Occasionally, you might notice that time data is missing from timesheets or activity records. This can be frustrating, but rest assured, there are usually logical explanations for these discrepancies. In this article, we’ll explore the most common reasons for missing time, along with steps to identify and resolve those issues. Whether it’s related to settings, user activity, or other factors, our guide will help ensure your timesheets remain accurate and reliable.

Connectivity issues

If you are facing internet connectivity issues, an unstable connection, or slow upload speeds, this may be the reason why time is missing from your account or that of a team member. As soon as Hubstaff finds a good/stable internet connection all the queued data will get uploaded. Time and activity data is not lost, they will get uploaded as soon as the app detect a stable internet connection. Recorded data is stored locally on the member’s computer prior to upload.

If this issue keeps affecting you, here are some steps you can try:

• Leave the timer open for a few minutes after you finish your work day (you can stop the timer, just leave it open. Don’t close the app). This will allow it some extra time to upload the data.
• Close and re-open the timer to force it to refresh and attempt a connection to our servers.
• Click the refresh button in the bottom left corner of the app.
• Identify and address any internet issues you may be facing where you are working.

Idle Time wasn’t kept

Idle time is any time that was tracked without activity of the mouse or keyboard. If you are missing time, it may be that this time was actually tracked as idle time and then not kept/saved. Idle time starts being tracked when the timer application measures a period of time without mouse or keyboard activity that exceeds the organization’s setting for Idle timeout (which can be set to 5, 10, 20 minutes, custom, or never). Companies are also able to decide how Idle time is handled when it is tracked on the timer application. There are two possible reasons why idle time that the timer tracked wouldn’t have been saved to the timesheets:

1. The company has the Keep Idle Time setting set to Never. This means that any idle time tracked on the timer is automatically discarded and not saved.
2. The company has the Keep Idle Time setting set to Prompt, but when the member returned from being idle and the app asked them how they wanted to handle the idle time, they didn’t check the box to Keep idle time. When they pressed the button for the timer to resume, the idle time was discarded.

The time was deleted

If time is deleted in Hubstaff, it is removed permanently from our servers and would not be visible any longer in the timesheets or reports. Deleted time cannot be restored, so please exercise caution when deleting time and activities in Hubstaff. If you are an owner or manager role and want to see who deleted time, the reports for those actions can be found in the Manual time edits report.

Time zone differences between the member and organization

Viewers may see different timesheet data due to differences in time zones. This can make it seem like time is missing when it’s actually recorded on a different date or time. Each person may see different data, but the tracked time isn’t lost or incorrect. The system adjusts time displays based on the time zone used for viewing.
Payments, reports, and the organization dashboard always use the organization’s set time zone. You cannot view those items using other time zones.

We have a guide for this called Viewing your data in different time zones.

One common confusion occurs when tracked time appears on different days than expected.
This often happens when someone tracks time around midnight in their time zone or the organization’s.

For example, a New York company may have a team member working in Japan. If that person works U.S. hours, they may track time before and after midnight in Japan. This splits the tracked time across two different days in their time zone. If management views reports in New York time or uses the org timezone on the member’s timesheet, they will see all the hours grouped on a single day.

Your computer or the timer application crashed

An abrupt shutdown of the Hubstaff Desktop Tracker could be triggered by various factors, the most common ones being:

• Unexpected system shutdowns due to power outages
• System reboots or shutdowns for updates
• Forced app closures from the Task Manager
• App closures initiated by system settings, such as firewall or antivirus actions

These abrupt shutdowns may cause the desktop app to crash or close improperly. As a result, when you restart the app, it will detect you as resumed, as no activity was being tracked, and automatically resume tracking since the timer wasn’t manually stopped. Any time recorded during this period following an abrupt shutdown will appear on your activity page as Resumed Time.

If you re-open the timer within 1 hour of the shutdown, you will be prompted with a choice to retain or discard the time it tracked. However, if the timer was resumed more than 1 hour after it shutdown, the time will be automatically discarded. If you are missing time and activity from your timesheet and recall having to start up the timer again during your work day even though you didn’t remember closing it, it may be because it was discarded under this scenario.