Tracking time: advanced
As we explained in our ‘Time tracking: the basics’ Help article, users can track their time as they work with todo.vu’s timer. They can track time directly to a todo.vu task for detailed time and billing records, or they can track time freely and add details later.
Whenever time is tracked by a user, a time entry is created in todo.vu as a record of that time.
This means you can see who did what task, when, and for how long, as well as the dollar value of that tracked time. And, todo.vu can collate all of this information for you in clear reports.
In this Help article, you will learn how to log time manually, edit logged time, set time budgets, and record time on behalf of other staff users.
To learn how to track and record time with the user-friendly timer, please see our ‘Tracking Time: the basics’ Help article.
In this Help article, we’ll cover:
- Logging time manually
- … on a task
- … on the calendar
- Editing tracked time
- Deleting tracked time
- Using todo.vu’s Time modal
- Why track time to tasks
- Charging the right rate for your tracked time
- Admin-only features
- Setting the time budget for a task
- Setting the time budget for a project
Quick glossary
Time entry – A time entry is a detailed record of time that has been logged in todo.vu, either tracked in real time with todo.vu’s timer, or recorded manually. Time entries can be displayed on the calendar, on individual tasks, and in your reporting dashboards.
Floating time entry – A floating time entry is a record of time that has been logged in todo.vu, but which is not yet connected to a specific activity (a todo.vu task).
Time modal – The Time modal is a pop-up modal that enables users to create or modify a time entry.
Calendar entry – An entry on todo.vu’s calendar can be an actual time entry, billed time entry, predictive time entry, due date, or reminder.
Task assignee – A task assignee is the user who is responsible for the task. By default, the person who creates the task is the assignee; however, you can delegate tasks to others by adding them as assignees. There can be only one assignee on each task.
Logging time manually
Often, you will use todo.vu’s timer at the same time as you work. However, there will be instances when you need to log your time manually; for example, if you forgot to use the timer in the first place.
To log time manually, we create what we call ‘Time entries’ in todo.vu. Usually, we create time entries for specific tasks; learn why in the note below.
In todo.vu, you can create a time entry in two ways:
- via a todo.vu task
- via the calendar.
We’ll go through each of these methods below.
*If you want to first learn how to get started with todo.vu’s timer and time tracking features, see our Help article: ‘Time tracking: the basics‘.
1. Log time manually via a todo.vu task
To log time manually via a todo.vu task, simply open (select) the task to which you would like to log time.
You can use either the ‘Time spent’ button at the top right on an open task page, or the timer icon beneath the task’s comment editor, shown in the screenshot below.
If you use the timer icon beneath your comment editor, located beneath the task description, this will open todo.vu’s pop-up Time modal. Here, you can add your time entry details to create an entry on that task.
You can learn more about using the Time modal below; simply follow this link.
If you select the ‘Time spent’ button at the top right of your open task, this will open a pop-up window.
On this pop-up window, there are two different ways to add a time entry to the task:
1a) via the Time modal
1b) via ‘Your Timeline’
1a) Via the Time modal
If you click on the (+) icon at the top left of the first pop-up window, you will open another pop-up: this is todo.vu’s Time modal.
On the Time modal, you can create your new time entry to record time spent directly on that task.
1b) Via ‘Your timeline’
If you select the calendar icon to the right, a mini calendar view will appear.
This will display the current day in hourly increments with all calendar entries that relate to your user, and not just those relating to this specific task. This is ‘Your timeline’ view.
Like on todo.vu’s primary calendar, you can navigate and add time entries to previous and future days with the left and right arrows at the top left-hand side of the sidebar. The dot in the middle of these two arrows will take you back to your current day.
To add a time entry to the task from your timeline, click anywhere on the calendar. todo.vu’s pop-up Time modal will appear, where you can create your time entry.
2. Log time manually on the calendar
todo.vu’s Calendar grants you flexible views of your and your team’s time entries, and the ability to create and edit time entries quickly.
Access todo.vu’s Calendar by selecting the clock icon on the left sidebar.
Here, you can use any of the different Calendar views to view, edit and create time entries.
