Why We Round Time Entries to the Nearest 15 Minutes

We round time entries to the nearest 15‑minute interval to provide accurate, fair, and consistent billing that reflects the full scope of work required to deliver results. Modern knowledge work involves context switching, coordination, and quality assurance that are essential but not always captured by a stopwatch.

The problem with second‑by‑second tracking

• Ultra‑granular tracking undercounts real effort. Small but necessary tasks often go unlogged.
• It encourages inefficiency. Toggling timers for every micro‑task interrupts flow and increases context switching.
• It creates inconsistent invoices. Two similar tasks can show different totals depending on how diligently someone starts and stops a timer.

What 15‑minute rounding fairly captures

• Task setup and context switching
  • Reviewing the request or brief
  • Recalling project context, requirements, and constraints
  • Opening the right environments, files, and tools
• Communication and coordination
  • Quick Slack or email exchanges to clarify scope
  • Hand‑offs and updates to keep work moving
• Hidden but essential work
  • Reading and processing emails before execution
  • QA checks, accessibility and brand consistency reviews
  • File management and version control

These activities are critical to quality outcomes, yet are easy to miss in real‑time logging. Rounding ensures they are appropriately represented.

Why 15 minutes?

• Industry‑standard cadence that balances precision with practicality
• Reduces administrative overhead so more time goes to actual delivery
• Produces consistent, predictable billing across projects and team members

How rounding is applied