Time Management

Collect!'s Time Management utility enables you to track time spent on tasks. You can create as many "jobs" as needed and track time spent on each. Give each Timer task a unique ID and write your tallies to a convenient CSV file for recording and billing.

Be sure to write your tallies to file before closing Collect!.

Time Management

Write To File

Select this option to write the totals of each of your tasks to a CSV file. Each entry in the file will list the task ID and the accumulated total time.

Example:

"Acct# 12345","12:34:56.789"
"Acct# 56789","31:35:16.112"

When writing to an existing CSV, the new data will be appended to the file.

The WRITE TO FILE button will not write timers that are "Running." Be sure to stop each Timer to accumulate the totals before writing to file.

Be sure to write your tallies to file before closing Collect!. Closing Collect! clears all entries from the Timer List.

Help

Select the HELP button for more information about Time Management and links to related topics.

OK

Select the OK button to close the Time Management window. Any tasks that are "Running" will continue to tally the time even after the window is closed. This enables you to carry on with other work in Collect!.

Be sure to write your tallies to file before closing Collect!. Closing Collect! clears all entries from the Timer List.

Using Time Management

Time Management is a tool that can be used to track time spent on tasks. You can create as many Timers as you need, providing a unique ID for each task. You can start and stop the Timers to continue to add time to any task.

Closing Collect! empties the Timer List so you must record the accumulated time first! You can write the timers to a CSV file.

1. Select Tools from the top menu bar and then select Time Management to open the Time Management form.


Tools Menu Time Management Option

2. Select the NEW button when the Timer List is displayed.


Timer List

3. This will display a blank Timer form where you can create a new Timer.


New Timer

4. In order to enter a timer into the Timer List, it must contain an ID value. Enter a unique ID, such as the Debtor's File Number, if you want to track time spent working an account.

The ID value can not contain a comma [,] character or a double quote ["] character.

5. Select the START button to begin recording the time.


Timer Running

6. Select the OK button to return to the Timer List. you will see your Timer task in the list.


Timer List with Timer Task

7. Select the EDIT button to edit the Timer task or to Stop or Start the Timer.
8. Select STOP to stop the Timer.

Collect! will display the time accumulated so far.


Elapsed Time

9. You can select START to begin timing again or select RESET to set the Timer back to zero.


Timer Reset to Zero

10. Select OK to return to the Timer List.
11. You can select DELETE to remove a Timer from the Timer List.

Deleting a Timer

You can select OK to close the Time Management window while Timer tasks are running. Collect! will continue to record the time for each Timer. You can reopen the Time Management form to stop Timers and record the time. Do not close Collect! or you will lose all your totals.

Attempting to track time for over 49 days on one particular task will produce undefined behavior.

Writing Timer Details To File

You can write the Timer totals to a CSV file. Closing Collect! empties the Timer List so you must record the accumulated time first!

1. When the Time Management form is displayed, select the WRITE TO FILE button.


Writing Timers to a CSV File

Make sure you stop all Timers first! The WRITE TO FILE function will not write timers that are "Running."

2. Select a name and location for your Timers file when the Save Time Management File dialog appears.


Save Time Management File

When you write to an existing file, the CSV data will be appended.

3. Collect! informs you after a successful write process.

Timers Successfully Written to File