Licensing

This program may be used, modified or redistributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL), version 2 or later. The source code of this program is available for download from http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/timesleuth

This program is distributed without any warranty.

Synopsis

TimeSleuth is a system for recording the amount of time spent performing activities such as consulting, project work, etc., and producing useful reports such as time sheets and summaries from the recorded data.

There are two parts to the TimeSleuth system:

• Palmtop (this program)
• Portal (web site and database)

TimeSleuth Palmtop

TimeSleuth Palmtop can operate in one of two modes; Personal mode, and Group or Server mode.

In Personal mode, TimeSleuth Palmtop operates as a self-contained personal time tracker.

Group mode is intended for groups or organizations that wish to track the time of group members (although individuals may also find this mode useful in conjunction with TimeSleuth Portal). In this mode, group members can individually use TimeSleuth Palmtop to record time spent performing group activities. The information is collected in a central database, from which consolidated group reports can be produced.

Palmtop users synchronize their tasks with the database by connecting to the server. An Internet connection is required on the palmtop device to use TimeSleuth in Group mode, and it is necessary to create a user account in the database using TimeSleuth Portal before connecting to it from the palmtop.

TimeSleuth Portal

TimeSleuth Portal is a companion web site for TimeSleuth Palmtop when used in Group mode. Users log into this site to access the group database so that they can:

• record time (time entered via Portal is merged with time entered via Palmtop),
• define group activities, clients, projects, bill rates and other settings,
• generate group reports, including invoices.

TimeSleuth Portal gives managers fine control over bill rates, by allowing a matrix of default bill rates to be defined for combinations of activity category and user category (you can define your own user categories such as consultant, senior consultant, etc.). It is also possible to override the matrix defaults so that the bill rate for an individual can be set for a specific activity.

TimeSleuth Portal is suitable for individual users, such as freelance consultants and professionals, as well as organizations or groups that have several consultants.

TimeSleuth Portal is currently still in development.