VERA

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Time Tracking ​

Time entries are the atomic unit of VERA. Everything else — budgets, burn rates, financials — flows from the hours logged.

What is a time entry? ​

A single logged record of work. Every entry has exactly five meaningful fields:

FieldDescriptionExample
user_idWho did the workAlice (resolved from her Slack ID)
project_idWhat project it's forNike Rebrand
task_idWhat type of workDevelopment
hoursHow many hours4.5 (stored as decimal)
dateWhen it happened2026-03-28
notesOptional context"Fixed auth bug on login page"

There's also an id — a permanent sequential number assigned when the entry is created. Use this ID to edit or delete the entry later.

Task is always required ​

VERA will never log time without a task type. If you don't specify one, VERA will ask.

User: "4 hours on Nike"

VERA: "What type of work? (Development, Design, QA, Project Management, Client Meeting, Admin)"

This is not optional. Tasks are what connect hours to cost categories, envelopes, and billability.

Hours format ​

Always use hours-and-minutes format in conversation:

  • ✅ "4h 30m"
  • ✅ "2h"
  • ✅ "45m"
  • ❌ "4.5 hours"
  • ❌ "4.5h"

VERA stores hours as a decimal internally (4.5), but always presents and accepts them as 4h 30m.

Billable vs. non-billable tasks ​

Each task type has an is_billable flag. Billable tasks generate revenue. Non-billable tasks are tracked for cost purposes only.

Example: "Admin" is typically non-billable. "Development" is typically billable. The billability is set per task type, not per entry.

Project type also affects this: Pro Bono projects have is_billable = false regardless of task type.

Logging for others ​

By default, Users can only log time for themselves. Managers can log time for people on their assigned projects (e.g. via log_sick_day or log_leave). Owners can log for anyone.

When logging via @mention, VERA uses the Slack user ID from the mention — name-based matching is less reliable and not used.

Editing and deleting entries ​

Use the entry's id to reference it:

  • edit_entry — change hours or notes. Owners can edit any entry; Users can only edit their own.
  • delete_entry — permanently removes the entry. Same permission rules.

There is no "soft delete." Deleted entries are gone. VERA will warn you before the deletion.

How entries relate to budgets ​

Logging time does not deduct from an envelope automatically in a blocking sense — but VERA tracks the relationship:

  • get_project_status shows hours logged vs. task budgets
  • get_estimates_vs_actuals compares allocated hours to actual logged hours
  • Morning summaries flag people whose logged hours exceed their envelope

The system is transparent, not restrictive. You can always log more than your budget — the alerts tell you when that's happening.

Time entry IDs ​

Every entry gets a permanent sequential ID assigned at creation. IDs are never reused, even if an entry is deleted. This means:

  • You can always reference entry #42 in conversation: "Edit entry 42"
  • VERA confirms the ID when logging: "Logged 4h on Nike Rebrand (Development) (ID: 42)"
  • Historical audit trails are reliable

The person field (deprecated) ​

The schema includes a person column (column C in 01. Time Entries), but it is deprecated and always written as an empty string. Person is resolved from user_id when needed. Do not rely on this column in reporting formulas — always join via user_id.

Protected time-off projects ​

Three special projects exist for absence tracking:

  • Out of Office — for PTO/vacation
  • Sick — for sick days
  • Leave — for unpaid or extended leave

Users cannot log directly to these projects. Time is only recorded here through the formal request and approval workflow. See Time Off Requests.

Further reading ​

VERA by talktalkmake