Help & Documentation « freckle: time tracking rethought

Help & Documentation

Just getting started with Freckle? Read our Quick Start Guide! It’s the fastest way to get you going.

Want to know about how tagging can improve your experience?

For other questions & issues, keep reading!

Signing in & user accounts

How do I sign in?

Just like you, your Freckle account is a unique and beautiful snowflake… and to log in, you need only to type in its very own unique and beautiful URL.

Your Freckle account’s URL looks like this:

http://uniqueandbeautiful.letsfreckle.com

Where uniqueandbeautiful, of course, is merely a placeholder for your very own account name.
How do I know my account name?

If you are the account administrator, you picked your account name when you signed up. If you are a regular Joe User, you had no say in the URL, alas!

But either way, you should have an email in your archives from Freckle with your login URL.

The email is from Freckle Team and has the subject line “Freckle welcomes you!”
What if I forgot my password?

No problem! Reset your password by going to your Freckle sign-in page, located at:

http://YOURACCTNAME.letsfreckle.com/

And click the “Password Reset” tab on the bottom right.
What if I forgot my domain name (account name)?

Don’t remember your domain? Refer to your welcome email, with the subject line of either freckle welcomes you! (if you created the account) or You’re invited to freckle! (if you were brought onto an existing account).

Still can’t find it? Send us an email with your name & any other information that could help us locate your account.
How do I cancel my account?

This question is under Plans. Click here to go to it!

Logging time & tagging

How do I create a project?

You don’t need to ever create a project in advance with Freckle!

The first time you want to log time for a new project, simply type its name in the PROJECT field (middle field) when you log the time using the Quick Entry box.
How do I create tags?

You never have to create a tag up front with Freckle! You can create it when you need it the first time.

Simply add it to your TAGS/DESCRIPTION field when you enter your time.

See the next question for information on what makes a tag a tag.
What makes a tag a tag, instead of a description?

A tag is like a category, except you can use many tags on a given entry.

You can enter both tags (clickable categories) and more lengthy descriptions (only for that particular entry) whenever you log time, and both go in the third field (TAGS/DESCRIPTIONS) of the Quick Entry box.

A tag is one or two words, and separated by commas. For example:

tag 1, tag 2, this is not a tag

Freckle will automatically create two tags for you (tag 1, tag 2) because they’re 1 to 2 words each.
I want to write a very short description. How do I stop it from becoming a tag?

Freckle automatically creates tags from any comma-separated phrases of two words or fewer. But what if you don’t want them to be tags?

There are two ways to avoid it:

1. Tune the way you write descriptions, to either lengthen them, or skip commas (e.g. “did x, y and z” could become ” x y and z”)

2. Use an exclamation mark (!) to tell Freckle “this is not a tag!”

Example:

!not tag, and some more description here

Freckle will not create any tags from the above example.
Why is my time being rounded? What is a minimum billing increment?

Freckle has a default of 15 minutes for a minimum billing increment. This is standard for many industries, especially design, programming & other creative services.

That means if you enter 3, 5, or 8 minutes, all will be rounded up to 15 minutes. (This reflects the actual cost of changing from one very short task to another, and correctly compensating you for many small interruptions! That’s why it’s a standard practice for consultants.)

If you need to change this, read the next question!
How do I change the auto-rounding increment (minimum billing increment)?

Freckle has industry-standard 15 minute rounding out of the box (so to speak), but you have gobs of options if quarter hours aren’t your thing.

For a project that hasn’t been configured yet, mouseover its little grey dot—from any page—and click to configure.

For a project that’s been configured, click on on the project name—from any page—and then click edit this project.

Then, either way you get there, you will be looking at this little window:

Pick a new increment, click Save and off you go.

NOTA BENE: We’re working on a setting that will apply account-wide. It’s coming v. v. soon!
How do I mark time unbillable?

In any business where you sell your time, it’s absolutely critical to know how much time you spend that you can’t charge for!

