TIMESHEETS

TIME LOGGING SOFTWARE

by Dennis Birch

This is a text-only version of the documentation that comes with Timesheets in Microsoft Word 4.0 format. It does not have the screen dumps of the Word version, so you may want to run Timesheets while reading this and follow along.

This product is offered as shareware. You may distribute it freely as long as it is accompanied by the documentation. If you decide to keep it and use it, please send the $10.00 shareware fee to Dennis Birch, 6645-190 Canyon Rim Row, San Diego, CA  92111.

© Dennis Birch, 1989

The Timesheets HyperCard stack was designed to help people who charge for their time keep track of their accumulated hours for different projects. I developed this stack for my own freelance business. I have found it to be invaluable for estimating and billing jobs. I think it can help anybody who has to keep track of their time for a number of different clients or projects. As long as you have HyperCard version 1.2 or higher and a Mac Plus or later, you can enjoy the ease of timekeeping with Timesheets.

How you use it.

You use Timesheets by entering information on what you did for which projects on a ÒDaily TimesheetÓ card for a particular day. After youÕve entered a dayÕs work, you compile the information with a click of the mouse. The information from each line of the Daily Timesheet screen gets transferred to a ÒJob SheetÓ card for that particular project, where itÕs accumulated with all the rest of your time for that job. This can later be exported to be used in a report on your time. Or you can refer to the information directly in Timesheets.

The Daily Timesheet Screen.

At the top is the date for which youÕre entering time entries.

In the area below that are five buttons that control all your time entry functions.

In the lined area below that are the ÒfieldsÓ where the information for each entry goes. You can record up to 13 entries at a time. If you need to make more than 13 entries in a single day, youÕll have to do them in separate batches.

Selecting A Project.

To enter time data, start by selecting a project to enter time against. Click on the ÒProjectsÓ button at the top of the main screen. 

The ÒProjectsÓ list dialog will appear. Listed in this dialog will be all the projects you have created. Each entry is on a line by itself, with the Client Name, Project Name and Job Number separated by commas. If youÕve used long names, you may not be able to see the entire line.

This is where you select a job to be entered in the next empty line of the Client, Project and Job # fields. Click on a project listed in this dialog, then click on the ÒOKÓ button or hit the ÒReturnÓ or ÒEnterÓ key on your keyboard. You can also double-click on the line you wish to select.

If you click on the ÒRemoveÓ button after highlighting a name in the list, a warning dialog will appear.

Clicking on ÒCancelÓ (or typing Command-.) allows you to back out of the Remove command. Clicking ÒOKÓ removes the job from your list of projects. You can have Timesheets  put it back on the list as long as you havenÕt deleted the Job Sheet card associated with it. More about that later.

The Projects list dialog offers one option not found in any others. By selecting a job listing and clicking on the ÒFindÓ button, you will be taken to the Job Sheet card.

If you wish to add a new job, click on the ÒNewÓ button. YouÕll be taken through a number of steps which are explained in more detail later.

When you option-click (click the mouse while holding down the Option key on your keyboard) on any line of the ÒClient,Ó ÒProject,Ó or ÒJob #Ó field, youÕll be prompted to replace the entries on the line you have clicked with data for another job. It can be one you have already entered in your project list, or you can create a new job entry at this time.



A Few Words About Lists

The ÒProjectsÓ list is one of three that you will use to perform different functions in Timesheets.  The rules for working with them are essentially the same in all cases.

1. You must keep at least one name in each list or Timesheets  can bomb your entire system and screw up other important files on your hard drive. Timesheets comes with an entry in each list. Before you can remove one, you must first enter another listing.

2. All buttons other than ÒNewÓ and ÒCancelÓ require that you highlight a selection from the list before clicking.

3. You can quickly highlight a line by typing the first letter of that line, and using the up and down arrow keys if needed.

4. As noted above, double-clicking on a selection from the list is the same as highlighting it and clicking the ÒOKÓ button. You can also highlight a selection and press ÒReturnÓ or ÒEnterÓ on your keyboard.

5. Almost every dialog in Timesheets can be cancelled by typing Command-. (period).


Creating A New Project Listing.

