Export Board Activity

Export complete time tracking data from any project board to analyze team productivity, generate billing reports, or integrate with external tools.

Overview

The Board Activity Export feature allows you to download detailed time tracking data for any project board within a specified date range. Export data in multiple formats (JSON, CSV, Excel) and organize it by team member or by task to match your reporting needs.

Getting Started

Accessing the Export Feature

1. Navigate to any project board
2. Click the "Export activity" button at the top of the board
3. The export modal will open with configuration options

Basic Export Steps

1. Select Date Range: Choose the start and end dates for your export
2. Choose Grouping: Select whether to group data by member or by task
3. Select Format: Choose JSON, CSV, or Excel (XLSX)
4. Choose Time Format: Select seconds (for calculations) or HH:MM:SS (for readability)
5. Click Download: Your export will download immediately

Export Options

Date Range

Select any date range to export time tracking data:

• Default range is the last 7 days
• Pick custom start and end dates using the date picker
• Only completed time intervals (finished tracking sessions) are included
• Ongoing/active time tracking sessions are excluded

Grouping Options

Group by Member

Organizes data by team member name, showing all tasks each person worked on:

JSON Example:

{
  "John Smith": [
    {"task": "Design homepage", "time": 7200},
    {"task": "Review mockups", "time": 3600}
  ],
  "Sarah Johnson": [
    {"task": "Design homepage", "time": 5400}
  ]
}

Use cases:

• Individual performance reviews
• Calculating billable hours per team member
• Understanding workload distribution
• Generating invoices based on team member rates

Group by Task

Organizes data by task name, showing which team members worked on each task:

JSON Example:

{
  "Design homepage": [
    {"member": "John Smith", "time": 7200},
    {"member": "Sarah Johnson", "time": 5400}
  ],
  "Review mockups": [
    {"member": "John Smith", "time": 3600}
  ]
}

Use cases:

• Task-level time analysis
• Identifying time-consuming tasks
• Project budget tracking by deliverable
• Sprint retrospectives

Export Formats

JSON

Raw data format perfect for:

• Importing into custom tools
• API integrations
• Data processing and analysis
• Backup and archival

CSV (Comma-Separated Values)

Spreadsheet-compatible format ideal for:

• Opening in Excel, Google Sheets, or Numbers
• Data manipulation and calculations
• Creating custom pivot tables
• Quick visual analysis

CSV Structure:

• Group by Member: Member | Task | Time
• Group by Task: Task | Member | Time

XLSX (Excel)

Native Excel format with formatting:

• Professional spreadsheet with headers
• Bold header row for easy reading
• Ready for formulas and charts
• Best for formal reports

Time Format

Seconds (Integer)

Shows time as total seconds:

• Example: 7200 (2 hours)
• Best for calculations and data processing
• Easy to sum, average, and compare numerically
• Compatible with most data analysis tools

Hours:Minutes:Seconds (String)

Shows time in readable format:

• Example: 02:00:00 (2 hours)
• Human-friendly and intuitive
• Perfect for reports and presentations
• Easy to understand at a glance

Common Use Cases

Client Billing Reports

Scenario: Generate billable hours report for a client project

Steps:

1. Open the project board for the client
2. Select date range (e.g., this month)
3. Group by member (if you bill by person) or by task (if you bill by deliverable)
4. Choose time format: HH:MM:SS for readability
5. Export as Excel for a professional report

Tip: Use "Group by Task" to show exactly what work was delivered and how long each task took.

Team Performance Reviews

Scenario: Evaluate individual team member productivity

Steps:

1. Select "Group by Member"
2. Choose the review period (e.g., last quarter)
3. Export as Excel
4. Analyze each person's task distribution and time allocation

Tip: Use seconds format if you want to calculate percentages and averages.

Sprint Retrospectives

Scenario: Analyze time spent during a sprint

Steps:

1. Set date range to sprint dates
2. Group by task to see which tasks took longer than expected
3. Export as CSV
4. Import into your project management tool for analysis

Budget Tracking

Scenario: Compare actual time spent vs. estimated time

Steps:

1. Export actual time data grouped by task
2. Use seconds format for easy calculations
3. Import into spreadsheet alongside task estimates
4. Calculate variance and identify overruns

Integration with External Tools

Scenario: Import time data into accounting software

Steps:

1. Export as JSON or CSV
2. Use the API endpoint for automated regular exports
3. Map fields to your accounting tool's import format
4. Automate billing processes

API Access

The export feature is also available via the Public API for automation and integration:

Endpoint: GET /api/v1/boards/{id}/export-activity

Parameters:

• start_date (required): Start date (YYYY-MM-DD)
• end_date (required): End date (YYYY-MM-DD)
• group_by (required): member or task
• time_format (optional): seconds or hms (defaults to seconds)

Authentication: Requires API key authentication

See the Public API documentation for complete details on authentication and usage.

Understanding the Data

What's Included

• All finished time intervals: Only completed tracking sessions
• Date range filtered: Only intervals within your selected dates
• Board-specific: Only tasks from the current board
• Team-scoped: Only data from your organization

What's Excluded

• Active/ongoing time tracking sessions (not yet finished)
• Time intervals outside the date range
• Deleted or archived data (depending on board settings)
• Tasks from other boards

Handling Duplicate Names

If multiple team members or tasks share the same name, they're automatically disambiguated in exports:

Example:

• John Smith (ID: 123)
• John Smith (ID: 456)

This ensures data from different people with identical names isn't merged together.

Tips for Better Exports

1. Choose the right grouping: Think about your end goal—member grouping for people-focused reports, task grouping for deliverable-focused reports

2. Pick appropriate time format: Use seconds for calculations and data processing, HH:MM:SS for human-readable reports and presentations

3. Use consistent date ranges: When comparing periods, use the same day ranges (e.g., always Monday-Sunday for weeks)

4. Export regularly: For ongoing projects, export weekly or monthly to track progress over time

5. Combine with other data: Export as CSV to combine with budget data, estimates, or billing rates in spreadsheets

6. Archive exports: Keep historical exports for compliance, auditing, and long-term trend analysis

Permissions

Any user who can view a project board can export its activity data. This respects the same permissions as viewing the board itself.

International Characters Support

All export formats properly handle international characters (Cyrillic, Chinese, Arabic, etc.), ensuring team members' names and task titles appear correctly regardless of language.

Troubleshooting

Export shows no data

• Check the date range includes tracked time
• Verify time tracking was finished (not left running)
• Ensure you're looking at the correct board

File opens as gibberish

• For CSV: Open with Excel's "Data > From Text/CSV" import feature to specify UTF-8 encoding
• For JSON: Use a JSON viewer or import into a tool that supports UTF-8

Can't find the export button

• Verify you have permission to view the board
• Check you're on the board detail page, not the board list

Duplicate names in export

• This is expected if multiple people or tasks share identical names
• Use the ID shown in parentheses to distinguish them
• Consider renaming tasks or using unique identifiers

Related Features

• Time Tracking - Learn how to track time on tasks
• Project Boards - Overview of project board management
• Public API - Automate exports with API access
• Reports & Analytics - View time tracking reports and dashboards