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QBTime Manager — User Guide (for Managers)

QBTime Manager helps you see who's working, manage schedules, and send attendance reports — built on top of your QuickBooks Time account. This guide assumes you've never used QBTime Manager and explains everything in plain language, click by click.

You only need a web browser and, for sign-in security, a smartphone with an authenticator app. Nothing to install on your computer.

Your QBTime Manager site is at https://qbtime.r2d2dev.com. (Setup and account management are handled by your administrator — this guide is about everyday use.)

1. Signing in for the first time

Your administrator will give you a username and a temporary password.

  1. Open your web browser and go to https://qbtime.r2d2dev.com.
  2. Type your username and temporary password, then click Sign in.

The first time, you'll be asked to set up two-factor authentication (MFA). This is required — it's a 6-digit code from your phone that protects your account.

Setting up your authenticator (one time)

  1. On your phone, install an authenticator app if you don't have one — Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, or Authy (free, from your app store).
  2. In the app, choose add an account (usually a +), then "Enter a setup key."
  3. Back on the QBTime Manager screen, you'll see a setup key. Type it into the app, name it "QBTime Manager," and save.
  4. Your app now shows a 6-digit code that changes every 30 seconds. Type the current code into QBTime Manager and click Confirm & enable.
  5. QBTime Manager shows recovery codes. Save them somewhere safe (write them down or store in a password manager). If you ever lose your phone, each code lets you sign in once. They're shown only once.
  6. You're in.

Change your temporary password. Open Settings → Change password (or go to the change- password screen), enter the temporary one, and set your own. You'll sign in again afterward.

Signing in after that

Each time: go to the site, enter username + password, then the 6-digit code from your authenticator app.

Lost your phone? On the code screen, click "Use a recovery code" and enter one of your saved codes. If you're out, ask your administrator to reset your MFA.

Locked out? After several wrong tries, QBTime Manager pauses sign-in for a bit and tells you how long to wait. Wait, then try again.

2. Finding your way around

After signing in you'll see a menu across the top:

Dashboard · Users · Schedule · Reports · Activity · Companies — plus, under More ▾: Approvals · Time Off · Accounts · Status · Billing · Settings

(You'll only see the items your role allows.)

On the right of that top bar:

  • Company switcher — if you manage more than one company, this dropdown picks which one you're looking at. Everything on screen applies to the selected company, so check it's the right one before making changes.
  • Alerts (a bell) — shows notifications like a report that failed or a connection expiring. A number means unread; click to read them.
  • Light / Dark — switches the color theme; your choice is remembered.
  • Sign out.

3. Dashboard — who's working today

The Dashboard is the home screen. It shows today's attendance for the selected company, in that company's local time:

  • Expected — how many people are scheduled today.
  • Present — clocked in on time.
  • Late — clocked in after the grace period.
  • Absent — scheduled but no clock-in (and not on approved leave).
  • In progress — currently still clocked in.
  • Unscheduled — clocked in without being scheduled.

It's the fastest way to answer "who's here and who's missing right now."

4. Users

Click Users in the top menu to see everyone in the selected company.

  • Add user — opens a form for username, email, name, and mobile number. Fill it in and save.
  • Edit — change someone's details.
  • Archive — turns a user off (QuickBooks Time has no permanent delete). Archived people stop counting as "expected" in reports. They show a gray "archived" badge.
  • Export CSV — downloads the list as a spreadsheet you can open in Excel.
  • Bulk actions — tick the checkboxes next to several people (or Select all) to Archive or Activate them in one go. After a bulk change a short Undo banner appears — click it to reverse the action.
  • Load more — long lists page in 50 at a time; click Load more to show the rest.

Users page with bulk-select and Undo

5. Schedule

Click Schedule. There are two views, switched with the Week / List buttons at the top right.

A seven-day grid, one column per day:

  1. Add a shift — click the + on a day's header (or the Add shift button). A form opens, already set to that day. Pick the calendar, the person, the start and end times, and whether it's a draft. Save.
  2. Edit a shift — click the colored shift block.
  3. No coverage — a day with no published shift is flagged so you can spot gaps.
  4. Conflicts — if one person has two overlapping shifts, the block is outlined in red.
  5. Drag to reschedule — grab a shift block and drop it on a different day to move it (the time of day stays the same). The new day highlights as you drag.
  6. Move between weeks with Prev, Next, or jump back with This week.

Schedule week grid — drag a shift to another day

List view

A simple table of shifts for a date range you choose. Each row has Edit and Deactivate. Tick several rows to Deactivate selected at once, with an Undo option.

