22.4. Track Time with the Timer and Time Entries

Capture time while doing the work so billing staff do not have to reconstruct a site visit from a calendar appointment. For a Microsoft 365 issue at Northstar Accounting, start the ticket timer when troubleshooting begins and save a clear work note when you finish.

These instructions cover mobile app 1.6.1. You need access to the ticket, permission to log time, an available service, and a connection to the server when starting or saving. A service categorizes the time for billing, so agree with the service manager which service to use before the visit.

Start the ticket timer

1. Open the ticket and tap Start timer.
2. If prompted, choose a service in Pick a service.
3. Look for the timer-started message and the running elapsed time.

Your service choice is remembered for later starts. Review it when saving if you have moved from one kind of work to another.

The active timer session is held on the server. Leaving the ticket, opening another app, or putting the phone away does not stop it. On returning, the app refreshes the active session. Keep that distinction in mind when driving to the next appointment or handing the work to a colleague.

Use the timer chip while moving around the app

The compact header chip displays elapsed time across the app's main screens. Tap the elapsed-time portion to return to the timed ticket, or the stop icon to open Stop timer. On the ticket itself, Stop timer · … opens the same form.

If another ticket already has your running timer, the ticket chip says Timer running elsewhere. Tap it to review and stop the current session. When the stop form says A new timer will start on this ticket after saving, saving the old entry starts the new ticket timer. Confirm the ticket shown in each step to avoid recording overlapping work.

Stop and save the time entry

1. Open Stop timer from the ticket or header chip.
2. Check the ticket, start time, and elapsed duration.
3. Review Service, which is filled from the timer session, and Billable, which starts selected. Change either as appropriate for the work.
4. Enter Notes that explain what you did, for example “Recreated the Outlook profile and verified shared mailbox access with the user.”
5. If needed, use Adjust end time and set End date and End time to the actual finish. The end must follow the start; the app rejects an end more than 15 minutes ahead.
6. Tap Stop & save.

Wait for Time entry saved and check that the timer has stopped, or moved to the new ticket if you requested a switch. Opening the stop form alone does not stop the timer. Keep running returns to work without saving an entry. A session shorter than a minute is shown as a zero-minute entry, so review the duration.

If saving fails, read the error and confirm the current timer state before retrying. A session may also have been stopped on another device. Do not add a second manual entry until you have checked whether the first entry exists.

Add time manually

Use manual entry when you forgot to start a timer or need to record work already completed.

1. Open the ticket and tap Add time, or use Add time entry in Logged Time.
2. Select Service.
3. Set Date, Start, and End. Use Min to adjust the duration if that is easier, then recheck the times.
4. Add Notes (optional) with enough detail for review.
5. Tap Save time entry and check the confirmation.

The manual ticket form creates billable time and has no Billable switch in 1.6.1. Use the web time-entry workflow when you need to enter or correct non-billable manual time. The timer's stop form does provide a billable choice.

Manual entries use one date and require the end time to follow the start. Check the prefilled interval instead of accepting it as a record of the actual visit.

Check time on the ticket and across the period

Expand Logged Time on the ticket to review My entries and the available information about Other team members. Depending on your access, other technicians' work may appear as a count and total rather than named entries.

Open Time Entries from the menu for your current period:

Pull to refresh after saving. If no time period is configured, the screen says it is showing the current month. This mobile screen is a review list; use the web app for period administration, editing, submission, and approval workflows.

At the end of the Northstar Accounting visit, check both the ticket's Logged Time and Time Entries, and confirm no timer is still running. For the broader time-entry process, see 4.2. Log Time Against Tickets, Project Tasks, or Ad-Hoc Work Items.