Skip to main content

Time recordings

The page displays your time recordings and the days of the selected week. Days with no target working time are not displayed, unless there are time recordings for these days. The time recordings are grouped by days. On the given day, the time recordings are sorted by Start. If Start is not filled, the time recordings are sorted in the order of creation. At the time recordings the ratio of the recorded time to the target working time is displayed. On the days, the duration of the time recordings is summed up and the ratio to the target working time is displayed.

Create new time recordings​

Time recordings can be created in several ways:

  1. Stopwatch
    The stopwatch is called up by clicking on the Stopwatch icon on the upper right-hand side or using the keyboard shortcut Alt+S. A description can be entered in the opening box. Start the stopwatch with the corresponding action. With the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Enter the stopwatch is started directly. As soon as the stopwatch is running, it is displayed in the browser tab and next to the stopwatch. Save (Ctrl+Enter) creates a new time recording with start and end time and the entered description. Delete does not create a time recording.
  2. Create new time recording in the menu
    The big PLUS button in the page Recordings creates a new time recording for today. Start will default to the latest end.
  3. Create new time recording on the day
    In front of each day is a PLUS button. This button creates a new time recording on that day. Start will default to the latest end.
  4. Save & New
    In each time recording Save & Close or Save & New can be selected. Save & New can be found in the dropdown menu. The action saves the current time recording and creates a new one for the same day.
  5. Dashboard
    The PLUS button underlying each day of the Overview of time recordings will create a time recording for the respected day. The new time recording is immediately displayed and can be edited.
  6. Templates
    In the Templates page, templates for Time Recordings can be created and saved. The templates can be used to create or complete Time Recordings.
  7. Tasks
    The Tasks page displays all assigned tasks. Time Recordings can be created based on these tasks.
  8. Calendar
    In the Calendar page, all appointments from the Exchange Calendar will be displayed if the read permission has been granted. The appointments can be used to create Time Recordings. Alternatively, Time Recordings can be created by marking a period in the calendar.
  9. Copy
    Time Recordings can be copied using the Copy action in the context menu of the Time Recordings. When copying Time Recordings that were created in Azure DevOps or Jira, the connection to the related work item or issue is not copied.

Surcharges​

A surcharge is an additional fee applied for work performed outside regular business hours, such as evenings, nights, or holidays. DYCE Time Tracking automatically calculates surcharges based on the surcharge model defined in the Project in Business Central. For detailed information on configuring and managing surcharges, please refer to the Surcharges Documentation.

Whether surcharges are applied to a time recording is indicated in the activity field. If the activity displays the symbol $$, surcharges are applied. If only the symbol $ is shown, no surcharges are applied. If no activity is selected, surcharges are not applied.

Users can override the automatic surcharge calculation for individual time recordings by using the Disable surcharges toggle in the time recording. This option is available under the "show more" section of the time recording and can be set in cases where surcharges would normally be applied according to the project settings, but should be excluded for that specific entry.

Fields in time recordings​

Depending on the selected time recording mask and the configuration, the following fields are potentially displayed.

  • Start
  • End
  • Description
  • Customer
  • Project
  • Project task
  • Activity
  • Work Order
  • Duration
  • Status of time recording Time recordings are opened for editing with a single click.

The following fields are available in the input mask:

  • Start / End
    In Start a time is entered. The following entries are possible:
InputStart
nCurrent time
808:00
83008:30
0808:00
1515:00
153015:30

  • End
    End is calculated automatically when Start and Duration are entered. The input is analogous to Start.

  • Duration
    If the Start and End fields are filled in, the duration is calculated automatically. The break is subtracted from the duration.

InputDuration
11:00
1001:00
01001:00
010:10
0010:01
0100:10
1010:00
1301:30
01301:30
1,51:30

  • Break
    Break can only be filled if start and end are filled. The input is analogous to the duration.

  • Description
    Here a 16384 characters long description of the activity can be entered (16 * 1024). Via the pencil icon in the lower right corner of the description or the keyboard shortcut Alt + O an editor for the time recording can be opened.

  • Customer
    Selecting a customer will limit the possible selection of projects. Only Projects, that use this customer as Sell-to Customer in Business Central can be selected. If there is only one project, it will be entered automatically. The selection of customers corresponds to the customers in Business Central.

  • Project
    The selection of the project restricts the selection of project tasks. Projects are created in Business Central. In the time recording mask Simple, projects are not filtered by customer because the customer cannot be selected here.

  • Project task
    Select the specific task within the project you are working on. This field can trigger powerful automations to fill in other fields for you.

    How It Works:

    • Automatic Budget Selection: If the selected Project Task has only one associated budget (Project Planning Line), that budget is automatically selected in the background. This is the recommended setup for the fastest workflow.
    • Automatic Activity Selection: If a budget is selected automatically (as described above) and it is linked to only one Activity, then the Activity field will also be filled in for you automatically. In this ideal case, you only need to enter your duration and description.
    • Manual Selection via Activity: If the Project Task has multiple associated budgets, you must then select an Activity. The system uses your chosen Activity to find and link to the correct corresponding budget.

    Please Note:

    • The list only shows available project tasks. Locked or closed project tasks will not be available for selection.
    • The sorting of the project tasks in the list is based on the setup defined by your administrator.

