Time tracking at basement

Guiding Principles

• The goal is clarity, not control.

• Time tracking helps us see patterns, improve estimates, and protect everyone’s bandwidth.

• Accuracy and timing matters more than perfection. Guess honestly, don’t overthink it and log your time everyday

How to track time?

We track time in Harvest. You should log time every day for retainer projects (the ones with a fixed bucket of hours). For the rest, weekly works, but keep in mind that by the end of the week you might forget a few details of what you did.

It’s mandatory to log hours for retainer projects and any projects selected as samples to gather high-quality, accurate data (you’ll be told this during the internal project KO). It’s also required for any projects where the client specifically requests it.

Every project and category should already be set up, just pick the right one before logging your hours. If you don’t see your assigned project or aren’t sure whether yours needs time tracking, ping Lisandro or Martina and they’ll sort it out.

And yes, you’ll make Matata and Berna really happy if you log your time on all your projects 😄

Step by Step

1. Go to the harvest web app

2. Choose the day you day you want to log the time

3. Click on the “Track Time” green button

4. Select your project

5. Select the category: you’ll typically find 3D & Motion, Design, Development, and Management. Choose based on your role.

6. Add the notes: This part is mandatory. Write them in English, following this format:

   1. [Client_Name] - [Project_Name]: Task

   2. Example: Vercel - Vercel Shop - Visual explorations for the cart

7. Add the amount of time: Log the actual time you spent. If you’re fully allocated to a project, it’s unlikely you worked exactly 8 hours on it — if it was 6, log 6. Be as realistic as possible. Meetings and all activities related to the project (exploration, project setup, etc.) should also be logged.

8. Save entry

Why we need this data?

This data is the raw material for the Finance team’s work, so it’s important to understand they need high-quality information (monitored for quantity, quality, and timing) to do their job effectively. This information also helps us:

• Use project time wisely for retainers. Some projects have a fixed bucket of hours we can’t exceed without client approval.

• Determine actual time spent. Track how much time each project really takes to assess profitability, spot deviations from estimates, and improve future planning.

• Optimize team allocation. See where time goes to plan capacity, balance workloads, and assign teams better. Avoiding burnout and matching the right people to each project.

• Improve estimation accuracy. Use historical data to refine quotes, reduce variance, and allocate the right amount of time so projects don’t end up rushed.

• Evaluate sales modalities: Understand how different pricing models affect profitability.

• Identify idle time: Spot underused capacity and its cost impact. This also helps plan vacations better and know when to invest time in internal or new projects.

• Analyze billable vs. non-billable hours: Track how much time goes into client work versus internal efforts, and what that means financially.

When do we need to track time?

As a rule of thumb, it’s always best to track your time. It becomes mandatory when you’re working on a retainer project, since we need visibility into how much to charge the client and to stay within the agreed time bucket. It’s also required if you’re part of one of the projects selected as a “proyecto testigo.”