This guide provides instructions on managing Contacts, Projects, Tasks, and Short Codes in MinuteDock. It includes setting hourly rates, enabling Client View, organizing Time Entries, pinning frequently used items, and merging duplicate Contacts.
Creating Contacts/Projects/Tasks
Contacts, Projects and Tasks are the entities you can assign to Time Entries to organize your timesheets for reporting and billing purposes.
Create a Contact
A Contact in MinuteDock is the client – the entity which you want to create invoices against.
Navigate to Contacts in the main menu
Click Create Contact
Fill in the relevant fields (name/Short Code/billable rates)
Click Save
Organizing with Contacts
Purpose: Contacts help organize Time Entries under client assignments for reporting and invoicing.
How to assign Contacts:
Press the @ key (SHIFT + 2) when creating an entry.
Select from the list of existing Contacts or create a new one. Type some of the Contact Short Code to search for the right Contact.
Only one Contact can be assigned per entry.
Managing Contacts:
Navigate to Contacts in the main menu to manage, create default rates, and pin Contacts.
Generate Goals and filter Reports based on Contacts via the relevant screens.
Create a Project
A Project in MinuteDock operates as a sub-category of the Contact – Projects are attached to a specific Contact and only applied to Time Entries against that Contact.
Navigate to Projects in the main menu
Click Create Project
Fill in relevant fields (name/Short Code/billable rates/Contact assignment)
Click Save
Organizing with Projects
Purpose: Projects help organize Time Entries under specific Contacts.
How to assign Projects:
Press the # key (SHIFT + 3) when creating an entry.
Select from the list of existing Projects or create a new one.
Only one Project can be assigned per entry.
💡Tip: Projects are optional in MinuteDock. Use them when you need to separate different types of work or billing rates within the same Contact.
Managing Projects:
Navigate to Projects in the main menu to manage, create default rates, and pin Projects.
Generate Goals and filter Reports based on Projects via the relevant screens.
Create a Task
A Task allows you to categorize your Time Entries according to the specific kind of work being performed, letting you differentiate between time spent, for example, on admin work or in meetings.
Navigate to Projects in the main menu
Click the Tasks tab at the top of the Projects screen
Click Create Task
Fill in the relevant fields (name/Short Code/billable rates)
Click Save
Organizing with Tasks
Purpose: Tasks sort and categorize Time Entries, allowing assignment with multiple Tasks.
How to assign Tasks:
Press the # key (SHIFT + 3) when creating an entry.
Select from the list of existing Tasks or create new ones.
ℹ️ Note: Unlike Contacts and Projects, you can assign multiple Tasks to a single Time Entry.
Managing Tasks:
Navigate to Projects in the main menu, then click the Tasks tab to manage, create default rates, and pin Tasks.
Use Tasks for sorting invoices, generating Goals and filtering Reports via the relevant screens.
Short Codes
Using Short Codes
Purpose: Short Codes provide easy references for Contacts, Projects, and Tasks in the Dock.
Access Short Codes:
Click into the text field in the Dock (the timer bar at the top of your screen)
For Contacts, press the @ key (SHIFT + 2).
For Projects/Tasks, press the # key (SHIFT + 3).
Type the Short Code of the desired item to search for it
Click on the relevant item in the list to apply it to the Time Entry
Changing Short Codes
For Contacts:
Navigate to Contacts in the main menu.
Find your Contact in the list and click the wrench icon that appears when you hover over it.
Adjust text under the Short Code field as needed.
Click Save
For Projects:
Navigate to Projects in the main menu.
Find your Project in the list and click the wrench icon that appears when you hover over it.
Adjust text under the Short Code field as needed.
Click Save
For Tasks:
Navigate to Projects in the main menu, then click the Tasks tab.
Find your Task in the list and click the wrench icon that appears when you hover over it.
Adjust text under the Short Code field as needed.
Click Save
Managing hourly rates
Manual Rate Setting: To manually set a rate, navigate to Contacts or Projects in the main menu and edit the relevant item by hovering over it and clicking the wrench icon that appears.
Check the Billable box or uncheck the box to make the item non-billable ($0 rate).
In the settings, select the Specify a rate option to set a rate for this item, or select Use default rate.
If specifying a rate, you can record a rate for this item, and/or you can set a User specific rate for the item.
Click Save to update the item with your new rate.
💡Tip: Rate priority in MinuteDock goes: Task rate → Project rate → Contact rate → User default rate. The most specific rate always takes precedence.
Merging Contacts/Projects
Merging Duplicate Contacts
Purpose: Merge Contacts and associated Time Entries, Projects, or Invoices.
How to Merge:
Navigate to Contacts in the main menu.
Find the Contact to merge and click the red X next to it.
Choose Merge this Contact into another (available if entries/Projects exist).
Select the target Contact to merge into.
Click Hide Contact when ready (merges are permanent).
⚠️ Important: Merging Contacts is permanent and cannot be undone. Double-check your selection before confirming.
Note: If linked to an accounting system, MinuteDock copies the link to the merged Contact if possible. If both Contacts are linked, only entries and Projects are copied, preventing reappearance after a sync.
Merging Projects
Purpose: Merge one Project into another Project, replacing the assignment on Time Entries with the merged Project, and deleting the original.
How to merge:
Navigate to Projects in the main menu.
Find the Project to merge and click the red X next to it.
Choose Merge this Project into another (available if assigned Time Entries exist).
Select the target Project to merge into.
Click Hide Project when ready (merges are permanent).
⚠️ Important: Merging Projects is permanent and cannot be undone. All Time Entries assigned to the original Project will be reassigned to the target Project.
Note: Merging into another Project will remove the original Project from the system and replace the assignment for Time Entries which contained the Project with the Project chosen above.
Pin Contacts/Projects/Tasks
Pin Contacts/Projects/Tasks to show at the top of the Contacts/Projects/Tasks screens and in the time logging interface.
Pin for everyone/me/some
There are three pin options:
Pin for everyone: pins the item for all Users on the Account.
Pin for some: select a specific set of Users to pin the item for.
Pin for me: pin the item only for yourself.
Click the pin icon to pin for me.
Hover over the pin icon and open the dropdown menu to pin for everyone or pin for some Users.
Note: You can choose either everyone or some Users, but not both at the same time.
💡Tip: Pin the Contacts, Projects, and Tasks you use most frequently to save time when logging entries and navigating your workspace.
Client View
Enabling Client View
Client View gives your client the ability to run MinuteDock Reports for time assigned to their Contact.
Purpose: Allows clients to view logged time in real-time without needing an Account.
Enable Client View:
Navigate to Contacts in the main menu.
Find the desired Contact and click the Client View button at the bottom left of the Contact details.
Click Enable Client View at the top, copy the URL, and send it to the client.
ℹ️ Note: Clients will only see Time Entries, descriptions, and hours - they won't see billing rates, costs, or other sensitive Account information.