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Tracking time internally with Bonsai

How to track the time your team is spending on projects.

Updated over a week ago

Our time tracking features ensure that your time is tracked accurately, so your billing can be precise as a result.

Here, we'll guide you through the various options and features available for tracking time in Bonsai:

  • In-app time tracking

  • Manually entering tracked time

  • Tracking non-billable hours

  • Setting up a timer limit email notification

  • Using timesheets

  • Time tracking with Bonsai apps

In-app time tracking

Bonsai comes equipped with a built-in timer that allows to you keep track of the time being spent on tasks. Simply select 'Track Time' in the top righthand corner of your account to get started:

This will then take you to the following screen, prompting you to input the details that correlate with the time entry:

Once you’ve stopped the timer and submitted the details, the new entry will reflect on the Time Tracking page.

Manually entering tracked time

Time entries can be manually added on the Time Tracking page by selecting the 'Add Time' button:

Next, manually fill in the details related to your time entry to add it to your dashboard:

Tracking non-billable hours

Time entries can be marked as non-billable in just one click. On the Time Tracking page, simply hover over the value in the 'Billable' column and select the dollar sign icon:

Alternatively, you can click on the specific time entry and click on the Billing drop-down menu to switch from billable to non-billable.

Note: You are also able to add time tracked on specific tasks. We have an article here that explains this in more detail.

Utilizing Bonsai's timesheets and reporting features

Bonsai offers reporting and timesheets that you can utilize to see a holistic view of all of the time tracked throughout your account. Here are some ways that you can achieve this.

Using timesheets for time tracked

Timesheets provide a detailed breakdown of how much time each team member is spending on projects and their utilization rate.

To manually add any additional hours worked, navigate to Project Management > Timesheets and select 'Add Hours' to input the relevant details.

Account owners now have the capability to lock timesheets, preventing edits from being made by team members. To lock or unlock a user’s timesheet, simply hover over the righthand side of a time entry and select the lock icon that appears.

The lock icon will reflect for all team members:

Utilizing Reports for time tracked

By navigating to the Reports section of your Bonsai account, you'll be able to navigate through some of the reports by variety of different options. These range from viewing the Activity, the billable utilization, the profitability of your team/clients/projects, the forecast of your budgets and estimates, the health of your projects, and the time spent on tasks.

We are always looking at ways to improve our reporting structures, so keep an eye on this section for more updates in the future!

Customizing the rules of time tracking

We allow you to customize different rules for how you utilize time tracking from within Bonsai. Here is a brief overview of some of the rules you can change from within your Bonsai account.

Setting up a timer limit email notification

Add a custom email reminder for your time tracker to get notified when the timer runs longer than expected. This helps to prevent racking up irrelevant hours that you'll have to audit later.

To customize your timer navigate to your profile icon in the bottom lefthand corner > select Settings > select Notifications. Here you can set your custom limit:

Note: If you are looking to round the hours that are being added to invoicing, this is a guide here which explains how to do this from the invoice itself.

Tracking time on Bonsai apps

To track time using our apps, all you need to do is download the tool and sign in. Click here for a full list of the apps we have available on various platforms.

Any time tracking completed using these alternative options will automatically sync with your Bonsai account.

Who can track time?

Everyone who has a Bonsai account will be able to track time using Bonsai. This includes Project Managers, Collaborators, Partners, Subcontractors and those on our 'Limited' free plan.

If you have any questions about our Time Tracking with Bonsai, reach out to our Support team at support@hellobonsai.com.

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