The entry and its narrative
Nine words beside the hours, and the only part of the record that crosses to the other side.
- Lines
- 07
- Of
- 50
Nine Words, and What They Have to Do
A time entry narrative is about nine words long and has to answer three questions for a reader who was not there.
The Verbs That Say Nothing
Eight words that appear on every bill and carry no information. What each one is standing in for, and what to write instead.
Recorded Now or Reconstructed Later
Time recorded at the end of the week is a reconstruction, and reconstruction loses a particular kind of hour in a particular direction.
Block Billing, and Why It Cannot Be Checked
A single line covering a whole day is not dishonest. It is unanswerable, which is a different and more expensive problem.
The Unit, and What It Rounds
Six minutes, fifteen minutes or half an hour. The recording unit decides how much of a day is rounding, and the direction is not neutral.
What the Entry Says and What the File Says
Two records are made of the same hour: one for the client and one for the firm. Keeping them separate is a practice, not an accident.
Writing an Entry for Two Readers
The same nine words have to satisfy a client today and an assessor in two years. A short standard that serves both.