Correct time in a closed period

Add a signed correction to a time entry whose period is closed, so the net time changes in today's open period while the original entry and the closed period stay untouched.

Written for
admin
Roles
owner, admin
Requires
Owner or Admin; Browser session
Feature
time

A closed period never reopens. When an entry in it turns out to be wrong, an Owner or Admin adds a correction: a new entry, dated today, that carries a positive or negative number of minutes against the original. The original stays exactly as it was closed, and the net effect lands in the open period. Corrections are how SAQ keeps closed periods trustworthy while still letting mistakes be fixed.

Before you start

  • You need the Owner or Admin role. Corrections are made in the browser; API keys cannot create them.
  • The original entry must be in a closed period and must itself be an ordinary entry, not a correction.
  • Today's period must be open. If today's period has been closed already, no correction can be made until a new period exists.

Correct an entry

  1. Open Time, pick the week of the original entry, and, for someone else's time, choose the person under Person.
  2. In the closed day's cell, select Correct… under the entry. The dialog is titled Correct… and shows the original's ticket, author, date, and minutes.
  3. Read the note: "The original stays unchanged. This adjustment belongs to today's open period and inherits the original author and billing attribution."
  4. Under Duration, type the signed minutes. The field is prefilled with the negative of the original, which cancels it; change it to what you need, for example -30 to reduce a 2h entry to 1h30, or 45 to add three quarters of an hour.
  5. Optionally add a Note and a Start time. Select Save.

Fields

Field Meaning
Work date Fixed to today in your time zone. Not editable.
Duration Signed minutes, never zero. Negative reduces the net, positive adds.
Note (staff only) A note for the correction; the original's note is not copied.
Start time (optional) Free to set on the correction.
Billable, Billing client Not editable: inherited from the original.

Rules

  • The correction inherits the original's author, ticket, project, billable flag, billing client, and consultant category. It is attributed to the original's author even though you made it.
  • The running net of an original plus its corrections, taken in date order, may never go below zero: "The correction would make the net time negative."
  • The original is untouched, and the closed period's totals are unchanged in the As of period close report view.
  • A correction's date and attribution can never change afterwards. Its minutes, note, and start time can be edited by an Owner or Admin while today's period is open, and it can be deleted while that period is open.
  • Once a billing run prices the correction, it is frozen like any other entry.

How corrections show up

  • Weekly grid: in today's cell on the same ticket row, marked Adjustment. The original cell in the closed period still shows the original minutes.
  • Ticket page: the Logged figure is the net of originals and corrections.
  • Reports: the Current net view counts the correction in the period it was made, in the Adjustments column; the As of period close view of the closed period is unchanged. See Run time and billing reports.
  • Billing: a correction bills in the period it was made. If the original has already been billed, the next run for that client prices the correction against the original's rate and policy, reversing or adding minutes; if the original is still unbilled, the correction waits and is billed together with it. On the client timesheet the line is marked "correction".

Example

Kari's 3h entry on ACME-184 on 28 August was really 2h, but August is closed. On 19 September an Admin selects Correct… on that entry, types -60, and saves. August still shows 3h as closed; September carries an Adjustment of −1h on ACME-184 attributed to Kari. The September run for the client reverses one hour at the rate August was billed at.

Common problems

"Choose an original entry in a closed period." The entry is in an open period (just edit it), or it is already a correction.

"Today's period is closed." The period containing today has been closed. Corrections need an open period to land in.

"The correction would make the net time negative." The reduction is larger than what remains of the original after earlier corrections.

Correct… is not shown. You are not an Owner or Admin, the day is not in a closed period, or the entry is itself an Adjustment.

"Enter a non-zero duration, for example 1h30. Negative minutes require a correction." The duration is empty or zero. A correction can be negative, but not zero.

  • Close a period Close a month or week so its time entries are frozen for billing, using the four-step wizard with its advisory checklist, first-period boundary, re-authentication, and typed confirmation.
  • Edit or delete a time entry Change or remove a time entry while its period is open, what Owners and Admins can still change after a close, when an entry is frozen, and how to re-attribute unbilled time to a ticket's current billing client.
  • Check your week in the grid Use the Time page to see one week of your time entries per ticket and day, enter or change durations directly in the cells, and compare the total with your weekly target.
  • Run time and billing reports Report minutes and money by person, project, ticket, client, period, category, or outcome for a date range, as the current net or as each period stood when it was closed.
  • Run billing for a client Price a client's time for one closed period with the five-step run wizard, fix blockers, review billing descriptions and bank totals, commit, and void a run when needed.
  • Correction A correction changes the minutes of an entry in a closed period without touching it, as a signed entry dated today that inherits the original's author and attribution.