Help Center

How can we help you?

Popular: agent install, screenshot settings, payroll export, 2FA setup

Browse by Category

Everything you need to get set up

No articles found

Try different keywords or browse all categories.

Getting Started

How to create your TheDeskMonitor account
Step-by-step walkthrough of registration, email verification, and company setup.
Inviting employees and setting permissions
Send email invitations, assign roles (Employee, Team Manager, Owner Admin), and manage access.
Installing the DeskAgent on Windows (macOS coming soon)
Download links, silent install for IT admins, and verifying the agent is connected.
Completing the onboarding checklist
Walk through the in-app setup checklist: agent, team, screenshots, billing, and first report.
Understanding your ROI with TheDeskMonitor
Use the ROI calculator to estimate cost savings, recovered hours, and productivity uplift.

Time Tracking

How automatic time tracking works
The agent captures active app and URL usage in the background. No manual clock-in required.
Adding and removing manual time entries
Log time for meetings, phone calls, or offline work directly in the Timesheet module — and remove incorrect or duplicate entries.

Open Timesheet → Today's view. Each time-slot within your assigned shift is shown. Empty slots have an Add link; existing entries have a Remove link.

Adding a manual entry
  1. Click Add in any empty gap within your shift window.
  2. Enter the start time, end time, project/task, and an optional description.
  3. Times must fall within your assigned shift hours for that date. Entries outside your shift are not permitted.
  4. Click Save. The entry appears immediately and is queued for manager approval before it affects payroll.
Removing an entry
  1. Click Remove next to the entry you want to delete.
  2. Confirm the deletion in the dialog. The original duration is shown so you can verify before proceeding.
  3. Approved entries and entries from prior pay cycles cannot be removed.

Overlap rule: if an auto-tracked DeskAgent entry already covers a time-slot, you must remove it first before adding a manual entry for the same period.

The Remove and Add controls are available on both the Web Timesheet and the Mobile App (Profile → Timesheet).

Approving and rejecting timesheets
Team managers review submitted timesheets, request corrections, or approve for payroll.
Approving timesheets and running a payroll export
Export approved hours as CSV or PDF. For PayPal payroll disbursement, configure your PayPal connection in Settings → Payment Integrations first; once configured, payroll cycles use that connection automatically.
Handling idle time, breaks, and overtime
Configure idle thresholds, break deductions, and overtime rules per shift or roster.

Screenshots

Configuring screenshot capture frequency and blur rules
Set capture intervals (1–30 min), enable Smart Blur for sensitive content, and define exclusion rules.
Enabling Privacy Mode for sensitive departments
Privacy Mode pauses screenshots and app tracking for legal, HR, or executive users.
Viewing and filtering the screenshot gallery
Browse captures by employee, date, and app. Download or delete individual screenshots.
Screenshot storage and retention policy
Screenshots are stored encrypted in object storage. Retention is 60 days (Community/Starter), 90 days (Professional), 365 days (Business), or unlimited (Enterprise). Configure GDPR deletion on request.
How long do we keep your monitoring data?
Full retention architecture: per-plan raw data windows (60d / 90d / 365d / unlimited), DeskAgent 30-day local cache, PayrollCycleSnapshot summary path, and what gets deleted vs preserved.

Attendance

Setting up GPS Breadcrumbs for field workers
Enable location tracking, set geofence boundaries, and view breadcrumb trails on the map.
Creating and assigning shift schedules
Build rosters, assign employees to shifts, and view the schedule on the team calendar.
Installing the TheDeskMonitor Android APK
How to sideload the Android app while the Google Play Store listing is pending.
  1. Go to /download and tap Download Android APK.
  2. On your Android device, open Settings → Apps → Special app access → Install unknown apps and enable it for your browser or file manager.
  3. Open the downloaded APK file and tap Install.
  4. Grant the location and notification permissions when prompted.
  5. Sign in with your TheDeskMonitor email and password. Your first login on a new device will require an email OTP for security.

Once available on Google Play, the Play Store install will be the recommended path. Direct APK install is the interim option for v1.