Freckle has a powerful shorthand for tracking time you can’t bill for — what we call unbillable time. You mark your time entries as unbillable using special tags. When you apply an “unbillable tag” to any entry, it marks that entry as unbillable time.

An unbillable tag looks like any other tag — up to two words long — except that it is followed by an asterisk (*).

These are examples of unbillable tags you might like to use/create:

invoicing*
initial consultation*
pre-sales*
internal*

Keep reading our FAQ for more about unbillable tags!
How do I create unbillable tags?

There are two ways to create an unbillable tag:

1. Write the tag-word in your tags/description field, like any other tag, but add an asterisk (*) to the end of it. For example:

sales*

2. You can also edit an existing tag to make it unbillable by adding an asterisk (*). But remember, that will affect all existing entries with that tag!
Am I getting the most out of unbillable tags?

You can track your unbillable time several ways with Freckle.

Many Unbillable Tags

With one approach, you may have several tags which define different types of unbillable activities, for example:

initial consultation*
pre-sales*
invoicing*
transit*

Then you can use these tags to be very specific about what type of unbillable time you are tracking, in one go. You’ll have an easy time seeing how much time you spend on pre-sales and initial consultations, no problem!

Just a Couple Unbillable Tags

With the other approach, you take advantage of the fact that a single unbillable tag “taints” the whole time entry and causes it to be unbillable. You might have only one or two tags that indicate an entry is unbillable, and use those in every case.

Then you can log a time entry like this:

3h wireframing, internal*

This approach is best if you like to keep your use of tags to a minimum, and especially if you have cases where the same work (e.g. wireframing) could be billable—or it could be unbillable.

Deleting, Archiving & Managing Projects

How do I delete a project?
There’s a nice big delete permanently button on the individual project page!

Don’t see the button? To delete a project, the project must be empty. It can’t have any time entries in it. This is for your protection, because time is your livelihood. :)

If you’re bound & determined to delete a project that has entries, you can either delete or reassign the entries. But there’s a better option, archiving. If you archive a project, your data is hidden – but safe! You can recover it any time. See the next tip for how to archive.

If you really want to delete a project, here’s how:
1. If the project has time entries, either delete or reassign them all.
2. Click on the project name anywhere in Freckle (including from the Projects tab) to go to its page.
3. Click the red “delete permanently” button at the top right.
Remember, you can’t undo a deleted project!
How do I archive a project (hide it from lists, reports, etc)?
Project list getting a bit cluttered? Want to clear out ones you’re done with?

If you want to get a project out of your lists, and reports, etc., but don’t really want to delete all those time entries, we have a better option for you!

You can ARCHIVE any project, regardless of how many entries it has. (Then, in case you made a mistake or changed your mind, you can always get it back!)

Here’s how you do that:
1. Go to the individual Project page.
2. Click the “archive” button next to the project name.
You can recover an archived project any time—read on!
How do I look at an archived project?

You can look at an archived project any time!

You’ll find a list of them on your Projects tab, at the bottom of the page.

First, go to your Projects page:

Then scroll down:

Click any project name to check it out!
How do I restore an archived project?

To bring an archived project “back to life,” simply go to its Project page (see the above tip!) and click the Reactivate Project button:

Plans & Billing

How do I cancel my account?

All you need to do to close your account is: log in to your Freckle account, click on the Admin button at the top right, and click the Close Account tab in the window that opens. Please read the information carefully before clicking the final link!

You will be redirected to an “Unknown account” page after your successfully canceled account.
How do I change / update my billing information?
First: you must have the power. That is, you need to be logged in as the person who created the account in the first place.

Once you’re logged in as the demigod that you are, click the Admin tab at the top right:

Now you’re in the Admin area.

Clickety click on that Billing tab if you’re not already on it (you should be), and there you can:
- change up your credit card
- change up your credit card’s billing address
- enter an alternative address for the invoice (purely for show, special tax needs, etc.)
How do I upgrade / downgrade my Freckle plan?

