filter, which groups every timesheet waiting on you: the ones already submitted (**Pending**) together with, if your company allows it, the ones still **Open**. See [Approving without employee certification](#approving-without-employee-certification) below. [Screenshot: Filtering timesheets by status, period, or employee] ### 3. Review an individual timesheet Click a timesheet to open the employee's full period and review their hours day by day, broken down by class and item. [Screenshot: Reviewing an employee's timesheet by class and item] ### 4. Approve or reject **To reject**, click **Reject** and leave a comment explaining what needs to change. The employee is notified, edits their entries, and resubmits. **To approve**, click **Approve**, and the timesheet is ready for labor distribution. [Screenshot: Approving or rejecting a timesheet] Every approval and rejection is recorded in the Audit Trail with who, what, and when. That's part of what makes your timekeeping DCAA-ready. ### Timesheet statuses | Status | Meaning | |---|---| | **Open** | The employee is still logging time. It has not been submitted. | | **Pending** | Submitted and in review. The employee cannot edit it, but can withdraw it. | | **Approved** | Signed off. Ready for Labor Distribution. | | **Rejected** | Sent back with a comment. The employee corrects it and resubmits. | | **Locked** | Labor Distribution posted the period. To change it, the payroll period has to be reopened first. | [Screenshot: Timesheets approval list with status badges] ### Badges in the list Two badges help you decide where to look. Both are informational and neither blocks approval. - **Contains delegated entries:** someone entered time on the employee's behalf. See [Entering time for a team member](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/entering-time-for-a-team-member). - **Over expected: +Xh:** the employee logged more than their expected hours for the period. See [Requiring expected hours](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/requiring-expected-hours). ### Approving without employee certification If **Require employee certification before approval** is off in **Company Setup → Company settings → Compliance**, you don't have to wait for the employee to submit. A timesheet still in **Open** status shows **Approve without employee certification** instead of the regular **Approve**, so you can sign off directly on hours you already know are correct, for example after entering them yourself for someone in the field. Both compliance presets (DCAA and Uniform Guidance) turn this setting on, which requires the employee's own submission before you can approve. Turn it off only if your written policy allows an admin to certify hours on an employee's behalf. Either way, the action is recorded in the Audit Trail. ### When WiseCost refuses an action If you cannot approve a timesheet, WiseCost tells you why. The two usual reasons are separation of duties (you entered hours on that timesheet, or it is your own and self-approval is off) and a timesheet that belongs to another team. See [I cannot approve a timesheet](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/troubleshooting/cannot-approve-a-timesheet). ### History and reopening Each timesheet keeps its history of submissions, approvals, rejections and reopenings. Open it from the history icon on the row. Whoever can approve a timesheet can also reopen it with **Re-open**. See [Reopening a payroll period or timesheet](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/timesheet-approvals/reopening-a-closed-period). ### Common questions #### Who can approve a timesheet in WiseCost? Admins always can. Each employee can also have an approver and a backup approver, who approve only that employee's timesheets. See [Approvers and supervisors](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/timesheet-approvals/approvers-and-supervisors). #### Can I approve a timesheet the employee never submitted? Not while **Require employee certification before approval** is on, which both compliance presets set. Submitting the timesheet is the employee's certification of their hours. If that setting is off, you can: an Open timesheet shows **Approve without employee certification** instead of **Approve**. See [Approving without employee certification](#approving-without-employee-certification) above. #### Can I fix a timesheet after it was approved? Yes. Reopen it, the employee corrects and resubmits, and you approve again. If the period was already posted, reopen the payroll period first. #### Can I approve my own timesheet? Only if **Allow approving your own timesheet** is on in **Company Setup → Company settings → Compliance**. Both presets turn it off. ### Further reading - [What to Expect During a DCAA Floor Check (and How to Be Ready)](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/dcaa-floor-check-what-to-expect) --- ## Approvers and supervisors: who can approve a timesheet - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/timesheet-approvals/approvers-and-supervisors - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Assign each employee an approver and a backup approver in Company Setup → Employees. A team member named as approver becomes a Supervisor in WiseCost. In WiseCost, each employee can have an approver and a backup approver. Assign them in **Company Setup → Employees**, in the **Approver** and **Backup approver** columns. Admins can always approve. A Team Member named as someone's approver becomes a Supervisor automatically: they see and approve only their team's timesheets and have no access to the rest of the company. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. ### The idea behind it An **approver** is the person who signs off on an employee's timesheet. Both DCAA timekeeping and the Uniform Guidance expect that person to have direct knowledge of the work performed, which is usually the supervisor or project lead, not someone in accounting. ### Who can approve what | Role | Can approve | |---|---| | **Administrator** | Any timesheet in the company | | **Supervisor** | Only the timesheets of employees who have them as approver or backup approver | | **Team Member** | Nothing | A Supervisor has no access to settings, pay, Labor Distribution or reports. ### Assign an approver 1. Go to **Company Setup → Employees**. 2. On the employee's row, open **Approver** and choose the person. 3. Optional: choose a **Backup approver** for when the approver is out. [Screenshot: Employees table with expected hours per week, approver and backup approver columns] If the person you chose is a Team Member, WiseCost promotes them to Supervisor automatically. An employee with no approver assigned is approved by the company admins. ### Rules that apply to every approver They live in **Company Setup → Company settings → Compliance**, in the **Certification and approval** card: - **Require employee certification before approval:** the employee has to submit the timesheet before anyone can approve it. - **Allow approving your own timesheet:** when off, someone listed as their own approver cannot sign off on their own hours. - **Require a different approver:** whoever entered hours on an employee's behalf cannot approve that timesheet. Together they give you separation of duties. Both compliance presets set them to the strict position. ### What happens next Send your supervisors [Approving and rejecting timesheets](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/timesheet-approvals/admin-approval-workflow). To remind approvers about timesheets that are still missing, see [Timesheet notifications and reminders](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/timesheet-approvals/timesheet-notifications-and-reminders). ### Common questions #### How do I make someone a Supervisor? Name them as **Approver** or **Backup approver** of an employee. There is nothing else to do. #### What can a Supervisor see? Their own time, and the timesheets of their team. Nothing else in the company. #### What happens if the approver is on vacation? The backup approver can approve, and so can any admin. ### Further reading - [DCAA Timekeeping Requirements: What Auditors Actually Check and How to Pass](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/dcaa-timekeeping-requirements-auditors-check) --- ## Reopening a payroll period or timesheet - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/timesheet-approvals/reopening-a-closed-period - Audience: Admins, Admins and approvers - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Correct a timesheet after approval in WiseCost: reopen it, or reopen the posted payroll period first, which posts a reversal entry to QuickBooks Online. To correct a timesheet after it was approved in WiseCost, reopen it from **Time Sheets**. If Labor Distribution already posted the period, the timesheet is **Locked**: reopen the payroll period first in **Payroll Periods**, choosing **Re-open with Reversal** so the correction stays visible in QuickBooks Online, then reopen the timesheet. Every step stays in the Audit Trail. **Who can do this:** whoever can approve a timesheet can reopen it. Reopening a payroll period is for Administrators. Video: Reopen Payroll Periods And Timesheets In WiseCost (https://embed.app.guidde.com/playbooks/6iwTrMwKvmss5B6qZiegkc) The same steps in writing: Fixing mistakes is normal. What matters to an auditor is that corrections leave a trace, and WiseCost handles that automatically. What you need to reopen depends on the timesheet's status. [Screenshot: When to reopen a timesheet vs. a payroll period] ### If the timesheet is Approved If labor distribution hasn't been run for that period yet, you can reopen it directly with **Re-open**. Whoever can approve that timesheet can reopen it. The employee edits their entries and resubmits, and the original submission and the changes remain in the Audit Trail. [Screenshot: Reopening an Approved timesheet directly] ### If the timesheet is Locked This means labor distribution was already run for that period, so you'll need to reopen the payroll period first: [Screenshot: A Locked timesheet, distribution already run] #### 1. Reopen the payroll period Go to **Payroll Periods**, find the posted period and click **Re-open**. The dialog offers two ways to do it: - **Re-open with Reversal** (recommended). WiseCost posts a **reversal journal entry** to QuickBooks Online, dated on the **Reversal Date** you choose. The period goes back to Open and its timesheets are unlocked. The original entry, the reversal and, later, the corrected entry all stay visible in QuickBooks Online, which is the history an auditor expects to see. This is the DCAA-compliant choice: it keeps a complete audit trail. - **Re-open with Delete**. Permanently deletes the journal entry from QuickBooks Online instead of reversing it. Use this only to correct a posting error (for example, an entry posted to the wrong period by mistake), never as your normal way to fix a timesheet: once deleted, that entry is gone from QuickBooks Online, which is not what an auditor expects to see. Either way, the period status changes from Posted to Open, the affected timesheets unlock, and the action is recorded in the Audit Trail. [Screenshot: The Re-open Payroll Period dialog, with Re-open with Reversal and Re-open with Delete] #### 2. Reopen the specific timesheet With the period reopened, reopen the timesheet that needs changes. The employee edits and resubmits. [Screenshot: Reopening the specific timesheet that needs changes] #### 3. Re-run labor distribution Once the corrected timesheet is approved again, run the distribution and the new entries post to QuickBooks. [Screenshot: Re-running labor distribution to post the corrections] ### Review the posted journal entries You can review every posted entry (original, reversal, and corrected) in the **Journal Entries** section. That's the full, auditable history DCAA expects, and you never need to touch a journal entry manually in QuickBooks. [Screenshot: The Journal Entries section with the full history] ### Common questions #### What happens to the journal entry if I reopen a posted period? It depends on which option you choose. **Re-open with Reversal** (recommended) keeps the original entry and posts a reversal next to it; when you run Labor Distribution again it posts a new, corrected entry, so the full history stays in QuickBooks Online. **Re-open with Delete** removes the original entry instead: use it only to correct a posting error, since the deleted entry no longer appears in QuickBooks Online. #### Can I fix a timesheet after it was approved? Yes. If the period is not posted, reopen the timesheet. If it is posted, reopen the payroll period first, then the timesheet. #### Who can reopen a timesheet? Anyone who can approve it: admins, and the employee's approver or backup approver. The reopening stays in the timesheet's history. #### Do I need to edit anything in QuickBooks Online by hand? No. The reversal and the corrected entry are posted by WiseCost. ### Further reading - [5 DCAA Compliance Mistakes That Small Contractors Keep Making](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/dcaa-compliance-mistakes-small-contractors) - [How We Made Labor Distribution in QuickBooks Audit-Ready, and Why We Filed a Patent](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/wisecost-patent-labor-distribution-method) --- ## Timesheet notifications and reminders - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/timesheet-approvals/timesheet-notifications-and-reminders - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Set timesheet reminders in WiseCost: due soon, overdue, escalation to the approver and an admin summary, each by in-app or email, timed in business days. WiseCost can notify your team about timesheets: a heads-up before one is due, reminders when it is overdue, an escalation to the approver, a summary for admins, and notices when a timesheet is rejected or reopened. Set them in **Company Setup → Company settings → Notifications**. Each notification has its own **In-app** and **Email** switches, and the scheduled ones have a timing in business days after the period closes. