Zoho Projects has rolled out updates making it easier to stay on top of project activity and improve accuracy while tracking time, covering project-specific feeds and four new time log restrictions.
The Feed under Collaboration used to show updates from every project you're part of, all mixed together. You can now narrow this down and access the feed for a single, specific project directly, showing only activity related to that project, rather than everything at once, reducing clutter considerably if you're involved in several projects simultaneously.
Four new restrictions have been added under Portal Configuration, then Task & Timesheet, then Time Log Settings, giving admins finer control over when, where, and by whom time can be logged.
Time logs can now be capped by a task's completion percentage. For example, if a task has 6 work hours allotted and is 50% complete, a user can log up to 3 hours (50% of 6), rather than the full 6 hours, preventing time from being logged well ahead of genuine progress. This option requires the work hours restriction to already be enabled.
Admins can now block time logs and timers based on a project's status. Choose the specific statuses where logging should be restricted, and users won't be able to add time to a project in that state. For example, if a project is marked complete and its time logs have already been billed to customers, adding further time logs afterwards can create a genuine billing discrepancy; this setting prevents that from happening.
Time logs can be limited to approved IP addresses, with three options:
This is useful if you want time logs added only from office networks or other trusted, known locations, rather than from anywhere.
Admins can now pick specific profiles and block them from adding time logs or using timers altogether. This is useful for profiles whose billable hours simply aren't tracked, avoiding pointless or misleading time entries from those users entirely.