# Time tracking

> Log hours with the timer or manually, and get data that is actually worth having.

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://helpdesk.orangescrum.com/llms.txt).

Source: https://helpdesk.orangescrum.com/guide/cloud/time/time-tracking

---
> **Pro and Premium**
>
> The timer, timesheets and approvals require Pro Unlimited or above. The
> [Community Edition](https://helpdesk.orangescrum.com/guide/community/usage/time-entry) has manual entry only.

## Decide why you are tracking

This determines everything else, and teams that skip it end up with data nobody
uses.

- **Client billing**: Accuracy matters to the hour. Billable/non-billable matters. Approvals matter.

- **Estimate calibration**: Rough is fine. You want to know that "two days" tasks take four.

- **Capacity planning**: You need coverage, not precision. Where does the team's time actually go?

- **Because someone said so**: Do not. Tracking nobody uses produces fiction and resentment.

## Two ways to log

### The timer

Start it from the task, stop when you finish. Most accurate, because it does not
rely on memory.

> **Remember to stop it**
>
> A timer left running overnight produces a 14-hour entry. Check for running
> timers at the end of the day, and correct rather than deleting — the entry
> still represents real work.

### Manual entry

Add hours against a task with a date and description. Better for people who work
in long uninterrupted blocks, or who forget the timer.

## Log daily

The single habit that determines whether time data is worth anything.

- **Logged daily**: Roughly accurate. Five minutes at the end of the day.

- **Logged Friday afternoon**: Fiction. Nobody remembers Tuesday, so the week gets divided into plausible round numbers.

## Write useful descriptions

"Worked on task" tells you nothing later. "Traced the redirect loop to the
session cookie domain" tells you everything — including why it took four hours.

> **Tip**
>
> When a client queries an invoice, the descriptions are what you show them. Write
> them as if they will be read by someone outside the team, because they might
> be.

## Log against real tasks

If there is no task for the work, create one. A catch-all "misc" or "admin" task
absorbing 30% of the team's hours hides exactly the information you were trying
to collect.

## Billable and non-billable

Mark entries billable or not, and set rates per project or per person. Feeds
[budget and cost](https://helpdesk.orangescrum.com/guide/cloud/time/budget-and-cost) and invoicing.

Decide the rules up front — is internal meeting time billable? travel? — and
write them down. Ambiguity here produces inconsistent data across the team.

## Making it stick

**Explain what it's for**

    People log time honestly when they understand the purpose and it is not
    surveillance.

**Show them the output**

    If nobody ever sees a report built from this data, logging feels pointless —
    and the quality drops accordingly.

**Never use it to compare people**

    The fastest way to get fictional data. Hours logged are not a measure of
    contribution.

**Make it a two-minute habit**

    End of day, every day. Not a weekly chore.

## Reviewing

Time entries roll into [timesheets](https://helpdesk.orangescrum.com/guide/cloud/time/timesheets-and-approvals)
for approval, and into
[budget and cost](https://helpdesk.orangescrum.com/guide/cloud/time/budget-and-cost) reporting.

The most useful comparison is **estimate versus actual**. It is how estimates
get better, and it only works if the logging is honest.

- [Timesheets and approvals](https://helpdesk.orangescrum.com/guide/cloud/time/timesheets-and-approvals): Weekly submission and sign-off.

- [Budget and cost](https://helpdesk.orangescrum.com/guide/cloud/time/budget-and-cost): What the hours cost.