First: you must have the power. That is, you need to be logged in as the person who created the account in the first place. (Just like for your billing details, because this kinda move potentially involves money and data!)

Once you’re logged in as the demigod that you are, click the Admin tab at the top right:

Now you’re in the Admin area.

Click that little Upgrade/Downgrade tab on the left, and you’ll see a list of plans, just like this:

As you can see, your current plan is demonstrated both in verbal form and in shiny, shiny colors. And next to the other plans are the things you can do with them: either upgrade to them, or downgrade to them.

Or… you might not see a cute little downgrade button next to the future plan of your choice. You might see how to downgrade as a link. This means you have to make some changes to your account before you’ll be able to fit in the smaller plan.

There’s more info here, if you want to downgrade
How do I downgrade to a Personal (forever free) account?

Alas! And Alack! You cannot, not at this moment.

Downgrading to a Personal account is a bit more tricky because of the data limits, although we are working on a solution.

If you need to downgrade to a Personal account, email our friendly customer ambassador.
What happens when I upgrade from the free trial to a higher Freckle plan?

First of all, the extra goodies (invoicing, more user accounts) will be available immediately.

And, because Freckle is billed monthly on an in-advance basis, your free trial will end, and you will be charged immediately for your next month of service, and your billing date will change to the day you upgraded each month.
What happens when I upgrade to a higher Freckle plan?

First of all, the extra goodies (invoicing, more user accounts) will be available immediately.

And, because Freckle is billed monthly on an in-advance basis, you will be charged immediately for your next month of service, and your billing date will change to the day you upgraded each month.
Oops! My credit card didn’t go through because of a temporary problem. What happens next?

First off: don’t panic! We know these things happen.

Your account will continue to work fully for 30 days past a failed credit card transaction.

We will attempt to automatically rebill your card in just a few days.

If your billing information is incorrect, sign in and update it and we will try again with the new information.

Past 30 days’ due, your account will be locked. You’ll still be able to log in to update the billing information, but not enter time or run reports. No matter how long your account has been locked, you only need to pay one month’s billing in order to reopen it.
How can I view past Freckle payment receipts?

If you’re the admin on your Freckle account, log in, click the Admin tab, then click on Billing if it’s not already selected.

Under the Invoices headline, you’ll see a select menu. Click it to view, print, or save any past invoice (in a new window).
I’m in a country with strict business tax laws. How can I set extra information to appear on my Freckle email receipts?

You can add any information to your Freckle invoice that you need!

If you’re the admin on your Freckle account, log in, click the Admin tab, then click on Billing if it’s not already selected.

Under the Have special invoice needs? heading, you can enter an alternative address to your credit card billing address, and include any additional information you need such as tax ID numbers or contact persons.

Be sure to click the Save button when you’re done!
Can I pay with PayPal?

Sorry, not at this time!

We’re investigating PayPal subscriptions as an option, but there are many complexities if you want to upgrade, downgrade, or cancel your account.

If PayPal is the only way you could pay for Freckle, please let us know by email so we can notify you if we are able to add PayPal as an option.

Exporting data, Integrations, & the API

Can I export data from Freckle?
Yes, absolutely. Your data is always yours.

There are several ways you can get your data out of Freckle:
1. Subscribe to your RSS feed
2. Download the results of any report as a comma-separated values file (CSV) — there’s a button on every Report page
3. Query any tag, project, or report as XML
4. Use our API
Keep reading the below questions for details.
How can I subscribe to an RSS feed of time entries?

Log into your account, click the Pulse tab, and you’ll see an orange feed button right there:

This RSS feed includes all entries for all people who log time on your account.
How can I get Freckle data in CSV?

First, run a report for any time frame, people, tags, & projects you’re interested in. Then, on the report page, you’ll see a button to download all of the time entries in that report as a CSV file:
Does Freckle export to Excel, QuickBooks, or other applications?

