Gantt-led hour planning and time tracking in Starbrix
Starbrix is a cloud-based project management platform that combines Gantt chart scheduling and time tracking in one place. Rather than running a Gantt tool and a separate time logger side by side, Starbrix connects them: you plan working hours directly from the Gantt, teams report actual hours against those plans, and managers compare planned versus actual across every project and the wider portfolio.
This page documents how the full cycle works, from opening the Gantt in hour planning mode through to exporting a report for management or finance review.
Who this is for: project managers, operations managers, and PMO stakeholders who need capacity control, accurate workload visibility, and an auditable record of hours without maintaining separate spreadsheets.
How hour planning starts from the Gantt
When you open a project in Starbrix Flex and switch to hour planning mode, the Gantt chart becomes the foundation for all time planning. You choose between two planning levels:
- Whole-project estimate: enter a single total for the project's expected workload.
- Task-level planning: distribute planned hours across individual tasks on the Gantt.
Within each approach, Starbrix supports two scheduling methods:
- Fixed schedule: define the time period first, then distribute the planned work hours across it.
- Capacity-driven schedule: set the required work and available capacity, and the system adjusts task duration dynamically.
This means resource planning is not a separate step. It happens inside the same Gantt view where dates and milestones are set, so the schedule and the hour budget stay in sync from the start.
Reporting actual hours: timers, manual entry, and weekly reporting
Once work begins, team members can report time in the way that best fits their workflow. Starbrix supports two fundamental time-reporting methods:
- Hours worked: report the number of hours spent on the work, without specifying exact start and end times.
- Start and end times: report the exact time the work started and ended, either manually or with a built-in timer.
Both methods can be used in several convenient ways.
Report directly from a project or task
Time can be reported directly within the relevant project or task. Simply enter the hours worked or, when using start and end times, enter the exact timestamps.
Use the time-reporting window
Users can also open a dedicated time-reporting window, select the relevant project or task, enter the time spent, and add a description of the work performed. When start and end times are used, the built-in timer can be started when work begins and stopped when the work is completed.
Start the timer first, choose the project later
For organizations where spontaneous client work is common, Starbrix also provides a quick-start timer. Start the timer immediately when the work begins, stop it when you are finished, and only then select the relevant project or task and describe the work performed. This is particularly useful for situations such as receiving an unexpected client phone call.
Weekly hour reporting in Starbrix Flex
For organizations that report hours worked rather than exact start and end times, Starbrix Flex also provides a convenient weekly reporting view. It automatically lists the projects and tasks in which the user participates. Users simply enter their hours on the appropriate project or task row for each day of the week.
Together, these options allow organizations to choose the level of detail that best suits their working methods — from simple weekly hour reporting to precise start and end times with timer-based tracking.
All these methods link reported hours to the project and, where relevant, to a specific task, so that actual time stays aligned with the work scheduled on the Gantt.
Flexible review and approval workflow
Starbrix includes a flexible workflow for reviewing and approving reported hours. The approval process can be enabled or disabled depending on the organization's needs.
When approval is enabled, organizations can choose between a two-step or three-step workflow:
- Employee review and submission: The employee reviews the reported hours, makes any necessary changes, and submits them for approval.
- Optional reviewer: In a three-step workflow, an assigned reviewer checks the submitted hours before forwarding them for final approval. The reviewer receives an automatic email notification when hours are ready for review.
- Final approval: The designated approver performs the final review and approves the hours.
For smaller organizations, the intermediate reviewer can be omitted. In this case, the employee reviews and submits their own hours directly to the final approver.
This flexibility allows Starbrix to support anything from simple approval processes in small teams to more controlled multi-stage workflows in larger organizations — while maintaining a clear and auditable approval history.
Comparing planned hours to actual hours
Starbrix provides clear overviews of planned, resourced, and actual hours so managers can identify variances early. Within the Project Indicator view, planned and actual hours appear side by side. Across the portfolio, Starbrix aggregates resource data from all projects so management can see how actual working hours correspond with planned hours organization-wide.
This matters for three practical reasons:
- Capacity control: spot teams or individuals approaching or exceeding their available hours before a deadline is missed.
- Planning accuracy: use the planned-versus-actual gap to recalibrate estimates on future projects.
- Management by exception: focus attention on projects where the variance is significant, rather than reviewing every task manually.
Reports and exports
Time reports in Starbrix can be scoped by individual employee, by a selected group, or across the whole organization. The reporting output supports both management review and finance workflows, including preparation of invoice attachments.
Reports can be:
- Printed directly from the reporting view.
- Saved as PDF for distribution or record-keeping.
- Exported to Excel for further analysis or integration into finance processes.
Managers typically use these outputs to review time totals per period, assess planned-versus-actual differences, and monitor trends across projects or teams.
Integrations with accounting and business systems
Starbrix connects with CRM, ERP, and accounting systems to reduce duplicate data entry across invoicing and cost control workflows. Confirmed integration targets include Netvisor, Procountor, Fennoa, Lemonsoft, Fortnox, Maventa, Kellokortti, and UpSales. Where time tracking data forms part of the integration scope, this removes the need to re-enter hours in a separate finance system.
For organizations requiring deeper automation or custom data exchange, contact the Starbrix team to discuss available interface options.
Frequently asked questions
Can different users have different levels of access to time data?
Access in Starbrix is controlled through the platform's permission and workspace settings. For specific configurations relevant to your organization's time reporting setup, refer to your admin settings or contact Starbrix support.
Are timesheet approvals configurable?
Yes. The approval workflow supports multiple stages (employee, reviewer, final approver) and sends automatic email notifications at each stage. The exact stages can be configured to match your organisation's review process.
What if a team member reports hours without exact timestamps?
That is supported by design. The weekly reporting view and the reporting window both allow hours to be logged without specifying a start or end time. Exact timestamps are optional and are only required when precision logging is needed (for example, for client-specific time records).
Suggested walkthrough: from Gantt planning to exported report
The sequence below illustrates the end-to-end workflow described in this documentation:
- Open a project and switch to Gantt hour planning mode. You will see the timeline with tasks and the option to enter planned hours at project or task level.
- Select a task. Review the planned start and end dates, assign team members based on competence and availability, and confirm the hour estimate. Starbrix adjusts the schedule based on capacity if using capacity-driven scheduling.
- Switch to the actual reporting view. Open the weekly hour reporting grid or use the reporting window to log hours against the task.
- Use the timer (start/stop) or enter exact start and end times manually for precision records.
- Submit hours for approval. The assigned checker receives an email notification and reviews the entry. The final approver signs off.
- Open the planned vs actual comparison at project level (Project Indicator) or across the portfolio dashboard to review variances.
- Export the report as PDF or Excel for finance review, management follow-up, or as an invoice attachment.
This workflow replaces the fragmented approach of maintaining a Gantt schedule in one tool and logging time in another, giving project and operations managers a single source of truth for both planning and execution.
