Timer & Timelog

A timer that follows your team from task to task, so every billable minute is captured

The CrmLeaf live timer runs in the header bar while your team works. Start it on a task, pause or stop it, then move to the next, and hours log automatically with the right project, rate and billable flag. Prefer manual entry? Log time after the fact. Submit weekly timesheets for approval, track overtime and feed billable hours straight into invoices.

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  • Free trial
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steps from tracked minute to invoice
5
steps from tracked minute to invoice
days in the Monday-to-Sunday timesheet grid
7
days in the Monday-to-Sunday timesheet grid
ways to log: live timer or manual entry
2
ways to log: live timer or manual entry
export formats: CSV and Excel
2
export formats: CSV and Excel

How it works

The time tracking lifecycle in five steps

Every hour is classified when it is logged, so approval, billing and reporting all read the same data.

  1. Step 01

    Track

    Start the live timer or log hours manually with start, end and description

  2. Step 02

    Classify

    Mark billable or non-billable; rate comes from the project or employee rate card

  3. Step 03

    Submit

    Submit a weekly timesheet (Monday to Sunday) for manager review

  4. Step 04

    Approve

    Managers approve or reject; rejected entries go back for correction

  5. Step 05

    Bill & report

    Billable hours flow onto invoices; reports show hours by project and person

What's inside

Five time tracking capabilities

01

Live Timer

Start, pause, resume and stop a per-task timer that runs in the header bar on every screen.

See how it works
02

Manual Entry & Breaks

Log hours after the fact with start time, end time and description, and record breaks.

See how it works
03

Weekly Timesheets

A Monday-to-Sunday grid per employee with a submit, approve and reject-and-correct workflow.

See how it works
04

Billing Integration

A billable flag per entry, rates from rate cards and a direct feed into invoices.

See how it works
05

Reports & Export

Hours by project and employee, billable vs non-billable, overtime flags and CSV or Excel export.

See how it works

In detail

How each capability works

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01 / 05

Live Timer

The live timer sits in the CrmLeaf header bar, visible on every screen, so your team never has to navigate away to track time. Open a task, click start and the timer begins counting. Switch tabs, check email or attend a meeting and the timer keeps running until you pause or stop it.

When the timer stops, a timelog entry is created automatically and linked to the task and project it was started from. The entry inherits the project's billing settings, so no extra classification is needed.

Admins control whether pausing is allowed with the Allow pause timer toggle at the organisation level. When it is off, team members can only stop the timer, which suits firms that want clean, uninterrupted time blocks.

Built in

  • A per-task timer in the header bar, visible across all CrmLeaf screens
  • Start, pause, resume and stop controls (pause can be disabled organisation-wide)
  • Automatic timelog creation on stop, linked to the originating task and project
  • The timer works on mobile web
  • Only one timer runs per user at a time, which prevents accidental double-tracking
  • Start, pause, resume, stop
  • Header bar, always visible
  • Org-level pause toggle
  • Mobile web support
02 / 05

Manual Entry & Breaks

Not every hour is tracked live. Manual time entry lets your team log hours after the fact: enter a start time, end time, date and description, and link the entry to a task. It is useful for meetings, client calls and work done outside CrmLeaf, or for entering time on behalf of another team member.

Break tracking records separate break entries within a session so you get accurate net working hours. Breaks are excluded from billable totals automatically.

Live-timer and manual entries appear in the same timelog list with the same fields: project, task, billable flag, rate and description. They are reported and billed the same way.

Built in

  • Manual timelog creation with start time, end time, date and description
  • Link entries to any task and project
  • Separate break entries within a session for accurate net hours
  • Breaks are excluded from billable totals automatically
  • Manual and timer entries appear identically in reports
  • Start and end time
  • Task and project link
  • Break entries
  • Description field
03 / 05

Weekly Timesheets

The weekly timesheet gives each employee a Monday-to-Sunday grid of their logged hours across projects and tasks. Employees review the week, fill in anything missing and submit the timesheet for manager approval.

Managers see submitted timesheets in their approval queue. They can approve the whole timesheet or reject individual entries with a note. Rejected entries go back to the employee for correction and resubmission.

Approved timesheets lock those entries from further editing, so billed hours match what was reviewed. Approval status feeds utilisation and project budget reports.

Built in

  • A weekly grid (Monday to Sunday) per employee
  • One-click submit for manager approval
  • Approve or reject with notes; rejected entries return for correction
  • Approved entries are locked from further edits
  • Approval status feeds utilisation and project budget reports
  • Mon-Sun grid view
  • Submit for approval
  • Approve and reject workflow
  • Locked after approval
04 / 05

Billing Integration

Every time entry carries a billable or non-billable flag. The hourly rate comes from the project rate card or, if the project has none, from the employee's individual rate card, so the billing value of each hour is set the moment it is logged.

Billable hours feed directly into CrmLeaf invoicing. When you create an invoice for a client you can pull in approved billable entries for the billing period, each line showing the task, hours, rate and total.

Non-billable time is still tracked and reported. It feeds utilisation reports, showing the ratio of billable to total hours per employee, team or project.

Built in

  • A billable or non-billable flag on every time entry
  • The hourly rate is filled in from the project or employee rate card
  • Pull approved billable entries onto invoices by date range
  • Non-billable hours are tracked for utilisation and cost analysis
  • Budget-vs-actual tracking when logged hours are linked to a project budget
  • Billable and non-billable flag
  • Project and employee rate cards
  • Direct invoice feed
  • Utilisation ratio
05 / 05

Reports & Export

Time tracking reports give managers and leadership visibility into where hours go. Hours by project shows total, billable and non-billable hours for any date range, so over-running projects show up before they blow the budget. Hours by employee shows logged hours, billable ratio and overtime flags.

The billable vs non-billable breakdown is the core utilisation metric, available at team, project or individual level. Entries that exceed configured daily or weekly hour thresholds are flagged as overtime.

All reports export to CSV and Excel for payroll, client reporting or your BI tool.

Built in

  • Hours by project, with the billable and non-billable split
  • Hours by employee, with overtime flags
  • Billable vs non-billable breakdown at team, project and individual level
  • Date range filters on all reports
  • Export to CSV and Excel for payroll and accounting
  • Hours by project
  • Hours by employee
  • Billable vs non-billable
  • Overtime flags
  • CSV and Excel export

Connected across CrmLeaf

Time data that flows into projects, invoices, utilisation and budgets

Every timelog entry connects to the modules that need it. Billable hours feed invoices, logged hours update project budgets, overtime data informs resource planning, and utilisation reports show the health of your services business at a glance.

See Project Management
  • ProjectsTime entries linked to tasks feed project budget vs actual tracking
  • InvoicingApproved billable hours pull onto client invoices by date range
  • Utilisation ReportsBillable-to-total ratio by employee, team or project
  • Project ReportsHours logged per project drive progress and forecasting

FAQ

Common questions about time tracking in CrmLeaf

  • It depends on your organisation settings. CrmLeaf has an Allow pause timer toggle at the organisation level. When it is on, team members can start, pause, resume and stop the timer. When it is off, the timer can only be stopped, which is useful for firms that want uninterrupted time blocks.

Related

Explore further

Time TrackingAll time tracking featuresInvoicingOne-off and recurring invoicesLeave ManagementLeave balances and approvalsTime Log ReportBillable and non-billable hours

Start tracking time in CrmLeaf

Start the timer on your first task, submit a timesheet and see how billable hours flow onto invoices, all inside your free trial.

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