> ## 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.
# Time entry fields
> Every field on a TimeTracker time entry explained – date, start, duration, project, task, description, billable, status, and the frozen rate snapshot.
A time entry has a small set of fields you fill in, and a few more that
TimeTracker works out and stores for you. This page covers both.
## Fields you fill in
| Field | What it is | Required? |
| ------------------ | --------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| **Date** | The calendar day the work happened. | Always |
| **Start** | The clock time the work began. | Always |
| **Duration** | How long it took, as `H:MM` or decimal hours. | On the Duration tab |
| **End** | The clock time the work finished. | On the Start & end tab |
| **Project / task** | What the work was for. | Only if your workspace requires a task |
| **Description** | A short note about what you did. | Only if your workspace requires one |
| **Billable** | Whether the hour can reach an invoice. | Always has a value |
### Date
The date decides which day, which timesheet period and which report bucket the
entry lands in. It is read in your **workspace timezone**, so an evening in Los
Angeles does not slide onto tomorrow. See
[Dates, times and timezones](/concepts/dates-times-and-timezones).
### Start, duration and end
Give either a **duration** or an **end time** – the form has a tab for each.
* The **Duration** tab accepts `1:30` or `1.5`. Both mean 90 minutes.
* The **Start & end** tab needs the end to be after the start, or you get "End
time must be after the start time."
* A day cell in the week grid also accepts `90m` and `1h 30m`.
An entry may cross midnight. It belongs to the day it **started**, and the list
marks it with a small `+1` beside the end time.
### Project and task
A task always belongs to a project. If you pick only a task, the entry inherits
that task's project automatically.
An entry with no project is recorded, but it never reaches a project budget, a
billable value or an invoice. If the work is for a client, always attach the
project.
### Description
Free text. It appears in the entry list, on reports, and on invoice lines built
from time. Write what a client would understand.
### Billable
A switch. It decides whether the hour can appear on an invoice.
* A new **manual** entry starts billable.
* A new **timer** turns billable on when you pick a project.
Non-billable hours are still tracked and still count toward your timesheet. See
[Billable hours](/time-tracking/billable-hours).
## Fields TimeTracker fills in
These are set when the entry is saved. You do not type them.
| Field | What it holds |
| ------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| Person | Whose time it is. |
| Exact duration | The precise milliseconds worked. Never rounded. |
| Rounded duration | The billable duration after your workspace's rounding rule. |
| Billable rate | The rate frozen at the moment the entry was saved. |
| Cost rate | What the person cost, frozen the same way. |
| Currency | The currency both rates are in. |
| Status | Draft, Submitted, Approved, Locked or Invoiced. |
| Source | Whether it came from a timer or a manual entry. |
| The day it counts toward | Resolved in the workspace timezone. |
## The rate snapshot – the important one
**A time entry freezes the rate that applied when the work was recorded.**
When you save an entry, TimeTracker looks up the billable rate and the cost rate
in force on that date, and writes them onto the entry. Reading the entry later
never looks the rate up again.
That means:
* Raising a rate today does **not** re-price last month's hours.
* An invoice built from old time bills the old rate, which is what you quoted.
* Margin on historic work stays honest.
The only way an entry's rate changes is if you change the entry's **date** or
**project** – then TimeTracker looks up the rate for the new date and project and
freezes that instead.
Full detail: [Rate snapshots](/rates/rate-snapshots) and
[How rates are chosen](/rates/how-rates-are-chosen).
## Status
| Status | Meaning |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Draft** | Yours to edit. |
| **Rejected** | Sent back by a reviewer, with a reason. Editable again. |
| **Submitted** | Sent for approval. Frozen. |
| **Approved** | A reviewer accepted it. |
| **Locked** | The period is closed. Only an adjustment can change it. |
| **Invoiced** | It is on an invoice. |
A rejected entry shows a red panel with who rejected it and why.
## Example
Sarah Lin logs 3 hours on **Homepage wireframes** for **Bluebird Coffee – Website
Redesign** on 14 July.
Her entry stores:
| Field | Value |
| ------------- | ----------------------------- |
| Date | 14 Jul 2026 |
| Start | 09:00 |
| Duration | 3:00 |
| Project | Website Redesign |
| Task | Homepage wireframes |
| Description | Desktop and mobile wireframes |
| Billable | On |
| Billable rate | \$100.00 |
| Cost rate | \$45.00 |
| Currency | USD |
| Status | Draft |
The entry is worth **$300** and costs **$135**, a margin of \*\*$165**. If Northwind
raises Sarah to $120/hour in August, this entry still says \$100.
## Who can see what
Cost is not visible to everyone. The cost rate is only sent to people who hold
`time.viewCost` – Owner and Admin. A Project Manager can see the billable value
of an entry but never its cost.
See [Time tracking permissions](/time-tracking/time-tracking-permissions).
## Common questions
Your workspace rounds billable time. The exact duration is always kept; the
rounded one is what bills. See [Time policies](/time-tracking/time-policies).
Not directly. Rates come from the rate rules – task, project member, person,
client, then workspace. Change the rate rule, or move the entry to the right
project. See [How rates are chosen](/rates/how-rates-are-chosen).
Nobody set a billable rate for that person, project or client on that date. Set
one – see [Set a person rate](/rates/set-a-person-rate).
The day it started, read in the workspace timezone. A shift from 23:00 to
02:00 belongs to the earlier day.
## Related guides
Why an entry keeps the rate it was saved with.
Billable versus non-billable time.
Required fields and rounding.
How TimeTracker decides what day it is.