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. ### The six notifications | Notification | Who gets it | When | |---|---|---| | **Timesheet due soon** | The employee | Scheduled, timed from when the period closes | | **Overdue timesheet reminder** | The employee, while the timesheet is still unsubmitted | Scheduled | | **Escalate to the approver** | The employee's approver. Employees with no approver escalate to the company admins | Scheduled | | **Summary for admins** | Every administrator, one message per payroll period listing everyone still missing. Sent only when something is outstanding | Scheduled | | **Timesheet rejected** | The employee | Immediately | | **Timesheet reopened** | The employee | Immediately | ### Set them up 1. Go to **Company Setup → Company settings → Notifications**. 2. For each notification, turn on **In-app**, **Email** or both. They are independent. 3. For the four scheduled ones, enter the number of **business days after the period closes**. 4. Optional: tick **Add a second reminder** and set its timing. [Screenshot: Notification settings with one row per timesheet event] Everything is calculated in your company's time zone, which you set in **Company Setup → Company settings → General**. ### A reasonable sequence Reminders work best as a ladder: the employee first, then their approver, then the admins. For example, the overdue reminder 2 business days after the close, the escalation at 4 and the admin summary at 5. Match it to the deadline in your written timekeeping policy. ### If emails do not arrive Timesheet emails come from the same sender as every other WiseCost email. If your team does not receive them, a company email filter is the usual cause. See [Not receiving emails from WiseCost](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/troubleshooting/not-receiving-emails-from-wisecost). ### Common questions #### Can I send reminders only inside the app, with no email? Yes. **In-app** and **Email** are separate switches on every notification. #### How is the timing of a reminder counted? In business days after the payroll period closes, calculated in your company's time zone. #### Who is notified if an employee has no approver? The escalation goes to the company admins instead. ### Further reading - [What to Expect During a DCAA Floor Check (and How to Be Ready)](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/dcaa-floor-check-what-to-expect) # Labor Distribution ## Running Labor Distribution in WiseCost - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/labor-distribution/running-your-first-distribution - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Run labor distribution in WiseCost: pick a payroll period, review each employee's pay and hours, and post one journal entry to QuickBooks Online. To run labor distribution in WiseCost, open **Labor Distribution**, choose a payroll period that is ready, review each employee's hours and pay, and click **Post Journal Entry**. WiseCost allocates each employee's pay across the classes or projects they worked on and posts a single journal entry to QuickBooks Online. One period takes a few minutes. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. ### What labor distribution is **Labor distribution** is the process that converts approved timesheet hours plus pay into labor cost per contract, grant or indirect account, and records it in the general ledger. It is how an hour worked becomes a cost on a contract. For government contractors it supports labor charges under DCAA review. For nonprofits and grant recipients it is how salaries charged to a federal award follow the actual effort recorded, as 2 CFR 200.430 expects. ### Before you start - The period's timesheets are approved. See [Approving and rejecting timesheets](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/timesheet-approvals/admin-approval-workflow). - Every employee has pay configured in **Company Setup → Employees** (pay per period or an hourly rate), or you will import the period's real payroll in step 2. - QuickBooks Online is connected, and the **Default credit account** in **Company Setup → Company settings → General** is the one you want. ### 1. Setup & Check 1. Open **Labor Distribution**. Each payroll period shows its employees, timesheets and total hours, and a health check. 2. Look for the period marked **Ready**: all timesheets approved and all employees with a pay rate configured. A period marked **Action required** tells you what is pending, for example timesheets waiting for approval. 3. On the ready period, click **Review & Adjust**. [Screenshot: Labor Distribution setup step with the health check passed] ### 2. Review each employee's pay The **Employee Review** step lists every employee in the period with their pay per period, total hours and estimated hourly cost. 1. Check each row. The cost comes from the employee's pay per period or hourly rate. 2. Optional: click **Import payroll** to use the real payroll of the period from Gusto, ADP or Paychex. See [Importing payroll from Gusto, ADP or Paychex](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/labor-distribution/importing-payroll-from-gusto-adp-paychex). 3. Optional: click **Add adjustment** on a row, or exclude an employee from this run with the remove button on their row. See [Employer taxes, benefits and adjustments](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/labor-distribution/employer-taxes-benefits-and-adjustments). 4. Click **Distribution Preview**. [Screenshot: Employee review step listing each employee's hours and pay for the period] ### 3. Preview & Post The **Preview & Post** step shows the journal entry line by line before anything is sent: contract, employee, account, location, debit and credit. 1. Review the lines, the **Date** and the **Credit Account**. 2. Click **Post Journal Entry**. [Screenshot: Preview of the journal entry lines before posting to QuickBooks] ### What happens next WiseCost confirms that the journal entry was posted to QuickBooks Online. The payroll period becomes Posted and its timesheets become **Locked**. [Screenshot: Confirmation that the journal entry was posted to QuickBooks Online] - The entry and its lines are in **Journal Entries**. See [Journal entries and reversals](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/labor-distribution/journal-entries-and-reversals). - The [Labor Distribution report](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/labor-distribution-report) reads from the posted entries, so it matches QuickBooks Online. - A period that crosses two months posts one journal entry per month. ### How the numbers are calculated - Each employee's pay for the period is spread across what they worked on, in proportion to their hours. - Amounts are rounded to the cent, and the rounding difference is applied to the employee's largest line, so each employee's total is exact. - One credit line balances the entry against your credit account. - If your company uses Locations, each line is posted with its QuickBooks Location. ### Undo it If you find a mistake after posting, reopen the period. WiseCost never deletes the entry: it posts a reversal to QuickBooks Online, and you run the distribution again. See [Reopening a payroll period or timesheet](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/timesheet-approvals/reopening-a-closed-period). ### Common questions #### How do I do labor distribution in QuickBooks Online? QuickBooks Online has no labor distribution of its own. With WiseCost connected, you approve the period's timesheets, open **Labor Distribution**, review pay and hours, and post one journal entry to QuickBooks Online that charges each contract its share of labor cost. #### Does WiseCost post to QuickBooks Online automatically? No. Nothing is posted until you review the preview and click **Post Journal Entry**. #### Why is a period marked Action required? Something is pending, usually timesheets that are not approved yet or an employee with no pay configured. The card tells you which. #### What if a payroll period covers two months? WiseCost posts one journal entry per month, so each month's labor cost lands in the right accounting period. ### Further reading - [Labor Distribution for Government Contractors: How It Works and Why It Matters](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/labor-distribution-government-contractors) - [Labor Distribution in QuickBooks: Spreadsheet vs. Add-On vs. ERP](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/labor-distribution-quickbooks-spreadsheet-vs-addon-vs-erp) --- ## Importing payroll from Gusto, ADP or Paychex - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/labor-distribution/importing-payroll-from-gusto-adp-paychex - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Import your real payroll into WiseCost from a Gusto, ADP or Paychex CSV or XLSX file. Columns are detected, amounts are editable, and gross replaces pay. To use your real payroll in labor distribution, import it in WiseCost. In **Labor Distribution**, on the **Employee Review** step, click **Import payroll**, upload the CSV or XLSX export from Gusto, ADP or Paychex, confirm the detected columns, review the amounts and import. The imported gross pay replaces each salaried employee's configured pay per period for that period. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. ### Before you start - Export the payroll register of the period from your payroll provider, as CSV or XLSX. - Have the period ready in **Labor Distribution**. See [Running Labor Distribution in WiseCost](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/labor-distribution/running-your-first-distribution). ### 1. Upload the file 1. Open **Labor Distribution** and click **Review & Adjust** on the period. 2. On the **Employee Review** step, click **Import payroll**. 3. Upload the CSV or XLSX file. [Screenshot: Import payroll dialog, upload step] ### 2. Confirm the columns WiseCost detects which columns hold the employee, the gross pay, the employer taxes, the benefits and the hours. Check the mapping and correct any column it got wrong. [Screenshot: Import payroll dialog with detected column mapping] ### 3. Review and import 1. Check that every row of the file is matched to the right employee. Re-match any that is not. 2. Edit any amount that needs it. The preview is editable. 3. Read the **AI insights**. They point out things worth a second look, such as a difference against configured pay, logged hours or the previous import. They are advisory only and never change a number. 