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Grouping turns a long list into a readable summary. Instead of 400 time entries, you get one row per project, with the hours added up.

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The three layouts

You choose in the Layout section of the builder.

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How grouping works

Think of grouping as rows nested inside rows. You pick up to three dimensions in order. The first is the outer level. Every record falls into one bucket per level, and TimeTracker adds up the figures for each bucket. Group by Client, then Project, then Member, and you get:
Every level carries its own subtotal, and the levels add up. Bluebird’s 98 hours is 62 plus 36. The grand total is 238, which is 98 plus 140.
The nesting order is the reading order. Client → Project answers “which clients, and what within them”. Project → Client answers a different question and reads differently. Drag the levels to change it.

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How to group a report

1

Choose the Subgroups layout

Open Layout in the builder and pick Subgroups.
2

Open Grouping

The Grouping section becomes usable. On a Plain report it says: “Switch the layout to Subgroups to nest rows into grouping levels.”
3

Add a level

Use the dropdown below the list to add a dimension. Adding a level also adds it as a column, so the report shows what it groups by.
4

Reorder

Drag a level by its grip to move it. The top level is the outer one.
5

Remove

Click the X on a level to remove it.
6

Stop at three

Three levels is the cap. The add control is disabled once you reach it.
Only dimensions can be grouping levels. Figures cannot – you cannot group by “Reported time”.

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Reading a grouped report

Click a group’s subtotal to open the drill-down panel and see the individual records behind it. See /reports/build-a-report.
Totals always cover the complete filtered set, never just the rows on screen. If the report shows a banner reading “Showing one page of N records. Totals cover the complete filtered set.”, the numbers are still right.

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Date buckets

Dates are the one dimension where you choose the granularity. Every source offers five buckets: Group by Month, then Member, over a This year period, and you get a month-by-month breakdown of who worked when.
Buckets follow your workspace timezone and week-start day, so a “week” means the same thing here as it does on a timesheet. See /concepts/dates-times-and-timezones.

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Sorting a grouped report

Sorting applies to the columns on the report. Add up to three rules in the Sorting section, each with a column, a direction, and an Empty values first switch. Sorting by Reported time, descending, puts the busiest group at the top – which is normally what you want to read first.

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Pivots

A pivot is a matrix. You choose: Every cell is that figure for that row and column. The pivot also carries a total per row, a total per column, and one grand total. Member across Week, measuring Reported time:

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How to build a pivot

1

Add the columns you need first

A pivot draws its axes and metric from the report’s existing columns. Add at least two dimension columns and one figure column.
2

Switch the layout

Open Layout and pick Pivot. Three extra fields appear.
3

Set the axes

Choose Columns (X) and Rows (Y). Each menu hides the other axis’s current value, so the two can never be the same.
4

Set the metric

Choose the single figure every cell measures.
If a menu has nothing to offer, it tells you why: “Add at least two dimension columns to pivot.” or “Add a metric column to fill the matrix.”

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Pivot limits

A pivot report cannot be exported or printed yet. The Actions button is disabled with the tooltip “Export isn’t available for pivot reports yet.” Use the Plain or Subgroups layout if you need a file.
A pivot also uses its axes instead of grouping levels. The Grouping section says so: “Pivot reports use the X and Y axes in the Layout section instead of grouping levels.”

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Totals settings

Three switches in the Totals section:

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Example

Maya Ellis wants to know which Northwind Studio client took the most time this quarter, and who did the work.
1

Source and period

Time entries, This month.
2

Layout

Subgroups.
3

Grouping

Client, then Project, then Member.
4

Columns

Reported time, Billable time, Entries.
5

Sorting

Reported time, Descending.
Harbor Logistics tops the list at 140 hours, all on Mobile App, all from Jonas Bergman. Bluebird Coffee follows at 98 hours split across two projects. Maya clicks the Website Redesign subtotal and sees the entries that make up its 62 hours. To turn the same question into a week-by-week view, she switches the layout to Pivot, sets Rows (Y) to Member, Columns (X) to Week, and the metric to Reported time.

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Permissions

Grouping and pivoting need no extra capability. Two rules still apply:
  • Roster dimensions – Group, Manager, Job title, Employment type – need roster access, so they do not appear for a role that cannot read the roster.
  • The rows folded into every subtotal cover only the people your supervision scope reaches. If that is less than the whole workspace, a note above the table says “Covering 4 of 12 members – your role only sees the people you supervise.”
See /concepts/supervision-scope.

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What happens next

A grouped report exports with its nesting intact – the CSV and Excel files carry the subtotal rows, the detail rows and the grand total. Printing does the same. Only pivots are excluded. See /reports/export-a-report.

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Common questions

Three is the cap for both grouping and sorting. Beyond three the table is no longer readable, and the question is usually better answered with a filter.
Yes. Every level is a fold of the records beneath it, and the grand total is the fold of the whole filtered set. Group rows always add up, including the group dimension – somebody in several groups counts once, under their primary group.
No. Grouping is dimensions only. To band a figure, filter on it instead – for example Reported time is at least 8.
Day is explicit and always means a calendar day. The older plain Date field takes its granularity from the report’s period. New reports should use the explicit buckets.
Pivot export is not built yet. The button stays visible but disabled so you can see it exists. Switch to Subgroups to export the same data.

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Troubleshooting

Build a report

Every builder section in order.

Date ranges and periods

The window your buckets sit inside.

Metrics reference

What each subtotal is adding up.

Export a report

Nested exports, and why pivots are excluded.

Supervision scope

Why a subtotal may cover part of the roster.