After clicking the ÒNewÓ button in the Project list dialog, youÕre taken to the next step in creating a new project listing. The ÒSelect A ClientÓ dialog will appear. Like other list dialogs, it gives you the option of selecting a client, removing a client from the list, adding a new client to the list or cancelling. If you want to remove a client from the list, you may find it quicker to go directly to this ÒSelect A ClientÓ dialog by option-clicking on the ÒProjectsÓ button at the top of the main screen. 

Creating A New Client Listing.

Clicking on the ÒNewÓ button in the ÒClientÓ dialog results in another dialog asking you to enter the name of the new client for your list. Keep client names to a length that will fit in the text entry space of the dialog. If youÕve entered a name, clicking ÒOKÓ in this dialog takes you through the rest of the new project procedure. Clicking on the ÒCancelÓ button ends it.

After you have selected a client or created a new client to be entered in your list, you will be prompted for a project name, client purchase order (p.o.) number and client job number.

You MUST enter a project name in the new project dialog. Clicking ÒOKÓ when there is no project name entered is the same as clicking ÒCancel.Ó 

The client p.o. and job number items are optional. They can be added to your Job Sheet for this project later if you wish, or not added at all. The client job number is not the same as the sequential job number that Timesheets automatically assigns each of your projects. The client job number designation is intended for a number assigned by your client for their tracking purposes, and is included in Timesheets to help with client communications and billing.

Selecting A Function.

After you have selected a job or created a new job that you want to place on the next line of the job fields, the next step in logging time is to select a function. If, as an example, you are a graphic designer, your list of functions could include such items as design, layout, photo direction, paste-up and so on, as well as such typical business functions as Meetings and Administration. In a typical day, you may perform more than one function on a project, so for example, you could enter time on one line for a meeting on a project called ÒBig Ad Campaign,Ó and also time on another line for ÒConceptÓ on the same project. After you select a function from the list, it will appear on the next blank line in the ÒFunctionÓ field.

Creating A New Function 
 
You create new functions by clicking on the ÒNewÓ button in the Functions list dialog. A ÒNew FunctionÓ dialog, similar to the ÒNew ClientÓ dialog, will appear. Function names must be kept short. Try to keep them to no more than 10 characters in length. YouÕll length, or as much text as will fit in the ÒNew ClientÓ text entry space. So, as in the example above, youÕll need to abbreviate longer function names when you add them to your list. Functions are created and removed with the ÒFunctionsÓ list dialog just the same as with dialogs for projects and clients.  

Clicking anywhere on the ÒFunctionÓ field is the same as clicking on the ÒFunctionsÓ button.

To replace an existing entry on any line of the ÒFunctionÓ field, option-click on the entry you want to replace.

Logging Your Hours.

The next step in logging time against a job is to enter the number of hours worked in the ÒHoursÓ field. You can break your time down into as small a decimal portion as you wish. I personally use quarter-hour increments, i.e. .25, .5, .75, and whole hours.

The ÒHoursÓ field is the only one that allows you to directly type in data. As you might expect, you must enter data in this field if you want Timesheets to transfer it to the Job Sheet for that project.

Attaching A Note.

The final, optional, step for each entry line is to add a note. To do so, click on the small box at the right hand end of the line. A dialog asking what you want to put in the note will appear. If you have already entered a note for this line, it will be highlighted in the dialogÕs text entry area. To keep an existing note, click either ÒOKÓ or ÒCancel.Ó To enter a new note, type your entry and click ÒOK.Ó Notes should be no longer than the length of the text entry line in the dialog box. If you donÕt enter a note, youÕll see a notation of Ò--Ó in the Notes field on the Job Sheet for that entry.

Changing A Line.

If you have made an error in entering data for a line, you have a couple of options for correcting it. To change the project for any line, option-click in the ÒClient,Ó ÒProjectÓ or ÒJobÊ#Ó field. This will allow you to replace all three of the entries on that line with information for another project. You can select another job or create a new one to go on that line.

Another way of correcting an error is to clear the line and then enter new information. To clear the line, click on the ÒClear LineÓ button in the top portion of the main screen. You will be presented with a dialog asking you to enter the number of the line you wish to clear. Enter the number that appears to the left of the line you wish to delete. Clicking ÒOKÓ clears the line. Clicking ÒCancelÓ leaves everything as it was before you clicked on the ÒClear LineÓ button. After you have cleared the line, enter information for a new line.

Compiling Your Data.

