Timer and timesheet

Project time comes from three places, and all of it ends up in the same list of time entries per person:

• the timer, which you start and stop yourself in the dashboard or in the desktop app,
• assigning time that Focus already tracked (or approved offline time) to a project afterwards, and
• time you add by hand, for example a meeting away from the computer.

Projects are part of the Pro and Premium plans (projects and tasks).

The timer

Each person has one timer. The timer at the top of the dashboard and the timer in the desktop app’s menu are the same timer: start it in the browser and stop it from the menu, or the other way round.

1. Choose Start timer, then a project and, if you like, a task. The projects and tasks you used recently are at the top.
2. To move to other work, choose Switch and pick another project or task. The time so far is saved for the first one and the timer goes on for the new one, without a gap.
3. Choose Stop timer when you are done. The time is saved as a time entry of the project.

While the timer runs you can change its task, note and billable setting without splitting the time. You can also throw a running timer away with Discard; then its time is not saved.

You can pick only active projects you can track time on, and only tasks that are not done or archived.

The timer keeps running when the computer is off

The timer runs on the Workify360 server, not on your computer. It keeps running when you close the browser, shut down the computer or lose the connection, until you stop it, switch it, or the 24-hour limit stops it.

It stops automatically after 24 hours

A timer that runs for 24 hours stops automatically at exactly 24 hours after it started, and you get a notification in the dashboard, “Timer stopped after 24 hours”, that links to that day of your timesheet. Correct the entry there if you worked less. If you need to track more than 24 hours, start the timer again.

The timer records no activity and is independent of private time

The timer only says which project you work on. It records no apps, window titles or websites and sends no activity of its own; what Focus records is the same with or without a timer (what Focus records about me).

The timer and private time do not affect each other: private time stops activity tracking but not the timer, and the timer does not stop when you are idle. Stop the timer yourself when you take a break.

The timer in the desktop app

When your plan includes projects and your desktop app has the timer, the Workify360 Focus menu shows the timer below the private time items (the desktop app menu):

• a line with the running project, task and time, or “Timer stopped”,
• Start timer (or Switch while it runs) with your recent projects and tasks first, then your projects, each with “No task” and its open tasks; very long lists end with a link that opens the dashboard,
• Stop timer while it runs,
• Open timesheet to open your timesheet in the dashboard, and Refresh projects to load the list of projects again.

The list of projects is kept on the computer, so you can start, switch and stop the timer while you are offline.

Offline: what happens to your clicks

While the desktop app has no connection, it keeps each start, switch and stop on the computer with the time you clicked, shows the new state right away and adds “(will sync)” to the timer line. When the connection is back, it sends them in order:

• A timer you stopped while offline closes at the time you stopped it once the connection is back, not when the connection returns, even if the computer was off in between. If the 24-hour stop came first, the entry is shortened to the time you stopped it.
• A change made later on another device wins over an older offline command. If you stopped the timer offline at 12:30 but started another timer in the dashboard at 13:00, the 13:00 timer keeps running; the app shows the current state and tells you the timer was changed from another device.
• A command that waited more than 7 days is dropped (timer_command_too_old).
• When you sign out, or someone else signs in on the computer, the waiting commands are dropped; they are never sent for another account.

The timesheet

Open Projects → Timesheet. It shows your day or week with the day bar of your tracked activity and, on top of it, the time entries of your projects. Team admins, owners and admins can pick a person they manage.

Assign tracked time afterwards

Time Focus tracked but that has no project yet appears as Unassigned time: blocks of tracked activity (with the apps you used most, never window titles or website addresses) and blocks of approved offline time.

1. Click an unassigned block, or select a range on the day bar.
2. Choose Assign to project, pick the project and task, and save.

If the range overlaps a time entry that already exists, Focus asks first. Choose Replace overlapping time to shorten, split or remove the overlapping entries; otherwise nothing changes. Offline time appears here only after it is approved (or right away when your company does not require approval; offline time and approvals).

An assignment is only a time range: when the activity of the day is classified again later, the project time does not change.

Add, edit and delete time

Add time by hand for work Focus did not track, such as a phone call. You can also edit or delete an entry, change its project, task, note and billable setting.

• An entry is at most 24 hours long and cannot end more than 5 minutes in the future.
• You can change your own time of the last 93 days; owners and admins have no such limit.
• Team admins, owners and admins add and change time for the people they manage.
• Time entries of one person never overlap. Where your timer and an entry you added by hand overlap, the entry you added wins and the timer fills the gaps.
• An entry on an invoice is locked (lock icon) until the invoice is deleted or voided (clients and invoices).

Error messages

Code	What it means
timer_not_running	The timer is not running, so its task or note cannot be changed
timer_command_too_old	A start or stop waited more than 7 days to be sent and was dropped
range_in_future	The entry ends, or the timer command is dated, more than 5 minutes in the future; check the computer’s clock
range_too_old	The entry starts more than 93 days ago; ask an owner or admin
allocation_overlaps	The entry overlaps another entry of that person; choose Replace overlapping time or change the times
allocation_billed	The entry is on an invoice and cannot be changed or deleted
allocation_too_long	The entry is longer than 24 hours; split it
allocation_not_found	The entry does not exist any more, or you cannot see it