Select your view with the symbols on the top right-hand side of the Workspace:
You can select from:
- Agenda (A)
- Rolling Day (1/3/5/7/9)
- Week (W)
- Month (M)
- Year (Y)
To create time entries on each of the different views:
On the calendar’s Agenda (A) view, log time manually by selecting ‘Log time’ at the bottom of the vertical scrollable list of existing calendar entries (if any) on the desired day.
On the calendar’s Rolling Day (1/3/5/7/9) or Week (W) views, log time manually by clicking on blank space at the desired date and time, or by using todo.vu’s predictive time feature.
On the calendar’s Month (M) or Year (Y) view, simply right click on the day you need to add the time entry to, and select ‘New time entry’ from the drop down menu.
Once you have added a time entry to the calendar, you can choose to edit it at any time by clicking on the time entry to open the Time modal.
Note that todo.vu allows you to log multiple time entries to one task. This means:
- any number of team members can log time entries to the same task
- one single user can log multiple simultaneous time entries to one or more tasks.
Editing time entries
As we’ve already demonstrated, users in todo.vu can edit time entries that already exist in the workspace, as well as time entries that still have the timer running. This is done with todo.vu’s pop-up Time modal.
If you’re editing a time entry while the timer is still running, you can access the Time modal by:
- Clicking the task details (or the ‘What are you working on?’ field) next to the running timer in the Workspace header, or
- Clicking the timer icon when tracking time freely (i.e, not on a task).
If you’re editing a pre-existing time entry, you can open the Time modal by:
- selecting a time entry on todo.vu’s calendar.
- selecting a time entry from the activity timeline on an open task (Beneath the task description).Use the pencil icon to the right of the time entry log that appears as you hover your mouse over the time entry log.
Note:
If you are an Admin user in todo.vu, you will have the option to edit or delete any time entry in the Workspace. (Except time entries which have already been billed; these are uneditable.)
All other users have the option to edit or delete their own time entries only.
See how to delete a time entry below.
Here’s more about using todo.vu’s Time modal:
todo.vu’s ‘Time modal’
Users will create and edit time entries with todo.vu’s Time modal.
The Time modal offers slightly different options depending on if you’re using it to create or edit a time entry, including editing a time entry that still has its timer running.
However, it’s primary function is the same: to create and edit detailed time logs.
Using the time modal
On the Time modal, users can:
- adjust the duration of the time entry
- add notes to the time entry
- discard the time entry
- stop/start the timer on a time entry (stop timer option only available if the time entry’s timer is still running)
- connect tasks (and therefore clients/projects) to the time entry, if it’s a floating time entry.
Here’s how:
1. Adjust the duration of the time entry
You can adjust your time entry by:
- selecting the plus and minus signs on either side of the hours and minutes.
- selecting any number on the Time modal and using the up/down arrows on your keypad to increase or decrease the number, or inserting numbers from your keypad.
- selecting the time disks underneath the time duration.
You can do this as you’re creating new or editing pre-existing time entries, as well as on time entries that still have their timer running.
2. Add notes to the time entry
You can add notes to a time entry on todo.vu’s Time modal under the time entry duration. You can edit time entry notes at any time, from when the timer is running to when you are creating your billing report.
Time entry notes appear on your billing reports to provide your clients with even greater transparency when it comes to their invoices.
3. Delete the time entry
Using the Bin icon or the three-dot menu to the right of the bin icon on todo.vu’s Time modal, users can discard their time entry.
You can do this on pre-existing time entries, as well as on time entries that still have their timer running, but not while you are creating a new time entry, as that time entry is not yet live.
4. Stop the timer/Log time and continue
Note: This option is only available on the Time modal for a time entry on which the timer is still running.
Apart from the primary ‘Stop timer, log [time]’ button that appears at the very top of the Time modal in this instance, users can stop their timer by selecting the three-dot menu to the right of the trash can icon on the modal.
In this drop-down menu, users can:
- Stop the timer and log the time
- Log the time and continue working, which will automatically stop and restart the timer on the same task, giving a user the opportunity to record more specific time entry notes to their tracked time in increments.
5. Connect the time entry to a task
Note: These steps apply for time entries which are not yet connected to a task.
If you did not start the timer directly on a task initially, you can easily connect a running timer to a task at any time. You can also link a pre-existing time entry already connected to a task to a different task.
Follow these steps to connect time entries to tasks.
