Time Tracking settings define how your organization records participant services and internal work in Equip. Administrators create activities, set entry requirements, and configure effective-dated rates so team members use consistent options when logging time.
⚙️ How it works
Open Account Settings → Time Tracking to reach Time Settings. Administrator access is required, and Time Tracking must be enabled for the account. The page contains Defaults and Activities tabs.
Set your defaults first, then create activities for the work your team records. Each new activity copies the entry requirements from your defaults. Team members select an activity when adding a time entry.
✅ Benefits
Standardize time-entry requirements across your team.
Separate participant services from organization activities.
Configure billing rates for specific effective dates.
Require service documentation, location selection, and signatures where appropriate.
⚙️ Configure time defaults
Open the Defaults tab.
Set Default Unit Minutes to a whole number from 1 to 60. This is the fallback unit length when an activity rate does not specify its own length.
Review the entry requirements below and click Save.
Allow Backdating: Turn on to permit past dates. Enter Days from 1 to 90 to limit how far back staff can date entries, or leave it blank for No Limit. Turn off to prevent new past-dated entries.
Allow Future Dating: Allow dates after today. This is independent of backdating: turning future dating off still allows past dates permitted by the backdating rule.
Include Signature: Show a drawn signature field on time entries.
Require Signature: Require a signature before submitting. This option is available when Include Signature is on. Turning Include Signature off also turns off the signature requirement.
Require Location: Require staff to choose where time was spent. This is a location selection, not GPS tracking.
Time Entry Method: Choose Start and end time or Start time and number of units. Day-based activities use start and end dates instead of clock times.
Important: Changes to default backdating, future dating, location, signature, or entry-method settings apply to newly created activities. They do not update existing activities. Edit an existing activity to change its requirements. Default Unit Minutes remains the fallback for rates without a custom unit length.
📋 Create an activity
Open the Activities tab and click Add Activity.
Enter a descriptive Name and a unique Code. Equip trims spaces around the code and converts it to uppercase.
Select Scope: choose Client for participant-related time or Organization for internal work, such as team meetings or training.
Select Billing Behavior: Billable or Non-Billable. Organization time is always non-billable. Team members do not choose billing status on each time entry.
Review the copied entry requirements and adjust Allow Backdating, Include Signature, Require Signature, Allow Future Dating, Require Location, and Time Entry Method for this activity.
Add rate information if needed, following the section below. You may leave the new rate row entirely blank to create an activity without a rate.
Click Create Activity. The activity is available for new entries matching its scope.
💲 Add rates and unit lengths
Use rate periods to define the unit length and price that apply on a time entry’s start date. To add or change rates later, open the activity’s menu, select Edit Activity, and click Update Activity when finished.
Effective From: Required when adding a rate. This is the first date it applies.
Effective Until: The last date it applies. Leave blank for an ongoing rate. The date cannot be earlier than Effective From.
Unit Length and Increment: Enter a positive whole number and select Minutes, Hours, or Days. The maximum equivalent length is 24 hours. For example, use 90 minutes rather than 1.5 hours. Leave Unit Length blank to use Default Unit Minutes.
Day-based entries: A rate with a unit length of 1 day or 24 hours uses calendar-day entries. Each calendar day counts as one unit, including the start and end dates.
Per Unit Price: Required for a billable activity’s rate. Enter a nonnegative amount with up to two decimal places. Non-billable or organization activity rates may omit the price.
Multiple rate periods: Rate periods include both their start and end dates and cannot overlap. Before adding a successor to an open-ended rate, set the old rate’s Effective Until to the day before the new rate’s Effective From. Use the blank New Rate row, save, and reopen the activity if you need another period.
Removing a rate: Select Remove this rate and save. Check your effective-date coverage before removing rates.
Example: To change a rate on November 1, end the existing rate on October 31 and start the new rate on November 1. This avoids overlapping rate periods.
🛠️ Additional options and activity maintenance
Rounding Rule: If this setting is available in your account, Nearest rounds a partial unit to the nearest whole unit, Up rounds up, and Down rounds down. A billable time-based entry still records at least one unit.
Narrative settings: Accounts with narrative features may also show Show Who Generated The Report And When, Header Text, Footer Text, and Narrative Feed Forms. These control report-generation metadata and narrative defaults; they do not replace activity entry requirements.
Edit an activity: Use the activity’s menu → Edit Activity, make changes, and click Update Activity. Once time has been logged against an activity, its Code and Scope cannot be changed.
Retire an activity: Use Archive Activity for an activity already used by time entries, or Delete Activity for an unused activity. Confirm with Remove. Archiving prevents new entries while keeping existing entries readable. Archived codes remain reserved.
💡 Best practices
Use clear activity names and stable codes that your team recognizes.
Confirm the scope and billing behavior before recording time; code and scope become fixed once the activity is used.
Review existing activities individually when changing documentation requirements. Changing defaults alone will not update them.
Keep rate periods non-overlapping and cover the service dates you expect staff to use.
Test a representative entry after configuring an activity to confirm the expected fields and calculations.
❓ FAQs
Why did changing Defaults not change an existing activity?
Entry requirements are copied when an activity is created. Existing activities keep their own settings, so open each activity and update it as needed. The account’s default unit length is different: rates without a custom unit length continue to use that fallback.
Can an activity allow past dates but block future dates?
Yes. Turn on Allow Backdating, choose the allowed number of days or No Limit, and turn off Allow Future Dating. To allow only today for new entries, turn both options off.
Can I make notes or the attestation optional?
No. Time entries require Notes and the attestation checkbox. Signature and location requirements are configurable separately. Notes support rich-text formatting but not file attachments.
Do rate changes update previously saved time entries?
No. Saved entries keep their recorded units and billing amounts. Editing an entry’s billing-related dates, times, or activity can recalculate billing using the applicable rates. Editing only notes, context, or location preserves its stored billing values.
What happens if no rate covers a billable entry’s date?
The entry can save without a dollar amount rather than showing zero. Add an appropriate rate period and review any affected entries; adding a rate does not automatically recalculate saved entries.
What happens to signatures when an entry is edited?
Saving an edited entry clears its previous signature unless a new one is drawn. If the activity requires a signature, staff must sign again before the edit can be saved. Equip records the signer and signature timestamp.