Actual Time records how long your team spends on each task and XBert. You can compare it with the estimated time, report on it, and send it to Xero Practice Manager (XPM).

You can record time in two ways:

On the task: open the task or XBert and enter the time.
With the timer: start a timer from the top right of your screen, or enter time there and pick the task.

💡 Don't see the clock icon?
An admin needs to turn on Actual Time first. That's also where you choose whether your team enters hours and minutes, or start and end times.

Record time on a task

Open the task or XBert.
In the action bar, click the clock icon (Actual Time).
Enter your time, either hours and minutes or start and end time, depending on your firm's setting.
Check Billable, and add a Note if you like.
Click Commit.

Your time shows under Time Entries on the task.

💡 Admins can record time for someone else
Admins can pick which team member the time is for before clicking Commit.

Record time with the timer

Click the Record Time icon (the timer icon) at the top right of your screen. It opens today's time.

Icon	What it does
Start a new timer (clock with a +)	Starts a timer
Commit time (circle with a +)	Enter time straight away, without a timer
Change date (the date at the top)	Record time for another day, if you forgot to enter it

Use a timer

Click Start a new timer.
When you're done, click Pause.
Click the pencil icon (Edit).
Pick the Task or XBert, check the date, set Billable and add a Note if you like.
Click Commit. To save your changes and keep working on it later, click Update instead.

💡 Timers you haven't committed stay as drafts
They show under Drafts until you commit them. You can't commit a draft until you've picked a task or XBert.

👉 Read more here: Draft Time Report

💡 One timer makes one time entry
Everything you record on a timer, including each time you pause and restart it, is committed as one time entry as one note. To keep separate pieces of work as separate entries in XBert and XPM, commit the timer when you finish each piece of work and start a new timer for the next one.

Enter time straight away

Click Commit time.
Enter your time, pick the Task or XBert, set Billable and add a Note if you like.
Click Commit.

💡 Task not in the list?
Type at least 3 characters of the client or task name to search. The list doesn't show:

completed tasks
snoozed tasks
tasks that start more than 2 days from today
tasks for clients you don't have access to

If the task is one of these, open it and record time from the task instead.

Billable or non-billable

Billable is set automatically from the task's process. You can change it before you click Commit.

⚠️ XBert doesn't send the Billable setting to XPM
If you send time to XPM, check the billable setting on the time entry in XPM.

You can choose whether all, billable only or non-billable only time is sent to XPM.

👉 Read more here: Configuring Xero Practice Manager Job Linking

How your time goes to XPM

If the task or XBert is linked to an XPM job, XBert sends your time to that job when you click Commit.

One entry in XBert is one entry in XPM. Each time entry you commit becomes its own time entry on the XPM job, with its own time and its own note. XBert never combines time entries or notes.
It doesn't matter how you recorded the time. Time recorded on the task, with a timer, or with Commit time is sent to XPM the same way. Starting a timer first and picking the task later makes no difference.
Timers aren't sent until you commit them. A timer is a draft until you click Commit, so nothing goes to XPM while it's running, paused or saved with Update.
Editing or deleting updates XPM. If you change the time or note on a time entry in XBert, the XPM time entry is updated too. If you delete it in XBert, it's deleted in XPM. Once the time has been invoiced in XPM, changes in XBert are no longer sent to XPM.

Who can add and edit time

	Admin	Non-admin
Record their own time	✅	✅
Edit or delete their own time	✅	✅
Record, edit or delete other people's time	✅	❌

Can't find where to record your time?

Problem	What to do
There's no task to record internal time against (admin, training, meetings)	Time is always recorded against a task or XBert. Set up an internal time template with a schedule, so a task is created for each team member to record time on
The XPM job isn't showing on the task	New XPM jobs can take up to 10 minutes to show in XBert. Wait and try again. If the job belongs to a different XPM client, turn on Allow tasks to be linked to any Job in XPM under Settings > Integrations
A warning says the time won't be pushed to XPM	The team member isn't linked to an XPM staff member, or isn't assigned to the XPM job. Fix this in XPM or on the user in XBert

To set up a task for internal time:

Need help?

If you have any questions, our support team is here to help!

Reach out via the chat widget on the bottom left of your XBert screen (Help), or email us at support@xbert.io

How To: Commit Actual Time on a Task or XBert