Track Time with the Stopwatch

Jump to:

• When to Use the Stopwatch
• Before You Start
• Starting & Stopping
• Where It Appears
• Abandoned Stopwatches
• Rounding & Totals
• Stopwatch-Only Mode & Rules
• Options Menu
• Troubleshooting
• Related Articles

The Stopwatch lets you track worked time in real time on Day View. It’s ideal when you switch tasks frequently or need precise durations. This guide explains how to start/stop, resolve abandoned timers, and how admin settings affect stopwatch behavior.

When to Use the Stopwatch

• You want accurate, real-time tracking.
• You switch between multiple tasks during the day and need distinct durations.
• Your company requires stopwatch entry (manual entry disabled).
  

Before You Start (Best Practices)

1. Add or select a time entry row and choose Client → Project → Task first (labels may vary by organization).
2. Confirm the correct date in Day View (use Go to Today if needed). When Time can only be entered with a stopwatch is enabled, you can create or edit entries for today only; earlier dates must be corrected by an admin/manager via Override.
   
3. If your organization shows Start/End fields, you can still run a stopwatch; your ability to restart the same stopwatch depends on admin rules (see below).

Starting, Stopping, Restarting

1. On the desired row, click the Stopwatch icon to Start tracking.
2. Click Stop to end the timer and record the elapsed time to that row (respecting rounding).
   
3. If allowed, click Start again on a new row to continue tracking (you cannot restart a stopped stopwatch on the same row).
   

Rules & Notes

• Only one stopwatch can run at a time. Stop or resolve it before starting another entry.
• If Prevent stopwatches from being restarted is enabled, you cannot restart after stopping—start a new row instead.
• If you didn’t pick a Client/Project/Task before starting, choose them as soon as possible to keep your audit trail clean.

Where the Stopwatch Appears While You Navigate

While a stopwatch is running, you’ll see a persistent stopwatch icon in the app header. Click it to view details and jump back to the running entry.

Abandoned Stopwatches (Auto-Stopped at Midnight PT)

• If you leave a stopwatch running, ClickTime auto-stops it at 12:00 AM PT.
• The entry shows a red (abandoned) icon. You must resolve it before submitting your timesheet.
  
• To resolve: hover the red icon → choose Stop time is correct or Change stop time to… → Save.
• During the day, if you navigate away while a stopwatch is running, use the header icon and select Manage active stopwatch to return to the Day View entry and stop or adjust it.
  

Rounding & Totals

• Stopwatch durations are rounded using your company’s rounding increment (for example, to the nearest 0.25 hours).
• The row’s Hours cell updates automatically when you stop the timer.
• Totals roll up to day and timesheet summaries.

Stopwatch-Only Mode & Other Rules

Organizations can enforce stricter behavior:

• Stopwatch-Only Mode
  • Manual entry is disabled; you must track time with the stopwatch.
  • Week View is hidden.
  • Start/End fields are system-populated (read-only) from stopwatch results and cannot be disabled.
  • Requires Prevent stopwatches from being restarted.
• Start/End Interactions
  • Dependency chain: Start/End required enables Prevent restart → enabling Prevent restart allows Time can only be entered with a stopwatch. In stopwatch-only mode, you can never restart a stopped stopwatch.
  • You can enable Prevent restart without enforcing stopwatch-only, if desired.
    
  • If you’re blocked from restarting, stop the timer and create a new row to continue.

Options Menu (Show/Hide Stopwatch)

Use Options (top-right) to show or hide the stopwatch icon on Day View.

• You must stop any running stopwatch before you can disable the stopwatch or Start/End times.
  
• If your org enforces stopwatch usage, this option may be locked.
  

Troubleshooting

• I can’t start a stopwatch
  • The period may be locked or the row is read-only.
  • You may already have a running stopwatch—stop/resolve it first.
  • Your org may have hidden/disabled the stopwatch.
• I can’t restart the stopwatch
  • Prevent restart is likely enabled (or you’re in stopwatch-only mode). Start a new row to continue.
• The stopwatch ran overnight
  • It auto-stopped at midnight PT. Resolve the abandoned entry before submitting.
• Overlapping entries warning
  • If your org enables the warning, overlapping Start/End entries will be highlighted. Adjust times or leave as-is if intentional.

Related Articles

• Start & End Times - Managing Time Entry
• Day View: Entering Time