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Enter Time, Effort, and Absences in Sequoia

Stanford Non-Exempt Employees and SLAC (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory) Employees use Sequoia to report time and leave before the end of each pay period. Leave time is requested in advance using the Absence module in Sequoia. Approved leave time is displayed as view only on your Time Card to facilitate your time entries.  For that reason, it is recommended that employees enter applicable Absence requests first and then complete their Time Card to facilitate complete and accurate time and leave entries for each day in the pay period.  

Enter or Edit Time in Sequoia

  • You need a Stanford SUNet ID and password to access the Sequoia website.

Access Time Card

Sequoia Time Cards are available for time entry for the current pay period. Your Time Card for each subsequent pay period becomes available four days prior to the start of the period.  

Tips and Tricks for Resizing Fields and for Working with Time Cards

  • If you would like to maximize the viewable screen, you can change your browser settings. 
  • If you typically do not use a field (like a PTA Override field), you can resize your fields by dragging the row to the width you prefer. When you reopen the Time Card, the row widths will be saved. 
  • You can change where your freeze pane is by dragging the row divider (indicated by a hand icon) to the location you desire.
  • To be more efficient, you can tab across start and stop fields. If you are entering a morning hour, you can enter the number and tab. If you are entering an afternoon hour, you can enter the hour and the designation of PM before tabbing.

  1. Go to Sequoia
  2. Select Sign in with SUNet ID (Single Sign On)
  3. Enter SUNet ID and password, if prompted

  1. Log in to Sequoia using your Stanford credentials

    1. On your homepage, scroll down to select the Time and Absences tile.

Enter Time 1, Time and Absences.png

    2. Select Current Time Card.

Enter Time 2, Current Time Card.png

In Sequoia, most Time Types should be entered using the Start and Stop time fields, which update the Quantity field automatically.

  • As applicable, you can only enter one Project Task Award (PTA) or Project Activity (PA) per row, so allocating time to different PTAs/PAs requires additional rows to be entered in the Time Card. Stanford Non-Exempt employees should adjust PTAs only if instructed to do so by their manager.

  • There is no Time Type for a meal period; instead, you will indicate the meal period by recording time worked before a meal on a row with both the Start and Stop times and then entering the time worked after a meal on a second row with Start and Stop times.

  • Finally, best practice is to save your Time Card throughout the pay period to retain your entries. Submit your time card only once, when entries are complete, to route to your manager for approval.

  1. Enter your assignment into the Assignment Number field by double-selecting in the field to activate the drop down menu.  

    Note: For employees with multiple hourly assignments, the department will auto-populate in the Dept. field once the assignment is selected.

Enter Time 3, Assignment Number.png

  1. Select the Time Type field and select the applicable Time Type. For most employees this will be Regular Time. To narrow the list, begin typing the desired value after selecting into the Time Type field.

    NOTE: Holiday hours will generally be auto-populated on your Time Card and are the only absence you can directly enter or edit, if needed. All other leave is displayed as view only on your time card and must be edited in the Absence module.

  2. Record the start and stop times of your time worked, including unpaid meal periods, if any; the quantity of hours will auto-populate. 
  3. Select Save to retain your entries prior to submission. It is recommended that you submit your Time Card for manager approval only once at the end of each pay period.
  4. Select Submit to route your Time Card for manager approval

    1. and 7. The Attestations panel will open and ask you to attest to time worked. Select the drop-down and enter Accept to acknowledge the accuracy of the time entered on your Time Card.

      Note: All error/warning messages must be cleared before the Save button becomes available. 

Enter Time 4, Attest.png

SLAC Employees: 

  • Effort specific time types will no longer be used. SLAC PA effort allocation should be applied to the corresponding start and stop times. A Regular Time segment may need to be split into multiple rows to accommodate effort reporting for a given day. For example, if an employee performs effort on Project A from 8:00am to 10:00am and on Project B from 10:00am to 12:00pm, they would enter two rows, once for each PA, noting 10:00am for the Stop Time on the first row and 10:00am for the Start Time on the second. 

Remote Employees: 

  • Remote employees normally located outside of California must add a temporary tax location for time worked while physically present in California. This allows for the applicable state tax to be taken. Select (a) Show Additional Attributes at the top left of the Time Card. A new field will display to enter a (b) State. Enter (c) CA for California on any row on which you reported hours worked in California. This designation will apply to the entire row, so enter additional rows, as necessary, to report work hours not worked in California.

