Create Negative Time Entries
How to book negative hours to transfer or correct time — visible on the invoice as a transparent correction
Published: 18 July 2026
Audience
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Admin
Negative time entries let you correct or transfer booked hours in a transparent way. They are mainly intended for resources working on two projects for the same customer — book negative hours on one project and positive hours on the other, so the transfer is visible on the invoice as a correction rather than a silent edit. You can, however, book a negative entry on any project, resource, or contract line where a correction is needed.
Only Admins can create negative time entries, and only via the Time Entry modal.
Prerequisites
Before You Begin:
- You must have the Admin role. Non-admins cannot create, edit, delete, or move negative entries — they can only view them (read-only).
- Negative hours can only be entered via the Time Entry modal, opened via All Hours grid → Log Time or via Project → Hours → Log Time. All other entry points — Excel timesheet import, the "Log hours" button on a task, inline entry in the timesheet list, and calendar quick-add — do not accept negative values, for anyone.
Steps
- Open the Time Entry modal via All Hours grid → Log Time or via Project → Hours → Log Time.
- Select the resource, customer, project, role, and task as you would for a normal time entry.
- In Total Hours, enter a negative value — for example,
-4. Zero is not allowed; the value must be a genuine negative number. - Optionally add a Description. For negative entries, the Description is not mandatory, and it can later only be changed via the Time Entry modal — not via the timesheet list.
- Set the date and time as needed.
- Click Save.
What Happens After Saving
- The entry appears in purple in the calendar of the resource it is booked on, always displayed as a 1-hour block regardless of the hours booked.
- The entry flows to Actuals with its negative hours.
- The amount is calculated as rate × hours, so a negative hours value automatically produces a negative amount — no separate calculation is needed.
- Creation is recorded in the activity log — for example: "[Admin] booked -4 hours for [Resource] on [Project] ([date])".
Editing, Moving, and Deleting
As an Admin, you can edit or delete a negative entry — including changing its date and time — until it is invoiced. All changes go through the Time Entry modal: dragging or resizing the entry directly in the calendar is blocked for everyone, including Admins.
Once the entry is invoiced, it becomes fully locked — no further edits or deletes, the same as any other invoiced timesheet entry.
Approval and InvoicingNegative entries follow the same approval and invoicing flow as normal entries:
- A PM approver can approve a negative entry just like any other entry, but cannot edit its fields — the modal is read-only for them. Only an Admin can both edit and approve.
- When invoiced, the entry correctly reduces the invoiced amount and shows as negative on the invoice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I import negative hours via Excel? No. Any row with a negative hours value in a timesheet import is rejected or flagged — the import will not create a negative entry, regardless of who runs it.
Can a resource book negative hours on their own timesheet? No. Non-admins cannot enter negative hours anywhere, including the Time Entry modal, the timesheet list, and the calendar. They see existing negative entries as read-only.
Why does the entry show as 1 hour in the calendar? The 1-hour purple block is a visual marker only. The actual (negative) hours are always visible in the entry itself, in Actuals, and on the invoice.