Run escalation chains

An escalation chain takes over after the submission deadline passes. Each person who missed it is walked through a series of steps, from a gentle nudge to looping in their manager and, eventually, an owner. The chain runs itself: a background check advances every open escalation each hour and closes it automatically the moment the person catches up.

The three templates

You pick one of three pre-built chains; all timings count from the organization’s submission deadline.

Light, two nudges, no blocks. For creative and R&D teams.

When	What happens
24 hours after deadline	In-app nudge to the person
3 days after deadline	Email to the person

Standard, the default. User, then manager, then owner over a week.

When	What happens
24 hours after deadline	In-app nudge to the person
3 days after deadline	Email to their manager
7 days after deadline	Email to an organization owner

Strict, four steps with a block step at day 5. For organizations under formal compliance regimes.

When	What happens
12 hours after deadline	In-app nudge to the person
2 days after deadline	Email to their manager
5 days after deadline	Block step (currently delivered as a notification to the person)
7 days after deadline	Email to an organization owner

The “manager” target goes to your designated timesheet approvers; if none are configured, it falls back to an organization owner.

Enable a chain

1. Open Organization Settings → Configuration → Timesheets and find the Reminders section of the Compliance enforcement panel.

2. Turn on Escalation chain and pick a Template: Light, Standard, or Strict.

3. Save. From the next hourly check, anyone non-compliant for the prior week gets an escalation record that advances through the template’s steps.

Watch and resolve escalations

The Active escalations panel, further down the same settings page, lists every in-flight chain with the person, the week, and a step progress indicator. You do not resolve them by hand. An escalation closes itself when the person becomes compliant for that week, or when they are covered by a compliance exception.

Note

Escalation steps never skip ahead or repeat. Each step fires once, when its delay has elapsed, and every advance is written to the audit log for the evidence trail.

FAQs

Does the Strict template’s block step actually lock the person out? Today it delivers a final notification; the settings panel notes this next to the template. Organization-wide blocking is the separate enforcement mode covered in Enforce timesheets with a hard lock, and it applies regardless of escalation template.

Can I build a custom chain? Not yet; the three templates are the available options. Choose the closest fit and tune the deadline and grace settings around it.

What stops an escalation for someone on leave? Grant them a date-bounded compliance exception. They derive as exempt for the covered weeks, and any open escalation resolves on the next hourly check.