# Time tracking (/docs/guides/users/time-tracking)



Time tracking is the heart of RyTask, and it's built to be honest with near-zero effort:
one click to start, one click to stop, and a classification that tells you whether the time
was planned or an interruption.

## The timer [#the-timer]

Open an item and press **Start timer**. From there:

* **One timer per person.** You can only be doing one thing at a time, and RyTask agrees.
  Starting a timer on another item automatically stops the first one and logs its time —
  switching tasks is one click, with nothing to remember to stop.
* **It survives anything.** The running timer lives on the server, not in your browser tab.
  Reload, switch devices, lose your connection — when you come back, the timer is still
  running with the correct elapsed time.
* Stopping the timer turns it into a **time entry** on the item, with an optional note.

## Manual entries [#manual-entries]

Forgot to run the timer? Add time by hand on the item: either a plain **duration** ("2h")
with a date (today by default), or an explicit **start and end** time. Manual entries can
carry a note and a **billable** flag, just like timer entries.

## Planned or interruption? [#planned-or-interruption]

Every entry is classified as **planned** or **interruption** — this binary split is what
powers the "where did my time go?" answer in [Reporting](/docs/guides/users/reporting).

* The default comes from the item's priority: time on an **Urgent** item is assumed to be
  an interruption; everything else is assumed planned.
* You can **override** the classification on any individual entry — your judgement beats
  the rule. Overridden entries are marked as such, so reports can tell defaults from
  deliberate choices.

Planned plus interruption always sums exactly to total logged time. No third bucket, no
unaccounted remainder.

## Editing and deleting entries [#editing-and-deleting-entries]

You can edit or delete **your own** entries; project and organization admins can edit or
delete anyone's. Every edit and deletion is recorded in the item's activity history, so
the trail stays honest.

## The plan-vs-actual meter [#the-plan-vs-actual-meter]

The signature of RyTask: a small meter inside the task row and on the item page.

* A honey-colored fill grows as time is logged, toward a tick mark at the **estimate**.
* Go past the estimate and the over-portion turns **red**. Not as a punishment — as
  information.
* No estimate? No tick, no red, no judgement. The meter just shows what was logged.

## Where totals show up [#where-totals-show-up]

| Place     | What you see                                                                  |
| --------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Task row  | The plan-vs-actual meter with the item's logged total.                        |
| Item page | The meter, the timer, and the full list of time entries.                      |
| Reports   | Totals split planned vs interruption, by person, project, item, day, or week. |

## What never counts [#what-never-counts]

Two exclusion rules keep every figure trustworthy, everywhere:

* **Deleted time entries** are gone from every total the moment they're deleted.
* **Time on trashed items** doesn't count while the item is in the trash. Restore the item
  and its time counts again.

There is no hidden bucket where excluded time still lurks — the row meter, the item page,
and every report all agree.