The timer widget makes it easier to record time entries in real time. Users can have up to ten active timers, and they can pause timers and leave them to come back to, making it easy to switch between projects.
View Settings
The timer is a draggable widget that overlays Filevine pages. On narrower pages, the timer opens as a separate page, allowing users to use the timer on mobile devices.
The timer widget is available for any member of an Org with Billing enabled. The timer first appears as a clock icon in the top left of your Filevine screen, next to the main menu icons. To open the timer, click on this icon.
Note: Any active timers automatically load, so after refreshing or logging out and back in, the clock will continue as if it had been running in the background. The clock continues running if you have closed the browser, but will not continue in incognito mode of a browser.
Minimal and Expanded
The timer will display in the view that the user last had it in: minimal or expanded. The opened timer widget can be minimized again by clicking on the “minimize” button in the header bar on the top right. Timers will continue to be active if minimized.
If a timer is currently active, the minimized timer widget will also display that timer’s time. If the current timer is running, it will appear in blue; if it is paused, in gray. Hover on the timer to see the number of active timers and the name of the project for the currently running timer.
Move the Timer
The open timer can be moved to any location on the Filevine screen. Dragging the timer will save its position on the screen for subsequent uses. The timer may shift if the window size is changed. The timer cannot be dragged offscreen.
Start a Timer
If you do not have any active timers, you can fill out the displayed fields and click Start Timer.
If you already have active timers, and would like to add another timer, click + Add Timer at the top of the expanded timer. A new timer will be added on top of the existing timers. When you click Start Timer, the new timer will start, and the currently-running timer will pause. (You can add up to ten active timers. Once you have ten active timers, you will no longer be able to click on Add.)
Select a Project
If you are in a project, the “Search for a project” box will automatically fill with the project you are in. To select or change the project, begin typing in the project box and select your project from the dropdown.
Once the timer is active or has begun recording time, the project selector cannot be changed unless the timer is reset.
Write the Description
The description box appears below the project selection. A time entry cannot be saved without a description. The description box can be edited at any time.
Expanded Options
You can set additional options: billing codes, billable and chargeable options, and saving the time entry as a draft.
If your Org has defined billing codes for time entries, you can enter the codes in the fields here.
If you’d like to save the entry with a draft status, meaning that the entry must be reviewed and saved to become available for invoices, select the Save as Draft option here.
By default, entries are marked as billable and chargeable. If you’d like the entry to be unbilled or not chargeable, toggle these options off.
Active Timers
The timer widget lists all active timers. The number of active timers is displayed at the top of the widget. You are able to add up to ten active timers at a time. Click the project name of any timer to navigate to the project.
Multiple Timers
When you have multiple active timers, you can switch between them at any time by clicking the play button to start a timer running. Whenever you click “play” on a timer, the currently-running timer will pause.
The most recently run timers appear on top. When you play a timer, it will move to the top of the list.
Managing a Timer
Click the description in a timer to edit it at any time. Double-click the time box to adjust the duration. Click the check to confirm the adjustment, or the “x” to cancel the adjustment.
Timer controls include:
- the play/pause button: allows you to start and pause the time
- the reset button: resets the timer and clears all information
- the checkmark button: saves the timer to the project as a time entry. After a successful save, the timer is removed from the timer widget list.
- the trashcan button: deletes the timer
Timers remain active until they are either saved, reset, or deleted.
Collapse and Expand
If a timer is collapsed, you can click on the caret in the top right corner to expand it and view additional options for codes, draft status, and billable or chargeable toggles.
Quick Switch
When you navigate to a different project with a timer running, you will see the Quick Switch option at the top of the open timer widget. (If you switch projects with the timer minimized, you will see a Quick Switch notification at the bottom of your screen.)
Click this option to open and start a new timer for the new project, or to unpause an already active timer for that project. The currently-running timer will be paused.
Timer Page
If you open the billing timer on a window or screen narrower than 768 pixels, like a mobile screen, you will automatically be taken to the timer page, rather than to the timer widget.
This page makes it easier to fill out and manage a time entry on a smaller screen. The screen includes all the same fields as the expanded timer, and you can start, pause, and finish time entries just as you would when using the timer widget. However, the timer page does not include the Quick Switch option between projects.
Mobile Shortcut
If you are using this page frequently on your phone, you can create a shortcut to this page, so you can open the timer page directly from your home screen.
To create this shortcut, navigate to the timer page and follow the instructions for adding mobile shortcuts. Name the shortcut “Timer” or something similar to make it easy to find.
Once you’ve created the shortcut, you’ll be able to open the timer page from your home screen, the way you would an app, and start, pause, and add time entries from this page.
When to Use
The timer page makes it easier to use the timer on mobile devices, so that you can add time entries while on the go. However, you can also navigate directly to the page by typing in the page's URL, which is your usual Filevine url with #/billingtimer [formatting] added to the end.
The timer page provides less context than the timer widget and does not include the project quick switch option. Therefore, if you are frequently switching between time entries for different projects, or would like the additional context of Filevine in the background, the timer widget would be a better choice. However, if you do not frequently switch between projects and would prefer the timer in a separate page, you may prefer to use this page on your normal desktop.
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