A Time Tracking Log field lets people log time on a record, entry by entry, with a running total. Think of a timesheet attached to the record.

Here is the test: do you need to know how long people spent on this record, not only when it was due? If yes, you want a Time Tracking Log field.

Example: an Audit Engagements table with a field called Hours Logged. Each auditor logs "2h 15m" with a note. The field shows the total for the engagement.

The Hours Logged field in an engagement record, with the Total Time popover open showing two auditors and their entries.

The field settings panel opens. It has two tabs: Settings and Help Text. The rest of this article takes them in that order. Save with Add Field (or Update Field on a field that already exists).

The field settings panel, Settings tab, with the Display Format preview, the Color swatches and the Require switch.

The Settings tab holds how the time looks and whether it is required. Top to bottom: Display Format, Color and Options.

How the logged time looks in a record and in views. The preview box shows the current choice; open it to switch.

Use Pill where the field should stand out in a busy grid. Use Text in views you print or export as images.

Shown only while Display Format is Pill. Pick one of 20 swatches, ten colors in two tints. The default is dark gray. Choosing Text removes the Color section.

Require an entry in this field. Off by default. On, a record cannot be saved until at least one time entry exists. Turn it on where a record without time is a record nobody worked on. Hours Logged leaves it off, because an engagement is created before anyone works on it.

A note for the person filling in the record, up to 800 characters. Help Text Appearance shows it As A Tooltip (the default, behind an info icon next to the field name) or Below The Field Name (always visible).

Write it for someone who has never seen the field. For Hours Logged: "Log your time at the end of each day. Add a note saying what you worked on."

Field Permissions. Every field can carry its own permissions, which control who can see the field and who can edit it. Open the column menu and select Edit Field Permissions. Members with edit access to the record can log time; use Field Permissions to let auditors log time while the client sees only the total. See Field Permissions.

Dynamic Record Permissions. A Time Tracking Log field can also drive record-level rules: who can see or edit a record based on the value it holds. Every field type except Button can drive a rule. See Dynamic Record Permissions.

Every record shows a pill, "0h 0m" until time is logged. Select the pill's chevron to log time or to see the entries.

Logging time. The log editor has three tabs. Duration (the default) takes a length of time in plain words: 1h 30m, 1hr 30 mins or 8 hours. Timer has a green play button and a counter; start it, work, and stop it to log the time. Range takes a start time and an end time. Every tab has Member (you, to start), Date (Today, to start) and Add Note. Select Add Time to save the entry. One entry can hold up to 24 hours, and a note up to 250 characters.

The log editor open from a grid cell, Duration tab, with 2h 15m typed, the member, the date and a note.

Seeing the entries. In a record, the chevron opens a popover with Total Time, a + to add an entry, and one row per member. Expand a member's row to see each entry with its date and a note icon; hover the icon to read the note.

On mobile. The SmartSuite mobile app has Start Timer and Stop Timer on the field. The timer keeps running when you leave the record or close the app, and you can edit the start and end before saving. Tap an entry to edit it; swipe left to delete it. Offline, the timer keeps counting and syncs when the connection returns.

Filter by the total time. "Hours Logged is greater than 40" lists the engagements over budget.

Group a view by the field and engagements are grouped by their total. Turn on the Summary Footer with Sum to see the hours in each group.

Sort 1 → 9 or 9 → 1 from the column menu, so engagements order from least time to most or the reverse.

The field is available in Lookup fields and their filters, and on Linked Record cards. The Summary Footer in a view adds up the totals. A Rollup cannot total the entries; use the Summary Footer or a Formula for that.

A formula reads the entries through a dot and one of four parts: Reported By, Reported On, Reported Time and Note. Hours logged this week:

To list the notes from every entry, each one once:

An automation can use the field. See Automation Actions explained.

A Time Tracking Log field can be placed on a form. See Form View.

Edit or delete an entry. Open the entries from the record, expand the member's row and open the ... menu on the entry. On mobile, tap the entry to edit it or swipe left to delete it.

Add another entry. Select the + in the Total Time popover, or open the log editor from the grid cell.

Change the display format or color. Open Modify Field Settings, change the setting, then Update Field. The entries do not change.

Delete the field. Open the column menu and select Delete Field. The entries go with it. Deleted fields sit in the Recycle Bin for 30 days.

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Last verified 1 Nov 2026.