Time entries (Basic): Add in real-time or retroactively
You can accurately track hours worked for your whole team, set hourly rates and generate invoices based on time entries — all using TaxDome's built-in time tracker. In this article, we will discuss what time entries are and how to track time both in real-time or by entering details retroactively.
Time entries, explained
TaxDome's time entries allow you to track the time right when the job is done and then generate invoices from time entries in a few clicks.
You can start track time:
- From the top of any other page.
- From the job card - to have the time entry automatically linked to the job.
- From the task - to have the time entry automatically linked to it.
For the services you have already provided, we offer adding a time entry retroactively.
Starting the timer from any page
Tracking time while you work is easy. To track time, an employee should have access to the client for which time is tracked, and no additional rights need to be enabled.
You have two options for starting the timer:
1. Click the Time entry button at the top of any screen and click the New time entry link. Alternatively, you can click New on the top left and select Time Entry.
2. Select the client you're performing a service for.
3. Fill in the time entry details. Read more in the section below.
4. Click Start new timer.
The timer is displayed on the top right of your screen and shows up on all pages. It includes the time tracked and the client account ID.
Click on the timer if you need to:
- Pause it
- Stop it
- Edit the time entry
- Delete the time entry
- Add a new time entry
When the timer is paused, the clock icon is displayed on the top right. To continue tracking time, click on the icon, then click Resume:
Time entry details
When starting the timer or editing the entry, you will see the Track your time sidebar with all the relevant details. Check out the items to see which details you may want to include:
a. Link to jobs: select the jobs for which time should be tracked. Linking time entries to jobs can be useful if you want to plan the team capacity and compare the tracked time and the allocated time budget. More about planning the team capacity.
b. Account: the person or business the job is for.
c. Service: the work that is to be time-tracked. Click on the field to select a service from the drop-down menu or create a new one by clicking Create service.
d. Rate: the service cost to be charged per hour. This will be automatically filled in when the service is selected. It can be changed easily.
e. Billable: toggle on to set the time entry as billable. This is toggled on by default. Non-billable time entries cannot be used for creating invoices.
f. Enter date and duration manually: toggle on to enter the date and duration retroactively. More details in the section below.
g. Assignee: the team member assigned to this service.
h. Start and End: shows the date and time when you began and completed the job, automatically calculating the Duration.
i. Duration: shows how long the job took.
j. Description: add notes about the time-tracked project (optional).
k. Copy description to invoice line item: when toggled on, the time entry description from above will be copied to the line item once you invoice it. It is toggled on by default.
l. Tags: add tags to the time entry.
m. Save: click to save the timer.
n. Save and create another: saves the current time entry and opens a new time entry form for the selected account with all fields empty. This works only if the Enter date and duration manually field is toggled on.
o. Save and duplicate: saves the current time entry and opens a new form for the selected account pre-filled with the same data. This works only if the Enter date and duration manually field is toggled on.
Enter date and duration retroactively
You can create a time entry for services you've already provided or for other team members. To do so, follow these steps:
1. Toggle on Enter date and duration manually.
2. Select a team member assigned for this service from the Assignee drop-down.
3. Enter the time entry's Start and End dates or the Start date and the Duration.
By default, the Start field shows your current date and time. Editing the End date will automatically calculate the Duration, or vice versa.
