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Every new workspace arrives with five reports already built. Open one, read the answer, and change it if you want something else.

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What is a report template?

A template is an ordinary saved report that TimeTracker created for you. It carries a Template chip in the library, and nothing else about it is special. You can:
  • Open and run it
  • Change its period or filters temporarily
  • Edit it, if you have the rights
  • Duplicate it
  • Share it, schedule it or export it
  • Archive it if you never want to see it again
Templates are not locked. If Hours by project is nearly right but you want it grouped the other way round, change it and save – or duplicate it first and change the copy.

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The five starter reports

All five arrive as Shared reports, so the whole workspace reads the same numbers.

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1. Time detail

Every time entry from the last 30 days – who logged it, what they logged it against, and whether it is billable.
Use it for: checking what was actually logged, chasing a suspicious entry, or handing an auditor the raw detail.

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2. Hours by project

Where this month’s hours went, per project and client, split into billable and non-billable.
Use it for: the Monday-morning question of where the team’s time went.

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3. Unbilled work

Billable work you have not invoiced yet, per project and client. Non-billable time is filtered out.
Use it for: the money still on the table before you raise this month’s invoices.
The billable filter is part of the question, not a preference. Without it the totals would mix in time that was never going on an invoice, and the number would mean nothing.

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4. Budget vs actual

What each project was budgeted, what it has cost so far, and what it has earned – so you can spot the ones going underwater early.
Use it for: catching a project going over before it becomes a conversation with the client.
This report is on the Projects source, not Time entries – and it has to be. A time entry has no idea what the project was budgeted, so the budget family cannot be worked out from time entries at all. See /reports/report-sources.

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5. Unpaid invoices

What each client still owes you, split by how long the invoice has been outstanding.
Use it for: the receivables chase. The client with the biggest balance is at the top; the aging columns tell you who to call first.

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How to use a template

1

Open Reports

The five templates are already in the library, each with a Template chip.
2

Open one

Click the row. The report runs live against your current data.
3

Try a different window

Change the Period control at the top. This is temporary – the saved report is untouched.
4

Keep the change

If you want to keep it, click Save as new report and give it a name. The template is left as it was.
5

Or edit the template itself

With the right permissions, opening a template gives you the full builder. Change it and click Save changes.

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Why only five

The starter set is deliberately small and weighted towards time and money – the two questions a service business has on day one. A larger set was tried and cut. A brand-new workspace has no invoices, no expenses, no timesheets and no leave, so a long list of starter reports greeted every signup with a wall of empty tables. Five is the number that all say something useful as soon as somebody tracks an hour. Two of the five will still be empty on day one – Unpaid invoices needs an invoice, and Budget vs actual needs a budget – but both fill in the moment you have them.

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Example

Maya Ellis sets up Northwind Studio on a Monday. The library already holds all five templates. By Friday, once the team has tracked a week:
  • Time detail lists every entry, newest first, including Sarah Lin’s 3 hours on “Homepage wireframes”.
  • Hours by project shows Website Redesign on 62 hours and Mobile App on 88.
  • Unbilled work shows the billable time not yet on an invoice, worth reading before Daniel Okafor raises anything.
  • Budget vs actual shows the $40,000 Website Redesign budget against tracked cost and value.
  • Unpaid invoices is still empty, because Northwind has not sent one yet.
Priya Raman wants the same view for Bluebird Coffee only. She duplicates Hours by project, adds a Client is Bluebird Coffee filter, renames it Bluebird hours – weekly, and saves.

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Permissions

Editing or duplicating also needs a Pro plan, because it saves a report definition. Opening and reading a template is free. Financial columns behave exactly as they do everywhere else. A template with cost columns does not render them for a role that cannot see cost – no template carries its own permission rules. See /reports/report-permissions.

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What happens next

Once a template is useful, keep it working for you:

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Common questions

Yes. Use the three-dot menu to archive it, or move it to the Trash. Archiving is enough to get it out of the default list.
Not automatically. Duplicate it first if you want to keep the original shape.
Templates are seeded once. A workspace keeps the reports it has, edits and all.
It needs a project budget. Set one on the project and the report fills in. See /budgets/set-a-project-budget.
Either you have not sent an invoice, or you lack invoice access. The Invoices source needs invoice.manage.
Shared. Everyone with report access sees them and reads the same numbers.

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Troubleshooting

Build a report

Go beyond the templates.

Saved reports

Rename, duplicate and archive.

Report sources

Why Budget vs actual is on the Projects source.

Schedule a report

Have a template emailed on a cadence.

Plans and features

What Free covers and what Pro adds.