> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.charle.agency/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Activity Types

> When to use each activity type for time tracking

Activity types categorize your time entries and determine whether they're billable. Choosing the correct activity type ensures accurate billing and reporting.

## All activity types

CharleOS has 6 main activity types:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Task" icon="clipboard-list" color="#3b82f6">
    Client deliverable work on tasks and subtasks
  </Card>

  <Card title="Help Desk" icon="ticket" color="#f59e0b">
    Help desk tickets and support requests
  </Card>

  <Card title="Client Call" icon="phone" color="#10b981">
    Scheduled or ad-hoc calls with clients
  </Card>

  <Card title="Internal Meeting" icon="users" color="#8b5cf6">
    Team meetings, standups, planning sessions
  </Card>

  <Card title="Support" icon="life-ring" color="#06b6d4">
    General support work not tied to tickets
  </Card>

  <Card title="Admin" icon="cog" color="#64748b">
    Administrative tasks, timesheets, expenses
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Billable activity types

### Task

**Use for:** Client deliverable work on tasks and subtasks

**Billable?** Yes, when linked to a task, subtask, or project task

**When to use:**

* Working on a specific task or subtask
* Making progress on client deliverables
* Building features or fixing bugs
* Any work that moves tasks forward

**Requirements:**

* Should link to the relevant task or subtask
* Without a link, the entry is non-billable
* For Task entries, also select a **Work Type**:
  * **Design** - Visual design work, mockups, prototypes
  * **Development** - Writing code, building features
  * **QA** - Testing, quality assurance, bug verification
  * **Deployment** - Deploying to production, release work

**Example scenarios:**

* ✅ "Logged 120 minutes (Development) against Fargro Homepage Redesign subtask"
* ✅ "Logged 45 minutes (Design) creating mockups for Product Listing task"
* ❌ "Logged Task time without linking to a subtask" (will be non-billable)

<Note>
  When you log time from a subtask, the work type is automatically set based on the subtask type (e.g., "development" subtask → "Development" work type).
</Note>

### Help Desk

**Use for:** Help desk tickets and support requests

**Billable?** Yes, when linked to a help desk ticket

**When to use:**

* Resolving help desk tickets
* Client support requests
* Bug fixes reported through help desk
* Urgent client issues

**Requirements:**

* Must link to a specific help desk ticket
* Validation: When activity type is "Help Desk" and a client is selected, a ticket must be selected

**Example scenarios:**

* ✅ "Logged 30 minutes resolving ticket #42: Login issue"
* ✅ "Logged 90 minutes on P1 ticket: Site down"
* ❌ "Logged Help Desk time without selecting a ticket" (validation error)

<Tip>
  If you're doing support work but there's no formal ticket, use the "Support" activity type instead (non-billable).
</Tip>

## Non-billable activity types

### Client Call

**Use for:** Scheduled or ad-hoc calls with clients

**Billable?** No (always non-billable)

**When to use:**

* Client meetings (video or phone)
* Status update calls
* Planning or requirement gathering calls
* Client presentations or demos

**Example scenarios:**

* ✅ "30-minute kickoff call with Fargro team"
* ✅ "60-minute weekly sync with client"
* ✅ "15-minute quick check-in on project status"

<Info>
  Client calls are tracked but not billed. They help you understand the overhead of client management.
</Info>

### Internal Meeting

**Use for:** Team meetings, standups, planning sessions, 1:1s

**Billable?** No (always non-billable)

**When to use:**

* Daily standups
* Sprint planning or retrospectives
* Team sync meetings
* 1:1s with your manager
* Training sessions
* All-hands meetings

**Example scenarios:**

* ✅ "15-minute daily standup"
* ✅ "60-minute sprint planning"
* ✅ "30-minute 1:1 with PM"

### Support

**Use for:** General support work not tied to a formal help desk ticket

**Billable?** No (always non-billable)

**When to use:**

* Ad-hoc client support via Slack/email
* Quick questions or troubleshooting
* Support that doesn't warrant a ticket
* Informal client assistance

**Example scenarios:**

* ✅ "Answered client question in Slack about feature usage"
* ✅ "Helped client troubleshoot staging environment issue"
* ✅ "Quick fix for minor client request"

<Note>
  If the support work is substantial or urgent, create a help desk ticket and use "Help Desk" activity type to make it billable.
</Note>

### Admin

**Use for:** Administrative tasks, timesheets, expenses

**Billable?** No (always non-billable)

**When to use:**

* Filling out timesheets
* Submitting expenses
* Updating documentation
* Internal admin work
* Performance reviews (your own)

**Example scenarios:**

* ✅ "Logged time entries for the week"
* ✅ "Submitted expenses for client trip"
* ✅ "Updated project documentation"

## How billability works

### Automatic billability determination

CharleOS automatically marks entries as billable based on:

1. **Activity Type** must be "Task" or "Help Desk"
2. **Linkage** to a task, subtask, or help desk ticket

| Activity Type    | Linked to Work?      | Billable? |
| ---------------- | -------------------- | --------- |
| Task             | ✅ Yes (task/subtask) | ✅ Yes     |
| Task             | ❌ No                 | ❌ No      |
| Help Desk        | ✅ Yes (ticket)       | ✅ Yes     |
| Help Desk        | ❌ No                 | ❌ No      |
| Client Call      | N/A                  | ❌ No      |
| Internal Meeting | N/A                  | ❌ No      |
| Support          | N/A                  | ❌ No      |
| Admin            | N/A                  | ❌ No      |

<Warning>
  Even if you select "Task" as the activity type, the entry is **not billable** unless you link it to a task, subtask, or help desk ticket. Always link your work!
</Warning>

## Choosing the right activity type

### Decision flowchart

<Steps>
  <Step title="Is it client work?">
    If YES, continue to Step 2

    If NO, go to Step 5
  </Step>

  <Step title="Is it a formal deliverable?">
    If YES (task/ticket), continue to Step 3

    If NO (call/meeting), continue to Step 4
  </Step>

  <Step title="What type of deliverable?">
    * **Task or subtask?** → Use **Task** (billable when linked)
    * **Help desk ticket?** → Use **Help Desk** (billable when linked)
    * **Neither?** → Use **Support** (non-billable)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Call or meeting with client?">
    Use **Client Call** (non-billable)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Internal work">
    * **Team meeting?** → Use **Internal Meeting** (non-billable)
    * **Administrative task?** → Use **Admin** (non-billable)
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Quick reference

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="I'm working on a client task">
    Use **Task**, link to the task/subtask, select work type (Design/Development/QA/Deployment)
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I'm fixing a client bug reported through help desk">
    Use **Help Desk**, link to the help desk ticket
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I'm on a call with a client">
    Use **Client Call**, select the client, no linking needed
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I'm in our daily standup">
    Use **Internal Meeting**, select Internal
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I answered a quick client question in Slack">
    Use **Support**, select the client, brief notes about the question
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I'm filling out my timesheet">
    Use **Admin**, select Internal
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Impact on reporting

### Utilization metrics

Your utilization percentage is calculated as:

```
Utilization = Billable Hours / Available Hours
```

Only billable time (Task and Help Desk entries linked to work) counts toward utilization.

### Non-billable ratio reports

Non-billable time is tracked and reported by activity type:

* Shows where non-billable time is spent
* Identifies areas for efficiency improvement
* Helps understand client management overhead

### Hidden costs analysis

Non-billable time has a cost to the business:

* Client Calls - Time spent in meetings
* Internal Meetings - Team coordination overhead
* Support - Informal client assistance
* Admin - Administrative burden

<Info>
  Tracking non-billable time helps the business understand true project costs and make better pricing decisions.
</Info>

## Common mistakes

### Mistake 1: Using "Task" without linking

**Problem:** You select "Task" but don't link to a task/subtask
**Result:** Entry is marked non-billable
**Solution:** Always link Task entries to the relevant work

### Mistake 2: Using "Support" for billable work

**Problem:** You do substantial client work but use "Support" activity type
**Result:** Work isn't billed to the client
**Solution:** Create a help desk ticket or task and use the appropriate activity type

### Mistake 3: Forgetting to select a help desk ticket

**Problem:** You select "Help Desk" activity type but forget to link a ticket
**Result:** Validation error - can't submit the entry
**Solution:** Link to the help desk ticket, or use "Support" if there's no ticket

### Mistake 4: Logging calls as "Task"

**Problem:** You log a client call as "Task" thinking it's client work
**Result:** Incorrect activity categorization in reports
**Solution:** Use "Client Call" for meetings and calls

## Best practices

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Link work items" icon="link">
    Always link Task and Help Desk entries to ensure they're billable
  </Card>

  <Card title="Be consistent" icon="check-double">
    Use the same activity type for the same kind of work to maintain accurate reports
  </Card>

  <Card title="Use context dialogs" icon="window">
    Log time directly from tasks/tickets - activity type is pre-filled correctly
  </Card>

  <Card title="Add notes" icon="pen">
    Explain what you did, especially for non-billable time, to justify the effort
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Logging Time" icon="clock" href="/user-guide/time-tracking/logging-time">
    Learn how to log time entries
  </Card>

  <Card title="Tasks" icon="check-square" href="/user-guide/tasks">
    Understand task management
  </Card>

  <Card title="Help Desk" icon="headset" href="/user-guide/help-desk">
    Learn about help desk workflows
  </Card>

  <Card title="Utilisation" icon="chart-line" href="/concepts/financial/utilisation">
    How billable time affects utilization metrics
  </Card>
</CardGroup>