4. Click the import button. [Screenshot: Import payroll review step with editable amounts and AI insights] ### What happens next Back on **Employee Review**, the imported employees carry a **Payroll** tag. For those rows, WiseCost uses the imported gross for this period instead of the employee's configured pay. Editing their pay on that screen updates the imported record. The employer taxes and benefits in the file are not mixed into direct labor. You can include them as separate lines. See [Employer taxes, benefits and adjustments](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/labor-distribution/employer-taxes-benefits-and-adjustments). ### Common questions #### How do I import Gusto, ADP or Paychex payroll for labor distribution? Export the period's payroll as CSV or XLSX, then use **Import payroll** on the **Employee Review** step of **Labor Distribution**. WiseCost detects the columns and lets you review every amount before importing. #### Does the import change the pay configured on my employees? No. The imported gross applies to that payroll period only. The pay per period on the employee stays as it is for other periods. #### Does the AI change my numbers? No. The AI insights are observations for you to review. Only you edit amounts. #### My provider is not Gusto, ADP or Paychex. Can I still import? The import reads CSV and XLSX and lets you correct the column mapping. If your file does not map, write to support@usewisecost.com. ### Further reading - [Labor Distribution for Government Contractors: How It Works and Why It Matters](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/labor-distribution-government-contractors) --- ## Employer taxes, benefits and adjustments - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/labor-distribution/employer-taxes-benefits-and-adjustments - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Post employer taxes and benefits by contract in WiseCost as separate lines, never mixed with direct labor, and add per-period adjustments or exclusions. To post employer taxes and benefits by contract in WiseCost, import the period's payroll and tick **Include employer costs (taxes + benefits) from the imported payroll in the distributed amount** on the **Employee Review** step of **Labor Distribution**. WiseCost distributes them across the same contracts as the employee's hours and posts them as separate lines, "Employer taxes & benefits", never mixed with direct labor. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. ### Include employer taxes and benefits 1. In **Labor Distribution**, open the period and go to **Employee Review**. 2. Import the payroll of the period. See [Importing payroll from Gusto, ADP or Paychex](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/labor-distribution/importing-payroll-from-gusto-adp-paychex). The employer costs come from that file. 3. Tick **Include employer costs (taxes + benefits) from the imported payroll in the distributed amount**. 4. Check each employee's row. Under the pay you now see the employer costs, labeled as a separate line. [Screenshot: Employee review step with employer costs included and the adjustments section] In the preview and in QuickBooks Online, each contract gets its labor line and, apart from it, its "employer taxes & benefits" line. Keeping them apart matters: direct labor is usually the base of your fringe rate, so mixing employer costs into it would distort your indirect rates. Whether to distribute employer costs by contract or leave them in a fringe pool is an accounting decision. Ask your CPA which one fits your cost structure. ### Add an adjustment An **adjustment** is an amount you add for one employee in one payroll period, outside their regular pay, for example a bonus or a correction. 1. On **Employee Review**, click **Add adjustment** on the employee's row. 2. Enter its name and amount, and choose how it is distributed: across all the employee's classes or to a specific one. 3. It appears in the **Adjustments** section under the employee list, where you can review or remove it. Adjustments belong to that period only. ### Exclude an employee from a run Use the remove button on the employee's row to leave them out of this distribution. The other employees are not affected. ### Rounding and the balancing line Amounts are rounded to the cent. The rounding difference goes to the employee's largest line, so each person's distributed total equals their pay exactly. One credit line balances the whole entry against your credit account. ### Common questions #### How do I post employer taxes and benefits by contract? Import the period's payroll, tick the option to include employer costs on **Employee Review**, and post. They go to each contract in proportion to the employee's hours, as separate lines. #### Are employer taxes added to direct labor? No. They are always posted as separate "Employer taxes & benefits" lines. #### Do adjustments carry over to the next period? No. An adjustment applies to the payroll period where you added it. ### Further reading - [How to Classify Indirect Costs (Fringe, Overhead, and G&A)](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/how-to-classify-indirect-costs-govcon) - [The Right Chart of Accounts for GovCon in QuickBooks Online](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/govcon-chart-of-accounts-quickbooks) --- ## Payroll frequencies and periods - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/labor-distribution/payroll-frequencies-and-periods - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Set a weekly, biweekly, semimonthly or monthly payroll frequency in WiseCost. It generates the payroll periods, and its start date is fixed once saved. Payroll frequencies define the payroll periods WiseCost uses for timesheets and Labor Distribution. Set them in **Company Setup → Company settings → Payroll**: choose weekly, biweekly, semimonthly or monthly and a start date, and WiseCost generates the periods. The start date of a frequency is fixed once you save it, so confirm it against your payroll calendar first. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. ### Two definitions - **Payroll frequency:** how often you pay, and from which date the periods are counted. - **Payroll period:** one pay cycle. Each employee has one timesheet per payroll period, and Labor Distribution runs one period at a time. ### Set your frequency 1. Go to **Company Setup → Company settings → Payroll**. 2. Choose the frequency: weekly, biweekly, semimonthly or monthly. 3. Choose the start date. - Semimonthly frequencies can only start on day 1 or day 16. - Monthly frequencies can only start on day 1. - A start date in the past is allowed. WiseCost shows a notice before you save. 4. Save. [Screenshot: Payroll settings showing the default semi-monthly frequency] The default frequency is locked once its periods are generated. If it is wrong, write to [support@usewisecost.com](mailto:support@usewisecost.com). ### More than one frequency If part of your team is paid on a different cycle, click **Add frequency**. Each employee is assigned to one frequency in **Company Setup → Employees**, in the **Payroll frequency** column, and each frequency gets its own periods and its own Labor Distribution runs. ### The Payroll Periods page **Payroll Periods** in the sidebar lists every period with its totals and its status: **Open** until Labor Distribution posts it, **Posted** afterwards. A posted period has a **Re-open** action. See [Reopening a payroll period or timesheet](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/timesheet-approvals/reopening-a-closed-period). [Screenshot: Payroll periods list with open and posted periods and the Re-open action] ### Common questions #### Can I change the start date of my payroll frequency? No. It is fixed once saved. Contact support if it has to change. #### We pay on the 15th and the last day of the month. Which frequency is that? Semimonthly, starting on day 1 or day 16. #### Can salaried and hourly staff be on different pay cycles? Yes. Add a second frequency and assign each employee to theirs. ### Further reading - [Labor Distribution for Government Contractors: How It Works and Why It Matters](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/labor-distribution-government-contractors) --- ## Journal entries and reversals - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/labor-distribution/journal-entries-and-reversals - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Every labor distribution posts a journal entry to QuickBooks Online. See its lines in WiseCost, and the reversal entries created when a period is reopened. Every labor distribution you post in WiseCost becomes a journal entry in QuickBooks Online. The **Journal Entries** page in WiseCost lists each entry with its lines, accounts and classes, and the reversal entries created when a posted period was reopened. You never need to edit a labor journal entry by hand in QuickBooks Online. **Who this is for:** Administrators, and the CPA or accountant who reviews the books. ### What is in the journal entry - **Debit lines, one per employee and contract.** Each line carries the contract (Class or Project), the employee, the account and the amount. Time charged to internal accounts, such as PTO or overhead labor, posts to those accounts. - **Employer taxes and benefits, when you included them.** They are separate lines labeled "employer taxes & benefits", never mixed with direct labor. - **One credit line** that balances the entry, against the credit account of the run. - **Locations.** If your company uses Locations, each line is posted with its QuickBooks Location. [Screenshot: Journal entries list with line details] ### Rules WiseCost applies - Amounts are rounded to the cent, and the rounding difference is applied to the employee's largest line. - A payroll period that crosses two months posts one journal entry per month. - The debit account of a contract is the **Default debit account** of its Class or Project. ### Reversals Reopening a posted payroll period never deletes its journal entry. WiseCost posts a **reversal entry** to QuickBooks Online that cancels the original, and both remain visible. When you run Labor Distribution again, a new corrected entry is posted. The **Journal Entries** page shows the three: original, reversal and corrected. How to do it is in [Reopening a payroll period or timesheet](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/timesheet-approvals/reopening-a-closed-period). ### Reconciling The [Labor Distribution report](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/labor-distribution-report) reads from these posted entries, so its totals match QuickBooks Online. For a system-to-system reconciliation, the [WiseCost API](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/api/wisecost-api-overview) exposes the posted journal lines. ### Common questions #### Should I edit the journal entry in QuickBooks Online if something is wrong? No. Reopen the period in WiseCost, fix the source (the timesheet or the pay) and post again. That keeps the reversal and the correction on record. #### Why do I see two journal entries for one payroll period? Either the period crosses two months, which posts one entry per month, or the period was reopened, which adds a reversal and a corrected entry. ### Further reading - [How We Made Labor Distribution in QuickBooks Audit-Ready, and Why We Filed a Patent](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/wisecost-patent-labor-distribution-method) - [Labor Distribution in QuickBooks: Spreadsheet vs. Add-On vs. ERP](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/labor-distribution-quickbooks-spreadsheet-vs-addon-vs-erp) # Compliance ## Compliance presets and settings - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/dcaa-compliance/compliance-presets-and-settings - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > WiseCost has DCAA and Uniform Guidance compliance presets. A preset only makes your timekeeping switches stricter, locks nothing, and can be adjusted. All of WiseCost's timekeeping controls live in **Company Setup → Company settings → Compliance**. At the top, the **Compliance presets** card has three chips: **DCAA**, **Uniform Guidance** and **Custom**. Click DCAA or Uniform Guidance to set the switches below to a recommended starting point, after a dialog that lists exactly what will change. A preset only makes your setup stricter, never looser, and nothing is locked: every switch stays free to change afterward. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. > These controls shape how time is recorded and approved. The presets are our suggested starting points; auditors evaluate your accounting system as a whole, including your written policies, not the software. ### How presets work - A **preset** is a starting point, not a state the company is in. There is no master switch. - **DCAA** and **Uniform Guidance** can be clicked. **Custom** cannot: it shows as selected when your current settings do not match either preset. - The selected chip is calculated from your current switches. If you apply DCAA and later change one switch, the chip moves to Custom by itself. - Applying a preset only moves switches toward the strict position. It never makes anything more permissive, and it never changes **Require expected hours to submit**. [Screenshot: Compliance settings showing the preset chips, the Time entry card and the Certification and approval card] ### Apply a preset 1. Go to **Company Setup → Company settings → Compliance**. 2. Click **DCAA** or **Uniform Guidance**. 3. Read the dialog. It lists only the switches that will actually change. 