Time Overview

The Time function allows you to create time entries within FYI.  Time Entries cannot be added to completed or cancelled jobs. For practices on the Elite plan, you can also add a Period Lock Date to prevent time from being added before the selected date.

Features of Time Per Plan

Using FYI for Practice Management

Practices on the Elite plan create time directly in FYI. Time entries are recorded against a Client and Job. You can add a Time entry directly for the Client/Job or add Time to an email, document, task or job.

Time can be added to a Standard Job or Workflow Job. Refer to Job Types Overview

Time Rates are used to track the value of time spent by staff, which can then be invoiced to a client. Different rates can be set up for specific roles or tasks, for example, you may have different rates based on each role such as Administration, Accountant, Manager or Partner. Refer to Managing Rates for Time and Disbursements

Default Rates can be assigned to a Job, Client, or User. When creating a time entry, a rate will be selected automatically and can be overridden by selecting a different rate as required. Refer to Default Time Rates below.

Time can be categorised using Time Types, with a category of Chargeable, Non Productive, or Capacity Reducing. Time Types are displayed on Home - My Time, and when viewing the My Time Productivity Dashboard. Refer to Managing Time Types.

Time is used to manage the Work in Progress (WIP) for a client, which is the measure of completed work that has not yet been billed. WIP is the total of submitted un-invoiced time that has not been written off, plus disbursements, less any interim invoices, for your client for the given period. Refer to Managing Work in Progress - WIP

Practices on the Elite plan can also enable AutoTime, which automatically creates draft time entries upon the completion of tasks triggered by an automation. This removes the need for users to manually create a time entry, increasing efficiency and making it easier to record time against jobs. Refer to Process Step Details - AutoTime

Time can be added, and edited, with a status of either "Draft" or "Submit". Once submitted, Time can be invoiced to a client. Invoiced Time will be updated with the status of "Locked". Refer to Time Status below.

Integration with Xero Practice Manager

For practices on the Pro plan and integrated with Xero Practice Manager (XPM), the time entries are synchronised to Xero Practice Manager, allowing you to complete all your daily time functions directly within FYI.

We recommend recording your Time from within FYI, rather than via XPM. This allows you to leverage the data that is already in FYI by recording your time against the documents and client interactions in FYI. The better the filing of your documents, the more optimised your time recording will become.

Time entries are recorded against a Client and a Job. You can add a Time entry directly for the Client/Job or add Time to an email, document, task or job.

Legacy Workflow Jobs

If using Legacy Workflow Jobs, the Job in Xero Practice Manager (the Billing Job in FYI) must have Tasks in Xero Practice Manager to submit time against. Refer to Legacy Workflow Jobs.

Time can only be added for users assigned to the Job or Task. Synchronised Time will be flagged as Billable or not depending on the Billable setting for the job in Xero Practice Manager. Refer to the Synchronisation with Xero Practice Manager section below.

Billable Time

Whether time is billable or not is controlled by the job settings in Xero Practice Manager.

When Time is synchronised from FYI, if the job has been flagged as billable in Xero Practice Manager, the time entries will be created as billable time.

Users Assigned to the Job or Task

Due to limitations of the Xero Practice Manager (XPM) API, users must be assigned to a Job or Task before they can submit time. If the user is not assigned to the Job or Task, submitted time will not be synchronised, will return to a Draft status in FYI, and an error will be displayed in Practice Activity.

Xero has a set number of synchronisations available to be performed each day, referred to as the Xero Rate Limit. Refer to Xero Practice Manager Rate Limiting

To reduce the number of synchronisations with Xero, the XPM Staff Allocation setting available in Practice Settings allows practices to control whether FYI should perform additional synchronisations to assign the user to the Job or Task before submitting the time. Depending on the number of time entries submitted each day, this may increase the risk of reaching the Xero Rate Limit. Refer to Xero Practice Manager Rate Limiting.

Where practices have a number of users working on a single Job or Task, it may be recommended to log time directly in Xero Practice Manager.

Making Changes and Displaying Time for Other Users

• Any changes to a Time entry that has the State set as "Submit" must be done in Xero Practice Manager.
  
  
• If you need to display Time for another user, this needs to be done in Xero Practice Manager.

