CallTimes User Guide

Version 2.0 · Track hours, manage jobs, estimated pay, drafts, and reports

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Overview

CallTimes is a private personal timecard for motion picture freelancers. It keeps jobs, work days, lunch breaks, estimated pay, payment status, and union insurance hours organized across iPhone and iPad.

Getting Started

Creating Your First Job

  1. Open the Jobs tab and tap the + button
  2. Fill in the job details:
    • Production Company: The production company name
    • Job Name: The name of the production
    • Payroll Company: Optional payroll provider for the job
    • Default Role: Your usual role on the job, e.g., "Best Boy Electric"
    • Rate: Your pay rate - can be hourly (e.g., "68.18") or guaranteed hours (e.g., "750/10")
    • Union Job: Toggle ON if this is a union job (important for insurance hours tracking)
  3. Use the blue suggestion button beside a field to choose a saved preset, when available
  4. Tap Save

Your job now appears in the jobs list!

Tracking Work Days

Adding a Work Day

  1. From the Jobs tab, tap on a job to open the details
  2. Tap Add Work Day
  3. Fill in the work day details:
    • Date: Tap to open calendar picker and select the date
    • Role: Your role for this specific day (defaults to job's default role)
    • Day Rate Override: Optional - use if this day has a different rate than the job default
    • Start: Your call time (e.g., "6:30" or "6.5")
    • Lunch Out 1: When you went to lunch (e.g., "13:00" or "13.0")
    • Lunch In 1: When you returned from lunch
    • Lunch Out 2: Optional second lunch (for long days)
    • Lunch In 2: Optional second lunch return
    • Wrap: Your wrap time (e.g., "19:15" or "19.25")
  4. Enter information as it happens. Call time by itself is enough to begin a draft.
  5. Tap Save Draft to close the form and return later. Draft changes also autosave.
  6. At lunch, reopen the saved draft and add lunch times. At wrap, reopen it again and add wrap.
  7. Once Start and Wrap are entered, the app shows calculated hours and Estimated Pay.
  8. Tap Complete when the day is finished.
Time Entry Formats: You can enter times in three ways:
  • Tenths: 13.1 through 13.9
  • Quarter hours: 13.25, 13.5, or 13.75
  • 24-hour: 13:00 or 13:30
Overnight shifts are supported.
Estimated Pay: This figure is for reference only. Actual payroll may differ based on your agreement, penalties, allowances, deductions, and payroll rules.

Editing a Work Day

  1. Open the job details
  2. Tap a work day, or swipe left and tap Edit
  3. Make your changes
  4. Tap Complete

Deleting a Work Day

  1. Open the job details
  2. Swipe left on the work day
  3. Tap Delete

Managing Jobs

Viewing Job Details

Tap any job from the list to see:

Editing a Job

  1. Open the job details
  2. Tap Edit
  3. Update any job information
  4. Tap Save

Archiving Jobs

  1. Open the job details
  2. Tap Archive
  3. The job moves to archived jobs

To view archived jobs:

  1. Tap Filters on the Jobs screen
  2. Select Archived or All
  3. Tap Done

Deleting a Job

  1. From the Jobs list, swipe left on a job
  2. Tap Delete
  3. The job and its work days are removed

Marking Days Paid

Filtering & Searching

Using Filters

  1. Use the search field to search by production company, job name, or payroll company
  2. Tap the filter button at the top of the Jobs screen
  3. Set your filters:
    • Year: Filter jobs by year
    • Status: Active, Archived, or All
  4. Tap Done

Jobs are automatically grouped by year and sorted by last worked date.

Sharing Work Hours

Sharing Hours as Text

  1. Open a job's details
  2. Tap Share, then Share Hours
  3. Choose individual days, or use Latest, Last 3, or All
  4. Review the preview, then tap Share
  5. Choose Messages, Mail, AirDrop, Notes, or another destination

Example format:

Company Name — Job Name — Payroll: Payroll Company

10/18
7.0 - 19.0
Lunch 13.0 - 14.0
Estimated Pay: (11h 0m) $795.45

Total Estimated Pay: $795.45
Estimated pay is for reference only; actual payroll may differ.

Sharing Jobs with Other CallTimes Users

Sending a Complete Job

  1. Open the job details
  2. Tap Share, then Send Complete Job
  3. Choose how to send the private iCloud invitation
  4. The recipient opens the invitation in CallTimes and supplies their own role and rate

Accepting a Shared Job

  1. Open the CallTimes invitation on an iPhone or iPad signed into iCloud
  2. Accept the invitation and open CallTimes
  3. Enter your role and rate
  4. If the same job already exists, choose whether to merge it or create a separate job

Reports & Statistics

Viewing Reports

Go to the Reports tab to see:

Union Insurance Hours Tracking

Track hours toward your union health insurance requirements:

  1. In the Reports tab, find "Union Insurance Hours"
  2. Set your Target Hours (e.g., 400)
  3. Turn on Use Start Date and/or Use End Date to track a specific period
  4. Choose the dates that appear when those options are enabled
  5. Tap Save Insurance Settings

The app shows:

Exporting All Data (CSV)

  1. Go to the Reports tab
  2. Tap Export Spreadsheet (CSV)
  3. A CSV file is created with all jobs and work days
  4. Share or save the file

CSV includes:

Settings

Theme

Choose between:

Backup & Sync

Automatic iCloud Sync:

Your jobs, work days, settings, and unfinished drafts automatically sync through your private iCloud. Use Retry Sync if the status is not up to date.

Manual Backup:

  1. Tap Export Backup
  2. Save or share the JSON file
  3. Keep it safe!

Manual Restore:

  1. Tap Import Backup
  2. Select your backup JSON file
  3. Confirm restore

Recovering Original App Data

If you upgraded from the original CallTimes app and older jobs are missing, tap Recover Original App Data. CallTimes checks its previous local and iCloud backup locations without deleting your current jobs.

Managing Presets

Save frequently used roles, production companies, job names, rates, and payroll companies for quick entry.

To manage presets:

  1. Go to Settings tab
  2. Scroll to the preset section
  3. Type the value and tap Add
  4. Swipe left on any preset to delete it

Tips & Tricks

Quick Preset Selection

When a field has saved suggestions, tap its blue down-arrow button and choose a value. You can still type a new value at any time.

Time Entry Shortcuts

Copying Last Day's Info

When adding a new work day, the app automatically prefills:

This saves time when working consecutive days with the same role/rate.

Reusing a Day

In the work-day editor, use Copy Times, Role & Rate and Paste Times, Role & Rate to reuse a day’s setup.

Job Organization

Jobs are grouped by the year of their latest recorded work day and sorted with the most recently worked job first. The banner counts only jobs and work days from the current year.

This keeps your current work at the top!

Troubleshooting

My union hours aren't showing

An unfinished day is missing

iCloud is not up to date

Can't find my backup

Need more help? Email chad@turtletay.com