Welcome to Time Recorder Pro

This document covers some of the features, setup steps, and common uses of Time Recorder Pro. It highlights the differences between the free and premium versions and shows the additional features that become available when upgrading to the paid version. Additionally, premium users gain access to more comprehensive documentation in the Time Recorder PM application.

HOW TO SIGN UP

To create a Time Recorder Pro account, open Time Recorder PM and click "Create Account."

Time Recorder PM

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

• Modern web browser (Chrome 70+, Firefox 65+, Safari 12+, Edge 79+, Opera 57+)
• Stable internet connection (only required for user interactions)

Data Storage

How data is stored depends on whether you are using the free or premium version of Time Recorder Pro. The premium version stores all time entries in a cloud-based database, ensuring information is available across all devices and centrally managed by the Project Manager. The free version stores data within the web browser, which is adequate for small use cases. Because browser storage is limited and can effect the performance of the application, the free version only stores the last five days of time entries. However, it also allows the user to download time reports for historical purposes.

GETTING STARTED

The free version of the Time Recorder can be accessed at the following link:

Time Recorder Free

SHORTCUT KEYS

To access a list of shortcut keys in the free or premium version, press:

Ctrl + Alt + /

RECORDING TIME

Recording time with Time Recorder Pro is designed to be simple and intuitive in a few simple steps: 1) Create a task; 2) Select the task; and 3) Start recording time.

To start, click on the "Recorder" tab and create a new task. This could be done by clicking the task dropdown that says: "Select a task to begin..." and select "Add Task." Or you could click the vertical ellipsis button and click "Add Task," or press: Ctrl + Alt + N. This displays the Add / Edit Task Dialog. Once a task is created, it can be selected in the task dropdown menu. Then click the start button to begin recording time. Alternatively, you could use shortcut keys and press Ctrl + Alt + T to select the task and Ctrl + S to start or stop recording time.

Add / Edit Task Dialog

The task dialog provides a way to enter and edit the details for a task. In the free version, all tasks are grouped under a single Default Project, and new tasks are automatically added there. The premium version expands this capability, allowing Project Managers to use Time Recorder PM to create multiple projects and assign them to different teams.

Each task also has a status. When a task is put in a "Completed" or "Canceled" status, it is removed from the application. In the premium version, these are still tracked behind the scenes to track project progress and for historical analysis.

The priority field controls the order tasks appear in the dropdown list. For example, a priority of 1 places a task near the top of the list, while a priority of 7 pushes it lower.

The notes section provides space to record additional details about the task and its progress, enabling a team to keep a clear record of the work as it progresses.

The premium version of this dialog includes additional features, such as the ability to schedule tasks for a specific amount of time within a date range. If you are overscheduling yourself, it will notify you of the amount.

History Tab

The history tab displays all the time entries for the current day. It also allows you to select a previous date and review the entries recorded on that date.

Mistakes or omissions sometimes happen—for example, forgetting to stop a recording or missing an entry altogether. The Time Recorder makes it easy to correct mistakes by allowing you to delete, edit, or manually create time entries:

• Deleting a time entry excludes it from reports and totals. Under the history tab, these entries appear with a strikethrough. This is useful if you forgot to stop a recording and need to remove the entry.
• Editing a time entry excludes the original entry and replaces it with a new manual entry.
• Manual entries are shown in red italics to distinguish them from normal entries. On reports, manual entries are clearly marked with information about who created them.

Details Tab

When using Time Recorder Free, the details tab provides a more convent way to view and update the task status and notes. In the premium version, this tab provides additional information about the task's progress.

Settings Tab

The settings tab provides several important tools for managing your Time Recorder experience:

• Generate Reports - Download a report of time entries within a selected date range. Each report includes both a summary and a detailed breakdown of all time entries within the selected period.
• Theme Selection - Choose between a light or dark theme to customize the application's appearance according to your preference.
• Clear Browser Cache - This option permanently deletes all locally stored time recordings by clearing the browser cache. Use this feature with caution, as once deleted, these records cannot be recovered.
• Display the current task's status at the bottom of the window.

The premium version provides additional tools and features, including:

• Time Utilization - How much of the user's day is scheduled, including whether the user is overscheduled.
• Daily Progress - How much of the current scheduled work for the day is completed.

Time Recorder PM

Time Recorder PM is the project management application for Time Recorder. It gives the Project Manager access to the same time reports, in addition to a centralized dashboard, project management, user management, and other management tools.

• User availability - The Project Manager is able to select a date range to see all user's available hours during a period of time. This enables the Project Manager to plan projects and assign users to tasks who have free time.
• Over-scheduled warnings - If the Project Manager overassigns a user, it will display a warning with the amount of time the user is overscheduled.
• Comprehensive calculations - The project management application automatically considers a user's schuduled time, time off, company time off, and scheduled tasks accross all projects, when determining whether a user is overscheduled.
• Monitor remote workers - Monitor remote worker's completed and working tasks.
• Monitor project progress and budget - Monitor whether users are staying within the forecasted time and budget.
• Retrospectives - After projects are completed, they are temporarily archived so the Project Manager can plan future projects, or discover process improvements, based on previous data.