Time Status

Status	Details
Draft	Time has been created but has not yet been submitted. A Client or Job is not required for Draft time entries. Draft time can be edited, and submitted to synchronise to Xero Practice Manager or become available for invoicing in FYI.
Submitted	Time has been submitted, but can still be edited. If integrated with Xero Practice Manager, Submitted time entries will be synchronised. For practices integrated with Xero Practice Manager, any changes to a Time entry that has the State set as "Submit" must be done in Xero Practice Manager. To submit time, both a Client and Job must be provided.
Syncing	Time that has been queued and not yet synchronised with Xero Practice Manager, and can take up to 15 minutes to sync.  No changes can be made to Time that is "Syncing". Once synchronised, the status will automatically update to "Submitted". After syncing, if a Time entry cannot be updated in Xero Practice Manager it will be automatically reset as Draft in FYI. This could be if the Job was set to "Completed" or "Cancelled" after adding the Time entry. In this event, you can reopen the Job, or update the Time entry and change the selection of the Job, and submit the Time entry again.
In Progress	A Time Entry with an active Timer. Time can be paused, or stopped to create a Draft time entry. Refer to Creating Time using the Timer.
Interim	When creating Interim invoices an Interim time entry will be created with a negative value to reduce the outstanding WIP. When the Time Entry is created, the user name associated with the time will be displayed as "System". The Billable Rate and Billable Amount will show a negative value based on the value of the Interim Invoice. Refer to Create an Invoice.
Locked	The Time Entry has been added to a client invoice, and cannot be modified.
Invoiced	Once invoiced and synchronised with Xero, Time Entries cannot be modified.

Creating Time

Time can be added either individually, in bulk, or for practices on the Elite plan, added automatically when Tasks are completed (referred to as AutoTime).

Individually

You can add individual Time entries  in the following ways:

• Create a new Time entry using the + button in the menu bar and selecting Time,
  or press the shortcut key I.
• For an email, document, task or job selected in a list, click the Add Time icon in the tools at the top of the drawer.
• Expand the Time section in the drawer of an opened email or document and click Add Time.

You can add time as "Draft" or "Submit". 

In your Home - My Time, you can display all the time entries you have added for a day, update any and either submit them one at a time or all entries for a day at one time.

Refer to Creating Individual Time Entries.

Bulk Time Entry

You can also use the FYI Bulk Time Entry feature to add draft time for selected emails and documents. This allows you to create draft time entries for the documents you have worked on, review the entries in your My Time tab, before submitting them.

Refer to Using Bulk Time Entry to Create Draft Time.

Copy Time Entries 

Existing Time Entries can be copied, useful in situations where the same activity may have been completed for multiple clients during the day.

When copying time, the Create Time drawer will open with all fields populated. Users can update any of the details and create the time.

Refer to Copying a Time Entry.

AutoTime

The AutoTime feature is available when creating Task Templates or Custom Automation steps, and allows practices to create draft time entries for users as they complete tasks (either a standalone task or a task related to a particular document). This removes the need for users to manually create a time entry, increasing efficiency and making it easier to record time against jobs.

To calculate the value of time added to the Time entry, a Fixed or Relative time value can be entered. Refer to Calculating AutoTime below.

To begin using AutoTime, refer to Practice Settings Time & Invoices and Process Step Details - AutoTime.

Timer

The Timer function is available when adding Individual Time for the current date.

The Timer can be started, paused, and stopped. Once the Timer is stopped, a draft time entry will be created, with the time rounded up to the nearest minute.

A user can run multiple Timers, and can update or stop multiple Timers using the Bulk Update function.

Refer to Creating Time using the Timer.

Time Entry Formats

Time can be entered using the following formats:

• Decimals
• Whole Numbers
• Hours and Minutes format (hh:mm)

After the time has been entered, it will be displayed using the Hours and Minutes (hh:mm) format.

Default Time Rates

Default Time Rates can be assigned to a Client, Job, and User. When creating a time entry using the + Create New button or via AutoTime, the rate selected automatically will be based on the following hierarchy:

1. Client
2. Job
3. User

Where a rate has not been assigned, the next available rate will be used. For example, if there is no assigned rate for the Client, the Job rate will be used instead. If there is no assigned rate for either the Client or the Job, the user's default rate will be used.

The default rate can be overridden by clicking the Rate drop-down and selecting a new rate.

Time Rates can be assigned on the Client - Settings tab, the Job - Summary tab, and in the Settings - General - Users list.

Displaying/Creating Time in the Email or Document Drawer

Expanding the Time section in an email or document drawer shows any Time that has been recorded for the email/document. This is useful to check if you have already entered the time details for that email/document.

You can also add Time for the email/document by clicking the Add Time button in the Time section. This displays the Create Time in the drawer with the client and job pre-filled.

Editing Time

Time can be edited for "Draft" or "Submitted" time entry. 

Time cannot be edited when:

• The entry has been added to a client invoice and has the status of "Invoiced".
• The entry has been invoiced, synchronised to Xero and has the status of "Locked".
• The time entry is for a date before the date selected in the Period Lock Date Invoice setting. Refer to Managing Invoices Settings.

When creating an invoice, time entries can be split based on the Billable Amount, including negative Interim time entries. Refer to Create an Invoice.

Calculating AutoTime

When creating draft Time entries using the AutoTime feature, the Allocation field offers two ways of calculating the amount of time to be added.