> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.timetracker.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Add time manually

> Log hours after the fact in TimeTracker. Use the duration or start-and-end form, fill a week grid, or draw an entry on the calendar.

You do not have to run a timer. You can type hours in whenever you like, and the
result is exactly the same kind of time entry.

## When to use it

* You forgot to start the timer.
* You are filling in yesterday, or the whole week.
* The work happened away from a screen – a client call, a site visit.
* You are catching up before submitting a timesheet.

## The Add entry form

The form is the same everywhere it opens. Its title is **Add entry** and it says
"Log time by a duration or an explicit start and end."

It has two tabs.

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Duration">
    Three fields: **Date**, **Start**, and **Duration**.

    Type the duration as `H:MM` – for example `1:30` – or as decimal hours, for
    example `1.5`. Both mean one and a half hours.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Start & end">
    Three fields: **Date**, **Start**, and **End**.

    Use this when you know the clock times. The end must be after the start.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

Below the tabs, every entry has the same fields:

| Field              | Notes                                                                                       |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Project / task** | Search projects and tasks. **No project** is allowed unless your workspace requires a task. |
| **Description**    | Free text. Placeholder "What did you work on?".                                             |
| **Billable**       | A switch. New manual entries start **on**.                                                  |

Then **Cancel** and **Save entry**.

## Add an entry from the Time page

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Time">
    Click **Time** in the sidebar.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Move to the right period">
    Use the arrows, click the period label to jump with a date picker, or click
    **Today**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open the three-dot menu">
    It sits beside the period total and the **Submit timesheet** button.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose Add entry">
    The form opens on today's date if you are in the current period, or on the
    first day of the period otherwise.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fill it in and save">
    You get the toast "Entry saved."
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Fill a week in the grid

Switch the **Time** page to **Grouped view** using the grid icon. You get a table
with one row per project and task and one column per day, plus a **Total** column
and a **Total** row.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Click a day cell">
    Type the hours straight into it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Use any of these formats">
    `1.5`, `90m`, or `1h 30m` all work. Press **Enter** to save, **Escape** to
    cancel.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open a day to see its entries">
    Clicking a cell that already holds time opens a day dialog. Each entry there
    has its own description box, duration box and delete button.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add another entry to that day">
    The dialog has an **Add entry** field with the placeholder "e.g. 1h 30m".
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Typing over a cell that holds several entries is refused with "This day has
  multiple entries – edit them in the entry list." Open the cell and edit each
  entry instead, so nothing is silently merged.
</Warning>

If the week is empty you see **No time tracked this week** with an **Add entry**
button.

## Draw an entry on the calendar

On the Calendar, drag across the slot you worked. The form opens on the **Start &
end** tab, already filled with those times. See
[Calendar view](/time-tracking/calendar-view).

## Example

Ana Ferreira, a contractor at Northwind Studio, worked on **Brand Refresh** for
**Fenwick Legal** on Tuesday but never ran a timer.

1. She opens **Time** and steps back to last week.
2. She opens the three-dot menu and clicks **Add entry**.
3. On the **Duration** tab she sets **Date** to Tuesday, **Start** to `14:00` and
   **Duration** to `2:15`.
4. She picks the project, writes "Logo lockup revisions", leaves **Billable** on,
   and clicks **Save entry**.

Her billable rate of $80/hour is frozen onto the entry, so the 2 hours 15 minutes
are worth **$180\*\*.

## Options and settings

| What you can change               | Where                                                |
| --------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| Whether a task is required        | **Settings → Time policies → Require a task**        |
| Whether a description is required | **Settings → Time policies → Require a description** |
| Whether future dates are allowed  | **Settings → Time policies → Block future entries**  |
| How far back you may add or edit  | **Settings → Time policies → Editing window (days)** |
| A cap on hours per day            | **Settings → Time policies → Daily limit (minutes)** |

See [Time policies](/time-tracking/time-policies).

## Permissions

Adding an entry needs `time.track`. Adding one for someone else also needs
`time.editOthers` and that person inside your supervision scope – see
[Track time for someone else](/time-tracking/track-time-for-someone-else).

## What happens next

* The entry lands on the day it starts, read in your workspace timezone.
* The rate in force on that date is frozen onto it.
* It joins the period's timesheet as a draft.
* If the entry overlaps another one, it still saves. The toast reads "Entry
  saved. Heads up – it overlaps another entry on your timesheet."

## Common questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can I log time for a date in the future?">
    Only if your workspace allows it. With **Block future entries** on, an entry
    that starts later than now is refused with "Time entries cannot start in the
    future."
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I log an entry that crosses midnight?">
    Yes. Use the **Start & end** tab. The entry belongs to the day it started, and
    the list marks it with a small `+1` next to the end time.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What duration formats are accepted?">
    In the **Add entry** form: `H:MM` such as `1:30`, or decimal hours such as
    `1.5`. In a grid day cell: `1.5`, `90m`, or `1h 30m`.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why was my entry refused?">
    The likely causes are a required field, an editing window that has passed, a
    daily limit, a submitted period, or a locked period. Each one shows its own
    message – see [Troubleshooting](/time-tracking/troubleshooting).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related guides

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Time entry fields" icon="list" href="/time-tracking/time-entry-fields">
    What every field on an entry means.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Edit a time entry" icon="pencil" href="/time-tracking/edit-a-time-entry">
    Change an entry you already saved.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Time policies" icon="shield" href="/time-tracking/time-policies">
    The rules that can block a manual entry.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Fill in a timesheet" icon="table" href="/timesheets/fill-in-a-timesheet">
    Complete a whole period.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>