4. Confirm. | Switch | Uniform Guidance preset | DCAA preset | |---|---|---| | Future-dated time activities | Off | Off | | Allow approving your own timesheet | Off | Off | | Require employee certification before approval | On | On | | Require a different approver | On | On | | Distributed tracking | Not changed | Off | | Allow entering time on someone's behalf | Not changed | Not changed | | Require expected hours to submit | Not changed | Not changed | The two setup paths are in [Setting up WiseCost for DCAA](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/dcaa-compliance/setting-up-wisecost-for-dcaa) and [Setting up WiseCost for the Uniform Guidance](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/dcaa-compliance/setting-up-wisecost-for-uniform-guidance). ### The Time entry card - **Future-dated time activities.** On: employees can log hours up to 7 days ahead. Off: only today and past dates. - **Distributed tracking.** On: salaried employees can have their time split by percentage instead of individual entries. Turning it off moves those employees back to time entries, after a confirmation. See [Distributed tracking for salaried employees](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/distributed-tracking-for-salaried-employees). - **Require expected hours to submit.** On: an employee with expected hours set cannot submit a timesheet until the period's total meets them. Hours above are always allowed and flagged for the approver. See [Requiring expected hours](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/requiring-expected-hours). ### The Certification and approval card Who can approve an employee's timesheet is set per employee, in **Company Setup → Employees**. These switches control what that approver is allowed to do. - **Require employee certification before approval.** Timesheets must be submitted by the employee before anyone can approve them. Submitting is the employee's certification. - **Allow approving your own timesheet.** Off: someone listed as their own approver cannot sign off on their own hours. Another approver or an administrator must. - **Allow entering time on someone's behalf.** On: an approver can log hours for the employees they approve, with a reason. See [Entering time for a team member](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/entering-time-for-a-team-member). - **Require a different approver.** On: whoever entered hours on an employee's behalf cannot also approve that timesheet. Separation of duties. ### Every change is recorded Each change on this tab goes to the [Audit Trail](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/audit-trail) with its old value and its new value, so you can always show when a control was changed and by whom. ### Common questions #### Does applying a preset lock my settings? No. A preset locks nothing. You can change any switch afterward, and the selected chip becomes Custom. #### Why does my company show Custom? Your current switches do not match the DCAA preset or the Uniform Guidance preset exactly. Custom is not an error. It only describes your configuration. #### Can a preset make my setup less strict? No. Presets only move switches toward the strict position. #### Does a preset make my company compliant? No. The controls shape how time is recorded and approved. Auditors evaluate your accounting system as a whole, including your written policies. ### Further reading - [DCAA Timekeeping Requirements: What Auditors Actually Check and How to Pass](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/dcaa-timekeeping-requirements-auditors-check) --- ## Setting up WiseCost for DCAA - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/dcaa-compliance/setting-up-wisecost-for-dcaa - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Set up WiseCost for DCAA timekeeping: apply the DCAA preset, assign approvers, enable indirect time, turn on reminders and post labor every period. To set up WiseCost for DCAA timekeeping, apply the **DCAA** preset in **Company Setup → Company settings → Compliance**, assign an approver to every employee, enable internal time so each day adds up, and run Labor Distribution every payroll period. The preset turns off future-dated entries, self-approval and distributed tracking, and requires employee certification and a different approver. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. This path is for government contractors: cost-type and T&M contracts, a pre-award survey (SF-1408), a floor check or an incurred cost audit. ### What DCAA looks at The Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) does not approve software. It evaluates whether your accounting system can do certain things. For labor, those are: employees record their own time daily, by contract and cost category; a supervisor approves it; corrections leave a trace; and labor cost is distributed to contracts and reconciles to the general ledger. For the background, read [What DCAA compliance actually means](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/dcaa-compliance/what-dcaa-compliance-actually-means). ### 1. Apply the DCAA preset 1. Go to **Company Setup → Company settings → Compliance**. 2. Click **DCAA**. 3. Read the dialog, which lists the switches that will change and warns you if employees on distributed tracking will be moved back to time entries. 4. Confirm. [Screenshot: Confirmation dialog listing the switches the DCAA preset will change] The result: future-dated time activities off, approving your own timesheet off, employee certification required, a different approver required, distributed tracking off. Details of each switch are in [Compliance presets and settings](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/dcaa-compliance/compliance-presets-and-settings). ### 2. Set up contracts and the entry form 1. Choose whether your contracts are Classes or Projects in [Configuring the time entry form](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/configuring-the-time-entry-form). 2. Enable the indirect accounts your team charges when they are not on a contract: overhead, G&A, bid and proposal, PTO, holiday. See [Internal and indirect time](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/internal-and-indirect-time). ### 3. Assign approvers Give every employee an **Approver**, and a **Backup approver** if you can, in **Company Setup → Employees**. Pick the person who knows the work. See [Approvers and supervisors](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/timesheet-approvals/approvers-and-supervisors). ### 4. Decide on total time accounting If your policy is that salaried staff record all hours worked, enter their **Expected hrs/week** and turn on **Require expected hours to submit**. The preset leaves that switch alone. See [Requiring expected hours](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/requiring-expected-hours). ### 5. Turn on reminders Daily timekeeping needs a nudge. Set the due-soon and overdue reminders and the escalation to the approver in [Timesheet notifications and reminders](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/timesheet-approvals/timesheet-notifications-and-reminders). ### 6. Run the cycle every period 1. Employees log time daily and submit their timesheet. Send them the [For employees](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/employees) guide. 2. Approvers approve or reject. 3. You run [Labor Distribution](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/labor-distribution/running-your-first-distribution) and post the journal entry to QuickBooks Online. 4. You assign [account roles](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/indirect-rates-assigning-pools-to-accounts) once, and the [Indirect Rate report](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/indirect-rate-report) gives you fringe, overhead and G&A. ### What WiseCost does not do for you Write and distribute your timekeeping policy, train your employees, and keep your chart of accounts clean. An auditor evaluates the whole system, including those. ### Common questions #### What is the difference between the DCAA preset and the Uniform Guidance preset? They set the same four controls. The DCAA preset also turns distributed tracking off, because DCAA expects employees to record their own time daily. #### Can I change a switch after applying the DCAA preset? Yes. Nothing is locked. The chip changes to Custom and the change is recorded in the Audit Trail. #### Is WiseCost DCAA approved? There is no such approval. DCAA does not approve or certify software. It evaluates your accounting system as a whole. ### Further reading - [Setting Up Your Accounting System for Your First Cost-Type Government Contract](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/accounting-system-setup-first-cost-type-contract) - [How to Make QuickBooks Online DCAA-Compliant: A Step-by-Step Guide](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/how-to-make-quickbooks-online-dcaa-compliant) --- ## What DCAA compliance actually means - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/dcaa-compliance/what-dcaa-compliance-actually-means - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-07-27 > DCAA compliance means your accounting system can segregate costs, keep daily timekeeping, distribute labor to contracts and leave a full audit trail. DCAA compliance means your accounting system meets the standards the Defense Contract Audit Agency uses when it reviews government contractors. There's no official certification and no "DCAA-approved software" list. What exists is an evaluation of capabilities: can your system track costs the way the government requires? The checklist auditors work from is the **SF-1408**, the pre-award accounting system survey. In practice, it comes down to a few capabilities: - **Cost segregation:** direct costs separated by contract, and indirect costs grouped into pools (fringe, overhead, G&A). In WiseCost, contracts come from your QuickBooks classes and projects, and accounts are assigned to cost pools. - **Compliant timekeeping:** every employee records their own hours, daily, by contract and cost category, with supervisor approval. This is WiseCost's Time Tracker and approval workflow. - **Labor distribution:** recorded hours translated into labor costs allocated to each contract, posted to your general ledger. This is WiseCost's labor distribution engine, posting directly to QuickBooks. - **Audit trail:** every action logged, nothing deleted, corrections through reversals. This is WiseCost's immutable Audit Trail. The important mindset shift: compliance is not a document you get once, it's how your system operates every day. An auditor doesn't ask "which software do you use?"; they ask "show me how an hour worked becomes a cost on this contract, and prove nobody could quietly change it along the way." For the full picture, including what happens in an audit and how to prepare for a pre-award survey, read our [Complete Guide to DCAA-Compliant Accounting Systems](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/dcaa-compliant-accounting-system-guide) or join a [DCAA Ready webinar](https://www.usewisecost.com/webinars). ### Further reading - [What Is the SF-1408? A Plain-English Guide for Government Contractors](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/what-is-sf-1408-government-contract) - [Which DCAA Audit Will You Actually Face? A Small Contractor's Map](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/which-dcaa-audit-will-you-face) --- ## Setting up WiseCost for the Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200.430) - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/dcaa-compliance/setting-up-wisecost-for-uniform-guidance - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Set up WiseCost for time and effort reporting under 2 CFR 200.430: the Uniform Guidance preset, a budget and period per award, and expected hours. To set up WiseCost for the Uniform Guidance, apply the **Uniform Guidance** preset in **Company Setup → Company settings → Compliance**, create one Class or Project per federal award with its period of performance and budget, set expected hours so timesheets reflect each person's total activity, and assign approvers who know the work. Then follow each award with the Budget vs Actual by Contract report. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. This path is for nonprofits and other recipients of federal grants and awards. ### What the Uniform Guidance asks for The **Uniform Guidance** is 2 CFR Part 200, the federal rules for grants and awards. Section **2 CFR 200.430** covers compensation: salaries charged to a federal award must be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed. **Time and effort reporting** is the common name for those records. In short, they have to be supported by internal controls, reflect the total activity the employee is paid for (federal, non-federal and indirect), and distribute pay across awards according to actual effort, not budget estimates. WiseCost does this with features you already have. Here is how they fit together. ### 1. Apply the Uniform Guidance preset 1. Go to **Company Setup → Company settings → Compliance**. 2. Click **Uniform Guidance**. 3. Read the dialog. It lists only the switches that will change. 