How to Use the Work Summary Report in CrmLeaf
All editions. Requires both the Reports and Time Logs modules to be enabled for your account, and requires the View Work Summary Report permission set to "All." This is a separate permission from the one that…
Availability: All editions. Requires both the Reports and Time Logs modules to be enabled for your account, and requires the View Work Summary Report permission set to "All." This is a separate permission from the one that controls the Time Log Report, so having one does not grant the other.
Overview
The Work Summary Report shows logged time as a drill-down hierarchy — by employee, then by client, then by task — for a date range, alongside chart summaries and a downloadable PDF. Where the Time Log Report is a flat list of hours, the Work Summary Report is built to be read top-down: who logged the most time, which clients that time went to, and which tasks made up the total.
How It Works
The report reads the same underlying time log records as the Time Log Report, then groups them into a three-level table you can expand and collapse: employee, then client, then task. Each row shows the share of total time it represents and, where you have permission to see earnings, the rate and billed amount.
Log time → Approve → Open Work Summary Report → Filter by period, employee or client → Drill into the hierarchy or export the PDF
- The top level is the employee: name, designation, how many distinct clients they logged time against, the percentage of the filtered total their hours represent, total duration and (if visible) total amount.
- Expanding an employee reveals the clients they logged time for, and expanding a client reveals the individual tasks, each row showing its own share, duration and, if visible, rate and amount.
- Expand All and Collapse All controls open or close every row in the hierarchy at once; each row can also be toggled individually.
- The rate and amount columns, and the report's amount-based chart values, only appear for users whose View Timelog Earnings permission is set to "All." Without it, you see durations and percentages only.
- Three donut charts summarise the same filtered period by employee, by client and by task, and a bar chart shows hours logged per day across the period.
- Filters are: date range, employee (multiple selection), and client (single selection, shown only when the Clients module is enabled). On a multi-Organization company, an additional Organization filter narrows both the employee list and the report to one Organization or all of them; it does not appear for a company with only one Organization.
- The report can be downloaded as a PDF (landscape A4) using your current filters, including the charts and the expanded hierarchy.
Who Can Use This Feature?
Administrator
- Grant the View Work Summary Report permission to the roles that should see it.
- Separately grant View Timelog Earnings to roles that should see rate and amount figures on the report.
- Ensure the Reports and Time Logs modules are enabled for the account.
User
- Open the Work Summary Report if your role has the permission.
- Filter by period, employee and client, and drill into the employee-client-task hierarchy.
- Download the filtered report as a PDF.
Access depends on the View Work Summary Report permission specifically, not on the Time Log Report permission or general Reports access.
Prerequisites
- The Reports and Time Logs modules are enabled.
- Your role has the View Work Summary Report permission set to "All."
- Time has been logged, and ideally approved, for the period you want to review.
- Hourly rates are configured if you want amount figures rather than durations only.
For Users
Step 1: Open the Work Summary Report
What to do: Set the date range, and, if needed, narrow by employee, client or (on a multi-Organization company) Organization.
What to verify: The KPI summary and daily chart reflect the period you selected.
Step 2: Read the top-level breakdown
What to do: Scan the employee rows for who logged the most time and the largest share of the period's total.
What to verify: The percentages across employees make sense against what you expect for the period.
Step 3: Drill into an employee
What to do: Expand an employee row to see which clients they logged time against, then expand a client row to see the individual tasks. Use Expand All to open every level at once.
What to verify: The task-level durations for a client sum to that client's row under the employee.
Step 4: Export the PDF
What to do: Use the report's download option to generate a PDF of the current filters and hierarchy.
What to verify: The PDF reflects the same date range and filters you had applied on screen.
Field and Option Reference
| Field / Control | Description |
|---|---|
| Hierarchy | Employee, then client, then task — each row expandable independently, or all at once with Expand All / Collapse All. |
| Project/Tag column | At the employee level, the number of distinct clients they logged time for; at other levels, contextual detail for that row. |
| Type | Shows the row's percentage of the filtered total, or a non-billable indicator at the task level where relevant. |
| Rate / Amount | Visible only when your role's View Timelog Earnings permission is "All." Otherwise these columns are omitted from the table entirely. |
| Duration | Total logged time for that row, shown as both a formatted duration and hours. |
| Organization filter | Appears only on a multi-Organization company with more than one Organization; narrows the employee list and the report data to the selected Organization. |
Expected Result
You can see, for the selected period, which employees logged the most time, which clients that time went to, and which tasks made up the total — with earnings visible where your permission allows — and can export the same view as a PDF.
