When you switch a workspace to Project time with automatic working time, users continue to record project time while timeghost automatically creates the corresponding working time and breaks.
How the transition works depends on how time was recorded in the workspace before the switch. A cutoff date is only required when switching from Project time only. If working time and project time were previously recorded separately, automatic working time starts immediately after the switch.
In short When switching from Project time only, you select a cutoff date for automatic working time. If your workspace already uses both working time and project time as separate entries, no cutoff date is required—the new automatic logic applies immediately after the switch.
Which transition applies to your workspace?
There are two possible transition scenarios:
| Previous setup | Transition to automatic working time |
|---|---|
| Project time only | A cutoff date determines when automatic working time starts |
| Working time and project time recorded separately | No cutoff date is required; automatic working time starts immediately after the switch |
In both cases, users continue to record project time after the transition. timeghost then uses newly created project time to generate the corresponding working time and breaks automatically.
Switching from Project time only
If your workspace currently uses Project time only, you select a cutoff date when switching to Project time with automatic working time.
The cutoff date defines the point from which newly created project time can generate separate working time.
The cutoff date cannot be set in the past.
For dates on or after the cutoff, newly created project time generates the corresponding working time automatically. Existing project time from before the cutoff remains unchanged and is not converted retroactively into separate working time.
This provides a clear transition between the previous project-time-only setup and the new automatic working-time logic.
What happens to project time from before the cutoff?
Existing project time from before the cutoff remains part of your historical data.
It does not automatically create separate working time when the workspace is switched. Editing a project time entry from before the cutoff later also does not retroactively create working time for that entry.
This prevents the switch from changing historical project time or creating additional working time for periods that were recorded under the previous setup.
Switching from separate working time and project time
If users previously recorded working time and project time separately, the transition works differently.
In this case, there is no cutoff date.
Once the workspace has been switched to Project time with automatic working time, the automatic logic applies immediately. From that point onward, newly created project time is used to generate the corresponding working time and breaks automatically.
Users therefore no longer need to maintain the same working periods separately as both project time and working time.
How working time is generated after the switch
Once automatic working time applies, timeghost derives working time from newly created project time.
For example, gaps between project time entries can become breaks, while overlapping project times are counted only once when calculating working time. Working time entries themselves cannot overlap.
If a project time entry that has generated working time is changed, the associated working time is updated accordingly.
Project time and working time remain separate types of data: project time continues to describe what users worked on, while working time represents when they worked.
Working time features after the switch
Because the workspace now maintains separate working time, working-time-specific features can be used together with the automatically created entries.
Depending on your workspace configuration, this includes working schedules, target hours, working time rules, absences, and time accounts.
Working time rules can either warn users about violations or enforce compliance. If compliance is enforced, an entry that violates the configured rules cannot be saved until it has been corrected.
Project-related functionality such as projects, tasks, budgets, billable time, and profitability continues to use the underlying project time.
Before switching
Before changing the time tracking setup, first identify which transition applies to your workspace.
If you are switching from Project time only, choose the cutoff date carefully because it determines when separate working time begins and cannot be set in the past.
If working time and project time are already recorded separately, no cutoff date is needed. The automatic creation of working time begins immediately after the setup is changed.
What’s next?
→ Project time with automatic working time – what you need to know
Learn how project time and automatically created working time work together.
→ Project time only – what you need to know
Learn how project time tracking works without separate working time.
→ Choose the right time tracking setup
Compare all three time tracking setups and their intended use.