For projects that require customer sign-off, your customer reviews each approved billable time entry through a secure link and either approves it for billing or sends it back with a reason. Nothing becomes billable until the customer approves. This page covers how a SolaCount user shares the link and what the customer sees.
Where to find it
- Turn it on for a project: in SolaProjects, project settings → Customer approval (a project administrator sets this).
- Share the links: SolaCount → Projects rail → choose the project → Time → Customer approval (
/project-finance/{id}/time/customer-approval). - Customer page: a secure link of the form
/customer/time-approvals/{entry}/{token}. No sign-in is needed.
You need View time entries for accessible projects and must be allowed to see the project's customer approval queue (managers and project administrators).
How an entry reaches the customer
- A team member logs billable time and submits it.
- A manager approves it internally (see Timesheets).
- Because the project requires customer approval, the entry becomes Pending customer approval and a secure link is created.
Non-billable time and projects without customer approval skip this step.
Share the approval link
- Open the project's Customer approvals page ("Track customer sign-off before approved billable time becomes bill-ready.").
- Filter with All customer states, All tasks, All members and dates, then Apply filters. Pending entries are listed first.
- On a pending row, click Open customer page. The customer's page opens in your browser.
- Copy the address from the browser and send it to the customer contact (email or message).
SolaCount does not send this link by email automatically. Each link is for one time entry.
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Date, Member, Task, Duration | The work. |
| Customer approval | Pending, Approved or Rejected. |
| Billing | The billing status that results. |
| Decision notes | The customer's note or rejection reason. |
What the customer sees
The page is titled Time Approval / Project time approval with the project name and "Review the billed work entry below and confirm whether it is ready for billing."
| Shown | Detail |
|---|---|
| Customer approval status | Pending, Approved or Rejected. |
| Team member | Who did the work. |
| Task | Task name, or General time. |
| Date, Duration | When and how long. |
| Billable amount | The value that will be billed. |
| Internal status | The team's approval status. |
| Description | What was done, or "No description provided." |
To approve:
- Enter Your name or role (required, for example "Finance reviewer, project sponsor").
- Optionally add an Approval note (optional).
- Click Approve for billing. The page confirms "The time entry is approved for billing."
To reject:
- Enter Your name or role.
- Enter a Reason for rejection (required; "Explain what needs to change before billing.").
- Click Reject and send back. The page confirms "The time entry was sent back for revision."
After a decision, the page shows Decision by and Decision note. A decision cannot be changed from the link.
Link rules
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Valid for | 14 days from when the link was generated. |
| Expired link | The customer sees Link expired — "The secure link you used to review time entries has expired. No changes were made to the time entry or the project." and "Please contact the project team to receive a refreshed approval link." |
| Altered or wrong link | Access is refused. |
| One decision | Only entries pending customer approval can be decided ("Only entries pending customer approval can be decided."). |
What happens next
| Decision | Billing status | Project figures |
|---|---|---|
| Approved | Ready to bill (if the entry has an hourly rate) | Labor cost unchanged; billable value now ready. |
| Rejected | Unbilled, with the reason in Decision notes | Labor cost stays in project cost. |
The Awaiting customer count on the project's time summary, and Blocked by customer approval on the profitability page, show what is still waiting.
Worked example
Al Noor Trading LLC bills "Marina Tower Fit-out" at 250.00 AED per hour; the project requires customer approval.
- Sara's 3-hour entry for 4 March 2026 ("Ceiling layout revisions") is approved internally: billable amount 750.00 AED, status Pending customer approval.
- The project manager clicks Open customer page, copies the link and emails it to Gulf Interiors' project sponsor.
- The sponsor enters "Project sponsor – Gulf Interiors" and clicks Approve for billing.
- The entry becomes Ready to bill at 750.00 AED. When invoiced with 5% VAT, the invoice totals 787.50 AED.
Approval itself posts nothing to the ledger. Revenue is recorded when the invoice is posted.
Tips and common problems
- There is no Open customer page button. The entry is not pending customer approval, or the project does not require it.
- The customer's link expired. Open Customer approvals again and copy a current link.
- The customer rejected by mistake. The team corrects or confirms the entry and requests approval again; the customer cannot undo the decision from the link.