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Time-entry rules: manual entry, approvals, daily caps (admin)

As a manager, admin or owner, you decide how strict time tracking is in your workspace. This article walks through the settings that control manual time, changes to logged time, and time over the approved hours.

To find them, click Workspace in the sidebar, open the General tab, and scroll to Features. Click save when you're done.

Screenshot

The Features section of Workspace Settings, showing Manual time entry, Anyone can log time on any task, Time-entry adjustment requests and Going over approved hours needs approval.

Manual time entry​

Choose whether members can add time by hand (on tasks, in the Timesheets grid and in Schedule):

  • Allowed — saved straight away
  • Needs approval — a manager approves each one
  • Off — members use the timer only

With Off, members see a short message where the manual-entry button was, and they can't send requests to log time by hand. A forgotten timer can still be corrected. Managers, owners and admins can always add time by hand.

Time-entry adjustment requests​

Turn on Time-entry adjustment requests to let members fix logged time by editing, trimming, moving or re-dating an entry. Then choose which actions need approval:

  • Trim logged time needs approval
  • Move / re-date logged time needs approval
  • Edit an entry needs approval
  • Log new time manually needs approval

Untick one to let members apply that action right away. Managers' own changes always apply right away. See Fix logged time for what members see.

Going over approved hours needs approval​

When this is on, time that would push a task or subtask past its approved hours isn't logged straight away. It goes to an approver first, and nobody loses the time they worked. Timers also stop at the approved limit. Tasks with no approved hours aren't affected, and Urgent tasks can still run over. See Approved hours.

Anyone can log time​

Anyone can log time on any task lets every member log time on every task. You can also turn it on for one space, list or task. See Who can log time.

Daily caps and sanity checks​

There's no daily hours limit to set. Instead, TaskFlow checks every entry typed by hand (on the task page, in the timesheet, and when editing an entry) and asks Does this look right? when:

  • a single entry is 12 hours or more;
  • the person's day would go over 24 hours;
  • the time range runs past midnight.

These are only checks. The person can click Log it anyway. Timers that run for more than 12 hours get a similar question when they're stopped. See Forgot to stop the timer?

Who approves time requests​

By default, any workspace manager can approve time requests. To send them to specific people, see Who approves what and Approval settings.