Autotask Time Entry Management

Overview

Time entries are the foundation of MSP billing and resource utilization tracking. Every hour logged against tickets, projects, and contracts flows through the time entry system. This skill covers comprehensive time management including billing calculations, approval workflows, budget validation, and utilization analytics.

Approval Status Codes

Based on the Autotask API, these are the time entry approval statuses:

Approval Workflow

DRAFT (0) ────────────────> SUBMITTED (1)
                                │
                    ┌───────────┴───────────┐
                    ▼                       ▼
              APPROVED (2)            REJECTED (3)
                    │                       │
                    ▼                       ▼
          Billing Cycle              Back to DRAFT

Workflow Rules:

• Resources can edit DRAFT entries freely
• SUBMITTED entries are locked until approved/rejected
• REJECTED entries return to editable state
• APPROVED entries are included in next billing cycle
• Only designated approvers can change status from SUBMITTED

Complete Time Entry Field Reference

Core Fields

Time Fields

Billing Fields

Rate Fields

Approval Fields

Description Fields

Billing Calculations

Rate Hierarchy

Billing rates are determined in this order:

1. Contract Rate - Specific rate defined in contract
2. Resource Rate - Rate assigned to technician
3. Role Rate - Rate based on assigned role
4. Default Rate - System default rate

function getBillingRate(timeEntry, context) {
  // Priority 1: Contract rate
  if (context.contractInfo?.hourlyRate) {
    return context.contractInfo.hourlyRate;
  }

  // Priority 2: Resource-specific rate
  if (context.billingRates?.[timeEntry.resourceID]) {
    return context.billingRates[timeEntry.resourceID];
  }

  // Priority 3: Role-based rate
  if (context.billingRates?.[`role_${timeEntry.roleID}`]) {
    return context.billingRates[`role_${timeEntry.roleID}`];
  }

  // Priority 4: Default rate
  return context.defaultRate || 0;
}

Billing Amount Calculation

function calculateBilling(timeEntry, context) {
  const hours = timeEntry.hoursWorked || 0;
  const isBillable = determineBillability(timeEntry, context);

  if (!isBillable) {
    return { isBillable: false, billingAmount: 0 };
  }

  const billingRate = getBillingRate(timeEntry, context);
  const billingAmount = hours * billingRate;

  // Calculate internal cost
  const costRate = getInternalCostRate(timeEntry, context);
  const costAmount = hours * costRate;

  // Calculate profit metrics
  const markup = costRate > 0 ? ((billingRate - costRate) / costRate) * 100 : 0;
  const profitAmount = billingAmount - costAmount;

  return {
    isBillable,
    billingRate,
    billingAmount: Math.round(billingAmount * 100) / 100,
    costRate,
    costAmount: Math.round(costAmount * 100) / 100,
    markup: Math.round(markup * 100) / 100,
    profitAmount: Math.round(profitAmount * 100) / 100
  };
}

Billability Determination

Time entries are evaluated for billability based on:

function determineBillability(timeEntry, context) {
  // Explicit setting takes precedence
  if (timeEntry.isBillable !== undefined) {
    return timeEntry.isBillable;
  }

  // Check billing code
  if (timeEntry.billingCodeID && context.billingCodes) {
    const billingCode = context.billingCodes[timeEntry.billingCodeID];
    if (billingCode && !billingCode.isBillable) {
      return false;
    }
  }

  // Check contract terms
  if (context.contractInfo?.includesTimeAndMaterials === false) {
    return false;
  }

  // Default: billable for client work
  return !!(timeEntry.ticketID || timeEntry.projectID);
}

Approval Requirements

Automatic Approval Triggers

Certain conditions automatically require manager approval:

function requiresApproval(timeEntry, context) {
  // Billable time always requires approval
  if (timeEntry.isBillable) return true;

  // Overtime requires approval
  if (timeEntry.hoursWorked > 8) return true;

  // Weekend work requires approval
  if (timeEntry.dateWorked) {
    const dayOfWeek = new Date(timeEntry.dateWorked).getDay();
    if (dayOfWeek === 0 || dayOfWeek === 6) return true;
  }

  // Budget threshold exceeded
  if (context.projectBudget) {
    const newTotal = context.projectBudget.usedHours + timeEntry.hoursWorked;
    if (newTotal > context.projectBudget.totalHours * 0.9) return true;
  }

  return false;
}

Budget Validation

Project Budget Checks

function validateProjectBudget(timeEntry, projectBudget) {
  const warnings = [];
  const violations = [];

  const newTotalHours = projectBudget.usedHours + timeEntry.hoursWorked;
  const percentUsed = (newTotalHours / projectBudget.totalHours) * 100;

  // Warning at 90% threshold
  if (percentUsed > 90 && percentUsed <= 100) {
    warnings.push(`Project at ${Math.round(percentUsed)}% of hour budget`);
  }

  // Violation when exceeding budget
  if (percentUsed > 100) {
    violations.push('Time entry exceeds project hour budget');
  }

  return { warnings, violations, percentUsed };
}

Contract Limit Checks

function validateContractLimits(timeEntry, contractLimits) {
  const warnings = [];
  const violations = [];

  // Check monthly limit
  const newMonthlyHours = contractLimits.usedMonthlyHours + timeEntry.hoursWorked;
  if (newMonthlyHours > contractLimits.monthlyHours) {
    violations.push('Exceeds contract monthly hour limit');
  } else if (newMonthlyHours > contractLimits.monthlyHours * 0.9) {
    warnings.push(`Contract at ${Math.round((newMonthlyHours / contractLimits.monthlyHours) * 100)}% of monthly limit`);
  }