4. Confirm. [Screenshot: Confirmation dialog listing the switches the Uniform Guidance preset will change] The preset turns future-dated entries off, turns self-approval off, requires employee certification before approval, and requires a different approver. It does not touch distributed tracking or entering time on someone's behalf. Turn those on only if your written policy allows them. See [Compliance presets and settings](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/dcaa-compliance/compliance-presets-and-settings). ### 2. One contract per award, with its dates and budget 1. Create a Class or a Project for each federal award, grant or program. Non-federal programs and fundraising get their own, so the whole week has somewhere to go. 2. In **Company Setup → Classes** or **Company Setup → Projects**, set each award's **Period** (its period of performance) and its **Budget** in hours, dollars or both. Time cannot be logged to an award outside its period of performance. The budget is informational and never blocks. See [Contract budgets and period of performance](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/contract-budgets-and-period-of-performance). [Screenshot: Classes table with period of performance and budget columns] ### 3. Reflect the total activity 1. Enable internal time for administration, PTO and holiday in [Internal and indirect time](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/internal-and-indirect-time). 2. Enter each person's **Expected hrs/week** in **Company Setup → Employees**. 3. Turn on **Require expected hours to submit**. Now a timesheet cannot be submitted until it accounts for the person's whole week, and hours above it are flagged for the approver instead of blocked. See [Requiring expected hours](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/requiring-expected-hours). ### 4. Approvers with direct knowledge of the work Assign each employee an **Approver** and a **Backup approver** in **Company Setup → Employees**. A program manager named as approver becomes a Supervisor: they approve their team and see nothing else. See [Approvers and supervisors](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/timesheet-approvals/approvers-and-supervisors). ### 5. Teams in the field If staff work where they cannot reach the application, you can turn on **Allow entering time on someone's behalf**. The approver enters the hours with a reason, such as **No connectivity**, the entry is marked as delegated, and with **Require a different approver** someone else has to approve it. See [Entering time for a team member](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/entering-time-for-a-team-member). ### 6. Distribute pay by actual effort Every payroll period, run [Labor Distribution](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/labor-distribution/running-your-first-distribution). It allocates each person's pay across the awards and internal accounts they actually recorded, and posts the journal entry to QuickBooks Online. You can [import the real payroll](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/labor-distribution/importing-payroll-from-gusto-adp-paychex) and include employer taxes and benefits per award. ### 7. Follow each award Run the [Budget vs Actual by Contract report](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/budget-vs-actual-by-contract): logged hours, approved hours and actual dollars from QuickBooks Online for each award, limited to its period of performance. If your organization uses Locations for sites or programs, add them to the entry form. See [Using QuickBooks Locations](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/quickbooks-integration/using-quickbooks-locations). [Screenshot: Budget vs Actual report with logged hours, approved hours and actual dollars per contract] ### What WiseCost does not do for you It does not write your time and effort policy or decide what is allowable on an award. Auditors evaluate your system as a whole, including your written policies. For allowability questions, ask your CPA or your grants officer. ### Common questions #### How do nonprofits do time and effort reporting in QuickBooks Online? QuickBooks Online alone does not record effort. With WiseCost on top, staff log their time per award, approvers certify it, and Labor Distribution posts salaries to each award in QuickBooks Online according to the hours recorded. #### Can salaried staff use percentages instead of daily time entries? WiseCost has distributed tracking for that, and the Uniform Guidance preset leaves it as it is. Turn it on only if your written policy allows it and you can support the percentages. #### How do I track a grant's budget vs actual hours and dollars? Set the award's budget on its Class or Project, then run Budget vs Actual by Contract. #### Does the preset make us compliant with 2 CFR 200.430? No. It sets strict timekeeping controls. Compliance depends on your whole system and your written policies. # Reports & Audit Trail ## Generating a report in WiseCost - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/available-reports - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Generate a report in WiseCost from Reports → New Report: pick a report, set its filters and run it. Every report is kept in History to download again. To generate a report in WiseCost, go to **Reports → New Report**, choose the report type, fill in its filters and run it. Every report you generate is saved in **Reports → History**, where you can download it again exactly as it was generated, even if your settings changed afterward. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. ### Generate a report 1. Go to **Reports → New Report**. The page shows one tile per report type. 2. Click the report you need. 3. Set its filters. Each report has its own. 4. Run it. The result appears on the same page, with its download options. ### The reports | Report | What it answers | Read more | |---|---|---| | **Labor Distribution** | Hours, share of time, rate and labor cost by employee and by contract | [Labor Distribution report](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/labor-distribution-report) | | **Indirect Rate** | Your fringe, overhead and G&A rates, calculated from QuickBooks Online | [Indirect Rate report](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/indirect-rate-report) | | **P&L** | Profit and loss by class, customer or project, fully loaded with indirect rates | [P&L report](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/p-and-l-report) | | **Budget vs Actual by Contract** | Hours and dollars against the ceiling of each contract or award | [Budget vs Actual by Contract](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/budget-vs-actual-by-contract) | ### Report History Everything you generate is kept in **Reports → History**. A report downloaded from there has the same content it had the day you ran it. That makes it safe to hand to an auditor or your CPA months later. See [Report History](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/report-history). ### PDF cover pages PDF reports start with a cover page that carries your company logo. Upload it in **Company Setup → Company settings → General**, under **Company logo**. If your company is managed with a CPA firm, the cover is co-branded with the firm where that applies. ### Where the numbers come from - Labor figures come from the journal entries Labor Distribution posted, so they match QuickBooks Online. - Indirect rates come from QuickBooks Online transactions, grouped by the role you gave each account. See [Assigning account roles](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/indirect-rates-assigning-pools-to-accounts). For changes to settings and data, rather than numbers, use the [Audit Trail](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/audit-trail). ### Common questions #### Can I download a report again later? Yes. **Reports → History** keeps every generated report and downloads it exactly as it was generated. #### Will an old report change if I change my settings? No. A report in History keeps the content it had when it was generated. #### Which formats can I download? It depends on the report. Labor Distribution offers CSV, Excel and PDF. Budget vs Actual by Contract offers Excel. Each report's article lists its formats. --- ## Labor Distribution report - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/labor-distribution-report - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > The Labor Distribution report shows hours, percent of time, rate and labor cost by employee and contract, from posted entries that match QuickBooks Online. The Labor Distribution report in WiseCost shows hours, percentage of time, rate and labor cost by employee and by contract. Run it from **Reports → New Report → Labor Distribution**, by payroll periods or by date range. Its numbers come from the journal entries Labor Distribution already posted, so they match QuickBooks Online. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. ### Who uses it - A contractor supporting labor charges on an invoice or in a DCAA review. - A nonprofit showing the share of each person's time and salary charged to each federal award, which is the core of time and effort reporting. - A CPA reconciling labor cost to the general ledger. ### Run the report 1. Go to **Reports → New Report** and click **Labor Distribution**. 2. Choose the range: payroll periods or a date range. 3. Optional: filter by employee, class, location or timesheet status. 4. Run it. [Screenshot: Labor Distribution report with hours and labor cost by employee and class] ### Three views - **Detail:** every employee and contract combination on its own row. - **By Employee:** one block per person, with their contracts and the percentage of their time on each. - **By Contract:** one block per Class or Project, with the people who worked on it. ### Drill down Click a cell to see what is behind it: the time activities that make up the hours, or the journal entry lines that make up the cost. ### Download CSV, Excel and PDF. The PDF starts with your cover page. The report is also saved in [Report History](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/report-history). ### Common questions #### Why do the totals match QuickBooks Online? The report reads the journal entries WiseCost posted to QuickBooks Online, not a separate calculation. #### A period is missing from the report. Why? Labor cost appears once the period's labor distribution is posted. Check the period in **Payroll Periods**. #### Can I see the percentage of an employee's time per grant? Yes. Use the **By Employee** view. ### Further reading - [Labor Distribution for Government Contractors: How It Works and Why It Matters](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/labor-distribution-government-contractors) - [Direct vs. Indirect Costs in Government Contracting: A Practical Guide](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/direct-vs-indirect-costs-government-contracting) --- ## Indirect Rate report: fringe, overhead and G&A - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/indirect-rate-report - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Calculate fringe, overhead and G&A rates from QuickBooks Online in WiseCost, by account in ICE style or by pool, with an Excel workbook of live formulas. The Indirect Rate report in WiseCost calculates your fringe, overhead and G&A rates from your QuickBooks Online data. Run it from **Reports → New Report → Indirect Rate**. Each rate is a pool of indirect costs divided by its allocation base, and which account belongs where comes from the roles you assign in **Company Setup → Accounts**. **Who can do this:** an Administrator, usually with the company's CPA. ### Three definitions - **Indirect rate:** a pool of indirect costs divided by an allocation base. It is how costs that serve many contracts are spread across them. - **Fringe:** employee-related costs such as payroll taxes, health insurance and paid leave. - **Overhead:** costs of supporting the work on contracts, such as supervision and facilities. **G&A** (general and administrative): costs of running the organization as a whole, such as accounting and executive management. ### Before you start Assign a role to each account. The report is only as good as those assignments. See [Assigning account roles](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/indirect-rates-assigning-pools-to-accounts). ### Run the report 1. Go to **Reports → New Report** and click **Indirect Rate**. 2. Set its filters. 