Time recording for Customer Service Management

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Time recording for Customer Service Management

    The Time Recording feature in Customer Service Management (CSM) allows customer service agents to log time spent on case-related activities and other work such as meetings or training. These time entries automatically generate time cards and time sheets, which managers can approve and convert into expense lines. This functionality is an extension of the Time Card Management and Cost Management applications tailored specifically for CSM.

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    Key Features

    • Time Tracking: Agents with the sncustomerserviceagent role can record time directly from Case or Case Task forms, as well as from a dedicated Time Worked form for other activities.
    • Time Cards and Time Sheets: Time worked entries automatically create time cards categorized by task and work type, which are grouped into weekly time sheets for approval.
    • Manager Approval and Costing: Managers can review, approve, or reject time sheets for agents in their groups, define labor rate cards with different cost rates per activity, and generate expense lines based on approved time sheets.
    • Edit Flexibility: Agents can modify recorded hours even after time sheets are approved, causing the time sheet to revert to pending and prompting creation of new time cards if additional time is added.
    • User Roles: The feature introduces roles for time card users (agents) and time card administrators (managers), with access controls scoped to relevant records.
    • Configuration Options: Includes system properties to enable the feature and set default hourly rates, as well as time sheet policies that govern automatic time card creation.
    • Labor Rate Cards: The default labor rate card (CSM Rate Card) can be supplemented by custom labor rate cards created by system administrators to reflect varying cost rates.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Efficiently capture and manage time spent on customer service cases and related tasks, improving resource tracking and billing accuracy.
    • Automate aggregation of time entries into time cards and sheets, reducing manual effort and enhancing time management processes.
    • Enable managers to control labor costs through configurable rate cards and streamline expense generation linked to recorded time.
    • Maintain flexibility for agents to update their time entries post-approval, ensuring accurate and up-to-date reporting.
    • Leverage role-based access to ensure data security and appropriate visibility between agents and managers.

    Requirements and Next Steps

    • Ensure the Customer Service Management plugin (com.sncustomerservice) and Time Recording for Customer plugin (com.snc.csmtimerecording) are activated.
    • Assign appropriate roles to users: timecarduser for agents and timecardadmin for managers.
    • Review and configure system properties and time sheet policies to align with organizational needs, including enabling auto-fill of time cards from time worked entries.
    • Create or customize labor rate cards as needed to accurately reflect cost structures.

    Record time worked on cases and case tasks. Time worked entries automatically generate time cards and time sheets for manager approval.

    Customer service agents (users with the sn_customerservice_agent role) can record time worked on case-related activities, create time cards and time sheets, and submit for approval. Managers can approve time sheets, define cost rates for different types of activities, and convert to expense lines.

    The time recording feature extends the functionality of the Time Card Management application to Customer Service Management. Agents can record time worked on cases and tasks directly from the Case or Case Task form and time spent on other activities, such as meetings or training, from the Time Worked form. Time worked entries automatically create time cards for each task and selected work category. Time cards are automatically included in a weekly time sheet.

    The time recording feature also extends the functionality of the Cost Management application to Customer Service Management. Customer service managers can create labor rate cards, which define different cost rates for different activities. Time sheets use labor rate cards to determine costs and to generate expense lines.

    Agents can modify the hours recorded on time cards. Once a time sheet is approved and a time card is processed, the agent can still go back and modify the time worked. The time sheet reverts to the Pending state and new time cards are created. If an agent adds more time worked records to an approved time sheet for the same week, a new time sheet record is created for the current week.

    Managers can view time worked records, time cards, and time sheets for agents in their assignment groups, as well as approve and reject time sheets. After a time sheet is approved, the system processes the time cards and uses rate cards based on the time card category to create expense lines.

    Time recording plugin

    The time recording feature requires the Customer Service Management plugin (com.sn_customerservice) and the Time Recording for Customer Service plugin (com.snc.csm_time_recording).

    User roles

    The time recording feature adds the following roles.

    Table 1. Time recording user roles
    Role Description
    Time card user

    [timecard_user]

    		 Record time worked on cases and tasks. View, modify, and delete time worked entries on time cards and submit time sheets for approval.

    Users with the customer service agent (sn_customerservice_agent) role inherit the timecard_user role.

    This role restricts access to the time sheets, time cards, and time worked records created by the agent.
    Time card administrator

    [timecard_admin]

    		 Review, approve, and reject time sheets for customer service agents.

    Users with the customer service manager role (sn_customerservice_manager) inherit the timecard_admin, timecard_approver, and timecard_manager roles.

    This role restricts access to the time sheets, time cards, and time worked records created by the agents in a manager's assigned groups.

    System properties

    The time recording feature adds the following properties.

    Table 2. Time recording system properties
    Property Description
    com.snc.time_card.time_worked Enables the time recording feature for Customer Service Management. The default setting is false.
    Note:
    This property has been replaced by the Auto fill time card with time worked entries field on the Time Sheet Policy form. When this field is enabled, the user's time card is auto-filled with the information from their time worked entries.
    com.snc.time_card.default_rate The default hourly rate used when processing time cards if a rate from a labor rate card is not available.

    Time Sheet policy

    The time recording feature uses the Default time sheet policy.

    For users with the sn_customerservice_agent role, creating time worked records automatically creates or modifies time cards regardless of the setting for the com.snc.time_card.time_worked system property. The time sheet policy controls this functionality. The system administrator can disable the auto-creation of time cards for a specific user with the sn_customerservice_agent role by creating a separate time sheet policy for that user.

    Labor rate cards

    The time recording feature provides one labor rate card: CSM Rate Card (Default).

    If needed, system administrators can create additional labor rate cards. Navigate to Cost > Costs > Labor Rate Cards and click New to create a labor rate card.