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What
Set estimate time on tasks — think of it as a guideline for how long the work should take.
Why
  • Plan your resources from the outset by estimating how many hours each task should take.
  • Give team members a reference point for how long they should be spending on their assigned tasks.
  • Monitor utilization by comparing estimates to time logged against tasks.
Who
  • Site admins can view, set, and manage estimated time on tasks across all projects.
  • Standard users and client users with the project permission
    • View estimated time (allows users to view estimates on tasks they have access to on a project)
    • Add tasks (allows users to set and manage estimated time on tasks they create or update, as long as they also have permission to view estimated time)
When
Any time you're creating tasks on projects, set estimates for how long the work should take to complete.
What
Set estimated time on tasks — think of it as a guideline for how long the work should take.
Why
  • Plan your resources from the outset by estimating how many hours each task should take.
  • Give team members a reference point for how long they should be spending on their assigned tasks.
  • Monitor utilization by comparing estimates to time logged against tasks.
Who
  • Site admins can view, set, and manage estimated time on tasks across all projects.
  • Standard users and client users with the project permission
    • View estimated time (allows users to view estimates on tasks they have access to on a project)
    • Add tasks (allows users to set and manage estimated time on tasks they create or update, as long as they also have permission to view estimated time)
When
Any time you're creating tasks on projects, set estimates for how long the work should take to complete.

Estimated time versus logged time

  • Estimated time: The predicted amount of time it should take to complete a task.
  • Logged time: The cumulative time logged against the task by project members.

Set estimated time

Estimated time can be added to new tasks as they're created or to existing tasks.

The subsections below step through using estimated time in each of a project's task views (Table, List, Board).
 

Table view


  1. Click Jump to in Teamwork.com's main navigation menu.
  2. Search for and select a project.
  3. Switch to the project's Table tab. Table might be hidden under the More... option.
  4. Click the plus (+) on the table header row's right.
  5. Toggle on the Estimated time option.
  6. Scroll to the task you want to update. Have a lot of task lists? Select a task list heading from the left navigation panel to refine the tasks shown.
  7. Scroll horizontally to the Estimated time column alongside the task you're updating.
  8. Next:
    1. Set: Click the blank estimated time cell. Enter the estimated hours and minutes, then click Add estimate.

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    2. Update: Click the current estimated time value. Update the estimated hours and minutes, then click Add estimate.

List view

  1. Click Jump to in Teamwork.com's main navigation menu.
  2. Search for and select a project.
  3. Switch to the project's List tab. List might be hidden under the More... option.
  4. Hover over an existing task or click Add a task. Have a lot of task lists? Select a task list heading from the left navigation panel to refine the tasks shown.
  5. Next:
    1. Set: Click the hourglass icon in the floating actions bar. Enter the estimated hours and minutes, then click Add estimate.

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    2. Update: Click the current estimated time value on a task's right. Update the estimated hours and minutes, then click Update estimate.

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Board view

  1. Click Jump to in Teamwork.com's main navigation menu.
  2. Search for and select a project.
  3. Switch to the project's Board tab. Board might be hidden under the More... option.
  4. Scroll to the task (in a column) you want to update.
  5. Click the task card to open the task details panel.
  6. Next:
    1. Set: Hover over the task and click the pencil icon on the task name's left. Switch to the Progress & Time tab and enter the estimated hours and minutes. Click Save Changes.

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    2. Update: Click the current estimated time value on the task's right. Update the estimated hours and minutes, then click Update Estimate.
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View estimated time

Estimated time can be viewed from any task-based view on your site (either within a project or at site level).

The subsections below step through viewing estimated time in each of a project's task views (Table, List, Board). The same applies to site areas such as Everything -> Tasks and My work.

Table view

  1. Click the plus (+) on the table header row's right.
  2. Toggle on the Estimated time option.

Estimated time is added as a column in the project's Table view and can be viewed, set, or updated on an individual task basis.

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List view

In List view, each task's current estimated time (if set) is displayed on the task name's right. Hover over the estimated time to get a total roll up amount for the task and all of its subtasks.

An additional roll up is displayed on the task list's right which includes estimated time across all active tasks in the task list.

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Board view

In Board view, each task's current estimated time (if set) is displayed on the task card.

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Report on estimated time

Estimated time forms the basis of many reporting functions across Teamwork.com.

Best practices

  • Build habits: Make estimated time part of your project set up, planning for potential required hours on each task. 
    💡 Importing tasks to your projects from Microsoft Excel? Set estimated time in your spreadsheet before import.
  • Set informed estimates: Use task estimates from past work to help estimate the time required for upcoming tasks of a similar nature.
  • Review: Monitor logged time on tasks and compare how they're progressing versus the tasks' original estimates.