3. Run it, and choose a view. ### By account The **By account** view follows the layout of a DCAA incurred cost submission (ICE): for each rate, every account of the pool and of the base sits on its own line. Expand a line to see the QuickBooks Online transactions behind it. [Screenshot: Indirect Rate report, by account view, with pool and base lines per rate] ### By pool The **By pool** view is the summary: fringe, overhead and G&A, each with its pool, its base and the resulting rate. [Screenshot: Indirect Rate report, by pool view, with fringe, overhead and G&A rates] ### Unallowable costs and Facilities - Accounts with the **Unallowable** role stay out of every pool and are included in the G&A base. - Accounts with the **Facilities (split)** role are divided between overhead and G&A. You describe the allocation basis of the split in a free-text field, for example square footage, so the report documents it. ### Download as Excel **Download as Excel** creates an audit workbook with live formulas, not pasted values, and a Transactions tab with the detail. An auditor or your CPA can trace every rate back to its transactions. ### Common questions #### How do I calculate fringe, overhead and G&A rates from QuickBooks Online? Assign a role to each account in **Company Setup → Accounts**, then run the Indirect Rate report. WiseCost groups your QuickBooks Online transactions into pools and bases and calculates each rate. #### A cost is in the wrong pool. How do I fix it? Change the role of its account in **Company Setup → Accounts** and run the report again. #### Where do unallowable costs go? They are excluded from all pools and included in the G&A base. #### Are these my provisional billing rates? They are rates calculated from your actuals. Deciding your provisional rates is a conversation with your CPA. The P&L report can apply either. ### Further reading - [How to Calculate Indirect Rates in QuickBooks Online (and See True Cost by Contract)](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/calculate-indirect-rates-quickbooks-online) - [The Incurred Cost Audit, Explained for Small GovCons](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/incurred-cost-audit-small-govcon) --- ## P&L report by class, customer or project - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/p-and-l-report - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > The WiseCost P&L report groups profit and loss by class, customer or project, accrual or cash, and applies indirect rates for a fully loaded result. The P&L report in WiseCost is a profit and loss statement grouped by Class, Customer or Project, on an accrual or cash basis. Run it from **Reports → New Report → P&L**. It applies your indirect rates, provisional or calculated, to reach a fully loaded P&L: what each contract really costs once fringe, overhead and G&A are included. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. ### Why it is different from the QuickBooks Online P&L QuickBooks Online shows revenue minus direct costs per class. A **fully loaded** P&L also adds each contract's share of indirect costs, which is the number that tells you whether a contract or program covers its real cost. ### Run the report 1. Go to **Reports → New Report** and click **P&L**. 2. Choose the grouping: by Class, by Customer or by Project. 3. Choose the basis: accrual or cash. 4. Choose which indirect rates to apply: your provisional rates or the rates calculated from actuals. 5. Run it. [Screenshot: Profit and loss report with one column per class] ### Download The Excel download keeps its formulas, so you can follow how each loaded amount was calculated. The report is also saved in [Report History](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/report-history). ### Where the rates come from Calculated rates are the ones in the [Indirect Rate report](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/indirect-rate-report), which depend on the roles in **Company Setup → Accounts**. ### Common questions #### Can I see profit per customer instead of per class? Yes. Group the report by Customer, or by Project. #### What is the difference between provisional and calculated rates? Provisional rates are the ones you set for billing during the year. Calculated rates come from your actual costs to date. ### Further reading - [How to Calculate Indirect Rates in QuickBooks Online (and See True Cost by Contract)](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/calculate-indirect-rates-quickbooks-online) - [QuickBooks Online for Government Contractors: Can You Stay DCAA Compliant Without an ERP?](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/quickbooks-online-government-contractors-dcaa) --- ## Budget vs Actual by Contract report - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/budget-vs-actual-by-contract - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Track each contract or grant budget in WiseCost: logged hours, approved hours and actual QuickBooks dollars, limited to its period of performance. The Budget vs Actual by Contract report in WiseCost compares each contract or award against its ceiling. Run it from **Reports → New Report → Budget vs Actual by Contract**. For every Class or Project with a budget, it shows hours logged, hours approved and actual dollars from QuickBooks Online, limited to that contract's period of performance. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. It is the central report for nonprofits and grant recipients tracking a federal award's budget, and it works the same way for a contractor watching a contract's funding ceiling. ### Before you start A contract appears in the report only if it has a budget. Set the **Budget** (hours, dollars or both) and the **Period** in **Company Setup → Classes** or **Company Setup → Projects**. See [Contract budgets and period of performance](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/contract-budgets-and-period-of-performance). ### Run the report 1. Go to **Reports → New Report** and click **Budget vs Actual by Contract**. 2. Run it. There is no date range to choose. [Screenshot: Budget vs Actual report with logged hours, approved hours and actual dollars per contract] ### How to read it For each contract: - **Logged hours:** everything recorded so far. - **Approved hours:** the part that has been approved. - **Actual dollars:** real amounts taken from QuickBooks Online. All three are limited to the contract's own period of performance. A contract with no period shows its lifetime totals. That is why the report has no date range: each award is measured against its own dates. ### Download Excel, with a tab of the transactions behind the dollars. This report has no PDF. It is also saved in [Report History](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/report-history). ### Common questions #### How do I track a grant's budget vs actual hours and dollars? Give the award's Class or Project a budget and a period of performance, then run this report. #### A contract is missing from the report. Why? It has no budget configured. Add a ceiling in hours or dollars on its row in **Company Setup → Classes** or **Company Setup → Projects**. #### Why can't I choose dates? Each contract is measured over its own period of performance, not over a common date range. --- ## Report History: downloading a past report - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/report-history - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Reports → History keeps every report generated in WiseCost. Download any of them again exactly as it was generated, even if your settings changed since. **Reports → History** in WiseCost keeps every report you have generated. To get a past report again, open **Reports → History**, find it in the list and click **Download**. The file has the same content it had when it was generated, even if your settings, account roles or data changed afterward. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. ### Download a past report 1. Go to **Reports → History**. 2. Find the report by its type and the date it was generated. 3. Click **Download** on its row. [Screenshot: Report History list with a Download action per report] ### Why it matters When an auditor or a grants officer asks for the report you gave them months ago, you need that report, not a new one calculated with today's settings. History gives you the original. To see the numbers with your current settings, generate a new report from **Reports → New Report**. ### Common questions #### Does a report in History update when my data changes? No. It is kept as it was generated. #### How do I get an updated version of a report? Generate it again in **Reports → New Report**. The new one is added to History, and the old one stays. --- ## Assigning account roles for indirect rates - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/indirect-rates-assigning-pools-to-accounts - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Give each QuickBooks account a role in Company Setup → Accounts (fringe, overhead, G&A, facilities, unallowable) so WiseCost can calculate your rates. Your indirect rates depend on how your accounts are grouped into cost pools. In WiseCost you do that by giving each account a role in **Company Setup → Accounts**. The Indirect Rate report then groups your QuickBooks Online transactions by role and calculates fringe, overhead and G&A. **Who can do this:** an Administrator, ideally with the company's CPA. ### What a role is A **cost pool** is a group of indirect costs that is allocated together, such as fringe, overhead or G&A. An account's **role** tells WiseCost which pool or base the account belongs to: a direct cost, fringe, overhead labor, overhead non-labor, G&A, facilities or unallowable. ### Assign roles 1. Go to **Company Setup → Accounts**. You see your QuickBooks Online chart of accounts. Use the search box and the role filter to work through it. 2. Optional: click **Suggest with AI** to get a suggested role for your accounts. Treat it as a draft and review every suggestion. 3. On each account, choose the role in the **Role** column. [Screenshot: Chart of accounts with a role selector per account and the Suggest with AI button] Overhead is split into **Overhead: Labor** and **Overhead: Non-Labor**, so the report can show both parts of the pool. [Screenshot: Expense accounts assigned to overhead and facilities roles] ### Two special roles - **Unallowable:** costs the government does not reimburse. They stay out of every pool and are included in the G&A base. - **Facilities (split):** costs such as rent or janitorial that serve both overhead and G&A. They are split between the two, and you document the allocation basis in the Indirect Rate report. ### What happens next 1. **WiseCost calculates the rates.** Each pool is divided by its allocation base. Because labor is posted by Labor Distribution from approved hours, your labor base comes from actuals, not estimates. 2. **Rates flow into your reports.** See them in the [Indirect Rate report](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/indirect-rate-report), and applied per contract in the [P&L report](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/p-and-l-report). Accounts with an indirect labor role are also the ones you can enable for [internal and indirect time](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/internal-and-indirect-time). Getting pool assignments right is the foundation of defensible rates. If you're unsure how to classify an account, your CPA is the right person to ask, and the same expense can belong to different pools depending on your structure. ### Common questions #### Can I trust the AI suggestions? Use them as a starting draft. You decide the role of every account, and your CPA should review the result. #### I changed a role. Do I need to do anything else? Run the Indirect Rate report again. Reports already in History keep the roles they were generated with. ### Further reading - [Cost Pools Explained: The Five Building Blocks of a DCAA-Compliant Chart of Accounts](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/chart-of-accounts-cost-pools-govcon) - [How to Classify Any Transaction Into the Right Cost Pool](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/how-to-classify-transactions-cost-pools-govcon) - [The Right Chart of Accounts for GovCon in QuickBooks Online](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/govcon-chart-of-accounts-quickbooks) --- ## Audit Trail - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/audit-trail - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > The WiseCost Audit Trail is an immutable log of every change, with old and new values, filters by date, user, entity and action, and a CSV export. The Audit Trail in WiseCost is an immutable record of every change in your company, with the old value and the new value of each one. Open **Audit Trail** in the sidebar, filter by date, user, entity or action, and click **Export CSV** to hand it to an auditor. Nothing in it can be edited or deleted. **Who can do this:** an Administrator. ### What it records - Time entries: created, edited, deleted, and who keyed them, including entries made on someone's behalf. - Timesheets: submissions, approvals, rejections and reopenings. - Labor Distribution: posted entries and reopened periods. - Settings: every change in **Company Setup → Company settings → Compliance**, with its old and new value. - API keys: created and revoked. ### Find a change 1. Open **Audit Trail** in the sidebar. It is its own page, at the same level as Reports and Company Setup. 