How does time tracking work in Net Net?

Net Net captures effort two ways: a live timer you start on a Task, or manual entry when you forget or work offline. Every entry ties to the Job, Deliverable, and Task where the work happened, so effort rolls up against the plan on its own. The point is a true picture of effort with as little friction as possible.

Time tracking in Net Net is built to stay close to the work instead of sitting off to the side as a separate admin ritual. The goal is plain: capture a true picture of effort with as little friction as possible.

The source article talks about two kinds of people, timer users and manual-entry users. Net Net supports both because small teams work both ways. Some people want to log effort as it happens. Others need to fix the record later, when the day got messy or the work happened away from the keyboard.

Two ways to capture effort: timer and manual entry

Net Net captures effort in two ways.

The first is a live timer. If you are actively working on a task, you can start the timer from the work itself and let the entry build in real time.

The second is manual entry. That is for the times you forgot to start the timer, worked offline, came back from a meeting and needed to record what happened, or simply prefer to log after the fact.

Both paths exist because the point is accurate effort capture, not forcing everyone into one habit.

Every entry stays tied to real work

Time entries do not float loose in Net Net. They stay attached to the work they came from.

For Job work, that means the entry is tied to the Task, which also keeps it connected to the Deliverable and the Job. That is what lets effort roll up against the plan instead of becoming a disconnected timesheet line with no context.

For Quick Tasks, the entry still stays tied to the task itself, even though Quick Tasks are intentionally lighter and do not carry Deliverables or chat. The common rule is that time belongs to real work, not to a vague bucket.

New time belongs on eligible in-progress tasks

Time tracking is also shaped by task status.

If you are logging new work in the normal flow, that belongs on a task that is actively in progress and eligible to take fresh effort. That keeps live tracking attached to work that is actually moving.

Completed tasks are handled differently. If a task is already marked complete and you realize later that something still needs to be recorded against it, that is a manual correction, not a reason to reopen the task just to run a timer. Put simply, completed tasks take manual entry only.

That split helps keep the record clean without pretending people never forget or need to fix things later.

My Time is where corrections stay low-stress

Real life is messy, so Net Net gives everyone a My Time view for reviewing what they logged and fixing it fast.

My Time groups entries by day so you can scan what happened, catch gaps, and correct mistakes without hunting through the whole system. If a timer ran too long, if you forgot to log a block of work, or if the day just needs cleanup, My Time is where that happens.

That matters because clean time tracking depends less on perfection than on easy correction.

The rollup goes into Performance

Once effort is tied to real work, it becomes useful beyond the entry itself.

Time rolls up into the broader Performance layer, where teams and owners can compare planned effort with actual effort, spot where work is drifting, and see patterns that matter for future planning. That is the operational payoff of keeping time attached to the Job structure from the start.

The point is not surveillance. It is understanding what the work really took.

Why the system supports both kinds of users

The source article frames this as timer people and manual-entry people, and that is still a useful way to think about it.

Some team members want the precision of live tracking. Some need the flexibility of entering effort later. A good time-tracking system should handle both without making either person feel like they are using the product wrong.

That is the practical value here. Net Net is not trying to force one personality type into one logging style. It is trying to keep effort accurate, tied to the work, and easy enough to maintain that the record stays honest.

The bottom line

Time tracking in Net Net works through live timers and manual entry. Entries stay attached to the real work, roll up from Task to Deliverable to Job where applicable, and feed the Performance view so the firm can compare the plan with reality.

New time belongs on eligible in-progress tasks. Completed tasks can still be corrected, but through manual entry. My Time is where those corrections stay easy. The system is built to make effort capture accurate and usable without turning it into a chore.

FAQ

Can I log time after the fact in Net Net?

Yes. That is what manual entry is for. If you forgot to start a timer, worked offline, or need to clean up the day later, you can record the effort after it happened. The goal is keeping the record accurate, not pretending every entry must land live.

Does Net Net track time automatically?

No. It does not guess what work happened on its own. You either start a live timer on a task or add effort manually later. That keeps the record tied to real work decisions instead of relying on background activity that may not reflect what you were actually doing.

Can contractors log time in Net Net?

Yes. Time tracking is not limited to employees. Contractors can log effort on the work they are assigned just like the rest of the team, as long as the task context is there.

Why not just let people log time anywhere?

Because loose time entries become hard to trust and even harder to use later. When effort stays tied to the actual task and Job context, it becomes a lot more useful for planning, review, and catching drift early.