Prove the export with six fictional records.
A six-case acceptance fixture and duration converter for checking time-record exports: units, dates, corrections, duplicate records and missing fields.
Check a small, known fixture against the exported file and the recipient’s interpretation. Matching a dashboard total alone is not enough.
Start with a written export specification
Name the recipient, required identifiers, date convention, timezone, duration unit and accepted review state. Use fictional names and projects. Keep the original export unchanged and examine a copy; record the product, plan, role, selected date range and grouping. A failure should point to a specific missing field or inconsistent value, not a vague feeling that the report looks wrong.
Catch the minutes-versus-decimals mistake
Seven hours and thirty minutes equals 450 minutes, or 7.5 decimal hours. Reading 7.30 as decimal hours instead represents 438 minutes: a twelve-minute difference. The tool below converts a single duration and compares it with a decimal value. It does not calculate pay, entitlement, overtime or billable time. Inputs stay in this page and disappear on reload.
Duration cross-check
Difference = exported duration minus entered duration. No rounding or pay rule is applied. No input is uploaded.
Run the six cases
These are proposed acceptance cases, not results of our product testing. Choose the expected outcome with the recipient before running them. Mark a case unresolved if the software cannot demonstrate it. Do not invent a missing field after export and then claim the product supplied it.
Scroll horizontally to compare every column.
| Case | Fictional input | What to inspect |
|---|---|---|
| Unit | 7 h 30 min | 450 minutes or 7.5 hours; explicit unit |
| Correction | 45 min changed to 60 min | Accepted version and original reference remain explainable |
| Cutoff | Record near midnight | Expected date in the agreed timezone |
| Grouping | Two projects on one day | Project detail survives if required |
| Duplicate | Same record appears in two files | Stable reference or documented way to avoid double counting |
| Missing field | Recipient needs review state | An actual field or a separate controlled process; otherwise unresolved |
Reconcile totals without hiding the differences
First compare row count and required identifiers. Then compare durations in one common unit, keeping enough precision to explain rounding. Check date boundaries and corrected records separately. For example, three entries of 20 minutes total one hour. Rounding each entry to 0.33 hours produces 0.99; this is a rounding-policy difference to resolve, not evidence that a minute vanished. Preserve exact source values while diagnosing.
Check product-specific export constraints
DeskTime’s documentation supports CSV and Excel exports, grouping and templates. Custom exports require a user name and email. Its export roles limit which people’s records each user can include. Time Doctor documents multiple duration formats and daily or per-user totals; attendance fields are unavailable in the totals layout. Test your intended role and layout rather than assuming every download has identical columns.
Put this check into the wider workflow
Continue with the specific decision your record still needs.
Sources and boundaries
Primary documentation supports the dated product facts. Proposed checks and fictional examples are our editorial method, not observed product results.
- DeskTime — export · checked September 23, 2026
- Time Doctor — export · checked September 23, 2026
- DeskTime — roles · checked September 23, 2026