Time tracking is one of the most fundamental aspects of professional services. Without accurate time tracking, the services team will likely not invoice the correct amount of revenue and the business will underperform.
Ruddr provides a flexible and simple time entry experience. There are multiple ways to enter time so that you can pick the approach that best suits your preferences.
Time Entry Format
Each Ruddr workspace has a default time entry format option that is set by the Workspace Admin (Figure 1). This option provides a choice between clock format (1:30) and decimal format (1.5). Note that this format only affects time entry screens -- all other areas of Ruddr, such as reports and invoices, will always use the decimal format.
Figure 1 - Workspace Admin Settings for Displaying Time Formats in Time Entry
Timers
With Ruddr you can manually type (Figure 2) in the amount of time you worked on a project or you can run a timer (Figure 4). With manual time entry, you simply key in the amount of time that you worked. You can enter this time in either clock format (1:30) or decimal format (1.5) and Ruddr will automatically convert to your workspace's preferred format (Figure 1).
Figure 2 - Manually Type in your Time Entry
If you'd prefer to have Ruddr time how long you are working on a task, you can use the integrated timer feature that is available from the header bar (Figure 3). For more information, see the Ruddr Help Center article The Time Overlay Window. Once you start a timer, Ruddr will keep your timer running even if you close the browser window or shut down your computer.
Figure 3 - Access the Timer from the Header Bar
Figure 4 - Utilizing the Integrated Timer to Track Time
Any time you start a new timer, Ruddr will automatically pause any existing timer that you have running. This allows you to quickly move from one task to the next without having to remember to stop a running timer. You can only have one running timer per workspace member at any given time.
Time Entry Options
Since there are many types of professional services companies and projects, Ruddr offers multiple ways to track your time. If you work on several projects and tasks throughout the day, you will likely prefer to track time via the day view. But, if you tend to track a fixed 8 hours per day to a single client (such as with a staff augmentation assignment), you'll find it more efficient to track time via the week view.
Ruddr provides the following options for tracking your time:
- Day View - The day view screen allows you to navigate to a specific day and track all of your time entries for that day. The day view offers the most granular approach to time tracking.
- Week View - The week view allows you to supply a total number of hours per day for a project (or project/task) for each day of a given week.
- Month View - The month view shows a comprehensive summary of a month's time entries. You are provided with a total number of hours per day and can click on any day to navigate to that day's entries.
- List View - The list view shows a scrollable list of all of your time entries. You can scroll backward and forward through all of the time entries you have ever entered into Ruddr. Clicking on an entry in the list view brings up the same time entry drawer as is shown on the day view.
- Overlay screen - From any screen within Ruddr, you have quick access to your time entries via the time overlay screen. This allows you to access your time entries without leaving the area of Ruddr you are currently working in. You bring up this overlay screen by clicking on the timer area (with the Ruddr logo) in the header bar (Figure 3).
- Ruddr Apps - You can create and manage your time entries directly within Slack or our MacOS app. To record time via Slack, you must have the Slack integration enabled for your workspace and your Ruddr workspace member must be connected to your Slack user. This can be done by your Workspace Admin.
Time View Controls
When you bring up any of the time view screens, you will have three selector controls at the top of the screen (Figure 5). These are your date selector, view selector, and teammate selector.
Figure 5 - Time Selector Controls at the top of Time View Screens
Date Selector
The date selector (Figure 6) varies depending on the view that you are on. For the day view and list view, the date selector always contains a single date. For the week view, the selector contains a seven-day range. For the month view, the selector contains an entire month.
Figure 6 - Data Selector
To change the selected date (or date range), simply click on the current date in the selector and a calendar will display (Figure 7). You can then select the desired year, month, and day.
Figure 7 - Specify a Date or Date Range for Viewing / Editing Time Entries
View Selector
The view selector (Figure 8) is at the top-middle area of the time screen and allows you to easily switch between the month, week, day, or list views. While you will primarily use the day or week view for time entry, you will benefit from using the month or list view to review and validate your time entries.
Figure 8 - Leverage the View Selector to Toggle Time Entry Views
Teammates Selector
To the right of the view selector, is a teammates drop-down (Figure 9) that allows you to engage with the time screen as another member of your workspace. This means that you can create, edit, and delete time entries for the selected workspace member. You will only see the teammates drop-down if you have member-level Administer time and expenses permissions set on your security role.
Figure 9 - Administer Time Entries for Other Members in your Workspace
Simply select a teammate from the list and you will interact with all of the time views as if you were that person. Note that any changes you make to a time entry on behalf of another member will be reflected in the history of that entry.