Activity & Logs
Tier: Pro/Agency | Type: User-Facing UI
!!! tip "Key Insight" Activity & Logs is the platform's proof-of-work layer. A single logging utility (log_activity) feeds a filterable timeline (category, severity, date range), with maintenance cleanup and backfill. It also becomes the foundation for client-facing reporting (Work Report Builder) without duplicating "what happened" logic.
Overview
Unified, per-site timeline inside Client Profile (last tab) that shows everything that happened for a site across content work, SEO analyses, site configuration changes, automation events, and system actions. Replaces the old fragmented approach where users had to check multiple places to understand recent work.
Why It Matters
Provides a single source of truth for what happened on a site, so users can quickly understand progress, diagnose issues, and report value to clients without hunting across tools.
Sections
The Activity & Logs tab is split into four sections:
1. Retainer Tracker
A per-site monthly hour budget tracker that sits at the top of the tab. Shows progress bar, hours logged/remaining, days until due, and pace indicator. Supports custom billing cycles, overage rollover, period history, work timers, gamification, daily pacing briefings, and a global work intelligence layer. See Client Retainer Intelligence & Tracking for full details.
2. Work Log
A dashboard for tracking manual, billable work performed for a client.
- Stats cards — Show number of entries and total hours logged this week and this month.
- "Log New Work" button — Opens a modal to record manual work entries (phone calls, meetings, research, design work, etc.).
- Work Timer — A real-time stopwatch for tracking work as it happens. See Work Timer & Topbar Indicator for full details.
- Recent Entries — Quick-glance list of the latest manual entries.
3. Activity Timeline & Reports
The main filterable timeline showing all activity for the site.
- Category filter — All, Content, Automation, Site, SEO, System, Manual.
- Severity filter — All, Success, Warning, Error, Info.
- Date range filter — Custom date pickers with Apply/Clear buttons.
- Client Report Builder — Select activities via checkboxes and compose a branded email report to send to your client via SendGrid (see Client Work Report Email). Quick-select buttons: Last 7 Days, Last 30 Days, and This Billing Period (visible when retainer is configured).
- Timeline entries — Date-grouped cards with icons, category badges, duration badges, source labels, and clickable post titles. Each entry has a delete button (X) on hover and automated entries have an "+ time" button to add hours/minutes.
- Load More — Paginated loading (50 entries per batch).
4. Full Log
A tabular view of the complete activity record.
- Category dropdown filter and CSV export button.
- Paginated table with columns: Date, Category, Entry, Type, Duration, and Actions.
- Prev/Next pagination controls.
Work Timer
A real-time timer for logging work as you do it, instead of estimating after the fact.
How to Use It
- In the Work Log section, click Start Timer.
- A live
HH:MM:SScounter appears with Pause, Stop, and Discard controls. - Work on your task — you can navigate away from the page and the timer keeps running.
- When finished, click Stop. The Log Work modal opens with your elapsed time pre-filled (rounded to the nearest 15-minute increment).
- Fill in the work type, title, and any notes, then save.
Timer Details
| Behavior | Detail |
|---|---|
| Persistence | Timer state is saved in localStorage, so it survives page navigation, tab switches, and browser refresh |
| Scope | Keyed per site — each site has its own independent timer |
| Time increments | Logged in 15-minute increments (rounded to nearest 15 min on stop) |
| Auto-stop cap | Timer automatically stops at 8 hours to prevent forgotten timers |
| Cap warning | In the last 60 minutes before auto-stop, the hint switches to an orange countdown: "Auto-stops in X mins" |
| Navigation hint | A green message confirms: "Feel free to leave this page — your timer will keep running" |
Timer Controls
| Control | Action |
|---|---|
| Pause | Freezes the timer; elapsed time is preserved |
| Resume | Resumes the timer from where it was paused |
| Stop | Stops the timer and opens the Log Work modal with time pre-filled |
| Discard | Cancels the timer after a confirmation prompt |
Manual Work Entry
When logging work (either via the timer or the "Log New Work" button), you can record:
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Work Type | Yes | Phone Call, Client Meeting, Research, SEO, Website Work, DNS/Hosting, Email, Competitor Analysis, Social Media, Design Work, Third-Party Setup, Administrative, Content Planning, Google Ads, or Other |
| Title | Yes | Brief summary of the work (max 200 characters) |
| Description | No | Additional details |
| Date | Yes | When the work was performed (supports date ranges for multi-day work) |
| Time Spent | Yes | Hours and minutes (15-minute increments) |
Manual entries appear in the timeline with a purple left border and work-type-specific icons. They can be edited or deleted after creation.
Entry Management
All activity entries (manual and automated) support the following actions:
| Action | How | Applies To |
|---|---|---|
| Delete | Click the X button (appears on hover, top-right of entry) | All entries |
| Edit | Click the pencil icon to open the edit modal | Manual entries only |
| Add time | Click "+ time" button to add hours/minutes via inline popup | Automated entries without a duration |
| Edit time | Click the pencil next to the duration badge | Automated entries with existing duration |
Deleting or editing entries automatically refreshes the stats cards, retainer tracker, and full log table.
Sticky Tab Navigation
When switching between sites using the left sidebar, the current tab is remembered. If you're on the Activity & Logs tab for one client and click another client, you'll land on the same tab for that client instead of defaulting to Overview.
Access Control
Permission Mode: Configurable per client
Notes / Edge Cases
- Activity older than 90 days is automatically cleaned up by a daily maintenance job.
- Manual work entries are distinguished from automated entries in the timeline with purple styling and a clipboard icon.
- The Client Report Builder only allows selecting "reportable" entries (Content, SEO, Site, Manual categories — not errors).
- Post titles in timeline entries are clickable and link to the post detail page.