How to Use Time Log and Task Reports in CrmLeaf
All editions. Projects, tasks and time tracking are core, so the time log report and task report require no add-on. The Resource Utilization add-on module adds availability, capacity, workload and timeline…
Availability: All editions. Projects, tasks and time tracking are core, so the time log report and task report require no add-on. The Resource Utilization add-on module adds availability, capacity, workload and timeline views on top of the same data, and the Project Roadmap add-on module adds a visual execution view.
Overview
The time log report answers how the team's hours were spent - billable against non-billable, by person, project and period. The task report answers whether the work itself is landing: completion rates, overdue items and how work is distributed across assignees.
Together they are the standard input to a delivery review and to deciding what can be billed.
How It Works
Both reports read the records your team already creates. Time logs are recorded against a project, task and user, either with the live timer or as manual entries where the project allows them. Tasks carry assignees, dates, status and a billable flag.
Log time → Approve → Report hours and tasks → Bill the billable time → Review utilisation
- The timer supports start, pause, resume and stop; breaks recorded inside a running log are excluded from tracked hours.
- Manual time entry is only possible where the project permits it, so a project with manual entry switched off will only show timer-based hours.
- Managers approve time logs, and weekly timesheets are submitted per user per week and approved or rejected with a reason. Approval state affects what downstream figures count.
- Billable earnings are computed from an hourly rate, and logged time pulls directly into invoices. Billed records are stamped with the invoice, so the same time cannot be billed twice.
- Hourly leave deducts a fraction of a day proportional to the employee's shift length, and time log reporting accounts for that fractional deduction.
- Both reports are filtered by permission scope, so a team lead and a delivery director can see different hour totals for the same week.
Who Can Use This Feature?
Administrator
- Set the permission scope on projects, tasks and time logs that determines each role's reporting view.
- Approve time logs and weekly timesheets so figures are based on approved hours.
- Configure whether projects allow manual time entry.
- Enable the Resource Utilization add-on module if capacity and workload views are needed.
User
- Log time against projects and tasks, with the timer or manually where allowed.
- Open the time log and task reports your role includes.
- Filter by person, project and period, and Export where available.
Access depends on the modules and role assigned by your Administrator.
Prerequisites
- Projects and tasks created, with assignees.
- Time logged for the period you want to report.
- Hourly rates in place if you want billable earnings rather than hours only.
- Time log and timesheet approvals completed for the period.
- A permission scope wide enough for the team you are reporting on.
For Administrators
Step 1: Make sure the period's time is approved
What to do: Review submitted weekly timesheets and outstanding time log approvals for the period. Approve or reject with a reason.
What to verify: No significant hours are left waiting for approval before you report.
Step 2: Set the reporting scope per role
What to do: Give team members a scope covering their own work and managers a scope covering the team.
What to verify: A manager's hour total covers every member of the team.
Step 3: Review workload with the utilisation views
What to do: Where the Resource Utilization add-on module is enabled, use its availability, capacity, workload and timeline lenses, which draw on estimates, logged time, shifts, leaves and holidays.
What to verify: Overloaded and under-loaded members are visible before the next planning cycle.
For Users
Step 1: Open the time log report
What to do: Review billable and non-billable hours by person, project and period. Use Filter to narrow to the project or person under review.
What to verify: Total hours reconcile with the time logs for the same filters.
Step 2: Check what is billable but not yet billed
What to do: Identify approved billable hours that have not been invoiced, then bill them through the invoice.
What to verify: Once billed, the time is stamped against its invoice and does not appear as unbilled again.
Step 3: Open the task report
What to do: Review completion rates, overdue items and the assignment breakdown for the period.
What to verify: Overdue counts match the tasks list when filtered the same way.
Step 4: Act on the findings
What to do: Reassign or reschedule overdue tasks, and follow up on projects where logged hours are far from the estimate.
What to verify: The next period's report shows the overdue count falling.
Expected Result
You can read hours by person, project and period with the billable split, see task completion and overdue counts for the same period, and identify approved billable time that is ready to invoice.
Why This Matters for Service Organisations
Hours are the inventory of a professional services organisation, and the split between billable and non-billable is the closest thing to a single measure of how well that inventory is being used. The Time Log Report is the shipped foundation for that analysis: hours by person, by project and by period, with the billable split shown rather than inferred.
