Close a reporting week with a reconciliation checklist
Release one clearly versioned, reviewed batch.
Close a reporting period by reconciling the expected population, unresolved entries, approved state and outgoing file. Save a single release identity so later corrections can reference it.
Freeze the reporting envelope
Write the period start and end, reporting zone, included people, project filters and required review state. Use a half-open interval if the recipient accepts it: include the start and exclude the next period’s start. Keep that convention visible. A changing list of people or a different end-date interpretation can make two apparently identical weekly reports incomparable.
Resolve or list exceptions
Ask each reviewer to account for missing submissions, ambiguous projects, duplicate entries and late changes. Distinguish no work reported from no data received. Do not insert zero hours just to complete a row unless zero is the verified meaning. An unresolved record needs an owner and a decision about whether the recipient can accept a partial release.
Run the release checklist
Use this original checklist as a proposed control, adapting it to the actual recipient rather than treating it as a compliance certificate.
Scroll horizontally to compare every column.
| Check | Evidence to retain | Stop condition |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Expected and exported contributor IDs | Unexplained omission |
| Period and zone | Saved report settings | Different boundary conventions |
| Review state | Approval/exception list | Unresolved mandatory review |
| File integrity | Row count, duration total, schema version | Unexplained difference |
| Handoff | Batch ID and recipient acknowledgement | Unknown accepted version |
Keep the accepted batch retrievable
Store the untouched export, settings, mapping version and review record in the authorized location. Restrict access to people who need it. Record the actual release time and owner. When a late correction arrives, link it to this batch and follow the replacement-or-adjustment process; do not silently overwrite the file with the same name.
Continue this work-record check
Use the linked guide for the next decision in this workflow. Keep your original records separate from experiments and record any unresolved requirement before changing a live process.
Sources and boundaries
Primary documentation supports the dated product facts. Proposed checks and fictional examples are our editorial method, not observed product results.
- DeskTime — export · checked September 23, 2026
- Time Doctor — export · checked September 23, 2026