  1. On your homepage, select the Time and Absences tile
Enter Time 1, Time and Absences.png
  1.  Select Current Time Card
  2. Select View Time Totals.

NOTE: The totals in the bottom of each column and at the end of each row reflect the sum of the quantities entered prior to rules being applied. Shift premiums and overtime premiums are not reflected in these totals.

Enter Time 5, Review Time Totals.png
  1. Review Time Totals
  2. Select Save.
  3. Return to your Time Card. Select View Calculated Time.

NOTE: All error/warning messages must be cleared before the button becomes available. 

    h. View Calculated Time includes overtime, shift premium and other calculated values based upon your time entries. View totals to confirm accuracy before final submission. 

NOTE: Calculated Time can be exported to Excel by selecting the download button in the upper right of the page.

Sequoia allows you to make corrections to previously submitted Time Cards up to 45 days in the past. For corrections prior to the 45 day period, please contact your manager or department Time & Leave Administrator for assistance. 

Learn more at How To Retroactively Enter Time and Absence Corrections in Sequoia.

What Happens Next?

Once your correction has been approved, any adjustments to pay will automatically be reflected in your next regular paycheck. If your correction results in an overall reduction to an amount already paid, your human resources administrator will contact you to make arrangements for recovery of the overpayment. 

Entering Absences in Sequoia (Exempt)

Exempt employees are required to record absences taken. Within Sequoia, you use the Absences module to request time away as it is planned, which can be as far in advance as needed. To view your absence balance, log in to Sequoia and navigate to Absence Balance from the Time and Absences tile.

  1. Go to Sequoia
  2. Select Sign in with SUNet ID (Single Sign On)
  3. Enter SUNet ID and password, if prompted

  1. From the Sequoia homepage, select the Me tab.
  2. Select the Time and Absences tile.
  3. Select the Add Absence tile.

  1. Select Absence Type (for example, vacation or sick) from the dropdown menu.
  2. Enter Start Date and End Date.
    • For exempt salaried employees: Absences should be entered in full or half-day increments, with the exception of sick, which can be entered in any increment.
    • If you enter a range of dates that includes a weekend or a holiday:
      • Toggle the Show Individual Date button to show individual dates.
      • Use the pencil icon to edit time allocations on specific dates.
      • Select the Delete button for weekend and holiday dates to be deleted, then select Delete.
      • Select Submit.
  3. Select Submit to send your absence request for manager approval.

  1. To view the status of your absence request, navigate to Existing Absences from the Time and Absences tile.
  2. Verify that all requested absences are reflected with the current approval status - see description below:
    • Completed: approved and in the past
    • In Progress: approved and includes today
    • Scheduled: approved and in the future
    • Awaiting Approval
    • Rejected
    • Withdrawn: deleted
What Happens Next?

Absence requests in Sequoia follow an approval workflow to ensure consistency across our employee population. Approved absences in Sequoia are automatically reflected in your leave balances and flow to payroll and pay statements.

Entering Absences in Sequoia (Non-Exempt/Hourly)

Non-exempt employees must keep an accurate record of their daily work hours, including actual start and stop times and meal periods, and record absences taken. Within Sequoia, you use the Absence module to request time away as it is planned, which can be as far in advance as needed. To view your absence balance, log in to Sequoia and navigate to Absence Balance from the Time and Absences tile.

  1. Go to Sequoia
  2. Select Sign in with SUNet ID (Single Sign On)
  3. Enter SUNet ID and password, if prompted

  1. From the Sequoia homepage, select the Me tab.
  2. Select the Time and Absences tile.
  3. Select the Add Absence tile.

  1. Select Absence Type (for example, vacation or sick) from the dropdown menu. Note that your default PTA/LD will be charged for your sick time. Please update if needed based upon guidance from your manager.
  2. Enter Start Date and End Date.
    • Note: If you enter a range of dates that includes a weekend or a holiday:
      • Toggle the Show Individual Date button to view individual dates.
      • Use the pencil icon to edit time allocations on specific dates.
      • Select the Edit (pencil) icon for weekend and holiday dates to be deleted, then select Delete.
  3. Select Submit to send your absence request for manager approval.

