Track Time with Timers - Teamwork.com Support

✔ Available on all subscriptions.

What	Use timers as you work to track time with ease.
Why	Reduce manual effort by tracking time across different tasks as you work. Switch timers seamlessly as your work focus shifts throughout the day.
Who	Standard users and client users with the project permission (on at least one project): Log time (allows users to track time to the project and its tasks using any time tracking method)
When	Any time you're working on a project or task, especially if it's work you'll be billing for!

What	Use timers as you work to track time with ease.
Why	Reduce manual effort by tracking time as you work. Switch timers seamlessly as your work focus shifts throughout the day.
Who	Standard users and client users with the project permission (on at least one project): Log time (allows users to track time to the project and its tasks using any time tracking method)
When	Any time you're working on a project or task, especially if it's work you'll be billing for!

How do I start a timer in Teamwork.com?

Try in-app

There are multiple ways to start timers (options below), but via the Quick add menu is a favorite because it's so easily accessible.

Select + Quick add from Teamwork.com's main navigation menu.
Click Start timer.

💡 Want a keyboard shortcut? Press and hold q, then press s to get a timer running.
Select the project time should be tracked against. This step's required! Choose from projects you're a member of.
Choose a task. This one's optional, but we highly recommend it for more granular time tracking.
Add a description.
Select or clear Billable to choose how time is tracked.
Click Start timer. Now, work on your task or project while the timer runs!

When you're finished working, skip below to the "Log time from a timer" section to see what to do.

📝 You can also start a timer directly on a task from a project's List or Table view.

List: Hover over the task, click the clock () icon, then select Start timer.
Table: Hover over the Logged time field in the relevant task row, then click play ().

Can I use multiple timers?

Working on multiple tasks or project each day? Set up multiple timers so you can seamlessly switch between them as you work.

📝 While you can have multiple timers on screen, only one can be actively running at a time.

Each time you need a new timer, simply:

Select + Quick add from Teamwork.com's main navigation menu, or click + (Start timer) in the Timers panel.
Click Start timer and fill out the relevant project, task and other details.

Where do I find my timers?

View your timers

When you start a timer, it's docked in the top header next to Search. The header shows the running time and how many timers you have.

Click the timer in the header to open the Timers panel. The running timer shows its project, task (if set), tracked time, description and Billable setting. Your other timers are listed below it.

Undock the timers

Drag the timer out of the header, or click the Undock timer (pin) icon in the Timers panel, to show your timers in a floating panel instead.

How do I manage timers?

Manage which timer's currently running, as well as individual timers' details, directly from the Timers panel.

Pause	Click Pause to pause the running timer.
Resume	Click play (▶) on another timer to resume it. Only one timer runs at a time, so the running timer pauses.
Log time	Click Log time on the running timer, or stop (■) on another timer, to stop it and log the tracked time.
Edit	Click ⋮ (Options) on a timer and select Edit timer to update the associated project, task, or description.
Project	Click ⋮ (Options) on a timer and select Go to project to view the project.
Task	Click ⋮ (Options) on a timer and select Go to task to view the task.

Pause	Click Pause to pause the running timer.
Resume	Click play (▶) on another timer to resume it. Only one timer runs at a time, so the running timer pauses.
Log time	Click Log time on the running timer, or stop (■) on another timer, to stop it and log the tracked time.
Edit	Click ⋮ (Options) on a timer and select Edit timer to update the associated project, task, or description.
Project	Click ⋮ (Options) on a timer and select Go to project to view the project.
Task	Click ⋮ (Options) on a timer and select Go to task to view the task.

How do I delete a timer?

No longer need a timer you created? You can delete the timer (and its existing tracked time).

Open the Timers panel.
Click the ⋮ (Options) on the timer you want to delete.
Click Delete timer.

The timer is deleted immediately.

How do I log time from a timer?

Log the time tracked on one of your open timers.

Click Log time on the running timer, or the stop (■) icon on another timer, to open the Log time window.

Review the time log's details:

📝 These are populated automatically based on the details you set when starting the timer. Adjust them as necessary.

Date	Defaults to the current date. Click the date to open the date picker and select an alternative date.
Who	As the person who started the timer, you're the time log assignee by default. Your avatar shows beside the project. This can be switched to another project member, but we suggest each person be responsible for their own time tracking!
Task	If your timer is tracking time to a project (i.e. you didn't specify a task when starting the timer), you can choose a task within the project when logging the time.
Mark task as complete	If you're tracking time against a specific task, you can mark that task as complete once the time is logged.
Start time	Populated from the timer. Click the time to change it.
Hours and Minutes	Populated with the time tracked by the timer. Adjust either field if needed.
Mark as billable	Ensure the Mark as billable box is checked if the time being tracked is billable.
Description	Set or update the time entry's description. 💡 Set tags using short codes Type #tagname or #[multi-word tag name] in the description field.
Tags	Click Add time log tag and select one or multiple tags to be applied to the time log. 📝 Add up to 20 tags to an individual time entry. 20 tags is a lot — try and stick to tags that your team regularly leverages for reporting or tracking purposes.
Settings	Click the settings (gear) icon to turn on autofill for Tags from task or Description with project/task name.

Date	Defaults to the current date. Click the date to open the date picker and select an alternative date.
Who	As the person who started the timer, you're the time log assignee by default. Your avatar shows beside the project. This can be switched to another project member, but we suggest each person be responsible for their own time tracking!
Task	If your timer is tracking time to a project (i.e. you didn't specify a task when starting the timer), you can choose a task within the project when logging the time.
Mark task as complete	If you're tracking time against a specific task, you can mark that task as complete once the time is logged.
Start time	Populated from the timer. Click the time to change it.
Hours and Minutes	Populated with the time tracked by the timer. Adjust either field if needed.
Mark as billable	Ensure the Mark as billable box is checked if the time being tracked is billable.
Description	Set or update the time entry's description. 💡 Set tags using short codes Type #tagname or #[multi-word tag name] in the description field.
Tags	Click Add time log tag and select one or multiple tags to be applied to the time log. 📝 Add up to 20 tags to an individual time entry. 20 tags is a lot — try and stick to tags that your team regularly leverages for reporting or tracking purposes.
Settings	Click the settings (gear) icon to turn on autofill for Tags from task or Description with project/task name.

Click Log time.

The time is tracked to the selected project (or task) and can be viewed in the project's Time section.

What are the best practices for timers?

Create a routine: Start your day by going to My work to see what needs to be worked on, then start a timer for the appropriate task to keep track as you work.
Review timers at the end of the day: Before you log off for the day, log any recorded time on your open timers so that 1) you record time on the day you actually worked on something, and 2) you start fresh the next day.
Track time holistically: Use placeholder tasks to track common aspects of daily work not associated with any specific client project, allowing your team to track all parts of their day.

Ex. Create a task list called "Time Logs" and create tasks such as "Lunch," "Performance Reviews," "PTO" (personal time off), and "Meeting." Everyone can then run timers (or manually log time) on these tasks when needed.

Elevate

Efficiency: Use the Teamwork.com Timer Desktop App to keep all your timers in one place (and out of your workspace). This is especially helpful if you're tracking time on placeholder tasks (outlined in the Best practices section) for general daily work.

Frequently asked questions

Can more than one timer run at once?

No. You can have multiple timers on screen, but only one can run at a time.

Can I start a timer from a task?

Yes. In List view, click the clock icon and select Start timer. In Table view, click play in the Logged time field.

Knowledge Base