Unfortunately, no, not at this time. However, almost all spreadsheet and accounting packages will import data from CSV (comma-separated values).

See the previous question on how to get any Freckle data you need in CSV format!
How can I get Freckle data in XML?
You can export most Freckle data types as XML, even without using the API. It’s a little annoying still (we’re working on it!), but here’s how.
1. Go to any page for a report, person, tag, or project
2. Add .xml to the end of the page’s URL
3. Your browser will try to render the XML output. Save the file as text using your browser’s file options.
Does Freckle have an API?

Yes!

To learn more, visit our API documentation on Github.
Where do I get my Freckle API token?

Every user account has his/her own unique API token.

You can find it under Settings > Integration (API):
Can I log time to Freckle from the command-line?

Yes, we have an unofficial RubyGem you can use to track time from a CLI. View the repository on Github.

You can also log time from your commit messages when using repository hosting services like Beanstalk and GitHub. See below for more information!
Sorry, but we can’t provide support for Ruby, Ruby Gems, or this particular tool!
What open source libraries use the Freckle API?
Here are some tools written by Freckle users:
- A Command-line RubyGem client written by our own Dieter Komendera
- A Clojure library
- A Ruby client
If you have a project you’d like us to list, please let us know!

Note: We can’t provide support for any third-party tools or code which uses the Freckle API (including those written by the Freckle team)! Sorry.
Can I log time from Beanstalk or GitHub commit messages?

Yes, you can!

Both Beanstalk and GitHub have integration with Freckle time tracking. You can log time directly from your commit messages, with descriptions and tags.

See the following questions for information on how to set it up.
How do I configure Beanstalk to log time to Freckle?

You can log time from any Beanstalk account, for any Beanstalk repository.

For information on how to configure it, see the excellent instructions on the Beanstalk web site.
How do I configure GitHub to log time to Freckle?
To set up GitHub configuration, first get your API token. (That’s covered a little earlier on this page.)

Then log into your GitHub account and go to the repo you’d like to link to Freckle.

Under the name of your repo, click the Service Hooks tab next to General Settings:

Then choose Freckle from the list that appears:

Finally, you’ll get to the configuration screen. You’ll need to enter three things:
1. Your account name (subdomain; e.g. http://youraccountname.letsfreckle.com)
2. Your unique API token
3. The exact, pre-existing Freckle project name you’d like to log time for
For an account named nutsnbolts (e.g. http://nutsnbolts.letsfreckle.com), your configuration should look like this:

Keep in mind that it’s critical that the project name is exactly the same as it is in Freckle! That includes any punctuation such as spaces, dashes, & whatnot.

The email addresses for each GitHub user account must also match the email addresses we have for that person in Freckle.

Once you’re all configured, save and click the Test Hook link.
How do I add time to my commit messages for Beanstalk?
Add time to your commit message using square brackets containing the key f: followed by the amount of time you’d like to log.

For example, [f:5m] will log 5 minutes, so will [f:5], [f:1] will log an hour, [f:1h] will also log an hour, and so on. The [f:xx] syntax offers the same smart time parsing features as the Quick Entry box.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of how you can specify time:
- m, min, mins, minute, minutes – Sets the time
  in minutes (e.g. 15m)
- h, hr, hrs, hour, hours – Sets the time in
  hours (e.g. 1h)
- d, day, days – Sets the time in working days
  (e.g. 1d would be 8 hours)
- 4 – Sets the time in hours
- 4,15 4.15 4:15 – Sets the time in hours and
  minutes
The rest of your message will be used to create tags and description. The syntax is exactly the same as the TAGS/DESCRIPTION field in the Quick Entry.

For example:

"tag 1, tag2, here's a longer description [f:1.5h]"
How do I add time to my commit messages for GitHub?
Add time to your commit message by adding f: followed by the amount of time you’d like to log.

