Overview
On the Visual Dispatch online portal, timesheet and payroll screens use background colors to show the status of each time entry at a glance. Colors help employees, supervisors, and payroll staff quickly spot entries that are ready for approval, need correction, or have already been processed.
This article explains what each color means on:
- Timecard (employee timesheet)
- Approve/Post Timesheets
- Timecard Review
- Timecard Summary
Row background colors
These colors apply to the full row (or day summary) on the timesheet grid.
| Color | Status | What it means |
|---|---|---|
White / no highlight | Not Ready | The employee has not yet marked this time as ready for approval. |
Light blue | Ready | The employee marked the time Ready. It is waiting for review or approval. |
Light yellow | Overlapping times | Two or more time entries for the same employee on the same day overlap. This must be corrected before approval. |
Salmon / light orange | Missing information | Required information is incomplete — for example, a missing pay code or missing finish time. |
Light red / pink | Flagged | A supervisor or approver flagged this entry for review. |
Light green | Approved | The entry has been approved. |
Light purple | Posted | The entry has been posted (exported/processed in payroll). |
Typical workflow order
Problem colors (yellow, salmon, light red) can appear at any stage when something needs attention.
Column highlights (supervisor / payroll views)
On Approve/Post Timesheets and Timecard Review, some colors apply to specific columns rather than the whole row.
| Color | Where it appears | What it means |
|---|---|---|
Orange | Total Hours and Billable Hours columns | Rental hours different — the timesheet hours do not match the billable hours from the linked job/rental time. |
Orange (when filtered) | Row or filter results | Overtime needs adjustment — overtime for that employee/day should be reviewed before approval. |
Status and error codes (Help panel)
The portal Help panel lists short codes used on timesheet screens. Your company may use custom labels for the payroll states, but the codes below are standard.
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
NR (or your “Not Ready” abbreviation) | Not Ready — employee has not submitted the time for approval |
R (or your “Ready” abbreviation) | Ready for approval |
A (or your “Approved” abbreviation) | Approved |
P (or your “Posted” abbreviation) | Posted |
FL | Flagged by an approver |
N | Entry has notes |
OL | Overlapping times |
MPC | Missing pay code |
MFT | Missing finish time |
HD | Rental hours differ from timesheet hours |
Note: The exact wording for NR, R, A, and P depends on your company’s Captions settings in Visual Dispatch Desktop (for example, “Not Ready” might be renamed).
Where to find the color legend in the portal
- Log in to the Visual Dispatch portal.
- Open one of these screens:
- Timecard
- Approve/Post Timesheets
- Timecard Review
- Timecard Summary
- Open the Help panel (question-mark or help button in the navigation area).
- Scroll to the color legend and codes sections.
The in-app Help panel matches the colors described in this article.
What to do when you see each color
White — Not Ready
- Employees: Review your times, then mark entries Ready when complete.
- Supervisors: Time is not yet submitted for your review.
Light blue — Ready
- Supervisors / payroll: Review and approve, or send back if corrections are needed.
Light yellow — Overlapping times
- Correct overlapping entries so each time block is distinct for that employee and day.
Salmon — Missing information
- Check for a missing pay code, missing finish time, or other incomplete fields.
Light red — Flagged
- Review the entry. An approver flagged it for a specific reason — check notes or contact your supervisor.
Light green — Approved
- No action needed unless a correction is requested before posting.
Light purple — Posted
- Entry has been posted. Changes may require payroll/admin assistance.
Orange cells — Hours different
- Compare Total Hours vs Billable Hours against the linked job/rental time and reconcile the difference.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my row one color but a single cell is orange?
Row colors reflect overall status or errors. Orange on Total Hours / Billable Hours is a separate warning that those two values do not match — it does not always change the whole row.
Can my company use different names for Ready, Approved, etc.?
Yes. Status labels are configurable in Visual Dispatch Desktop under Captions. The colors stay the same; only the text labels may differ.
Why don’t I see the Flagged (light red) color?
The flagged indicator for employees is optional and must be enabled in your company’s eTicket/payroll settings.
Which color wins if more than one condition applies?
Problem indicators (missing information, flagged, overlap) generally take priority over status colors like Ready or Approved. Posted and Approved indicate later stages in the workflow.
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