---
title: 'Estimate working time'
description: 'Compares estimated and booked time, shows progress, and warns if workload or deadline is exceeded.'
---
The **Timeframe** section in a ticket shows the comparison between **planned** (estimated) and **actually tracked** working time. This helps you realistically assess the progress of a task and spot early on if the effort is still on track or already exceeded. The estimate feature helps teams plan tasks better and distribute workloads in a smart way.

---

## How it works

### Add an estimate

![Illustration](/images/help-center/projects/tasks/estimate-work-time-01.png)

When creating or editing a ticket, you can enter the expected time in hours in the **Estimate** field.

- You can enter a value manually or adjust it using the **slider**.
- You can change your estimates anytime later, for example, if the workload changes.
- The estimate is the base for the progress display in Timeframe.

**Example:**

Estimate: 7.75 h – the employee plans about 7 hours and 45 minutes of work time.

Log time to tasks:

---

## Time tracking and comparison

![Illustration](/images/help-center/projects/tasks/estimate-work-time-02.png)

All logged hours on the ticket are automatically compared with the estimate. The comparison is shown as _"hours logged of estimated hours"_, e.g. 8.5 hours spent of 16 hours.

### Big Picture

![Illustration](/images/help-center/projects/tasks/estimate-work-time-03.png)

A **progress bar** shows the current status:

![Illustration](/images/help-center/projects/tasks/estimate-work-time-04.png)

- **Gray:** Within estimate

![Illustration](/images/help-center/projects/tasks/estimate-work-time-05.png)

- **Red:** Estimate exceeded

These details show up right away in the ticket card and in the big picture view, like 8.5h of 16h.

To [Big Picture](/planning/big-picture)

---

#### Notifications for going over estimate

As soon as the logged hours go over the estimate, these things happen:

- Progress bars marked in red,
- and all participants who subscribed to the ticket are notified about the change.

Participants can sign up for updates in the **Notifications** section using the **Subscribe** button.

About notifications: [Messaging system](/interface/messaging)

---

### Best Practices

- Split tasks into **manageable chunks** (max. 1–2 days of work).
- When you change the task description, **adjust the estimate** to keep things transparent.
- Regularly check the alignment between estimates and actual effort in the **weekly or pipeline review**.