# Time Tracker

Time Tracker records how staff spend their time — both work and breaks — against the projects and tickets they serve. It is built for shared, on-the-floor use, with per-user PINs and auto-locking so entries stay tied to the right person.

## Staff records

Time is logged against **staff records**. Each staff record has a name and can optionally be linked to a user in your organization. Linking to a user connects tracked time back to an existing member; leaving it unlinked lets you track people who do not need a full account. Views in the tracker are organized **per staff, per day**, so you can see one person's day at a time.

## Logging time

Every entry is either **work** or a **break**, and each is recorded against a project or a ticket so the time maps to real deliverables and accounts.

### Work vs. break

| Kind | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| Work | Productive time on a project or ticket |
| Break | Time away from work |

### Break categories

Breaks are organized into categories that are **emoji and colour coded** for quick visual scanning — a coffee break reads differently at a glance from a lunch break. There are **built-in** categories to get you started, and you can add **custom** categories to match how your team actually works.

### Two ways to record

You can capture time in whichever way suits the moment:

- **Live timer**: Start a timer and let it run while the work happens, then stop it when finished.
- **Manual entry**: Enter a time block after the fact when a timer was not running.

## PIN protection and auto-lock

Because the tracker is often used on a shared device, it protects entries with a per-user PIN and locks itself when idle.

- **Per-user PIN**: Each user has their own PIN, stored **hashed** rather than in plain text. The PIN gates entry so time is logged as the correct person.
- **Auto-lock**: After a set number of **idle minutes**, the tracker locks automatically, requiring a PIN to resume. This prevents one person's session from being left open for the next.

Configure the idle timeout to balance convenience against the risk of unattended sessions on a shared screen.

## Access control

Access to the Time Tracker is gated by the **`timetracker:view`** permission, associated with the **Time Tracker Operator** role. Only people granted this permission can open and use the tracker. Assign it to the staff who run time-tracking; everyone else is kept out. Role and permission assignment is covered in [Members, roles & groups](/docs/admin/members-and-roles).

## Getting started

1. Grant **`timetracker:view`** (Time Tracker Operator) to the people who will run the tracker.
2. Create **staff records**, linking them to users where appropriate.
3. Review the **break categories** — keep the built-in ones and add **custom** categories your team needs.
4. Set the **auto-lock idle timeout** and have each user set a **PIN**.
5. Log time with the **live timer** during the day, or via **manual entry** afterward, always choosing a project or ticket and marking each entry as **work** or **break**.
6. Review time **per staff, per day** to check coverage and accuracy.

## Related

- [Projects & roadmaps](/docs/admin/projects-and-roadmaps)
- [Resource planner](/docs/admin/planner)
- [Members, roles & groups](/docs/admin/members-and-roles)
- [Monthly reports](/docs/admin/reports)