2. Filter by date range, user, entity or action. 3. Read the **Old value** and **New value** columns of the row. [Screenshot: Audit Trail table with old and new values for every change] ### Export it Click **Export CSV** to download the filtered records. ### Why it matters An auditor does not only ask what your records say. They ask whether someone could have changed them quietly. With an immutable trail, every correction is visible: who changed what, when, and what it said before. That applies to a DCAA floor check and to the internal controls the Uniform Guidance expects behind time and effort records. ### Common questions #### Can an admin delete or edit an Audit Trail record? No. The Audit Trail is immutable for everyone. #### Where did the Audit Trail go? It used to be under Company Setup. It is now its own item in the sidebar, **Audit Trail**. #### Can I see who changed a compliance setting? Yes. Every change on the Compliance tab is recorded with the user, the old value and the new value. ### Further reading - [DCAA Timekeeping Requirements: What Auditors Actually Check and How to Pass](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/dcaa-timekeeping-requirements-auditors-check) - [When DCAA Sends an IPA: Answering Document Requests Before They Cost You](https://www.usewisecost.com/blog/dcaa-ipa-audit-document-requests) # API ## WiseCost API overview - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/api/wisecost-api-overview - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > The WiseCost API is a read-only REST API for time activities, catalogs and posted labor journal lines, built for data warehouses, BI tools and reconciliation. The WiseCost API is a read-only REST API over your company's data. Use it to take your time data to a data warehouse or a BI tool, or to reconcile WiseCost against another system. It reads time activities, catalogs such as employees, classes and projects, and the journal lines posted by Labor Distribution. It never exposes compensation data. **Who this is for:** Administrators, and the developers, data teams or integrators they work with. [Open the API reference](https://app.usewisecost.com/api/docs) ### What you can read - **Time activities**, with a feed of deletions, so you can keep an incremental copy in sync without downloading everything again. - **Catalogs:** employees, classes, projects, items, locations, timesheets and payroll periods. - **Labor distribution:** the journal lines that Labor Distribution posted. ### Typical uses - Load hours into a data warehouse and join them with your other data. - Build dashboards in a BI tool: hours by contract, by award, by person. - Reconcile WiseCost against a project management, billing or grants system. ### Things to know before you build - **Read-only.** The API does not create or change anything in WiseCost. - **No compensation data.** Salaries and pay rates are not exposed. - **Rate limit.** Each key has a limit of requests per minute. - **Pagination by cursor.** Lists are paged with a cursor, not with page numbers. - **Scopes.** Each key can read only what its scopes allow: `time_activities:read`, `catalog:read` and `labor_distribution:read`. Everything else, including a sync guide for integrators, is in the API reference. The OpenAPI specification is at [app.usewisecost.com/api/v1/openapi.json](https://app.usewisecost.com/api/v1/openapi.json). ### Get started 1. An admin creates a key. See [Creating and managing API keys](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/api/creating-and-managing-api-keys). 2. Your developer opens the API reference and makes the first request with that key. For a one-time file instead of an integration, export CSV from [Time Activities](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/reviewing-time-activities). ### Common questions #### How do I export WiseCost time data to my own database? Create an API key with the `time_activities:read` scope and read the time activities endpoint incrementally, using the deletions feed to stay in sync. The sync guide in the API reference has the details. #### Can the API write time entries? No. It is read-only. #### Does the API expose salaries or pay rates? No. Compensation data is not available through the API. --- ## Creating and managing API keys - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/api/creating-and-managing-api-keys - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > Create a WiseCost API key in Company Setup → API keys with a name, scopes and optional expiration. The secret is shown once; revoking works instantly. To create a WiseCost API key, go to **Company Setup → API keys**, click **Create API key**, give it a name, choose its scopes and, if you want, an expiration. The secret is shown only once, when the key is created, so copy it then. You can revoke a key from the same table at any time, and it stops working immediately. **Who can do this:** Administrators only. ### Create a key 1. Go to **Company Setup → API keys**. You can also get there from **Company Setup → Company settings → General**, under **Security**, with **Manage API keys**. 2. Click **Create API key**. 3. Enter a name that identifies the integration, for example "Data warehouse sync". 4. Choose the scopes the integration needs: - `time_activities:read` - `catalog:read` - `labor_distribution:read` 5. Optional: set an expiration date. 6. Create the key and **copy the secret now**. After you close the dialog only its prefix is visible, and the secret cannot be shown again. [Screenshot: API keys page with the Create API key button] [Screenshot: Create API key dialog with name, scopes and optional expiration] ### Use the key Send it in the `Authorization` header of every request, as `Authorization: Bearer` followed by your key. The endpoints and parameters are in the reference. [Open the API reference](https://app.usewisecost.com/api/docs) ### Revoke a key 1. Go to **Company Setup → API keys**. 2. Revoke the key from its row in the table. It stops working at that moment. A key is never deleted: it stays in the list as revoked, and both creating and revoking are recorded in the [Audit Trail](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/reports-and-audit-trail/audit-trail). ### Good practices - One key per integration, so you can revoke one without breaking the others. - The minimum scopes each integration needs. - Revoke any key that is no longer used. - Store the secret in a secrets manager, never in code or in a shared document. ### Common questions #### I lost the secret of my API key. Can I see it again? No. It is shown once. Revoke that key and create a new one. #### Can a team member create API keys? No. Only admins can create and revoke them. #### What happens to an integration when I revoke its key? Its requests are rejected from that moment on. # Troubleshooting ## Not receiving emails from WiseCost - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/troubleshooting/not-receiving-emails-from-wisecost - Audience: Admins, Admins and approvers, Team members - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > If WiseCost emails never arrive, not even in spam, a company filter is blocking them. Ask IT to allow usewisecost.com and mail.usewisecost.com. If an email from WiseCost never arrives (an invitation, a verification code, a password reset or a timesheet reminder) and it is not in your spam folder, a company email filter most likely stopped it before it reached your inbox. WiseCost sends from **noreply@mail.usewisecost.com**, with the sender name "WiseCost". The fix is to ask whoever manages your email to allow the domains **usewisecost.com** and **mail.usewisecost.com**. **Who this is for:** anyone who is not receiving an email from WiseCost, and the admin who wants to unblock their team. ### Emails WiseCost sends - The invitation to a company, and the credentials for your first sign-in - Email verification - The two-step verification code (2FA) - Password reset - Timesheet notifications: rejected, reopened and due or overdue reminders, when your company has them turned on by email All of them come from the same sender. ### 1. Check spam, junk and the other tabs Look in your spam or junk folder. In Gmail, also check the **Promotions** and **Updates** tabs. If the email is there, mark it as "Not spam" and add the sender to your contacts so the next ones reach your inbox. ### 2. Confirm the address Ask your admin to check, in **Company Setup → Users**, that your email address is spelled correctly. A typo is the most common cause. ### 3. Ask IT to allow WiseCost If the email is nowhere, not even in spam, it was almost certainly held by a filter your company runs in front of your mailbox. That can be a security gateway or a rule on the company mail server, in products such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Proofpoint or Mimecast. Messages stopped there never reach your spam folder, which is why it looks as if WiseCost sent nothing. Ask your IT team, or whoever manages your email, to: - Add **usewisecost.com** and **mail.usewisecost.com** to the list of allowed senders or domains (allowlist, safe senders). Ask for both: on some filters, allowing the root domain does not cover the subdomain. - Check the gateway's quarantine for held messages from **noreply@mail.usewisecost.com** and release them. You can forward this as it is: Message for your IT team: > We use WiseCost (usewisecost.com) for timesheets. Its emails are being blocked before they reach our inboxes. Please allow the sending domains usewisecost.com and mail.usewisecost.com, sender noreply@mail.usewisecost.com, and release any quarantined messages from that sender. ### 4. Meanwhile, do not stay stuck What to do depends on which email is missing. #### The invitation Your admin opens the row of your pending invitation, in **Company Setup → Users** or **Company Setup → Employees**, and either clicks **Resend** or uses **Copy link** in the row menu and sends you the link through another channel. The link works even though the email never arrived. WiseCost also tells the admin right away when an invitation email could not be sent. #### The two-step verification code Click **Resend** on the code screen. If it still does not arrive, it is the same filter, and step 3 is the fix. #### The password reset Request it again once step 3 is done. ### 5. Still nothing? Write to us Email [support@usewisecost.com](mailto:support@usewisecost.com) and tell us which email is missing, which address it should reach and since when. ### Common questions #### I never got my WiseCost invitation. What do I do? Check spam first. Then ask your admin to confirm your address and to resend the invitation or copy the invitation link for you. If several people at your company have the same problem, ask IT to allow usewisecost.com and mail.usewisecost.com. #### My verification code is not arriving. What do I do? Click **Resend** on the code screen and check spam. If it never arrives, your company's email filter is blocking it: ask IT to allow the sender noreply@mail.usewisecost.com and both domains. #### It is not in my spam folder. Does that mean WiseCost did not send it? Not necessarily. Company email filters hold messages before they reach your mailbox, so they never show up in spam. #### Which address does WiseCost send from? noreply@mail.usewisecost.com, with the sender name "WiseCost". --- ## "Location is required" when logging time - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/troubleshooting/location-is-required - Audience: Admins, Team members - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > "Location is required" means your time entry form requires a Location. Choose one on the entry, or have an admin change the field in Time Tracking settings. "Location is required" appears in WiseCost when your company's time entry form requires a Location and the entry you are saving does not have one. Choose a Location on the entry and save again. If no Location fits, or the field should not be mandatory, an admin changes it in **Company Setup → Company settings → Time Tracking**. ### If you are logging time 1. On the entry, open the Location field. 2. Choose the location where the work was done. 3. Save the entry again. If the list is empty or your location is missing, tell your admin. ### If you are the admin - **The location is missing.** Locations come from QuickBooks Online. Create it there, then go to **Company Setup → Locations** and click **Re-Sync**. - **Location should not be mandatory.