Time Recording
Time recording captures the labour hours spent on a work order. Formbird FLEET offers two ways to record time: a Time Recorder toggle that runs a background timer, and manual Work Effort entry.
Time Recorder Toggle
The Time Recorder toggle is the quickest way to capture time on a work order. When you turn it on, a timer starts running in the background for your account.
To start recording: 1. Open the work order. 2. Locate the Time Recorder section. 3. Toggle the switch on. The timer starts from this moment.
To stop recording: 1. Return to the work order. 2. Toggle the switch off. The elapsed time is saved as a time record against the work order.
More than one person can have the toggle on at the same time on the same work order — each account's time is tracked independently.
Manual Work Effort Entry
Where configured, the Work Effort panel on a work order allows labour hours to be entered manually. This is available as an alternative or a supplement to the time recorder toggle.
Controlling Which Methods Are Available
Both time recording methods can be hidden per work order type in Work Order Configuration. This lets you restrict users to one method or the other across your site.
| To hide | Turn off this field | Located in |
|---|---|---|
| Time recorder toggle | Create Time Recorder | Assignment and Status |
| Manual time entry | New Time Recorder button | Work Effort |
Both settings are configured independently for each work order type — so you can, for example, hide manual entry on Repair work orders while leaving it available on PM Service work orders.
Viewing Time Records
The Time Recorders panel on the Workshop Dashboard shows recent time entries for the selected workshops. Supervisors can use this to review time logged by their team.
Active time recorders — timers currently running — appear in the Outstanding Items panel under Active Time Recorders, making it easy to spot timers left running by mistake.
Work orders with no time logged after a month appear under Work Orders Without Time Recorders (Rolling Month) in Outstanding Items.
Time Recorders Panel Configuration
The Time Recorders panel has two configuration settings in Workshop Dashboard Configuration:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Only Show User's Time Recorders | When enabled, the panel shows only time entries created by the logged-in user. When disabled, all entries for the selected workshops are shown. |
| Show Time Recorders for Days | Sets how many days of entries appear in the panel. Accepts values from 1 to 7 — defaults to 7. |
The panel itself can also be hidden entirely for specific roles using the Show Panels settings in the dashboard configuration.
Time Reports
Detailed time reporting is available via the Workshop Dashboard navigation menu:
- Time Recorder Documents — a listing of all time recorder documents
- Time Recorder Report — a summary report of time recorded across work orders
Published: May 2026 · Formbird FLEET 4.2.8