The end result of using Timesheets is tallying all the daily information for each job on one sheet. ThatÕs what you do by clicking on the ÒCompileÓ button. Timesheets looks for every line that has hours entered and puts all the information (including the hidden notes) in the proper field of a single Job Sheet card for each project.

Setting Up For A New Date.

After you have finished compiling your data, you will be asked if you want to set up for a new date. If you want to keep your current data entries on screen, click on ÒCancel.Ó If you wish to clear your data and change the date, click on ÒOK.Ó A dialog with the next dayÕs date in the text area will appear. If that is the date you wish to set up for your next set of entries, click ÒOK.Ó If you would like a different date, enter it in the text area and click ÒOK.Ó Be sure to use 00/00/00 date notation (e.g. 1/4/89 or 12/31/89). The ÒNew DateÓ dialog also appears, after a warning, when you click on the ÒReset DateÓ button.

If you have compiled a full screenÕs worth of entries and need to create another batch of entries for the same date, just enter that dayÕs date when the ÒReset DateÓ dialog comes up after compiling.  
 
Another way of bringing up the ÒReset DateÓ dialog is to click on the date itself.  
 
The Job Sheet Screen.

As mentioned earlier, the greatest value of Timesheets is having your time for different steps of each job, performed on different days, tallied together in one place. The Job Sheet is that place.

At the top are three buttons. ÒFM ReportÓ creates a text file which you can import into a FileMaker II file for a report on your time. After the text file has been created, Timesheets asks if you want to open the FileMaker file. A template for the FileMaker report is included with this documentation and the Timesheets stack. The template holds up to 30 lines of entries.

Instructions are included in the FileMaker II template. One of the steps involved is navigating to the text file. I suggest putting the ÒTime ReportÓ FileMaker II file in the same folder as the ÒImport TextÓ file that HyperCard creates.

By option-clicking on the ÒFM ReportÓ button, youÕll change it to an ÒXL ReportÓ button. This produces a text file that can be opened with Microsoft Excel or any other spreadsheet program (or for that matter, any word processor as well) to give you more flexibility in working with the data.

The ÒRebuild LinkÓ button lets you put a job deleted from your project list in the Daily Timesheets screen back in the list.

The ÒDelete CardÓ button lets you, after a warning, delete that Job Sheet card. It is not a good idea to do that, because there is no clean and easy way to get your accumulated data back.

The client, TimesheetÕs job number and project name are listed in the area below those buttons.

Below that are the data fields where the accumulated information is tallied. These fields are all editable. If they fill up beyond the area visible, you can scroll to see the additional entries by clicking on the arrows to the right of the Hour field. Because youÕre actually scrolling four fields at once, the scrolling action is very jerky.

Below the data fields are the lines where the Client purchase order and job numbers go. If you didnÕt enter them when you created the new job, you can enter them at any later point.

When you compile time for a job, Timesheets automatically totals the hours for that project. The total appears at bottom right, just below the Hours field.

At the bottom of each Job Sheet are three arrow buttons for getting around in the stack, and a button to take you to HyperCardÕs ÒHomeÓ stack. The furthest left arrow (the one with the right angle pointing left) takes you back to the Daily Timesheet screen. You can also get there by typing Command-1. The left and right pointing straight arrows take you to the previous and next Job Sheets respectively. Keyboard equivalents are Command-2 for previous and Command-3 for next. Clicking on the little house (or typing Command-H)  takes you Home.

If you have the ResCopy external command or ResEdit, you can install an icon for Timesheets in your Home stack, or any other stack. Look in TimesheetÕs resources for its icon and copy it to the stack you want it in.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this documentation, Timesheets is offered as SHAREWARE. I put many hours of work into creating it. If you find it valuable for your business, a mere $10.00 is not much to share with me. And there is a bonus for your honesty. When you register, I will send instructions on HOW TO GET RID of the opening shareware reminder screen, so that your stack will automatically open to the Daily Timesheet screen.

I have also created a version of Timesheets for use in a multi-user environment, such as an advertising agency or architectural firm. It can track a virtually unlimited number of peopleÕs time for practically any number of different projects. The multi-user version of Timesheets is available on disk, with documentation, by sending me $30.00. Be sure to include your name and address.

Thanks in advance for your support.

Dennis Birch
6645-190 Canyon Rim Row
San Diego, CA  92111