Why This Matters for Service Organisations
A flat hours list answers "how much time was logged." The Work Summary Report answers the next question a delivery lead actually asks: whose time, on which clients, doing which tasks. Reading it top-down from employee to client to task is closer to how a staffing or margin conversation is actually structured than a single hours table.
How It Supports Professional Services
- The employee-first hierarchy makes it easy to see how one person's time is spread across clients, which is the shape a utilisation or staffing review needs.
- Amount visibility is permission-gated separately from the report itself, so a report can be shared with a wider audience (durations and shares) while earnings stay restricted to those with the Timelog Earnings permission.
- The PDF export gives a point-in-time snapshot suitable for a client or leadership review without asking the recipient to open CrmLeaf.
- On a multi-Organization company, the Organization filter lets a shared services or holding-company view be narrowed to one operating entity's time.
Typical Service Workflow
Log and approve time → Open Work Summary Report → Drill by employee then client → Export PDF → Discuss staffing or margin
This report sits alongside, not instead of, the Time Log Report: the Time Log Report is the operational list for billing reconciliation, while the Work Summary Report is the read-oriented rollup for a staffing or delivery conversation.
Other Product-Type Use Cases
Internal teams without client billing can still use the employee-to-task hierarchy for effort accounting, using durations only if amount visibility is not granted.
Related PSA Capabilities
- How to Use Time Log and Task Reports — the flat, billing-oriented view of the same underlying time logs.
- How to Submit and Approve Weekly Timesheets — the approvals behind the hours this report reads.
- How to Use Resource Utilization Views — capacity and workload rather than historical hours.
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.
- This report requires its own View Work Summary Report permission. Having access to the Time Log Report does not automatically grant access to this report, and the reverse is also true.
- Rate and amount figures depend separately on the View Timelog Earnings permission. A user can have full access to this report and still see durations only, with no rate or amount columns.
- The Organization filter only appears on a multi-Organization company with more than one Organization configured.
- The client filter only appears when the Clients module is enabled for your account.
Common Scenarios
Example: a delivery lead reviewing a month. They open the Work Summary Report for the past month, expand each employee, and see at a glance how time split across clients before raising staffing changes with the team.
Example: sharing a snapshot without earnings. A coordinator without the Timelog Earnings permission opens the same report, sees full durations and percentages, but no rate or amount columns, and exports the PDF for a client update that should not show billing figures.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Possible Cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| The Work Summary Report does not appear in the Reports menu. | The Reports or Time Logs module is disabled, or the View Work Summary Report permission is not set to "All." | Ask an Administrator to enable the required modules and grant the permission. |
| Rate and amount columns are missing. | Your role's View Timelog Earnings permission is not set to "All." | Ask an Administrator to grant it if you need earnings visibility. |
| The Organization filter is not visible. | The company is not on multi-Organization, or has only one Organization. | Expected behaviour; the filter only appears when there is more than one Organization to choose from. |
| The client filter is missing. | The Clients module is not enabled for your account. | Ask an Administrator to enable the Clients module if client-level filtering is needed. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Work Summary Report the same as the Time Log Report?
No. Both read the same time log data, but the Time Log Report is a flat, billing-oriented list, while the Work Summary Report is a drill-down hierarchy by employee, client and task, with its own permission and its own PDF export.
Do I need the Time Log Report permission to see the Work Summary Report?
No. They are controlled by separate permissions, so a role can have one without the other.
Can I see this report without seeing billing amounts?
Yes. Amount and rate visibility depends on a separate permission (View Timelog Earnings). Without it, you see durations and percentage shares only.
Does the Organization filter affect other users' access?
No. It only narrows what this report shows you; it does not change anyone's permissions or data access elsewhere.
Related Articles
Our support team answers on business days. Reference REP-07 so we can jump straight in.