Terminology Guide - AI Enabled Time Tracking (Task Hours, Billable & Non Billable Hours, Away and Idle Hours)
Overview
Flowace captures and classifies every hour of an employee's workday into a structured, transparent framework. From the moment an employee starts their day, all time is measured and categorised - automatically where possible, and with user input where context is needed.
At the top level, all time sits within Logged Hours, which breaks into three states: Active (on-screen work detected by the system), Away (off-device time classified by the user), and Idle (inactivity beyond a set threshold).
In the Task View, Active and Away time is further divided based on task attribution: Task Hours (time explicitly logged against a task) and Non-Task Hours (time with no task associated).
Task hours are further split into Billable and Non-Billable, depending on whether the associated task is marked as billable.
This document is your reference for understanding every metric Flowace reports in the Task View - what it measures, how it is calculated, and what it looks like in a real workday.
Task Hours (Active) are manually captured by the user via a task popup. Idle Hours are auto-captured by the system. Away time is manually classified by the user via a pop-up prompt on return to their device. Away Task Hours are also manually captured by the user.
Terms & Definition
Term | Definition |
|---|---|
Logged Hours | Total time in a day from the employee's first login to their last logout. This is the outermost container for all time in Flowace. Logged Hours = Active Hours + Away Hours + Idle Hours |
Active Hours | Time spent by a user actively working on their laptop or desktop. The title window and URL of every application visited is captured automatically. Active Hours = Task Hours (Active) + Non-Task Hours (Active) |
Away Hours | Time during which the user is away from their device - such as client calls, meetings, or breaks. The user manually classifies the activity type via a system pop-up on return. Away Hours = Task Hours (Away) + Non-Task Hours (Away) |
Idle Hours | Time spent idle on the system. If there is no mouse or keyboard input for 3 minutes (or as per the configured threshold), the user is automatically marked as idle. |
Task Hours (Active) | Active screen time that has been explicitly logged against a task by the user - for example, time logged to a project milestone or deliverable. Manually captured. Task Hours (Active) = Billable Hours (Active) + Non-Billable Hours (Active) |
Non-Task Hours (Active) | Active screen time during which no task was running or logged. The user was on their device but did not attribute the time to any specific task. Auto-captured. |
Billable Hours (Active) | A subset of Task Hours (Active). Active time logged against tasks marked as billable - typically client-facing project work or deliverables. |
Non-Billable Hours (Active) | A subset of Task Hours (Active). Active time logged against tasks not marked as billable - typically internal meetings, admin tasks, or team activities. |
Task Hours (Away) | Away time that has been manually attributed to a task by the user - for example, a client call taken away from the laptop. Task Hours (Away) = Billable Hours (Away) + Non-Billable Hours (Away) |
Non-Task Hours (Away) | Away time with no task logged. The user was away from their device but did not attribute the time to a specific task (e.g. a lunch break or bio break). |
Billable Hours (Away) | A subset of Task Hours (Away). Away time logged against tasks marked as billable (e.g. a client call taken on a mobile phone). |
Task Hours | Total task-attributed time across both active and away states. Task Hours = Task Hours (Active) + Task Hours (Away) |
Non-Task Hours | Total unattributed time across both active and away states. Non-Task Hours = Non-Task Hours (Active) + Non-Task Hours (Away) |
Billable Hours | Total billable time across both active and away states. Billable Hours are always less than or equal to Task Hours. Billable Hours = Billable Hours (Active) + Billable Hours (Away) |
Non Billable Hours | Total non-billable task time across both active and away states. Non-Billable Hours = Non-Billable Hours (Active) + Non-Billable Hours (Away) |
Date | The calendar date of the recorded entry. |
User Id | Employee ID or User ID assigned to each employee. |
User Name | Full display name of the employee. |
Teams | Organisational grouping(s) the user belongs to in Flowace. |
Expected Day Start | Configured start time of the employee's scheduled working day. |
Expected Shift Start | Configured start time of the assigned shift within the working day. |
Work Start Time | Actual first login time recorded by the system for the day. |
Expected Day End | Configured end time of the employee's scheduled working day. |
Expected Shift End | Configured end time of the assigned shift within the working day. |
Work End Time | Actual last logout time recorded by the system for the day. |
Expected Hours (Active) | The expected number of on-screen active hours defined for the employee's shift. |
Missing Hours (Active) | Shortfall between Expected Hours (Active) and actual Active Hours recorded for the day. Highlights shift adherence gaps. Missing Hours (Active) = Expected Hours (Active) − Active Hours |
Activity % | Ratio of Active and Away Hours to Logged Hours. Measures on-screen engagement intensity. Activity % = (Active + Away Hours) ÷ Logged Hours × 100 |
Billable % | Ratio of Billable Hours to total Task Hours. Measures how much of an employee's task-logged time is client-billable. Billable % = Billable Hours ÷ Task Hours × 100 |
