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Introduction to time tracking

What time tracking in teamspace does, how attendance time and project time work together and what you need it for.

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Zeiten – Überblick

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With time tracking you record two things in teamspace: when someone worked (attendance time) and what they worked on (project time) – the basis for working-time accounts, statutory record-keeping and project-accurate billing. You clock attendance with the time clock and book project time against projects; leave and sickness come along as absences. You use both independently or together – in the Organizer via the tabs Overview, My day, Project times and My leave.

Time tracking area with the tiles Overview, My day, Project times and My leave, plus Travel and Expenses
The "Time tracking" area – Overview, My day, Project times and My leave

Two kinds of time

teamspace draws a consistent distinction between two kinds of time – they answer different questions and never get in each other’s way:

  • Attendance time – an employee’s pure availability time, independent of any project. It is typically recorded by check-in/check-out (like a digital time clock) and kept to the minute. It answers the question: When was someone present?
  • Project time – the time booked against a specific project or task. It is the basis for client billing, post-calculation and utilisation. It answers the question: What was worked on?

Both kinds can be used in parallel – and for the full effect we recommend exactly that: the time matrix then warns you, for example, when the project time booked for a day differs noticeably from that day’s attendance time.

Why track time?

Three typical reasons to introduce time tracking:

  1. Billing clients – only recorded project time can be invoiced, whether as an activity report or via billing.
  2. Managing and paying staff – overtime accounts, supplements and preparatory payroll all build on clean attendance times.
  3. Legal requirements – the obligation to record working time (ECJ/Federal Labour Court) can be mapped in an audit-proof way using check-in/check-out and locking.

Finding your way around

Where to start: Begin with check-in/check-out – it takes two minutes to grasp. Project times come into play as soon as you want to allocate effort to individual projects.