5a) Click on the ‘No client – Not linked to a task’ field
If your task is already connected to a client, you won’t see the ‘No client – Not linked to a task’ message. Instead, you’ll see that task’s details in this field. Click on the task details, and follow the steps below to connect the time entry to a different task.
You can also click the link icon that appears to the right on this field.
5b) Select an existing or create a new task
A separate ‘Tasks’ modal will open. Here, you can search for and select an existing task, or create and select a new task.
Use the tabs at the top right, the ‘Your recent tasks’ and ‘All tasks’ to search for and select an existing task. You can use the search bar in both views, as well as the client and user icons in the Recent tasks view.
5c) To create a new task
Simply enter your new task’s title in the blue task adder bar at the bottom of the Tasks modal.
Add a client and a project by selecting the square to the left of your new task’s title. Select the right arrow on the task adder bar to finish creating your new task.
Why connect the timer to a task?
Tasks, time tracking and billing, and how these integrated functionalities interact, are a key and unique element of todo.vu.
If you want time data to show up in your billing reports, then time data must be connected to tasks. That means you must track your time directly on your tasks (in real time), or record tracked time to tasks manually.
Why? Because todo.vu calculates time billing totals and itemizes billing reports by billable time on tasks, so it’s easy to see in detail where time was spent, as well as the value of that time.
For example, in the following animation, time is being tracked in real time on a specific task, that task titled: ‘New Support Request’, for a project ‘Sales App 2.0’. Then, in the screenshot, that time appears accurately in todo.vu’s billing reports, calculated as per a user-set billing rate: $150 per hour.
This integration saves you from using separate time tracking, billing and task management systems.
Charging the right rate for your tracked time
As we mentioned above, time in todo.vu is tracked automatically to pre-set billing rates as configured in your settings.
These billing rates includes rates for:
- The entire Workspace: This is the default rate for the entire Workspace; time will be tracked at this rate on all tasks, unless there are overrides, as below. Learn how to set up your Workspace’s billing rate here.
- Projects: This is the rate at which time will be tracked on tasks belonging to a specific project. This will override your Workspace’s default billing rate. Learn how to set up your Project rate here.
- Project Users: This is the rate at which time will be tracked for certain staff users working on a specific project. This will override a project rate and the Workspace’s billing rate. Learn how to set up your Project User rates here.
Learn more about setting up custom billing rates here.
Admin-only features
Additional editing capabilities
Admin users have advanced features for creating and editing time entries. Most importantly, they can:
- edit a time entry’s billing rate
- update the user on an existing time entry
- create time entries for other users.
Admin users can access most options using todo.vu’s Time modal to edit existing time entry. Simply select the relevant option from the three-dot menu, as demonstrated in the following image.
Creating time entries on behalf of other users
If you are an admin user, you can add time entries directly to a team member’s calendar by selecting that team member’s avatar from the hamburger menu at the top left of your calendar, and opening their calendar view.
When you add a calendar entry directly to a team member’s calendar, and that calendar entry is linked to a new task, todo.vu will automatically make that team member the owner of that task (in todo.vu, this is called that task’s ‘assignee‘.)
Note
Team calendar views are persistent; once you select a team member’s calendar view, you will remain on that team member’s calendar until you update the view to either your own or another team member’s calendar.
This includes when you close the browser on your Workspace entirely, and then reopen it later.
The time budget feature
todo.vu users have the option to set a time budget for certain tasks and projects. Many consultants, for example, will quote a price based on the amount of time they think a task will take.
The time budget can be set from within a task or through the project.
To set a time budget budget for a task:
Open your task, and select the ‘Time spent’ field at the top right-hand side. This opens a pop-up window, where you can set that task’s time budget by selecting the ‘Time budget’ field at the bottom. You can set your time budget by typing in hours and minutes.
The data shown on your ‘Time spent’ field on the open task page will turn red as you exceed your budget.
In the example above, we are 4 hours and 23 minutes over our time budget for this particular task.
Setting time budget for a project
Navigate to your Project Dashboard by selecting the Projects icon on the left sidebar of your Workspace.
Here, you can add a time budget at a project level.
Select a project to which you would like to allocate a time budget. Scroll to where you see the ‘Time budget’ field. Click the pencil icon to the right of this to input your time budget.
In the example below, we have set a time budget for 80 hours. That means we have 7 hours and 22 minutes remaining in our time budget for this project.