Task Hours % | Ratio of Task Hours (Active) to Active Hours. Measures how much of active on-screen time has been explicitly attributed to a task. Task Hours % = Task Hours (Active) ÷ Active Hours × 100 |
Logged Hrs MET % | KPI metric indicating the percentage attainment of the logged hours target set for the user or team. Logged Hrs MET % = Actual Logged Hours ÷ Target Logged Hours × 100 |
Scenarios
Term | Scenario |
|---|---|
Logged Hours | Arjun's laptop wakes up at 9:00 AM when he logs in, and he shuts it down at 6:30 PM. His Logged Hours = 9 hrs 30 mins, regardless of what he did during that window. |
Active Hours | Throughout the day, Arjun works across Jira, MS Teams, Google Docs, and his project management dashboard. The system records all title windows and URLs during these on-screen periods. His total on-screen time amounts to 6 hrs 45 mins of Active Hours. |
Away Hours | Arjun steps away from his desk twice during the day. Once for a client review call on his phone, and once for a lunch break. On returning each time, a system pop-up prompts him to classify the away period. His combined away time totals 1 hr 45 mins of Away Hours. |
Idle Hours | At 3:30 PM, Arjun walks over to a colleague's desk for an impromptu discussion and leaves his screen unlocked. After 3 minutes of no input (or as per the configured threshold), the system marks him as idle. He returns at 4:30 PM. 1 hr 00 min is logged as Idle Hours. |
Task Hours (Active) | From 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM, Arjun selects a task from Flowace's desktop app for "Client A - Project Scoping" while working in Jira and Google Docs. This 2 hrs 30 mins block is logged as Task Hours (Active). Later, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, he logs another 2 hrs against an internal "Sprint Planning" task. Total Task Hours (Active) = 4 hrs 30 mins. |
Non-Task Hours (Active) | Between 11:30 AM and 12:00 PM, and again from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM, Arjun is active on his device, responding to Slack messages, reviewing dashboards, reading emails, but no task is selected. These 2 hrs 15 mins accumulate as Non-Task Hours (Active). |
Billable Hours (Active) | Arjun's "Client A - Project Scoping" task (2 hrs 30 mins) and a "Client B - Status Deck" task (0 hrs 45 mins) are both marked billable in the system. Together, they contribute 3 hrs 15 mins to Billable Hours (Active). |
Non-Billable Hours (Active) | Arjun's "Sprint Planning" task (1 hr 15 mins) is an internal task not marked billable. These 1 hr 15 mins are recorded as Non-Billable Hours (Active). |
Task Hours (Away) | At 12:00 PM, Arjun steps away for a 45-minute client review call on his mobile. On returning, he classifies the block via the system pop-up and attributes it to "Client A - Weekly Review" (a billable task). These 45 mins are recorded as Task Hours (Away). |
Non-Task Hours (Away) | Arjun's 1-hour lunch break from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM is classified via the pop-up as "Lunch Break" with no associated task. This is recorded as Non-Task Hours (Away). |
Billable Hours (Away) | The 45-minute client review call attributed to "Client A - Weekly Review" is a billable task. These 45 mins are recorded as Billable Hours (Away). |
Non-Billable Hours (Away) | No away time was attributed to a non-billable task on this day. Non-Billable Hours (Away) = 0 mins. |
Missing Hours (Active) | Arjun's shift requires 7 hrs of active screen time. His actual Active Hours = 6 hrs 45 mins. Missing Hours (Active) = 15 mins, indicating near-full day adherence with a small gap. |
Activity % | Active Hours = 6 hrs 45 mins (405 mins), Away Hours = 1 hr 45 mins (105 mins), Logged Hours = 9 hrs 30 mins (570 mins). Activity % = (405 + 105) ÷ 570 × 100 = 89.5%. |
Billable % | Billable Hours = 4 hrs 00 mins (240 mins), Task Hours = 5 hrs 15 mins (315 mins). Billable % = 240 ÷ 315 × 100 = 76.2% – meaning over three-quarters of Arjun's task-logged time was client-billable. |
Task Hours % | Task Hours (Active) = 4 hrs 30 mins (270 mins), Active Hours = 6 hrs 45 mins (405 mins). Task Hours % = 270 ÷ 405 × 100 = 66.7% – meaning two-thirds of Arjun's on-screen time was explicitly attributed to a task. |
Arjun's End-of-Day Summary
The table below shows how all classifications add up across Arjun's full day.
Category | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Logged Hours | 9 hrs 30 mins | First login to last logout |
Active Hours | 6 hrs 45 mins | On-screen, URL captured |
Away Hours | 1 hr 45 mins | User-classified via pop-up |
Idle Hours | 1 hr 00 min | Auto-detected, no input |
Task Hours (Active) | 4 hrs 30 mins | Tasks selected from the desktop app, during active session |
Non-Task Hours (Active) | 2 hrs 15 mins | Active but no task attributed |
Billable Hours (Active) | 3 hrs 15 mins | Client A Scoping + Client B Status Deck |
Non-Billable Hours (Active) | 1 hr 15 mins | Internal Sprint Planning task |
Task Hours (Away) | 0 hrs 45 mins | Client A Weekly Review call, task-attributed |
Non-Task Hours (Away) | 1 hr 00 min | Lunch break, no task attributed |
Billable Hours (Away) | 0 hrs 45 mins | Client A Weekly Review call |
Non-Billable Hours (Away) | 0 hrs 00 mins | No non-billable away task on this day |
Task Hours (Total) | 5 hrs 15 mins | Active + Away task time |
Non-Task Hours (Total) | 3 hrs 15 mins | Active + Away non-task time |
Billable Hours (Total) | 4 hrs 00 mins | Active + Away billable time |
Non-Billable Hours (Total) | 1 hr 15 mins | Active + Away non-billable time |
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Updated on: 29/04/2026
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