How It Supports Professional Services
- The Time Log Report reports billable and non-billable hours by person, project and period - the base data behind effort analysis, recovery review and staffing conversations.
- Approved billable hours not yet invoiced are the practical work-in-progress list for a time-and-materials engagement, and billed logs are stamped with their invoice so an hour cannot be billed twice.
- The Task Report adds completion rates, overdue items and assignment breakdown, so delivery slippage is visible before a milestone date is missed.
- Weekly timesheet approval means figures can be read as approved effort rather than raw entry, which is what a client-facing recovery discussion needs.
- Where the Resource Utilization module is enabled, availability, capacity, workload and timeline lenses read the same estimates, logged time, shifts, leaves and holidays.
- Utilisation is not published as a single stored figure. The inputs exist - approved billable and non-billable hours, plus shifts, leave and holidays - so service organisations typically derive the ratio from exported report data, and there is no configurable utilisation target.
Typical Service Workflow
Log time → Approve timesheet → Report billable split → Invoice billable time → Review effort
Logging, approval, the billable split and billing tracked time onto an invoice are all product behaviour. Turning those hours into a utilisation percentage against a target is a calculation the organisation performs itself.
Other Product-Type Use Cases
Internal teams use the same reports for effort accounting with no billing at all, and manufacturing, solar and construction businesses compare logged site hours against task estimates.
Related PSA Capabilities
- How to Submit and Approve Weekly Timesheets — the approvals the figures depend on.
- How to Bill Tracked Time on an Invoice — converting approved hours to revenue.
- How to Use Resource Utilization Views — capacity and workload on the same data.
- How to Read Budget vs Actual and EVM Analytics — where approved timelog earnings land as cost.
Important Notes
- Menu names and their position can differ between product editions and can be customised for your account, so your sidebar may not match these paths exactly. Use Search or your Quick Access items if you cannot find a screen.
- Hours that were never logged cannot be reported. Time reporting depends on the team logging time consistently.
- Approval state matters. Where a figure is built from approved time, an unapproved timesheet is not counted.
- Breaks inside a running timer are excluded from tracked hours, so tracked time can be shorter than the elapsed clock.
- Hourly leave deducts a fraction of a day based on shift length, and this is reflected in time-related reporting.
- Different users can see different hour totals for the same period because reporting follows the ownership-scoped permission model.
- Add-on modules are plan-gated. Confirm Resource Utilization and Project Roadmap are included in your plan before expecting those views.
Common Scenarios
Example: preparing a client invoice. The project manager approves the week's timesheets, opens the time log report filtered to the client's project, confirms the approved billable hours, and bills them on the invoice. The billed logs are stamped with the invoice so the next review does not show them as unbilled.
Example: chasing overdue work. The task report shows a rising overdue count concentrated on two assignees. The utilisation views confirm both are over capacity, so work is redistributed.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Possible Cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| Hours are missing for a user | Time was not logged, or the entries are outside your permission scope | Ask the user to log the time and confirm your scope with your Administrator. |
| A user cannot add time manually | The project does not allow manual time entry | Ask an Administrator to allow manual time logging on that project, or use the timer. |
| Billable earnings are zero | No hourly rate is in place for the billing calculation | Configure the hourly rate used for billable earnings. |
| Time appears already billed | The logs were billed on an invoice and stamped accordingly | This prevents double billing. Check the invoice that consumed the time. |
| Tracked hours are less than the elapsed time | Breaks recorded during the running log are excluded | Expected behaviour. |
| Utilisation views are missing | The Resource Utilization add-on module is not enabled | Ask your Administrator to enable it, subject to your plan. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the time log report show billable and non-billable separately?
Yes. It reports billable and non-billable hours by person, project and period.
Can the same hours be billed twice?
No. Billed records are stamped with the invoice that consumed them.
Do weekly timesheets have to be approved before reporting?
Approve them for accuracy. Where a figure counts approved time only, unapproved timesheets are excluded.
Does attendance clocking appear in the time log report?
No. Attendance is a separate record and is reported through the attendance report.
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