  // Check total contract limit
  const newTotalHours = contractLimits.usedTotalHours + timeEntry.hoursWorked;
  if (newTotalHours > contractLimits.totalHours) {
    violations.push('Exceeds contract total hour limit');
  }

  return { warnings, violations };
}

Time Analytics & KPIs

Utilization Rate Calculation

function calculateUtilization(timeEntries) {
  let totalHours = 0;
  let billableHours = 0;

  timeEntries.forEach(entry => {
    const hours = entry.hoursWorked || 0;
    totalHours += hours;

    if (entry.isBillable) {
      billableHours += hours;
    }
  });

  const utilizationRate = totalHours > 0
    ? (billableHours / totalHours) * 100
    : 0;

  return {
    totalHours: Math.round(totalHours * 100) / 100,
    billableHours: Math.round(billableHours * 100) / 100,
    nonBillableHours: Math.round((totalHours - billableHours) * 100) / 100,
    utilizationRate: Math.round(utilizationRate * 100) / 100
  };
}

Industry Benchmarks

API Patterns

Creating a Time Entry

POST /v1.0/TimeEntries
Content-Type: application/json

Ticket Time Entry:

{
  "ticketID": 54321,
  "resourceID": 29744150,
  "dateWorked": "2024-02-15",
  "hoursWorked": 1.5,
  "summaryNotes": "Troubleshot email delivery issues. Identified DNS misconfiguration.",
  "billingCodeID": 12,
  "roleID": 5,
  "isBillable": true
}

Project Time Entry:

{
  "projectID": 12345,
  "taskID": 67890,
  "resourceID": 29744150,
  "dateWorked": "2024-02-15",
  "hoursWorked": 4.0,
  "summaryNotes": "Network infrastructure design - Phase 2 planning",
  "internalNotes": "Need to follow up on VLAN configuration",
  "billingCodeID": 8,
  "isBillable": true
}

Query Patterns

Time entries for a ticket:

{
  "filter": [
    {"field": "ticketID", "op": "eq", "value": 54321}
  ],
  "includeFields": ["Resource.firstName", "Resource.lastName"]
}

Unapproved time entries for a date range:

{
  "filter": [
    {"field": "dateWorked", "op": "between", "value": ["2024-02-01", "2024-02-15"]},
    {"field": "approvalStatus", "op": "in", "value": [0, 1]}
  ]
}

Time entries logged today:

{
  "filter": [
    {"field": "dateWorked", "op": "gte", "value": "2026-04-13"},
    {"field": "dateWorked", "op": "lt", "value": "2026-04-14"}
  ]
}

Warning: Using only today's date returns zero results. You MUST use a range: gte today AND lt tomorrow. See the api-patterns skill for the full explanation.

Billable time by resource (date range):

{
  "filter": [
    {"field": "resourceID", "op": "eq", "value": 29744150},
    {"field": "isBillable", "op": "eq", "value": true},
    {"field": "dateWorked", "op": "gte", "value": "2024-02-01"},
    {"field": "dateWorked", "op": "lt", "value": "2024-03-01"}
  ]
}

Submitting for Approval

PATCH /v1.0/TimeEntries
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "id": 98765,
  "approvalStatus": 1
}

Approving Time Entry

{
  "id": 98765,
  "approvalStatus": 2
}

Rejecting Time Entry

{
  "id": 98765,
  "approvalStatus": 3,
  "internalNotes": "Please add more detail about the work performed"
}

Business Rules

Quarter-Hour Rounding

Standard MSP practice is to round time to the nearest quarter hour:

function roundToQuarterHour(hours) {
  return Math.round(hours * 4) / 4;
}

// Examples:
// 1.12 → 1.0
// 1.13 → 1.25
// 1.38 → 1.5
// 1.63 → 1.75
// 1.88 → 2.0

Minimum Billing Increments

Default Date Handling

If no date is provided, default to the current date:

function setDefaultDate(timeEntry) {
  if (!timeEntry.dateWorked) {
    timeEntry.dateWorked = new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0];
  }
  return timeEntry;
}

Common Workflows

Daily Time Entry Flow

1. Log time - Create entry with work details
2. Review - Check accuracy and completeness
3. Submit - Change status to SUBMITTED (1)
4. Await approval - Manager reviews entry
5. Resolve - Entry approved or rejected

End of Week Timesheet

// Get all draft entries for the week
const weekEntries = await queryTimeEntries({
  filter: [
    {field: 'resourceID', op: 'eq', value: currentResourceId},
    {field: 'dateWorked', op: 'between', value: [weekStart, weekEnd]},
    {field: 'approvalStatus', op: 'eq', value: 0}
  ]
});

// Submit all for approval
for (const entry of weekEntries) {
  await updateTimeEntry(entry.id, { approvalStatus: 1 });
}

Manager Approval Queue

// Get pending approvals for my team
const pendingApprovals = await queryTimeEntries({
  filter: [
    {field: 'approvalStatus', op: 'eq', value: 1},
    {field: 'dateWorked', op: 'gte', value: lastWeekStart}
  ],
  includeFields: ['Resource.firstName', 'Resource.lastName', 'Ticket.title']
});

Error Handling

Common API Errors

Validation Errors

Best Practices

1. Log time immediately - Don't batch at end of day; details get lost
2. Use descriptive summaries - Clients see these on invoices
3. Round appropriately - Follow minimum billing rules
4. Validate before submitting - Check accuracy before approval
5. Link to tickets/projects - Always associate with work items
6. Monitor utilization - Track billable vs non-billable ratio
7. Review budget warnings - Address before exceeding limits
8. Use billing codes - Categorize time for reporting
9. Keep internal notes separate - Don't bill clients for non-value work
10. Approve promptly - Long approval queues delay billing

Related Skills

• Autotask Tickets - Ticket management
• Autotask Projects - Project management
• Autotask Contracts - Service agreements and billing
• Autotask API Patterns - Query builder and authentication