Draft vs. published: a draft shift is tentative and does not count toward attendance reports. When the shift is final, edit it and uncheck draft to publish it.

6. Reports

Click Reports to produce the attendance report — who clocked in, who was late, and who was scheduled but didn't show.

Running one now

  1. Pick a date (use Today / Yesterday, or choose any date).
  2. Click Preview to see the exact report on screen (the same one recipients would receive).
  3. Click Run & send to email it now to the configured recipients.

The preview groups everyone into Present, Late, Absent, In progress, On leave, and Unscheduled, calculated in the company's timezone. Use Download PDF on the preview to save a copy.

Saved views

Name a report setup once and re-run it in a click. Under Saved views, type a name (e.g. "Yesterday — Main St") and click Save view; it appears in the list with Run and Delete.

Reports page — saved views

Automatic reports

Below the manual area, Scheduled reports lists reports that send on their own (for example, every weekday at 9 a.m.). If you're a customer admin you can create or change them; managers can see what's set up. Once configured, they send automatically — no one has to run them.

7. Status — is everything healthy?

Click Status to check the selected company:

  • Connection — whether QBTime Manager is connected to QuickBooks Time.
  • Service token — healthy, or expiring soon.
  • Last successful report — when a report last went out.

If reports stop arriving, look here first — usually it's an expired connection, and an administrator can reconnect it.

8. Alerts (notifications)

The Alerts bell (top right) collects in-app notices. Besides connection/report problems, it now surfaces proactive attendance alerts after each report run: no-shows, late arrivals, missing punches, and coverage gaps. A customer admin can turn each alert type on or off per company under Settings → Proactive alerts. The number badge is the unread count; opening the list marks them read.

Alerts bell with attendance alerts

9. Approvals (multi-level)

Open Approvals (under More ▾) to send a pay period through a review chain — something QuickBooks Time can't do on its own.

  1. Under Submit a period for approval, pick the start and end dates.
  2. Optionally tick Two-level (manager → admin) for a two-step chain; otherwise it's a single approval.
  3. Click Submit for approval. The request appears in the list as pending.
  4. The current approver clicks Approve step (or Reject). When the final step approves, the period is marked approved all the way back in QuickBooks Time.

A rejection at any step sends the whole request back. Every step is recorded in the activity log.

Approvals page — submit and act on a request

Approving back into QuickBooks Time needs the Approvals Add-On enabled in that QBT account. If it isn't, the in-app approval still works and is recorded; it just won't mark QBT.

10. Time Off

Open Time Off (under More ▾) to see leave for the selected company — who's off, when, and the request status — without logging into QuickBooks Time.

Time Off page

This is currently a read-only view. Approving/denying time off from here is coming in a future update.

11. Handy tips

  • Always check the company switcher before making changes if you manage more than one company.
  • Drafts don't report — publish a shift (uncheck draft) once it's final.
  • Times are in the company's timezone — if you manage companies in different zones, switching companies changes the times you see.
  • Keep your recovery codes — they're your way back in if you lose your phone.
  • Trust but verify a report — if an "absent" or "late" looks wrong, check the Schedule and the person's clock-ins for that day.

12. Glossary

  • Active company — the company selected in the switcher; everything you see applies to it.
  • MFA / authenticator code — the 6-digit one-time code required at sign-in.
  • Recovery code — a one-time backup code to sign in if you lose your authenticator.
  • Draft shift — a tentative shift that doesn't count for attendance until published.
  • Grace period — minutes after a shift's start before a clock-in is counted "late."
  • Archive — turn a user off (QuickBooks Time has no permanent delete).
  • Scheduled report — an attendance report that emails automatically on a set schedule.

Appendix — screenshots to add

This guide references images under docs/images/. Capture each from the running app (any width; ~1200px wide reads well) and save with these exact names so they appear automatically:

File What to capture
images/users-bulk.png Users page with a few rows checked and the Undo banner showing.
images/schedule-drag.png Schedule week grid mid-drag (a shift block being dropped on another day).
images/reports-saved-views.png Reports page showing the Saved views card with one saved view.
images/alerts-bell.png The Alerts bell open, showing an attendance alert.
images/approvals.png Approvals page: the submit form + a pending request with Approve/Reject.
images/time-off.png Time Off page listing a couple of leave entries.

Until the images are added, the guide reads fine as text — the image references simply show as broken links in the rendered site, so add them before sharing the site externally.