Tracking time: advanced
The time tracker is one of todo.vu’s key features. With a single click, users can track their time at any billing rate, and ensure that tracked time is recorded against their activities, which are captured and managed as todo.vu tasks in the system.
This means every minute of your workday can be easily accounted for, whether it is billable time or not. You can clearly see who did what task, when, for how long, and at what cost to your clients or business. And, todo.vu can neatly collate all of this information for you, even calculating time-cost totals, in clear reports.
This way, you can see the extent of your billable and non-billable work, improve your productivity, and provide itemized billing reports for your clients.
In this Help article, you will learn how to record time manually, edit tracked 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.
Jump to:
- Editing tracked time
- Logging time manually
- … on a task
- … on the calendar
- 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.
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.
Go to the Full Glossary.
Editing tracked time
As we explained in our ‘Time tracking: the basics’ Help article, todo.vu users can easily start and stop their timer to track their time while they work. They can track time directly to a task for detailed activity and billing records, or they can track time freely and add details later.
todo.vu’s Time modal is a pop-up modal that allows users to edit time entries.
Users can open the Time modal by:
a) stopping their timer when tracking time freely (i.e, not on a task)
b) clicking a time entry on todo.vu’s calendar
c) clicking the task details next to the running timer in the Workspace header.
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
- connect tasks (and therefore clients/projects) to the 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.
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. Discard 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.
4. Stop the timer
Apart from the primary ‘Stop timer, log [time]’ button that appears at the very top of the Time modal, 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:
- Go to the task the timer is currently connected to (Only available if the running timer is connected to a task)
- 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 timer 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.
Follow these steps to connect the timer to a specific task.
1. A pop-up window (todo.vu’s Time modal) will appear on your screen once you select the timer icon or the ‘What are you working on?‘ field.
2. Click on ‘No client – Not linked to a task’, or the link icon, that appears under the ‘Time entry note’ field.
3. A separate Tasks modal will open. Here, you can search for and select an existing task, or create and select a new task.
To select an existing task, simply locate your task from the task list, or search for your task with the search bar on the top left-hand side of the modal.
You can also filter your recent task list by a specific user or client, by selecting the relevant avatars at the top.
Change views on the Tasks modal:
By default, the pop-up Tasks modal displays a list of recent tasks ordered chronologically based on your interaction with them.
You can toggle this Tasks modal to assume a view similar to your primary Task Dashboard by selecting the icon next to the cross (x) at the top right-hand corner of the modal.
Use this view as you would your Workspace’s actual task dashboard to search and select a task to which you want to connect your timer.
4. 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.
After you have connected your timer to a task, you can:
Keep the timer running on the task:
Select (x) at the top right or ‘Close’ at the bottom right of the modal, or click anywhere outside of the modal.
Stop the timer on that task:
Click ‘Stop timer, log [time]‘ at the top of the modal, or from the three-dot menu next to the (x).
Logging time manually
Often, you will use todo.vu’s timer while you work to track your billable and non-billable time. 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 add these time entries to specific tasks; learn more 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’.
Remember that in todo.vu time can be tracked directly on tasks to save you from using separate time tracking, billing and task management systems.
So, when you encounter the phrases, ‘track time on tasks’, or ‘log time on tasks’, this is exactly what this means.
To give you an 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.
Learn more about todo.vu’s unique time and tasks integration here.
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.
Select the ‘Time spent’ field in the top right of your open task. This will open a pop-up modal.
On this pop-up modal, there are two different ways to add a time entry to the task:
a) via the Time modal
b) via ‘Your Timeline’.
a) Adding time manually via the Time modal on a task
If you click on the (+) icon at the top left, you will open todo.vu’s Time modal.
On the Time modal, you can create your new time entry to record time spent directly on that task.
To create a time entry via the Time modal, first adjust the duration of your time entry.
You can do this 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
- inserting numbers from your keypad
- selecting the time disks underneath the time duration
Then, add any notes to the ‘Time entry note field’ underneath. Time entry notes appear on your billing reports to provide your clients with even greater transparency when it comes to their invoices.
Finally, click ‘Log Xm’ on the button in the bottom right.
b) Adding time manually via ‘Your timeline’ on a task
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.
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. Follow the same instructions to create a time entry on the pop-up modal.
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.
2. Log time manually on the calendar
todo.vu’s Calendar (also known as the Time Dashboard) grants you flexible views of your and your team’s logged time, and the ability to log time quickly and easily.
Access todo.vu’s Calendar by selecting the clock icon on the left sidebar.
Here, you can log previously tracked time through any of the different Calendar views: the Agenda (A), Rolling Day (1/3/5/7/9), Week (W), Month (M) or Year (Y) views. Select your view with the symbols on the top right-hand side of the Workspace.
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.
If you are an Admin user in todo.vu, you will have the option to edit or delete all time entries in the Workspace. All users have the option to edit or delete their own time entries only.
Edit logged time on a task
To edit existing time entries recorded on the task, simply locate the logged time entry from the task activity timeline.
Then, select the pencil icon to the right of the time entry log that appears as you hover your mouse over the time entry log. This will open the pop-up Time modal for editing.
Note that you will not be able to edit already billed time entries.
You can edit a time entry to change the duration, time entry note, the task to which it’s connected, the billing rate and more.
Charging the right rate for your tracked time
Head to todo.vu’s Time and Billing Settings support page for more information about setting your hourly rates.
Essentially, 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.
Admin-only features
Additional editing capabilities
Admin users have advanced features for manual time entry both on todo.vu tasks and in todo.vu’s Calendar.
Admin users can edit a time entry’s billing rate, and edit the user who logged the tracked time.
To do this, simply select an existing time entry to open todo.vu’s Time modal, and select the relevant option from the three-dot menu.
Adding time entries to another user’s calendar
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 the 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 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.
This means that you can allocate a specific amount of time to a task, within which you budget to complete it. Many consultants, for example, will quote a price based on the amount of time they think a task will take.
The time budget feature helps you to monitor and manage your budget and workflow, helping you to ensure that you and your team are quoting effectively and completing your tasks efficiently.
The time budget can be set from within a task or through the project.
The image below illustrates where a User can set a budget for a specific task.
To the left of Your timeline, under ‘Time spent’, you will see a graph tracking the time logged to this Task within the limits of your budget.
This graph will turn red as you are near to or are exceeding your time budget.
From the Task page, you can see at a glance how you are tracking. In the example below, we are over budget.
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 the bottom of the page where you will see a field on the right-hand side that says ‘Time budget’. 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.
Note:
Because it is unlikely you will complete all your tasks in one sitting, and you may have several team members working on the same task, todo.vu allows you to add multiple time entries to a task.
That means:
- any number of team members can add time entries to the same task
- one single user can add multiple simultaneous time entries to one or more tasks.