Quick Start Tutorials

Getting Started

Let’s begin by starting a timer to record how much time we spend learning how to use the Tempo web application. In the text field on the opening screen type, “Learning how to use Tempo,” and click the Enter Time button.

In the Time Entered section below, you will see your first time slip.

This smart timer feature will keep track of how much time we spend on this task, so we can continue getting acquainted with Tempo without having to worry about counting the minutes. Continue!"

Logging Time

Tempo offers many different options for entering time. After login, you are presented with a text entry form for a simple way to start recording your time. You can find help with the syntax on this page. For those more comfortable filling out a form, click the red button in the lower right hand corner of the Time Entry window.

For your convenience, Tempo allows you to keep track of your time slips using a bookmarklet or the dashboard widget; links to both of these options are highlighted in green.

You may also utilize the Time Entered window located below the entry form to manage your current time slips. This allows you to switch between multiple tasks effortlessly by starting and stopping the time clocks on the left of each time slip.

You do not have to be on the Time Entries page in order to log time in Tempo. You can use the Add Time tab located on the left sidebar to log a new time slip at any time while using Tempo. Try it out!

Using Tempo, you also have the ability to log time using Twitter, E-mail, iPhone, and by sending text messages. Onward!

Starting a Project

To the left of the screen, you will see a sidebar with helpful tabs. Select the Projects tab so we can see our current projects and start a new one.
Since you are brand new to Tempo, you only have one project labeled My First Project. To remedy this, click the “Create a new project” link and a new window will load.

Simply name your project, provide an estimate of how many hours it will take to complete this project, and then submit the information.

Your new project will now appear among all the other projects that you manage. In a glance you can see the total hours currently logged, and by clicking ‘view team’ you can see a list of the people assigned to that project as well. The larger bar indicates your progress toward completing the estimated work hours for the project, and the smaller gray bars indicate the percentage of the total hours that each person contributed.

Below each project are links that allow you to edit, delete, or archive a project, making it easy to manage multiple projects at once. To add other contributers or edit your project, click the Settings and Team link in the bottom right corner.

In the Team Management section, you will see a list of contributors assigned to your project. To invite new ones, enter their email address and invite them join. Or, if you have already worked with somebody through Tempo, use the drop down menu to add them immediately.

Let’s learn more about how to log time.

Creating a Report

In addition to the myriad of different ways to record your time slips, Tempo offers an easy way to view and organize all this information. Go to the Reports section by using the left sidebar. From this page you can easily organize time slips by specifying the dates, projects, people, and tags.

After creating the report, all the relevant time slips will appear in the Results window below:

Once your have created your report you can make an invoice, or export the information into a .csv or .pdf file for your own records. Tempo also offers a host of different charts and graphs to help you analyze your data. In the upper right hand corner of the Results window you will find links to edit your tags called batch tagging, or lock these time slips so that they can no longer be changed.

After you have finished with that report, you can either clear all the filters to restart or save the search criterion for later reference. Both of these options are located next to the green “Load this report” button and are highlighted in red.

Continue on to see Tempo’s many report options.

Charts, Invoices and More

After you organize a report in Tempo, you have many options regarding what you can do with the report. Let’s discuss some your options:

  1. exports
  2. invoicing
  3. charts

What really separates Tempo from its comptetitors are the options provided by the exports link in the lower right corner of the reports window. Using this link will allow you to download a copy of that particular report in .PDF and .CSV format.

You can use your reports to easily create a Blinksale or Quickbooks invoice. Simply organize a report to contain the time slips you want to invoice, and then click the Invoice link also located in the lower right hand corner of the reports window. For more information on how to do this, see our help section: Quickbooks or Blinksale.

In the results window, in the top left corner, you will see a gray bar that allows you to produce charts regarding the information in the current report. After clicking this bar, you will see your chart options drop down below it; simply select the chart your desire. For a further exposition on what each individual chart does, see our help section.

Continue on!

Accounts

Going to the Accounts section allows you to manage the details of your Tempo account. You will default to the Information and Settings page where you can change your password and preferences:

This page also allows you to integrate with Twitter and E-mail as well.

Moving on the the Other Applications page allows you to enter the necessary information to work with Blinksale or Basecamp.

As your company grows and you take on more projects, you may need navigate to the last pages in the Accounts section to upgrade your Tempo account or edit your payment details.