Time tracking

Run a timer from the top bar, log hours after the fact on the Time page, and understand billable, non-billable and pending time.

Record the time you spend on work as you do it, with a timer that follows you around the app, or log hours afterwards for work you’ve already done. Each entry is classified as billable, non-billable or pending, and where your organization has rates set up it shows what the time is worth.

Who can use it#

Permissions

time_entry.viewtime_entry.createtime_entry.view_rates

time_entry.view shows the Time page in the sidebar. time_entry.create lets you run a timer and log entries. The timer in the top bar only appears if you have it. time_entry.view_rates shows the money amounts. Without it, amounts are left blank rather than estimated. Members can view and log their own time by default.

Track time with the timer#

The timer lives in the top bar, on every page. It keeps running while you move around, reload, close the tab or lose your connection, because the elapsed time is counted on the server, not in your browser.

Select Timer in the top bar
A panel opens with Start a timer.
Say what you’re working on
Type into What are you working on?. It’s optional, but it becomes the entry’s description.
Select Start
The top bar now shows the running time, with a pulsing icon.
Pause and resume
Open the timer and select Pause when you step away. Paused time isn’t counted. Resume carries on from where you left off.
Stop & log
Select Stop & log to create a time entry for the running time. If you started the timer by mistake, select Discard to throw the time away without recording anything.

Timer rules#

You can run one timer at a time. That’s per person, not per organization. If you already have one running in another organization, starting a new one tells you so.
If a timer has been running longer than your organization’s threshold (eight hours by default), the panel asks “Still working, or did you forget to stop it?”. Nothing is thrown away.
A timer belongs to the person who started it. Nobody else can see, pause, stop or discard it.
The display ticks every second and re-syncs with the server every few seconds. The server’s figure is the one that gets logged.

The Time page#

Choose Time in the sidebar (Time). The header shows your last 30 days: total hours logged and, if you can see rates, the billable amount per currency. Below that:

A Track some time card to start a timer (Start a timer) or log time manually. While a timer is running, the card shows “A timer is running” with the elapsed time and Stop and log it.
Your entries, grouped by day with the newest day first. Each day shows its total hours and amount. Each entry shows its description (or “No description”), how it was recorded (for example “manual · draft”), its classification, the amount, and the duration.

Log time after the fact#

Open Time
Make sure no timer is running. The manual fields only appear when the card says Track some time.
Describe the work
Use What are you working on? for the description (up to 2,000 characters).
Pick the date and hours
Choose a Date, which can’t be in the future, and enter Hours between 0.25 and 24, in quarter-hour steps.
Classify it
Choose Billable, Non-billable or Pending.
Select Log
The entry appears under its day. If it’s refused, you’ll see “That entry was refused — it may overlap existing time, or fall in a locked period.”

Billable time and amounts#

Billable: Time you intend to charge for. It gets a billable amount if a bill rate applies.
Non-billable: Time that won’t be charged, such as internal work.
Pending: Time you haven’t classified yet. It’s never invoiced while pending, and you can classify it later without losing the rate that applied when it was logged.

An entry’s amount is its duration multiplied by the hourly rate that applied when it was logged. Later rate changes don’t alter old entries.
Your organization’s rate card supplies a default bill rate and cost rate. Cost is worked out even for non-billable time, because that time still costs the business.
Totals are shown per currency and never added together across currencies.
A project can have a budget in hours, in money, or both. See Project budget.

Rules for time entries#

Entries can’t be dated in the future.
An entry that overlaps time you’ve already logged is refused.
Time in a locked period can’t be added or changed. See Timesheets.
Only the person who logged an entry can change it.

What the Time page doesn’t do yet

Timers and manual entries on the Time page aren’t linked to a project or work item. Record which work it was in the description. Entries also can’t be edited or deleted from this page. Submitting a week for approval happens in Timesheets.

FAQ#

I left a timer running overnight. What happens?

Nothing is lost. After the threshold the panel asks whether you meant to leave it running. Stop it to log the time, or Discard if the time shouldn’t count.

Why is the amount blank on my entries?

Seeing amounts needs time_entry.view_rates, or no rate is configured for your organization. Nothing is missing from the entry itself.

I get “Could not start the timer. You may already have one running elsewhere.”

You have a timer running, possibly in another organization. Stop or discard it first.

Why was my manual entry refused?

Usually it overlaps time you already logged, falls in a locked period, or is dated in the future.

Still stuck? Search the docs with ⌘K, open Help inside UnitX, or contact support.