Time Tracking

Tapioca’s time tracking helps you accurately record how you spend your work time. Whether you prefer automatic tracking, manual timers, or retroactive logging, Tapioca has you covered.

Time Tracking Methods

Timer (Real-time)

Start a timer when you begin work, stop it when you’re done.

[Screenshot: Timer in the header bar]

Starting a timer:

• Click the Start Timer button in the header
• Press T anywhere in the app
• Click the play icon on any task

Stopping a timer:

• Click the running timer display
• Press T again
• Timer auto-stops after configurable idle time

Manual Entry

Log time after the fact for work you forgot to track.

[Screenshot: Manual time entry form]

Duration formats accepted:

• 2h or 2 hours - 2 hours
• 30m or 30 minutes - 30 minutes
• 2h 30m - 2 hours and 30 minutes
• 2.5h - 2.5 hours (2h 30m)
• 2:30 - 2 hours, 30 minutes

IDE Plugin (Automatic)

Track time automatically while coding with our IDE plugins.

[Screenshot: IDE plugin status bar]

Supported IDEs:

• Visual Studio Code
• JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ, WebStorm, PyCharm, etc.)

How it works:

1. Install the Tapioca plugin for your IDE
2. Connect to your Tapioca account
3. Plugin detects active file and links to tasks via branch name
4. Time is tracked automatically while you code

See CLI Installation for plugin setup instructions.

The Timer Interface

Timer Display

The timer appears in the header when active:

[Screenshot: Active timer in header]

Information shown:

• Elapsed time (HH:MM:SS)
• Current task name
• Project color indicator

Quick actions:

• Click timer → Open timer details
• Click task name → Go to task
• Click pause → Pause timer
• Click stop → Stop and save

Timer Detail Panel

Click the timer to expand the detail panel:

[Screenshot: Timer detail panel]

Features:

• Change linked task
• Add notes while tracking
• View today’s time summary
• See active session history

Idle Detection

Tapioca detects when you’re away from your computer:

[Screenshot: Idle detection prompt]

When idle is detected:

1. Timer pauses automatically
2. When you return, a prompt appears
3. Choose to:
   • Keep time - Include idle time
   • Discard time - Remove idle period
   • Review - See details and decide

Configure idle detection in Settings → Time Tracking:

• Enable/disable idle detection
• Set idle threshold (5, 10, 15, 30 minutes)
• Default action for idle periods

Timesheet View

The timesheet provides a comprehensive view of your tracked time.

Weekly Timesheet

[Screenshot: Weekly timesheet view]

Features:

• Day-by-day breakdown
• Group by project or task
• Running totals
• Compare to targets

Daily Detail

Click any day to see detailed entries:

[Screenshot: Daily time entries]

For each entry:

• Task name and project
• Start and end time
• Duration
• Notes
• Edit/delete options

Time Entry Editing

Edit any time entry:

1. Click the entry in the timesheet
2. Modify start time, end time, or duration
3. Change linked task if needed
4. Update notes
5. Save changes

Time Reports

Generate reports to analyze how time is spent.

Report Types

Creating a Report

[Screenshot: Time report interface]

Exporting Reports

Export reports in multiple formats:

• PDF - For sharing and printing
• CSV - For spreadsheet analysis
• Excel - Formatted spreadsheet
• JSON - For integrations

Billable Time

Track which time is billable to clients.

Marking Time as Billable

At entry time:

• Toggle “Billable” when creating entries
• Default billable status per project

Bulk update:

1. Select entries in timesheet
2. Click “Mark Billable” or “Mark Non-Billable”

[Screenshot: Billable toggle on time entry]

Billing Rates

Set hourly rates for billing calculations:

• User rate - Default rate per user
• Project rate - Override rate for specific projects
• Task rate - Override rate for specific tasks

Go to Settings → Billing Rates to configure.

Break Detection

Tapioca can automatically detect breaks in your work.

How It Works

When the timer is running but you’re not active:

1. System detects inactivity period
2. Marks potential break in timeline
3. Prompts you to confirm or adjust

[Screenshot: Break detection banner]

Break Settings

Configure in Settings → Time Tracking → Breaks:

• Minimum break duration - How long before flagging (default: 15 min)
• Auto-detect breaks - Enable/disable
• Break categories - Lunch, coffee, meeting, etc.

Reviewing Breaks

Detected breaks appear in your timeline:

[Screenshot: Timeline with break markers]

• Accept - Confirm as a break
• Include - Add back to work time
• Split - Part break, part work

Approval Workflow

For organizations requiring timesheet approval.

Submitting Timesheets

[Screenshot: Timesheet submission]

Approval Status

For Approvers

If you approve timesheets:

1. Go to Time → Approvals
2. Review pending submissions
3. Click to see details
4. Approve or reject with comments

[Screenshot: Approval queue]

Time Analytics

Insights into your time tracking patterns.

Dashboard Widgets

Available time analytics widgets:

• Time by Project - Pie chart of project distribution
• Daily Patterns - When you typically work
• Productivity Trends - Week-over-week comparison
• Meeting Load - Time in meetings vs. focus time

[Screenshot: Time analytics dashboard]

Patterns & Insights

Tapioca analyzes your time data to provide insights:

• Peak productivity hours - When you’re most active
• Common interruptions - Patterns in context switching
• Estimate accuracy - How estimates compare to actuals

Keyboard Shortcuts

Integrations

Calendar Sync

Sync calendar events as time entries:

• Google Calendar
• Outlook Calendar

Events are suggested as time entries that you can accept or modify.

[Screenshot: Calendar sync suggestions]

Accounting Software

Export billable time to:

• QuickBooks
• Xero

See Integrations for setup instructions.

Best Practices

Troubleshooting

Timer Not Saving

If timer entries aren’t appearing:

1. Check internet connection
2. Look for error messages
3. Check browser console for errors
4. Try refreshing the page

Time Discrepancies

If tracked time doesn’t match expectations:

1. Check for paused/idle periods
2. Review break detections
3. Check timezone settings
4. Look for duplicate entries

IDE Plugin Not Tracking

If automatic tracking isn’t working:

1. Verify plugin is installed and enabled
2. Check authentication status
3. Ensure branch naming matches pattern
4. Check plugin logs for errors

Next Steps

• CLI Installation - Set up CLI and IDE plugins
• Tasks - Learn about task management
• Sprints - Organize work into sprints