Choose entry, daily or period totals
Keep the detail necessary for the decision and avoid inferring lost history.
Use the least detailed report that still answers the recipient’s question, while preserving a path back to the evidence needed for corrections. Aggregated totals cannot reveal detail that was discarded.
Identify the level of the decision
An entry-level review asks which event changed. A daily review asks how a day’s records reconcile. A period summary asks for a total across a defined window. These are different records with different keys. Choose deliberately instead of treating a total-per-person export as a substitute for every detailed report.
Compare the three forms using fictional data
Two entries of 30 and 45 minutes become a 75-minute daily total. Several daily totals become a period total. The sum can remain correct while record IDs, start times, reasons and correction history disappear. Time Doctor documents daily and total-per-user breakdowns; some selectable fields differ by layout. Verify the chosen breakdown against the requirements rather than assuming all columns survive aggregation.
Avoid mixing detail and summaries
If a file contains daily totals alongside the underlying entries, do not sum every numeric row together. Mark the row type or keep separate tables with explicit relationships. Choose one basis for each reconciliation. A parent total can be a check value without being another item to add. Confirm how the recipient distinguishes these rows before import.
Preserve traceability without oversharing
A recipient may only need approved project totals, while a designated reviewer retains the underlying entry evidence. Provide the minimum fields required for the recipient and a batch identity for questions. If a dispute requires detail, retrieve it through the authorized process rather than routinely sending every activity field. If only totals were retained, be honest that individual intervals may no longer be recoverable.
Continue this work-record check
Use the linked guide for the next decision in this workflow. Keep your original records separate from experiments and record any unresolved requirement before changing a live process.
Sources and boundaries
Primary documentation supports the dated product facts. Proposed checks and fictional examples are our editorial method, not observed product results.
- Time Doctor — export · checked September 23, 2026
- Clockify — detail · checked September 23, 2026