** Go to **Company Setup → Company settings → Time Tracking** and, in the **Time Entry Form** table, turn off **Required** for **Location**. To remove the field completely, turn off **Include in form**. More in [Using QuickBooks Locations](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/quickbooks-integration/using-quickbooks-locations) and [Configuring the time entry form](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/configuring-the-time-entry-form). --- ## An employee cannot submit their timesheet - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/troubleshooting/cannot-submit-timesheet-expected-hours - Audience: Admins, Team members - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > A timesheet cannot be submitted in WiseCost until it reaches the employee's expected hours, when the company requires them. Here is how to fix it. If WiseCost does not let an employee submit their timesheet, the usual reason is expected hours. When a company turns on **Require expected hours to submit** and the employee has expected hours set, the timesheet cannot be sent until the period's total reaches them. The header of the timesheet shows the gap as "X of Y hours". ### If you are the employee 1. Look at the header of your timesheet. It shows the hours you logged and the hours expected for the period. 2. Log the time that is missing. Days off count too: log PTO, holiday or other internal time if your company has it enabled. 3. Submit again once the total reaches the expected hours. Hours above the expected total are never a problem. They are allowed and your approver sees them flagged. The employee version of this article is [Why can't I submit my timesheet?](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/employees/why-cant-i-submit-my-timesheet). ### If you are the admin - **The figure is wrong for this person.** Correct **Expected hrs/week** on their row in **Company Setup → Employees**, for example for a part-time employee. - **It should not apply to this person.** Clear their expected hours. Employees with no expected hours are not affected. - **Nobody can log PTO or holiday.** Enable those accounts in [Internal and indirect time](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/internal-and-indirect-time). - **You do not want the requirement.** Turn off **Require expected hours to submit** in **Company Setup → Company settings → Compliance**. More in [Requiring expected hours](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/requiring-expected-hours). --- ## I cannot approve a timesheet - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/troubleshooting/cannot-approve-a-timesheet - Audience: Admins and approvers - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > WiseCost blocks an approval for separation of duties, or because the timesheet belongs to another team. A backup approver or an admin can approve it. When WiseCost refuses to approve a timesheet, it tells you the reason. There are two common ones: separation of duties (it is your own timesheet, or you entered hours on it for the employee) and a timesheet that belongs to another team. In both cases another approver, the backup approver or an administrator can approve it. ### Separation of duties - **It is your own timesheet.** With **Allow approving your own timesheet** off, nobody signs off on their own hours. - **You entered time on it.** With **Require a different approver** on, whoever entered hours on an employee's behalf cannot approve that timesheet. What to do: ask the employee's backup approver or an administrator to approve it. Both switches are in **Company Setup → Company settings → Compliance**, and both compliance presets set them to the strict position on purpose. See [Compliance presets and settings](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/dcaa-compliance/compliance-presets-and-settings). ### The timesheet belongs to another team A Supervisor can only approve the timesheets of employees who have them as **Approver** or **Backup approver**. If you should be approving this person, ask an admin to assign you on their row in **Company Setup → Employees**. See [Approvers and supervisors](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/timesheet-approvals/approvers-and-supervisors). ### Other things to check - **The timesheet is Open.** The employee has not submitted it yet. With **Require employee certification before approval** on, it has to be submitted first. - **The timesheet is Locked.** The period was posted by Labor Distribution. See [Reopening a payroll period or timesheet](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/timesheet-approvals/reopening-a-closed-period). The same rules apply to bulk actions: if some of the selected timesheets cannot be approved, WiseCost explains why for those. --- ## QuickBooks Online changed and WiseCost did not - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/troubleshooting/quickbooks-changes-not-showing - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > If a change made in QuickBooks Online does not show in WiseCost, open the matching Company Setup page and click Re-Sync to pull the latest data. If you changed something in QuickBooks Online and WiseCost does not show it, open the matching page under **Company Setup** in WiseCost and click **Re-Sync**. Changes normally arrive on their own, and Re-Sync pulls the latest data right away. ### Re-Sync the right page 1. In WiseCost, open **Company Setup** and go to the page of what you changed: **Employees**, **Classes**, **Accounts**, **Customers**, **Projects**, **Items** or **Locations**. 2. Click **Re-Sync**. 3. Check the list again. ### If it still does not appear - **There is no Re-Sync button, and you see a banner to connect.** QuickBooks Online is not connected. See [Connect WiseCost to QuickBooks Online](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/getting-started/connect-quickbooks-online). - **It is a Project.** Only real QuickBooks Projects are listed. See [My Projects do not appear in WiseCost](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/troubleshooting/projects-not-appearing). - **It is a Class and your plan is QuickBooks Online Essentials.** That plan has no Classes. Use local classes in WiseCost. - **The record is inactive.** Tick the option to show inactive records on the page. - **An employee was terminated in QuickBooks Online.** They still appear, with a **Terminated** badge, and keep their history. - **You connected the wrong QuickBooks Online company.** A company cannot switch by itself. Write to support. If none of these is the case, write to [support@usewisecost.com](mailto:support@usewisecost.com) and tell us what you created in QuickBooks Online and when. --- ## A class that only exists in WiseCost cannot be sent to QuickBooks Online - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/troubleshooting/local-class-cannot-be-sent-to-quickbooks - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > A local class created in WiseCost has no match in QuickBooks Online, so its time activities cannot be sent there. Use the synced class for new time. A class that exists only in WiseCost cannot be sent to QuickBooks Online as a time activity, because QuickBooks Online has no matching Class to attach it to. This happens with local classes, the ones created in WiseCost before connecting QuickBooks Online or in companies on QuickBooks Online Essentials, which has no Classes. ### What still works Your team can log time to a local class, and approvals work as usual. What is not possible is sending those time activities to QuickBooks Online from **Time Activities**. ### What to do - **You have Classes in QuickBooks Online.** Create the class there, click **Re-Sync** in **Company Setup → Classes**, and use the QuickBooks Online class for new time. The local class and the QuickBooks Online class do not merge. They are two records. - **Your plan is QuickBooks Online Essentials.** Keep working with local classes in WiseCost. Background in [Using WiseCost before you connect QuickBooks Online](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/quickbooks-integration/using-wisecost-before-connecting-quickbooks). --- ## My Projects do not appear in WiseCost - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/troubleshooting/projects-not-appearing - Audience: Admins - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > WiseCost lists only real QuickBooks Online Projects. Convert sub-customers to Projects in QuickBooks Online, then click Re-Sync in Company Setup. If your Projects do not appear in WiseCost, check that they are real Projects in QuickBooks Online, then click **Re-Sync** in **Company Setup → Projects**. WiseCost lists only real QuickBooks Projects. A sub-customer that was never converted to a Project is not listed. ### Check these in order 1. **Is it a Project in QuickBooks Online?** Open the Projects area of QuickBooks Online. If what you are looking for is a sub-customer, convert it to a Project there. 2. **Did you Re-Sync?** In WiseCost, go to **Company Setup → Projects** and click **Re-Sync**. 3. **Is your contract field set to Project?** In **Company Setup → Company settings → Time Tracking**, check **Contract field**. If it is Class, employees charge time to Classes, not Projects. 4. **Is QuickBooks Online connected?** If the page shows a banner to connect, connect first. Projects can never be created from WiseCost, whatever the position of **Manage QuickBooks objects from WiseCost**. See [Creating Projects in QuickBooks Online](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/quickbooks-integration/creating-projects-in-quickbooks-online). --- ## I cannot log time on a date - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/troubleshooting/cannot-log-time-on-a-date - Audience: Admins, Team members - Last updated: 2026-09-19 > WiseCost blocks a time entry when the date is in the future and future-dated entries are off, or when it falls outside the contract's period of performance. WiseCost stops a time entry on a date for two reasons: the date is in the future and your company does not allow future-dated entries, or the date is outside the period of performance of the contract you chose. Pick a valid date or a different contract, or ask your admin to change the setting. ### The date is in the future With **Future-dated time activities** on, you can log up to 7 days ahead. With it off, you can log only today and past dates. Both compliance presets turn it off, because time should be recorded when the work is done. - **If you are logging time:** wait until the day arrives. Planned leave can be logged on the day itself or afterward. - **If you are the admin:** the switch is in **Company Setup → Company settings → Compliance**, in the **Time entry** card. See [Compliance presets and settings](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/dcaa-compliance/compliance-presets-and-settings). ### The date is outside the period of performance Each Class or Project can have a start date and an end date. Time cannot be logged to it outside that range. - **If you are logging time:** check that you chose the right contract for that date. If the contract is right and the date is too, tell your admin. - **If you are the admin:** check the **Period** column of the contract in **Company Setup → Classes** or **Company Setup → Projects**. If the contract or award was extended, update its end date. See [Contract budgets and period of performance](https://www.usewisecost.com/help/time-tracking/contract-budgets-and-period-of-performance). ### The timesheet is not editable If the whole period is closed to you, look at the status of your timesheet. A **Pending**, **Approved** or **Locked** timesheet cannot be edited. Withdraw it if it is Pending, or ask your approver to reopen it. --- ## Something not working? Talk to us - URL: https://www.usewisecost.com/help/troubleshooting/something-not-working-talk-to-us - Audience: Admins, Admins and approvers, Team members - Last updated: 2026-07-27 > If something in WiseCost fails or does not make sense, use the in-app feedback button or email support@usewisecost.com. Tell us what you were doing. If you hit an error, something doesn't behave the way you expect, or an article in this Help Center doesn't answer your question, reach out. Don't spend an hour fighting it: we'd rather hear from you early. - **From the app:** use the floating feedback button to report it directly. It reaches our team immediately. - **By email:** write to [support@usewisecost.com](mailto:support@usewisecost.com) with what you were trying to do and, if you can, a screenshot. We monitor both channels closely and respond quickly. First thing to include: whether the issue is with data coming from QuickBooks (missing employees, classes, accounts) or with something inside WiseCost (timesheets, distribution, reports). That one detail usually cuts the resolution time in half. And the in-app button isn't just for bugs: we read every suggestion. If there's something you'd like WiseCost to do differently, that's the fastest way to tell us.