Manage Clients

In ClickTime, the Client is the top-level entity for time tracking. Projects (and their Tasks) live under a Client. Before anyone can track time, you’ll need at least one Client with at least one Project associated to it. For Projects, see Creating and Editing Projects.

Note: You may occasionally see “-unspecified-” in Client lists. This typically indicates one or more Projects exist without an associated Client (for example, from older data, imports, or incomplete setup). Those Projects are grouped under “-unspecified-” until a Client is assigned. To resolve it, edit the affected Project(s) and select the correct Client.

Jump to:

• Terminology
• Create a Client
• Client fields
• Billing rates at Client level
• Edit a Client
• Actions menu
• Inactivate / Reactivate
• Best practices
• Troubleshooting

Terminology (customizable)

The term Client can be relabeled (e.g., Customer, Funding Source) by a local Administrator in Company Preferences. If your organization uses a custom label, the behavior is the same. More details.

Create a Client

1. Go to Company → Clients.
2. Click + Add Client.

On the Add page, enter the required fields (see Client fields) and click Save.

Client fields

• Client Name — Required, full display name. Limit: 50 characters.
• Short Name — Required, unique identifier (used internally and for some exports/searches).

Optional (Basic Information)

• Client Number — Unique numeric/string ID for reporting.
• Accounting Package Client ID — Identifier used by your accounting system (does not need to be unique).
• Status — Active or Inactive.
  If you set the Client to Inactive, all associated Projects are also inactivated and cannot receive new time/expenses. If you later reactivate the Client, reactivate each Project individually as needed, or perform a bulk reactivation from the Project List View.
• Notes — Freeform admin note (visible in admin UI).
  

Custom Fields

If your organization has Client-level Custom Fields, any required fields (marked *) must be completed before saving.

Save options

• Save — saves and returns to the Client list.
• Save and Add Next — saves and immediately opens a new blank Client form.

Billing rates at the Client level (if applicable)

If your Advanced Billing Rate Model is set to ...the Person, and we make exceptions for certain clients, and you’re an Administrator (or a Manager with “Add and Edit Billing Rates”), you’ll see an additional section to configure Billing Rates for this Client. Complete the Basic Information first, then configure rates. See the Billing Rates guide for details.

Advanced: Model = Person with per-Client exceptions:

• Default Rate (per Person) — uses each employee’s default billing rate.
• Custom Rate (per Person for this Client) — override an employee’s default rate when billing to this Client.
• Flat Rate (per Client) — one rate applied to all people billing to this Client.

Edit a Client

1. Go to Company → Clients and click the Edit (pencil) icon on the Client.

The Client Detail page is organized into sections (Basic Information, Custom Fields, etc.). Use the side navigation to jump between sections, and click Edit Section to make changes.

Projects: This section is view-only. Click the pencil next to a project to open its Project Details page.

Caution about renaming/renumbering

While you can change Client Name and Client Number after creation, doing so can affect reporting continuity and confuse historical context. Consider inactivating the old Client and creating a new Client with the updated info instead.

Click Update to save changes (or Cancel to discard).

Actions menu (Client Detail)

The Actions menu (top-right) includes:

• Duplicate — Not available from Client Detail; use the Client List View.
  
• Delete — Only possible when no time or expenses are associated to the Client. Otherwise, set the Client to Inactive.
• Create New Project — Shortcut to create a Project under this Client.
• Audit Log — If your organization uses the Audit Log module, you can download an Excel audit export for this Client. See the Audit Log guide.

Reports (Client-centric)

Some accounts surface a Reports section within Client Detail to quickly run reports that use Client as a primary key. Use it to jump to relevant reports filtered to the selected Client. (You can also access Client-focused reports from Company → Reports if permitted.)

Inactivate or Reactivate a Client

Inactivate Clients when all work under them is complete. This hides them from new setup while preserving historical data.

1. Inactivate Tasks and Projects that are finished.
2. Open the Client → set Status to Inactive → Update.

Reactivate the Client by switching back to Active. Then reactivate any specific Projects you wish to use again. Note: When you inactivate a Client, all associated Projects are inactivated. You can reactivate Projects individually, or use Project List View → Actions → Mark as Active to reactivate in bulk.

Best practices

• Plan your Client structure: Use Clients to represent a top-level bucket (e.g., customer, funding source, department) so reporting stays clean and consistent over time.
• Use consistent naming and numbering: Establish a naming convention and (if used) Client Numbers that make it easy to search and report (especially when you have many similarly named Clients).
• Keep Projects organized under the right Client: When creating Projects, always select the correct Client so they don’t end up grouped under “-unspecified-”.
• Inactivate instead of deleting: Inactivating preserves historical time and reporting while keeping current lists clean. Delete only when there’s truly no historical data tied to the Client.

Troubleshooting

• I see “-unspecified-” in the Client list. This usually means one or more Projects exist without an associated Client. Edit the affected Project(s) and assign the correct Client to move them out of “-unspecified-”.
• I can’t delete a Client. A Client can only be deleted when there is no time or expenses associated with it. If there is history, set the Client to Inactive instead.
• My Projects disappeared after I inactivated a Client. This is expected. When a Client is set to Inactive, all associated Projects are also inactivated. Reactivate the Client, then reactivate the specific Projects you want to use again.
• People can’t enter time to a Project under this Client. Confirm the Project is Active, within any Start/End Date range (if used), and available to the employee (if your account uses Project List Controls or other availability settings).