BaseModel.php

<?php

namespace app\components;

use Yii;

/**
 * Class BaseModel
 * @package app\models
 * @property integer created
 * @property integer updated
 */
class BaseModel extends \yii\db\ActiveRecord
{

    /**
     * Check for created and updated flags
     * @param bool $insert
     * @return bool
     *
     * @todo refactor with behaviors
     * http://www.yiiframework.com/doc-2.0/yii-behaviors-timestampbehavior.html
     */
    public function beforeSave($insert)
    {
        if (parent::beforeSave($insert)) {

            if( $this->hasAttribute( 'created' ) && empty( $this->created ) ) {
                $this->created = time();
            }

            if( $this->hasAttribute( 'updated' ) ) {
                $this->updated = time();
            }

            return true;
        } else {
            return false;
        }
    }
}