/time-entry

description: Log time against tickets or projects in Autotask PSA
argument-hint: "<target> <hours> <summary> [date] [billing-code] [billable] [internal-notes] [submit]"
arguments: [target, hours, summary, date, billing-code, billable, internal-notes, submit]

Log Time Entry in Autotask

Log time worked against a ticket or project for billing and resource tracking.

Prerequisites

• Valid Autotask API credentials configured
• Ticket or project must exist in Autotask
• User must have time entry permissions
• Resource record must be linked to API user

Steps

1. **Resolve target entity**

• If starts with "T" (e.g., T20240215.0001), look up ticket ID
• If numeric, determine if ticket or project
• If project, optionally resolve task ID

2. **Validate hours**

• Ensure positive numeric value
• Round to nearest quarter hour (0.25)
• Warn if hours > 8 (overtime)
• Block if hours > 24

3. **Determine billability**

• Check explicit --billable flag
• Check billing code billability
• Check contract terms
• Default based on work type

4. **Check budget limits**

• Query project/contract budget status
• Warn if at 90%+ of budget
• Require approval if exceeding budget

5. **Get billing rate**

• Check contract rate
• Check resource rate
• Check role rate
• Apply default rate

6. **Create time entry**

   POST /v1.0/TimeEntries
   {
     "ticketID": <resolved_ticket_id>,
     "resourceID": <current_resource_id>,
     "dateWorked": "<date>",
     "hoursWorked": <rounded_hours>,
     "summaryNotes": "<summary>",
     "internalNotes": "<internal_notes>",
     "billingCodeID": <resolved_billing_code>,
     "isBillable": <billable_status>,
     "approvalStatus": <0_or_1>
   }

7. **Return entry details**

• Time entry ID
• Billing amount calculated
• Approval status
• Budget impact summary

Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description | |-----------|------|----------|---------|-------------| | target | string | Yes | - | Ticket number or project ID | | hours | decimal | Yes | - | Hours worked (rounded to 0.25) | | summary | string | Yes | - | Client-visible work summary | | date | string | No | Today | Date in YYYY-MM-DD format | | billing-code | string/int | No | - | Billing category | | billable | boolean | No | Auto | Override billable determination | | internal-notes | string | No | - | Private notes for team | | submit | boolean | No | false | Submit for approval |

Examples

Basic Time Entry

/time-entry T20240215.0042 1.5 "Troubleshot email delivery issues"

Full Details with Approval

/time-entry T20240215.0042 2.25 "Configured new email accounts and tested delivery" --date 2024-02-15 --billing-code "Remote Support" --submit

Non-Billable Internal Work

/time-entry T20240215.0042 0.5 "Internal documentation update" --billable false --internal-notes "Updated KB article"

Project Time Entry

/time-entry 12345 4.0 "Network design - Phase 2 planning" --billing-code "Project Work"

Yesterday's Time

/time-entry T20240215.0042 1.0 "Follow-up testing" --date 2024-02-14

Output

Success

✅ Time Entry Logged Successfully

Entry ID: 98765
Target: Ticket T20240215.0042 - Email not working
Company: Acme Corporation
Date: 2024-02-15
Hours: 1.50 (rounded from 1.5)
Summary: Troubleshot email delivery issues

Billing Details:
  Billable: Yes
  Rate: $150.00/hr
  Amount: $225.00
  Billing Code: Remote Support

Approval Status: Draft (not submitted)
Contract: Managed Services Agreement
Budget Impact: 45.5 / 50.0 hours used this month (91%)

⚠️ Warning: Contract is at 91% of monthly hour allocation

With Submission

✅ Time Entry Logged & Submitted

Entry ID: 98765
...
Approval Status: Submitted (awaiting manager approval)

Error Handling

Ticket Not Found

❌ Ticket not found: T20240215.9999

Suggestions:
- Verify the ticket number is correct
- Check if ticket may have been merged or deleted
- Search for tickets: /search-tickets "your search term"

Budget Exceeded

⚠️ Budget Warning: Entry exceeds project budget

Project Budget: 100.0 hours
Currently Used: 98.0 hours
This Entry: 4.0 hours
New Total: 102.0 hours (102%)

Options:
1. Reduce hours to stay within budget (2.0 hours available)
2. Create entry anyway (requires manager approval)
3. Cancel

Choice [1/2/3]:

Invalid Hours

❌ Invalid hours value: 25

Hours must be:
- A positive number
- Less than or equal to 24
- Will be rounded to nearest 0.25

Examples: 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.75, 8.0

Future Date

❌ Cannot log time for future date: 2024-02-20

Current date is 2024-02-15.
Time entries must be for today or earlier.

Entry Already Approved

❌ Cannot modify: Entry 98765 is already approved

Approved entries cannot be edited.
Contact your manager to reverse approval if changes are needed.

Billing Code Reference

Common billing codes (varies by Autotask instance):

| Code | Description | Typically Billable | |------|-------------|-------------------| | Remote Support | Phone/remote assistance | Yes | | On-Site Support | In-person service | Yes | | Project Work | Project-related tasks | Yes | | Travel | Travel time | Depends | | Administrative | Internal admin work | No | | Training | Internal/external training | Depends | | Sales/Pre-Sales | Sales activities | No |

Query available billing codes:

/list-billing-codes

Approval Workflow

Draft (0) ──[/time-entry --submit]──> Submitted (1)
                                           │
                        ┌──────────────────┴──────────────────┐
                        ▼                                     ▼
                   Approved (2)                          Rejected (3)
                        │                                     │
                        ▼                                     ▼
               Included in Billin