  1. To view the status of your absence request, navigate to Existing Absences from the Time and Absences tile.
  2. Verify that all requested absences are reflected with the current approval status - see description below:
    • Completed: approved and in the past
    • In Progress: approved and includes today
    • Scheduled: approved and in the future
    • Awaiting Approval
    • Rejected
    • Withdrawn: deleted
What Happens Next?

Absence requests in Sequoia follow an approval workflow to ensure consistency across our employee population. Approved absences in Sequoia are visible to you on your Time Card to help facilitate time entry, but can only be entered or updated in the Absence module. Absence requests are also automatically reflected in your leave balances, and flow to payroll and pay statements.

Reporting Effort in Sequoia (SLAC Exempt)

Employees use Sequoia to report effort before the end of each pay period. Leave time is requested in advance using the Absence module in Sequoia. Approved leave time is displayed as view only on your Time Card to facilitate your time entries. For that reason, it is recommended that employees enter applicable Absence requests first and then complete their Time Card to facilitate complete and accurate time and leave entries for each day in the pay period.

  1. Go to Sequoia
  2. Select Sign in with SUNet ID (Single Sign On)
  3. Enter SUNet ID and password, if prompted

  1. From the Sequoia homepage, select the Me tab.
  2. Select the Time and Absences tile.
  3. Select Current Time Card.

  1. Select your assignment number from the Assignment Number field.
  2. Enter Regular Percent in the Time Type field.
  3. Enter the applicable SLAC PA in the SLAC PA field.
  4. Populate rows until the effort in each column equals 100%.

Note: Leave time entered in the Absence module (e.g., vacation, sick) will show as a view only item on your timecard. If a full day of leave has been recorded, do not enter effort for that day.  If a partial day of leave has been recorded, enter 100% effort for the remaining portion of the day.

  1. Select Save to retain your work.
  2. Select Submit once you have completed all entries for the pay period to route your effort report to your manager for approval.

  1. The Attestations panel will open and ask you to attest to effort reported.
  2. Select the drop-down and enter Accept to acknowledge the accuracy of the effort entered on your Time Card.
  3. Finally, select Submit and Close to submit your Time Card.

Reporting Effort in Sequoia (SLAC Non-Exempt/Hourly)

SLAC Non-Exempt employees use Sequoia to report time, leave and effort before the end of each pay period. Leave time is requested in advance using the Absence module in Sequoia. Approved leave time is displayed as view only on your Time Card to facilitate your time entries. For that reason, it is recommended that employees enter applicable Absence requests first and then complete their Time Card to facilitate complete and accurate time, leave and effort entries for each day in the pay period.

Changes to be aware of:

  1. Overtime and Doubletime should no longer be entered. However, Pre Shift Premium, Quick Shift Premium, Call Back, Make-up Time and Regular Time - Special Operations are cases where the specific time types are needed.
  2. SLAC PA effort allocation should be applied to the corresponding start and stop times. A Regular Time segment may need to be split into multiple rows to accommodate effort reporting for a given day. For example, if an employee performs effort on Project A from 8:00 am to 10:00 am and on Project B from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, they enter two rows, once for each PA, noting 10:00 am for the Stop Time on the first row and 10:00am for the Start Time on the second.

  1. Go to Sequoia
  2. Select Sign in with SUNet ID (Single Sign On)
  3. Enter SUNet ID and password, if prompted

  1. From the Sequoia homepage, select the Me tab.
  2. Select the Time and Absences tile.
  3. Select Current Time Card.

  1. Select your assignment number in the Assignment Number field.
  2. Enter the type of time, such as Regular Time, in the Time Type field.
  3. Enter the applicable SLAC PA in the SLAC PA field.

  1. Use as many rows as needed to record actual start and stop times, unpaid meal periods and associated PA allocations.
  2. Note if applicable: Remote employees located outside of California must add a temporary tax location for time worked while physically present in California. Select (a) Show Additional Attributes at the top left of the Time Card. A new field will display to enter a (b) State. Enter (c) CA for California.

  1. Select Save to retain your work.
  2. Select Submit once you have completed all entries for the pay period to route your effort report to your manager for approval.

  1. The Attestations panel will open and ask you to attest to effort reported.
  2. Select the drop-down and enter Accept to acknowledge the accuracy of the effort entered on your Time Card.
  3. Finally, select Submit and Close to submit your Time Card.
Last Updated: Jul 17, 2026
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