Time Tracking

Track Time Without a Task

Understand how tracking can start without a valid task selection and how taskless records affect Today, Overview, projects, and invoices.

Can ZMorning track time without a task?

Yes. Start does not require a task ID. If no valid task is selected when the timer starts, the records still belong to the selected employer but have no task or project relationship. After assigned tasks successfully load, the first available task is selected automatically unless a valid saved task is restored, and the loaded list does not offer a persistent No task choice.

Know when taskless tracking occurs

Taskless tracking is a missing-selection outcome rather than a separate tracking mode.

No valid task selected

Start records no task

If Start reads the initial placeholder, an empty list, or another non-task value, it captures a null task value and records the session without task context.

Tasks available

Select the correct assignment

After tasks load successfully, the list contains those assignments without a lasting No task option. The first available task is selected unless a valid saved task is restored. Review the title before Start.

Check the setup before starting without a task

  1. 1

    Confirm the employer

    Read You are working for: on Home. Taskless records still require a valid employer.

  2. 2

    Refresh the task list

    Select Refresh Task List to request the current assignments for that employer.

  3. 3

    Check whether an assignment is expected

    If the work belongs to a known task or project, ask the employer to create or assign that task before tracking whenever practical.

  4. 4

    Start only when the limitation is understood

    If work must begin while no valid task is selected, Start records it for the employer without the task and project context that would normally organize the session.

Understand what is still recorded

Leaving the task empty removes task context; it does not turn the rest of the tracker off.

Employer

The session remains associated with the employer selected at Start.

Tracked slots

Minute records are still organized into the employer's ten-minute time slots.

Activity counts

Enabled keyboard-press and mouse-click counts are collected as usual.

Screenshots

Enabled screenshots can still be captured and stored without a task ID.

No task

The slot cannot display a task title or contribute to task-based summaries.

No project

Without a task, the slot has no path to the project selected on that task.

Know where taskless time appears

The same slot is handled differently depending on whether a page needs task or project context.

Today

The slot remains reviewable

Time, activity, and screenshots can appear, but the slot details do not show a task name.

Desktop history

No task selected

Qualifying recent work-log entries use this label when the slot has no task.

Overview

Included as Unassigned

Tracked totals include the slot, and project distribution groups it under Unassigned.

Project cards

Excluded from project hours

No project can receive the slot because project attribution comes through a selected task.

Billing

Included in tracked employer time

Current hours and amount calculations use employer and employee slots without requiring a task.

Invoices

Can contribute to invoice totals

Taskless slots can be included when invoice hours are calculated for that employee and employer period.

Create a clean boundary when the task becomes available

The current Today page does not provide a control for attaching an existing taskless slot to a task later. Correct the workflow for future records instead of assuming the earlier slot will update automatically.

  1. Stop the current timer. End the taskless session before changing its work context.
  2. Ask for the assignment. Have the employer create or assign the intended task in the web app.
  3. Refresh and select. Reload the desktop task list and confirm the correct title.
  4. Start a new session. Later records will use the selected task and its project.

Troubleshoot taskless tracking

The task selector has no valid task
Wait for loading to finish, confirm the employer, and refresh. If work was expected, ask the employer to verify the employee's task assignment.
I cannot choose No task
This is expected after assignments load successfully. The current list does not include a persistent No task option.
Time appears under Unassigned
The slot has no task and therefore no project. Future sessions need a selected task to appear under its project.
The project total is lower than overall tracked time
Taskless slots contribute to overall employer time but cannot contribute to a project card.
An invoice includes taskless time
This matches the current billing calculation. Review the underlying Today records and billing period before changing invoice status.
I selected a task after the session
The earlier slot remains taskless. Stop, verify the assignment, and use the task for a new session.