The University of Warwick complies with funder requirements for accurate timesheets.

The legacy system for timesheets was not fit for purpose given increased level of research and requirements by funding bodies. It involved manual timesheets using spreadsheets, manually sharing timesheets with central teams, complex and untimely approval processes and manual checking of accuracy of timesheets against actual hours in the SAP finance system.
The Challenge
With a growing research program and an increased number of funding proposals, the University of Warwick needed an efficient way to comply with funder requirements for accurate timesheets. The legacy system for timesheets was not fit for purpose given increased level of research and requirements by funding bodies. It involved manual timesheets using spreadsheets, manually sharing timesheets with central teams, complex and untimely approval processes and manual checking of accuracy of timesheets against actual hours in the SAP finance system.
Lost administrative hours on manual processing
Considerable amount of time spent ensuring accuracy in timesheets
Cumbersome time-consuming submission and review process
The Solution
The Research Projects team at Warwick chose to implement Vidatum Timesheets to fulfil funder requirements and increase the efficiency of the process. One compelling reason for selecting Vidatum was the experience in the Higher Education sector and a deep understanding of the Research Project lifecycle. The system was configured with the University of Warwick’s timesheet forms, workflow, terminology and processes. Vidatum team worked closely with the team at Warwick throughout the configuration process to ensure a successful tailored implementation.
Decreased administrative burden
Freeing up administrative FTE’s
Far less time spent ensuring accuracy of timesheets
Clear view of effort spent on projects with clear approval processes
More timely accurate information for reporting and decision making
Seamless process with full integration to existing system
The implementation of Vidatum Timesheets at the University of Warwick gave us timely, reliable timesheets. It helped save a huge amount of admin time and it makes reporting to funders and government bodies much easier. We chose to run with Vidatum as a timesheet solution because the Vidatum team fully understand the academic space and spoke our language in terms of the research life cycle. The Vidatum implementation has more than exceeded our expectations in terms of benefits.
Gavin Kelly, Finance Manager

Results of Implementation of VIDATUM Timesheets
There was a significant saving of administrative time.
There was a significant improvement in timely management information allowing quick identification of individuals that could be re-allocated to more worthwhile income generating activities. VIDATUM Timesheets integrated with Warwick’s HR and Finance system (SAP) to ensure seamless switch over to automation of timesheets.
Timesheets submitted and approved on a punctual basis.
Approval process made seamless using a workflow engine, which ensures timesheets go to appropriate approvers.
More than 430 Timesheets now processed per month using Vidatum Timesheets.
Finance department uses the new system as input for salary journals.
Clear real-time view of Timesheets across departments, which was not possible before.
The University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is one of the UK’s leading universities with an acknowledged reputation for excellence in research and teaching, for innovation, and for links with business and industry. Founded in 1965 with an initial intake of 450 undergraduates, Warwick now has in excess of 26,000 students and is ranked comfortably in the top 10 of all UK university league tables.
The University was named “University of the Year 2014” by the Times and Sunday Times and has been ranked 79th in the 2019 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and ranked 9th in the UK by the Guardian 2020 University Guide. The University of Warwick has further cemented its position as one of the UK’s best universities – after being ranked 9th overall by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023.
Warwick has a reputation for quality of research and has ambitious goals for enhancing its’ position as an internationally recognised research institution.

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