For example, f:5m will log 5 minutes, so will f:5, f:1 will log an hour, f:1h will also log an hour, and so on. The f:xx syntax offers the same smart time parsing features as the Quick Entry box.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of how you can specify time:
- m, min, mins, minute, minutes – Sets the time
  in minutes (e.g. 15m)
- h, hr, hrs, hour, hours – Sets the time in
  hours (e.g. 1h)
- d, day, days – Sets the time in working days
  (e.g. 1d would be 8 hours)
- 4 – Sets the time in hours
- 4,15 4.15 4:15 – Sets the time in hours and
  minutes
The rest of your message will be used to create tags and description. The syntax is exactly the same as the TAGS/DESCRIPTION field in the Quick Entry.

For example:

tag 1, tag2, here's a longer description f:1.5h

The f:xx part will not show up as part of the description in Freckle.

For our non-US Customers

I’m in a country with strict business tax laws. How can I set extra information to appear on my Freckle email receipts?

You can add any information to your Freckle invoice that you need!

If you’re the admin on your Freckle account, log in, click the Admin tab, then click on Billing if it’s not already selected.

Under the Have special invoice needs? heading, you can enter an alternative address to your credit card billing address, and include any additional information you need such as tax ID numbers or contact persons.

Be sure to click the Save button when you’re done!
Can I set the week to begin on Monday?

Absolutely!

To set your week to begin on Monday (instead of the default, Sunday), log in to your Freckle account, click the Settings button in the top bar. Then click the Preferences tab.

Swap the Weeks start on… select list to your day of choice.
Can I pay in euros (or other currency)?

Sorry, not at this time!

But let us know if it’s important to you, so we can evaluate the level of interest. Click the pink Feedback button on any Freckle screen.

Help & Documentation

Signing in & user accounts

Logging time & tagging

Deleting, Archiving & Managing Projects

Plans & Billing

Exporting data, Integrations, & the API

For our non-US Customers

Signing in & user accounts

How do I sign in?

How do I know my account name?

What if I forgot my password?

What if I forgot my domain name (account name)?

How do I cancel my account?

Logging time & tagging

How do I create a project?

How do I create tags?

What makes a tag a tag, instead of a description?

I want to write a very short description. How do I stop it from becoming a tag?

Why is my time being rounded? What is a minimum billing increment?

How do I change the auto-rounding increment (minimum billing increment)?

How do I mark time unbillable?

How do I create unbillable tags?

Am I getting the most out of unbillable tags?

Many Unbillable Tags

Just a Couple Unbillable Tags

Deleting, Archiving & Managing Projects

How do I delete a project?

How do I archive a project (hide it from lists, reports, etc)?

How do I look at an archived project?

How do I restore an archived project?

Plans & Billing

How do I cancel my account?

How do I change / update my billing information?

How do I upgrade / downgrade my Freckle plan?

How do I downgrade to a Personal (forever free) account?

What happens when I upgrade from the free trial to a higher Freckle plan?

What happens when I upgrade to a higher Freckle plan?

Oops! My credit card didn’t go through because of a temporary problem. What happens next?

How can I view past Freckle payment receipts?

I’m in a country with strict business tax laws. How can I set extra information to appear on my Freckle email receipts?

Can I pay with PayPal?

Exporting data, Integrations, & the API

Can I export data from Freckle?

How can I subscribe to an RSS feed of time entries?

How can I get Freckle data in CSV?

Does Freckle export to Excel, QuickBooks, or other applications?

How can I get Freckle data in XML?

Does Freckle have an API?

Where do I get my Freckle API token?

Can I log time to Freckle from the command-line?

What open source libraries use the Freckle API?

Can I log time from Beanstalk or GitHub commit messages?

How do I configure Beanstalk to log time to Freckle?

How do I configure GitHub to log time to Freckle?

How do I add time to my commit messages for Beanstalk?

How do I add time to my commit messages for GitHub?

For our non-US Customers

I’m in a country with strict business tax laws. How can I set extra information to appear on my Freckle email receipts?

Can I set the week to begin on Monday?

Can I pay in euros (or other currency)?

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