  • Activity
    Activities are a combination of project planning lines (budget) and Time & Travel Model lines. The Time & Travel Model is selected in the Project Card in Business Central. Selecting the activity selects the project planning line (budget). The activity predefines whether the time recording can be invoiced and how the Billable Duration is rounded.

    info

    Activities indicate their billing status with the following symbols:

    • $ (green): Time recording is billable
    • $$ (green): Time recording is billable and surcharges apply
    • $ (grey and strikethrough): Time recording is not billable

  • Work Order
    Select the corresponding work order for this time recording. The Work Order field interacts with the Customer, Project, Project Task, and Activity fields to speed up your workflow:

    • Filtering: The list of available work orders is automatically filtered by the already selected Customer and Project.
    • Auto-filling: Conversely, selecting a Work Order first will automatically fill the Customer, Project, Project Task, and Activity fields with the values from that work order.
    • Search: You can search for a work order by typing in the field. The search includes the Work Order's No., Title, Id, and other related details.
    • View Details: Click the work order icon (available in the field and the lookup list) to open the detailed Work Order Card without leaving your time recording.

    Note: If the selected Work Order has a budget type of "Project", the related fields (Customer, Project, etc.) defined in the work order can no longer be changed in the time recording.

  • Selecting show more displays additional fields:

    • Date
      The date is automatically filled with the date of the day on which the time recording is created.

      The field supports a number of shortcuts:

      InputDuration
      MoDate of current weeks Monday
      TueDate of current weeks Tuesday
      tcurrent date (today)
      0101.01.current year
      010201.02.current year
      0102202201.02.2022
      01.02.202201.02.2022

    • Billable Duration
      The billable duration specifies the duration to be invoiced. The billable duration can be rounded and preset by the activity. If no activity is entered, the billable duration is automatically set equal to the duration. The user can set the billable duration manually and independently of the duration.

      Note: This duration can not be changed if surcharges are applied. In this case, the billable duration shows a "locked" symbol and is calculated as the sum of the duration and the surcharge duration.

    • Non-Billable Reason
      If the billable duration is smaller than the duration, a Non-Billable Reason is automatically entered. If the activity is entered, the Non-Billable Reason is determined from the Time & Travel Model line. If no activity is entered, the Non-Billable Reason will default to Internal.

    • Disable surcharges
      If the project has a surcharge model set, this toggle will appear. It can be manually adjusted to prevent surcharge calculation for a specific time recording.

Status of time recordings​

The status is displayed in each time recording. The status Incomplete is displayed, if one or more mandatory field are not filled. By completing the information, either the icon for Billable or Not Billable is displayed. If a time recording is not to be invoiced (billable duration is 0) it is marked as Not Billable. Otherwise, it will be considered as Billable.

Budget/quantity display in time recordings​

Time Recordings display the budgeted quantity of project planning lines and the amount of budget already used. This display allows you to see if and how many hours / days of the budget are still available.

By selecting an Activity, a Project Planning Lines Budget is selected. Through the Project Planning Lines Budget, both the budgeted and consumed quantity can be determined.

  • The total budgeted quantity is equal to the quantity in the selected Project Planning Lines Budget.
  • The consumed quantity is equal to the sum of the billable duration of all time recordings with status Open or Released belonging to the Project Planning Line Budget plus the sum of the quantities of all Project Planning Lines Billable, which belong to the selected Project Planning Line Budget.
    When posting Time Recordings, the quantity to be charged (quantity of Project Planning Lines Billable) can be changed. In addition, Project Planning Lines Billable can be created or the quantity increased without posting time recordings.

If no Activity is selected, the Project Planning Lines Budget cannot be determined. The display is calculated as follows:

  • The total budgeted quantity is equal to the sum of the quantity of all Project Planning Lines Budget with a Service Billing Type associated to the Project Task.
  • For the consumed quantity, the sum for the whole Project Task is also formed. Here, the calculation is applied to all Project Planning Lines Budget with a Service Billing Type (Time & Material, Budget, Fixed Price).

If there is only one Project Planning Line Budget for the Project Task, the display is identical with or without selected Activity.

The progress bar fills the closer the consumed quantity gets to the total quantity. When the total quantity is exceeded, the progress bar is proportionally colored red, if the Project Planning Line Budget has the Service Billing Type Budget or Fixed Price. In case of a 10% overrun, 10% of the bar is displayed in red. From an overrun of 100%, the bar is completely colored red.

For the Service Billing Type Time & Material, the bar is not colored because the budget is automatically increased when the time recordings are posted.

Released and posted time recordings​

Time recordings are approved by the project manager in the DYCE Project Billing in Business Central. Once released, time recordings can be posted. Accordingly, time recordings may not be changed after release. They will be grayed out to show that they cannot be edited.

Simultaneous Edit

If a time recording is edited simultaneously in Business Central and DYCE Time Tracking, a message about the conflict will be displayed to the user in DYCE Time Tracking and the changes will not be saved. A similar message is displayed if the time recording is released in Business Central while the user is editing it in DYCE Time Tracking.

Time zones​

DYCE Time Tracking takes the user's time zone (browser) into account. In Business Central, all Time Recordings are saved in UTC and displayed in the time zone of choice (s. My Settings - Time Zone). All users create their Time Recordings in their own time zone. The time zone is taken from the browser. No setup or conversion is necessary.

An appointment from 8:00 to 9:00 in Berlin (UTC+1) will start at different start times in different time zones.
In London (UTC), the appointment starts at 7:00 AM and ends at 8:00 AM.
In Dubai (UTC+4), the appointment starts at 11:00 AM and ends at 12:00 AM.
Users create Time Recordings in their local time zones.

All three Time Recordings are displayed in DYCE Time Tracking in the local time zones, respectively. In Business Central, the Time Recordings are displayed in the time zone that applies to Business Central. If Business Central works in UTC+1, the three Time Recordings are displayed from 8:00 to 9:00. This allows the user to create their Time Recordings for the appointment in their local time zone without having to calculate an offset. Business Central displays the Time Recordings for the appointment together according to the time zone set in Business Central.