Time tracking system and method of user
View Patent ↗A method and system for billing for time spent in an instant message session by a service person for a project for a customer. Responsive to the instant message session during which an instant message is received by a user from a sender, (i) retrieving the sender's name from the instant message; (ii) determining that the sender does not exist in a defined project; (iii) determining that the instant message does not contain any keywords associated with a project; (iv) determining that the sender has not been associated with a previous project; (v) determining that the sender has a profile having a keyword that the user has associated with a first project; (vi) associating the first project with the instant message; (vii) determining a charge to the first project for labor of the service person based on a duration of the instant message session. The user is the service person.
1. A method for billing for time spent in an instant message session by a service person for a project for a customer, said method comprising:
responsive to the instant message session during which an instant message is received by a user from a sender,
(i) retrieving, by one or more processors of a computer system, a name of the sender from the instant message which identifies the sender, and in response
(ii) determining, by the one or more processors, that the sender does not exist in a defined project, based on the retrieved sender's name not being in previously loaded project settings of the user that include an identification of the project, names of people associated with the project, and keywords associated with the project, and in response
(iii) determining, by the one or more processors, that the instant message does not contain any keywords associated with a project, and in response
(iv) determining, by the one or more processors, that the sender identified by the retrieved sender's name has not been associated with a previous project, and in response
(v) determining, by the one or more processors, that the sender identified by the retrieved sender's name has a profile that includes a keyword that the user has associated with a first project, and in response
(vi) associating, by the one or more processors, the first project with the instant message sent by the sender identified by the retrieved sender's name, and in response
(vii) determining, by the one or more processors, a charge to the first project for labor of the service person based on a duration of the instant message session and a billing rate for the service person for providing a service for the first project, wherein the user is the service person.
2. The method of claim 1 , said method further comprising:
generating and electronically recording, by the one or more processors, a consolidated bill for the first project which includes the charge for labor of the service person and an additional charge for services other than for the labor of service person.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said determining that the sender has not been associated with a previous project comprises searching the user's project association history to identify a list of previous associations of the user to determine that the list of previous associations do not include an association of the user to a project.
4. A computer program product, comprising one or more computer-readable storage devices and program instructions stored on the one or more storage devices, said program instructions which, upon being executed by one or more processors of a computer system, implement a method for billing for time spent in an instant message session by a service person for a project for a customer, said method comprising:
responsive to the instant message session during which an instant message is received by a user from a sender,
(i) retrieving, by the one or more processors, a name of the sender from the instant message which identifies the sender, and in response
(ii) determining, by the one or more processors, that the sender does not exist in a defined project, based on the retrieved sender's name not being in previously loaded project settings of the user that include an identification of the project, names of people associated with the project, and keywords associated with the project, and in response
(iii) determining, by the one or more processors, that the instant message does not contain any keywords associated with a project, and in response
(iv) determining, by the one or more processors, that the sender identified by the retrieved sender's name has not been associated with a previous project, and in response
(v) determining, by the one or more processors, that the sender identified by the retrieved sender's name has a profile that includes a keyword that the user has associated with a first project, and in response
(vi) associating, by the one or more processors, the first project with the instant message sent by the sender identified by the retrieved sender's name, and in response
(vii) determining, by the one or more processors, a charge to the first project for labor of the service person based on a duration of the instant message session and a billing rate for the service person for providing a service for the first project, wherein the user is the service person.
5. The computer program product of claim 4 , said method further comprising:
generating and electronically recording, by the one or more processors, a consolidated bill for the first project which includes the charge for labor of the service person and an additional charge for services other than for the labor of service person.
6. The computer program product of claim 4 , wherein said determining that the sender has not been associated with a previous project comprises searching the user's project association history to identify a list of previous associations of the user to determine that the list of previous associations do not include an association of the user to a project.
7. A computer system comprising:
one or more processors;
one or more computer-readable memories;
one or more computer-readable storage devices; and
program instructions stored on the one or more storage devices, said program instructions which, upon being executed by the one or more processors via the one or more memories, implement a method for billing for time spent in an instant message session by a service person for a project for a customer, said method comprising: responsive to the instant message session during which an instant message is received by a user from a sender,
(i) retrieving, by the one or more processors, a name of the sender from the instant message which identifies the sender, and in response
(ii) determining, by the one or more processors, that the sender does not exist in a defined project, based on the retrieved sender's name not being in previously loaded project settings of the user that include an identification of the project, names of people associated with the project, and keywords associated with the project, and in response
(iii) determining, by the one or more processors, that the instant message does not contain any keywords associated with a project, and in response
(iv) determining, by the one or more processors, that the sender identified by the retrieved sender's name has not been associated with a previous project, and in response
(v) determining, by the one or more processors, that the sender identified by the retrieved sender's name has a profile that includes a keyword that the user has associated with a first project, and in response
(vi) associating, by the one or more processors, the first project with the instant message sent by the sender identified by the retrieved sender's name, and in response
(vii) determining, by the one or more processors, a charge to the first project for labor of the service person based on a duration of the instant message session and a billing rate for the service person for providing a service for the first project, wherein the user is the service person.
8. The computer system of claim 7 , said method further comprising:
generating and electronically recording, by the one or more processors, a consolidated bill for the first project which includes the charge for labor of the service person and an additional charge for services other than for the labor of service person.
9. The computer system of claim 7 , wherein said determining that the sender has not been associated with a previous project comprises searching the user's project association history to identify a list of previous associations of the user to determine that the list of previous associations do not include an association of the user to a project.