Which way should you enter time?

There are two ways to enter time. You can enter single activities at the time they occur, or you can enter all the hours for each job on weekly timesheets. Choose the method that works best for your business.

Single activity entries

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What it shows: A single activity entry shows the time spent by one person doing a single activity for a single job on a single date. If you are recording time spent on different jobs, you would have to make a separate entry for each job even if all the work was performed by the same person.

Why you might use it: If you prefer to jot down the details of one day's work as the day progresses, this method might work best for you. For example, an attorney could use a single activity entry to record the time he or she just spent on a phone conversation with a client.

Weekly timesheets

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What it shows: A weekly timesheet shows the time spent by one person doing any number of activities for any number of jobs within a seven-day period. While the timesheet can only display one week at a time, you can easily view the hours entered for other weeks.

Why you might use it: If you prefer to enter a person's hours on a single form at regular intervals, this method might work best for you. For example, a general contractor could use a weekly timesheet to record the time spent on each job for that week.

You have two views of your date

You can move back and forth between the two time entry forms. If you are viewing a single activity entry, you can display that person's weekly timesheet with a click of the mouse. On a weekly timesheet, you can select any hourly entry and view it as a single activity entry. The two forms are simply different views of the same data.

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When you make a single activity entry, QuickBooks automatically records the entry on that person's weekly timesheet. Likewise, if you fill in a weekly timesheet, QuickBooks also saves each hourly entry as a separate, single activity entry.