Troubleshoot work diary

We encourage you to toggle on your Time Tracker prior to starting work. If you forgot, contact your client to explain and ask for permission to add the time to your Work Diary manually.

In some situations, you may be logging time, but your Work Diary doesn’t show a record of it. This happens because the Desktop App stops tracking time when you've gone idle or when it recognizes that there is no trackable activity, such as keystrokes or clicks.

If you were working during a period when the Desktop App recognized you as idle, you should discuss adding the time manually with your client.

Each contract has a separate Work Diary. There's no way to move time from one contract to another while keeping the logged data, such as screen captures, intact.

You need to remove the time from the incorrect contract. Consider taking your own screenshots of the time and activity that you tracked before you remove it, so that you have a record of when you worked and what you were working on. Then you should talk to the client that you did the work for about adding it as manual time to the correct contract. If your client has disabled manual time, discuss with your client about turning on manual time or releasing a bonus payment to cover the time you worked.

To change your memo or activity label after your time has been uploaded

1. Go to Your active contracts and choose the Timesheet tab to access your work diary
2. Select the time you want to edit, which will open the modal with screenshots Hover over the screenshots of the time group you want to edit — checkboxes will appear
3. Check the boxes of time increments that belong with the memo or activity label that you are going to edit
4. Once you start checking boxes, Edit and Remove options will appear near the top of the page. Choose Edit Activity and Memo
5. Make the changes you want, then press Save

Some antivirus or anti-malware products may prevent the Upwork Desktop App from connecting properly to our server. This can cause unexpected behavior, such as missing screen captures or preventing the cache of data logged from uploading at all.

You can test this by temporarily disabling the antivirus program or adding the Upwork Desktop App to a list of allowable programs. You should refer to your antivirus provider's user manual or support site on how to do this.

If you still encounter caching issues after changing your anti-virus configuration, you may consider disabling the anti-virus program while using the Desktop App or using an antivirus program that is compatible with the Desktop App.

Caching mode allows you to log time and continue to work through minor internet connectivity issues or during Upwork site maintenance windows. Usually, the time you cache with the Desktop App will be automatically uploaded as soon as your connection to Upwork is reestablished.

The latest version of the desktop app can cache 24 hours at a time. You must reconnect to upload your time before the end of the workweek. Click here to learn more.

If you accidentally logged time with the Desktop App for time spent on leisure or non-work activities, you should remove the time from your Work Diary right away. Logging time for activity not related to work is considered inappropriate and is likely to lead to a dispute or conflict with your client.

Logging time for activity not related to work is considered inappropriate and is likely to lead to a dispute or conflict with your client.

Depending on when the time was logged, and when you noticed it, you have a few options.

• If you have enabled desktop notifications in the Desktop App settings, you can simply choose the trash icon on the screen capture notification to remove history for that work period. If you've already stopped working, you should also toggle time tracking to OFF.
• If you missed the desktop notification, and the time was logged during the current workweek, simply remove the time from your Work Diary.
• If you no longer have the ability to edit the time in your Work Diary, you can issue a refund to your client.

Unfortunately, we're unable to recover activity for removed screen captures. You should reach out to your client to discuss adding manual time or the possibility of releasing a bonus for the time you worked.

On the Windows and Linux versions of the Upwork Desktop App, there is a feature under the advanced settings called Stop Tracker on Screen Lock. If enabled, the Desktop App will be prevented from capturing the screen while your computer is locked. It will resume capturing once the computer has been unlocked or your screensaver has been deactivated.

If you worked in the 10-minute period before or after your computer was locked, your Work Diary may show a blank screen capture since it was unable to take a screen capture for this activity period. Your activity for this time period will still be uploaded as normal.

To avoid having a blank screen capture in your Work Diary, you can:

1. Disable Stop Tracker on Screen Lock in your advanced settings
2. Change your screensaver or screen lock settings to allow for additional time

1. Open the Upwork desktop app
2. Log into your Upwork account
3. Choose your name at the bottom of the Time Tracker window
4. Choose Support and Feedback
5. Add a detailed description of the issue and submit