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Every report can leave TimeTracker as a file. Open the report, click Actions, and pick a format.

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The four options

Print is not gated and is not the PDF path. Use Export PDF when you need a file you can send; use Print for a quick paper copy.

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How to export

1

Open the report

Go to Reports and click the report you want.
2

Open the Actions menu

It sits at the top right of the report.
3

Pick a format

Export CSV, Export Excel, Export PDF or Print.
4

Wait, or carry on

A small CSV downloads straight away. Everything else is prepared in the background and you are told when it is ready.

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Small exports and big ones

A small CSV is built immediately and downloads on the spot. Anything larger, and every Excel and PDF export, is prepared in the background. You get a toast instead of a frozen screen:
Preparing your export. We’ll notify you here when it’s ready to download.
The notification arrives in your inbox when the file is ready. See /notifications/inbox.
The cut-off is 5,000 rows. At or below that a CSV builds inline; above it the export is queued. Excel and PDF are always prepared in the background.

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What is in the file

An export runs the saved report – the same source, period, columns, filters, grouping and sorting – over the complete filtered set, not just the page you can see. The totals row is fed from the same calculation the screen uses. The number on your screen, in the CSV, in the Excel file, in the PDF and in a scheduled email are one figure – identical to the cent.
A temporary period or filter override in the viewer does not reach the export. The export always runs the saved report. If you want the tweaked version as a file, click Save as new report first, then export that.

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File names

All three formats use one naming rule:
Hours by project exported on 14 July becomes hours-by-project-2026-07-14.csv. The same report as Excel is hours-by-project-2026-07-14.xlsx. Names are lowercase, with anything that is not a letter or number collapsed to a hyphen, so repeat downloads sort together in a folder. Excel workbooks also get a readable worksheet name, taken from the report name and trimmed to what Excel allows.

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Non-English characters

CSV files are written with a UTF-8 marker so Excel on Windows reads names, clients and descriptions correctly instead of mangling accented characters.

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Exports and permissions

An export is built under your permissions, at the moment you request it.
  • A column your role cannot see is never in the file. It is not blanked, it is not present.
  • The rows cover only the people your supervision scope reaches.
This is the same firewall the screen uses, applied on the server. There is no way to export a figure you cannot see on screen.
The reverse also matters. If you can see cost and margin, they are in the file you download – and in anything you forward. Check before sending an export outside the business.

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What cannot be exported

The control stays visible rather than disappearing, so you can see the option exists and why it is unavailable.

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Printing

Print opens your browser’s print dialog. TimeTracker strips the sidebar, the toolbar and the builder panel, so only the report prints. A grouped report prints with its full structure – subtotal rows, detail rows and the grand total – the same document the CSV and Excel exports produce. Pivot reports have no print output, for the same reason they have no export.

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Example

Daniel Okafor needs Northwind Studio’s July hours for Bluebird Coffee, to attach to an invoice email.
1

Open the report

He opens Bluebird hours – weekly.
2

Check the window

The context strip shows This month, which is what he wants.
3

Export

Actions → Export PDF. The toast says it is being prepared.
4

Download

A notification arrives in his inbox with the file, named bluebird-hours-weekly-2026-07-31.pdf.
Because Daniel holds invoice and billing access, the PDF carries the Revenue column. If Sarah Lin exported the same report, her file would have the hours but not the money.

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Permissions

Out of the box, only Owner and Admin hold report.export. Project Manager, Finance, Member, Contractor and Client do not. Exporting is also a Pro feature. The three export items stay listed on Free and carry a Pro badge; clicking one opens the upgrade dialog rather than failing. Print is never gated.
report.export never implies cost access. Someone who can export but cannot see cost gets a file with no cost columns in it.

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What happens next

  • A small CSV lands in your downloads folder immediately.
  • A queued export appears in your inbox when it is ready.
  • Exported files are kept for a limited time. Once that window passes, run the export again.

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Common questions

Every row in the filtered set. The page limit only affects what is drawn on screen.
Yes, exactly. All three, plus the screen and any scheduled email, come from one calculation.
Excel and PDF are always built in the background. That is what keeps a large export from timing out.
Yes, if you can open it and hold report.export. It is built under your permissions, not theirs.
Cost and revenue columns are gated per role. The file mirrors what you can see.
Not yet. Switch to the Subgroups layout, which carries the same data with subtotals.
Schedule it. See /reports/schedule-a-report.

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Troubleshooting

Schedule a report

Get the same file automatically.

Report permissions

Why your file may have fewer columns.

Saved reports

Save a tweaked view before exporting it.

Export your data

Taking everything out, not just one report.

Export formats

The formats TimeTracker writes.