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

# Consultant time tracking

> Track consultant hours across calls, docs, code, and browsers with Screenpipe. Produce a reviewed client time report without invasive monitoring.

Use Screenpipe to reconstruct work across calls, documents, code, email, and browser research. The goal is a defensible draft report—not a surveillance score or an invoice sent without review.

## A good first pilot

For IT support, start with [remote-support job logs and billing reports](/remote-support-job-reports): ten copyable prompts, a sample service entry, and instructions for controlling scheduled reports.

| Scope | Recommendation |
| - | - |
| Person | One consultant on their own device |
| Work | One client or project |
| Duration | One to two weeks |
| Output | Date, active minutes, work blocks, deliverables, and uncertain time |
| Acceptance | Consultant reviews it; client agrees the level of detail is useful |

```mermaid theme={"system"}
flowchart TD
    A["local screen and audio"] --> B["authoritative active time"]
    A --> C["AI project labels"]
    B --> D["draft client report"]
    C --> D
    D --> E["consultant review"]
    E --> F["timesheet or invoice input"]
```

## Step by step

<Steps>
  <Step title="Agree on the report before recording">
    Define the project, working hours, excluded apps, retention period, and whether the client should receive narrative detail or only totals. Do not capture a client's device or employees without their authorization and a clear policy.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set privacy filters">
    Open **Settings → Privacy**. Exclude password managers, personal messaging, banking, health, unrelated clients, and any confidential surface that is not needed for the report.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Test one work block">
    Record 15–30 minutes of representative work. Confirm the timeline contains the expected apps and that audio is captured only when needed.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Get active time">
    Use `/activity-summary` for numeric totals. Let the model classify the resulting blocks by client or project, but never let it manufacture time from the number of frames or search results.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add supporting context">
    Search the same time range for project terms, document titles, meetings, and deliverables. Keep ambiguous blocks in an “unassigned” section instead of forcing a label.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review and correct">
    Check totals against your calendar and known breaks. Remove unrelated detail, correct project labels, and mark estimates clearly.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Share the smallest useful report">
    Export the reviewed result to your normal timesheet or attach it to an invoice. Automate this handoff only after several accurate manual reports.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<img src="https://docs.screenpi.pe/public/app-screenshots/settings-privacy.png" alt="Screenpipe privacy settings with API security and capture controls" width="1200" />

## API example

```bash theme={"system"}
export SCREENPIPE_API_KEY="$(npx -y screenpipe@latest auth token)"

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $SCREENPIPE_API_KEY" \
  "http://localhost:3030/activity-summary?start_time=4h+ago&end_time=now"

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $SCREENPIPE_API_KEY" \
  "http://localhost:3030/search?q=project-or-client-code&content_type=all&start_time=4h+ago&end_time=now&limit=50"
```

Relative ranges such as `4h ago` and `now` are convenient for a first test. Use ISO 8601 UTC timestamps when the report must match an exact calendar or billing window, and replace the project code with your own value.

## Build it without code

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the scheduled task builder">
    Go to **Scheduled tasks → My tasks** and scroll to **new scheduled task**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Describe the first version">
    Paste: “Create a manual scheduled task that writes a local client work report. Use `/activity-summary` for numeric totals, bounded `/search` results for context, put ambiguous time in needs review, and never send or invoice automatically.”
  </Step>

  <Step title="Let Screenpipe build it">
    The app opens Home, asks the agent to create the scheduled task, and installs the result. When it finishes, return to **Scheduled tasks → My tasks**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run and inspect">
    Open the new scheduled task, run it once, and inspect its Markdown artifact and execution log. Confirm that an empty window produces an explicit no-data report.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add a schedule later">
    Keep the first version manual. Add a daily or weekly schedule only after several reports have correct totals and project labels.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  The generated automation is a `pipe.md` file under `~/.screenpipe/pipes/`. Advanced users can inspect and version that file; the [scheduled tasks guide](/scheduled-tasks) explains its schedule, permissions, and artifacts.
</Note>

## Prompt for the report

```markdown theme={"system"}
Create a draft client work report from the supplied activity summary and search results.

Rules:
- use activity-summary values for numeric time totals
- group work into coherent blocks, not individual frames
- separate observed facts from inferred project labels
- put ambiguous time in "needs review"
- exclude personal or unrelated-client content
- list deliverables and decisions only when the source data supports them

Output:
1. total active time
2. table of work blocks: time, project, activity, supporting app or document
3. deliverables and decisions
4. needs-review items
```

## What not to automate first

Do not start by sending reports, creating invoices, writing to a client's system, or synchronizing every inferred block to a time tracker. Save a local draft and review it first. Once the labels are stable, an optional store scheduled task can copy reviewed entries into another system.

<Tip>
  For a daily personal view, use [daily work review](/daily-work-review). For finding repeated client processes, continue with [workflow discovery](/workflow-discovery).
</Tip>


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