Skip to main content

Project Time Tracking

Project time tracking allows organizations to monitor time spent on specific projects, tasks, and client work. This feature integrates seamlessly with flair's overall time tracking system, providing detailed insights into project profitability and resource allocation.

Enabling Project Time Tracking

Before employees can track time against projects, administrators need to enable and configure project time tracking.

Prerequisites

  • Time tracking must be enabled in your organization
  • Employees must have time tracking permissions
  • Projects must be created in Salesforce

Enabling the Feature

To enable project time tracking for an employee, open the flair HR app on Salesforce. Search for an employee using the main search bar or by clicking on an employee's name in the Employees tab.

Find employees in Salesforce for whom you want to enable project time tracking

From the employee record, click the More tab and select the Time And Workload option. If the employee already has an active workload, you need to end it before setting up a new workload.

First you must end the existing employee workload

Now click Add New Workload and in the Time Tracking Type field, select "Time Tracking and Project Tracking" from the dropdown.

Make sure the new employee workload starts immediately after the previous one and choose the correct Time Tracking Type

  • Project selection required: Make project selection mandatory for all time entries
  • Task tracking: Enable tracking at task level within projects
  • Client tracking: Track time by client/customer
  • Billable hours: Mark certain projects as billable

Permission Configuration

Ensure users have the appropriate permissions:

  1. Navigate to Permission Sets or Profiles
  2. Grant access to:
    • Project object: Read access at minimum
    • Project Time Entry object: Create, read, edit

Creating Projects

Administrators and project managers can create projects that employees will track time against.

Basic Project Creation

  1. Use the App Launcher 𓃑 to navigate to Projects
  2. Click New to create a new project

Creating a new project in Salesforce

  1. Fill in the project details:
    • Project Name: Descriptive name (e.g., "Website Redesign Q1 2024")
    • Project Code: Short identifier (e.g., "WR-Q1-2024")
    • Client/Customer: Associated client (if applicable)
    • Start Date: Project start date
    • End Date: Expected completion date (optional)
    • Status: Active, Planned, On Hold, Completed
    • Budget Hours: Estimated total hours
    • Billable: Whether this is a billable project

Advanced Project Settings

Cost Center Assignment

  • Assign projects to specific cost centers
  • Track project costs against budget
  • Generate financial reports by project

Project Team

Create segments of employees to assign projects to

  • Assign team members who can track time to the project
  • Define project roles (lead, member, contributor)
  • Set hourly rates per team member (for billing)

Billing Configuration

  • Billable rate: Hourly rate for client billing
  • Internal cost: Internal cost per hour
  • Billing type: Hourly, fixed fee, or not billable
  • Invoice settings: Integration with invoicing systems

Tracking Time on Projects

Employees can track their time against projects through various interfaces.

In the Employee Hub

Method 1: Submit Hours by Project

Employees can view their projects in the Employee Hub by selecting Time > Projects from the left sidebar.

Project time tracking in the Employee Hub (view by projects)

  1. Navigate to Time > Projects in the Employee Hub
  2. Select a project to track time against
  3. Optionally select a Task within the project
  4. Click Clock In
  5. All time tracked will be associated with the selected project
  6. When switching projects, clock out and clock in to the new project

Method 2: View By Days

The Days view provides the additional option to add notes and assign a cost center to time entries.

View By Days allows you to add notes and cost centers to project time entries

In Salesforce

  1. Navigate to Time Entries
  2. Click New
  3. Fill in the time entry:
    • Employee: Select yourself or another employee
    • Date: Date of work
    • Hours: Hours worked
    • Project: Select the project
    • Task: Select the task (if applicable)
    • Description: What you worked on
    • Billable: Mark if billable hours
  4. Save the entry

Manager View

Managers can view an overview of project time entries by opening the Team > Time Management > Projects tab in the Employee Hub.

Managers can see overall project progress in the Employee Hub

Adding Descriptions and Notes

Always add meaningful descriptions to project time entries:

  • What you did: Brief description of work completed
  • Progress: What was accomplished
  • Blockers: Any issues encountered
  • Next steps: What's planned next

This information is valuable for:

  • Project reporting
  • Client billing justification
  • Team communication
  • Performance reviews

Project Reports

Generate comprehensive reports:

Time by Project

  • Total hours per project
  • Breakdown by team member
  • Task-level detail
  • Timeline views

Billable vs. Non-Billable Hours

  • Client billable time
  • Internal/administrative time
  • Overhead allocation

Time Entry Approvals

Configure approval workflows for project time:

  1. Employee submits time entry for project
  2. Project manager reviews and approves
  3. Client approves billable hours (optional)
  4. Finance approves for billing (if applicable)

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Project not appearing in dropdown

  • Verify project status is "Active"
  • Check user permissions for the project
  • Ensure project start date is not in future
  • Refresh the page/app

Can't track time to project

  • Verify project time tracking is enabled
  • Check that you're assigned to the project team
  • Ensure project hasn't ended
  • Contact your project manager

Time not showing in reports

  • Verify time entry was approved
  • Check report date range includes the entry
  • Ensure correct project filter is applied
  • Refresh the report