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This action updates specified fields on one or more time entries in your Professional Services Automation (PSA) tool. It’s typically used after an action like “Time Entry QA” or “Time Entries Triage” to apply suggested changes or corrections.
Automating time entry updates ensures data accuracy, helps standardize how time is logged, and can automate corrections based on quality assurance checks or triage rules. This saves manual effort and improves the consistency of your billing and reporting data.

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How it works

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Step 1: Input Data

The action receives a list of PSA time entry objects (typically from a “Find Entities” action or passed from a trigger). It also takes a list of fields to update, which are usually the output of an AI analysis action like “Time Entry QA”.

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Step 2: Field Update Preparation

The action prepares the list of changes to be made:
  • It combines the suggested updates with any specified additional updates
  • If “Allow Clearing Fields” is set to False (default), any updates that would result in setting a field to an empty value are filtered out to prevent accidental data removal

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Step 3: PSA Interaction

For each time entry:
  • The action constructs the appropriate payload to update the fields in your specific PSA system
  • It makes an API call to your PSA to apply these changes to the time entry
  • For ConnectWise, it temporarily disables email notifications during updates to prevent spam

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Step 4: Output Generation

The action generates messages confirming the successful update of each time entry, detailing which fields were changed.

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Configuration options

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Default Data

The list of PSA time entry objects that this action will process and update. This input is typically provided by a “Find Entities” action or directly from a workflow trigger.

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Default Fields to Update

A list of field update instructions, usually generated by a preceding AI action like “Time Entry QA”. Each instruction specifies the time entry ID, the field to change, and its new value.

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Allow Clearing Fields

Default: False - Determines if the action is allowed to set fields to an empty or null value.
  • If False (default): Updates that would clear a field’s value are ignored as a safety measure
  • If True: The action will proceed with updates that set fields to empty/null

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Update Additional Fields

Default: False - Set this to True if you want to configure specific, static field updates.

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Additional Fields to Update

This section is enabled when “Update Additional Fields” is True. It allows you to define specific updates to apply to all time entries processed by this action.

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Is Non-Billable (Autotask only)

Set whether the time entry is non-billable. You can choose “True”, “False”, or “Do not update”. ConnectWise typically handles non-billable status via Work Type or other specific fields.

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What you’ll get

After the action runs, you’ll see:
  • Event History: Messages confirming the update of each time entry and detailing the changes made
  • Internal Messages: Messages for internal MSP use that can be used in subsequent actions like “Add Ticket Note”
  • Zero Credits: Updating time entry fields does not consume any credits

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Use cases

Trigger: Time Entry Created Action 1: Time Entry QA - Analyzes the new time entry based on defined criteria Action 2: Update Time Entry Fields - Takes the suggestions from “Time Entry QA” and applies corrections like changing work type or billable flag
Trigger: Time Entry Created Filter: Time entry’s associated ticket has title containing “Internal Meeting” OR time entry notes contain “Internal Training” Action: Update Time Entry Fields - Set “Is Non-Billable” to “True” for Autotask, or update Work Type for ConnectWise

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Best practices

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Preceding Analysis

Always use this action after an analysis action like “Time Entry QA” or “Time Entries Triage” if you need to make dynamic changes based on the content or context of the time entries.

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Allow Clearing Fields Consideration

Be cautious when setting “Allow Clearing Fields” to True. Ensure that any preceding actions that provide field updates are correctly configured to either provide a value or intentionally clear a field.

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ConnectWise Notifications

For ConnectWise users, be aware that this action temporarily modifies the email notification flag on the parent ticket to prevent excessive notifications. This flag is restored after all time entries for that ticket are processed.

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Review Event History

Check the Event History to monitor successful updates and troubleshoot any issues with field changes.

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Specificity

If you only need to update a single, static field (like always marking certain time entries as non-billable based on a filter), the additional fields update can be efficient. For more complex, conditional updates, rely on the output from AI triage/QA actions.

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Example workflows

  1. Trigger: Time Entry Created
  2. Time Entry QA - Analyzes time entry for completeness and accuracy
  3. Update Time Entry Fields - Applies suggested corrections from QA analysis
  4. Result: Time entries are automatically corrected and standardized
  1. Trigger: Time Entry Created
  2. Filter: Time entry notes contain “meeting” or “training”
  3. Update Time Entry Fields - Mark as non-billable and update work type
  4. Result: Internal time is automatically classified correctly
  1. Trigger: Time Entry Created
  2. Time Entries Triage - Check billing compliance and work type accuracy
  3. Update Time Entry Fields - Apply triage suggestions for compliance
  4. Result: All time entries meet billing and compliance standards

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Available field updates

You can update various time entry fields including:
  • Work type - Change the service category or work classification
  • Billable status - Set whether the time is billable or non-billable
  • Notes/description - Update or append to the time entry details
  • Hours logged - Modify the time amount (use with caution)
  • Custom fields - Update any custom fields specific to your PSA setup

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Safety features

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Data Protection

  • Default behavior prevents accidental field clearing
  • Individual time entry failures don’t stop the entire batch
  • Detailed logging of all changes made

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Notification Management

  • ConnectWise: Temporarily disables automatic email notifications during updates
  • Autotask: Respects existing notification settings

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Validation

  • Ensures time entries exist before attempting updates
  • Validates field names match PSA configuration
  • Confirms new values are appropriate for field types