Reports

Generating the Productivity Report for a date range
Filter by employee or team, choose a date range, and export productivity breakdowns by category.
Running team timesheet reports
Aggregate hours by employee, project, or task across the selected period. Export to CSV or PDF.
Budget vs Actual project cost reports
Compare planned budget against recorded hours and expenses to track project profitability.
Scheduling automated report delivery
Configure weekly or monthly report emails delivered automatically to managers and stakeholders.

Billing

Understanding TheDeskMonitor plans and pricing
Community (free, up to 3 seats), Starter (from $12/user/mo annual), Professional (from $22/user/mo annual), Business (from $42/user/mo annual).
Upgrading or downgrading your subscription
Change your plan at any time. Upgrades are prorated; downgrades take effect at the next cycle.
Downloading invoices and payment receipts
Access all invoices from the Billing dashboard. Download PDF receipts for accounting.
Adding users and understanding seat billing
Each active invited user counts as a billable seat. Deactivated users are not charged.

Settings

Configuring company-wide settings
Set your timezone, currency, working hours, public holidays, and company profile details.
Managing user roles and access permissions
Grant and revoke Employee, Team Manager, or Owner Admin roles from the Users section.
Configuring notification and digest preferences
Choose which alerts you receive, set digest frequency, and opt out of specific event types.
Generating API keys and connecting integrations
Create REST API keys for custom integrations, webhooks, and third-party tools like Zapier.
Geofence enforcement: Off, Warn-Only, and Block-Hard modes
Control what happens when an employee tries to clock in outside an approved location zone.

Configure the enforcement mode at Settings → Geofence Settings. Define your zones at Settings → Office Locations.

Mode What happens on clock-in
Off No location check is performed. Clock-in proceeds for all employees regardless of location.
Warn-Only Clock-in is allowed, but the system logs that the employee was outside all active zones. Managers can review these in the audit log. Recommended when rolling out to new teams.
Block-Hard Clock-in is rejected (HTTP 403) if the employee is outside all active zones. The app displays the reason, the nearest zone name, and the approximate distance. Requires GPS coordinates from the client device.

Before enabling Block-Hard: ensure all employees have location permissions granted in the TheDeskMonitor app and have acknowledged the location monitoring consent gate.

GPS accuracy varies by device and environment (indoor, urban canyon). Warn-Only is the safest starting point; switch to Block-Hard after verifying zone coverage in your real work locations.

2FA & Security

Enabling two-factor authentication (2FA)
Set up 2FA via email OTP, a TOTP authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Authy), or the built-in method.
Setting up IP whitelisting
Restrict platform access to approved IP ranges. Useful for office or VPN-enforced access policies.
GDPR data export and right-to-erasure requests
Download an employee's data package or permanently delete their records to comply with GDPR.
Reading the audit log and session history
View a full log of who accessed the platform, when, and what actions they performed.

Cost Centers & Financial Reporting

What are Cost Centers?
TheDeskMonitor has two independent financial paths: internal budget management via cost centers (track where money is spent) and external client billing via invoices (track what to charge clients). Neither path requires the other, and both can coexist on the same project.
Setting up Cost Centers for your projects
Create a cost center, assign it to one or more projects, and add initial funds. Each project can have its own cost center for granular budget tracking, or share one for simpler management.
Understanding the Auto-Assign setting
When Auto-Assign is ON, every project shares a single Operations cost center for zero-setup simplicity. Turn it OFF when you need per-project cost tracking, budget comparisons, and margin analysis. A guided 5-step checklist walks you through the transition.
Project Budget Tracking
Set a guiding budget for each project and compare it against actual task costs in real time. Enable AllowOverBudget per project to receive a notification when costs exceed the budget, or leave it off to block new task allocations once the budget is reached.
Fund Management
Add funds to a cost center at any time. When timesheets are approved, costs are debited from the fund balance. If AllowOverCharge is off, new time logs are blocked when funds run out. Enable AllowOverCharge to let the balance go negative and receive alerts instead.
Which plan includes financial reporting?
Community and Starter plans use simplified mode with aggregate financial data and basic invoicing. Professional and Business plans unlock full cost center management, per-project cost tracking, fund pools, budget vs actual reports, and margin analysis.

How long do we keep your monitoring data?

Your raw screenshots and activity logs are retained according to your subscription plan. Even after the retention window expires, your aggregated payroll and timesheet summaries remain available indefinitely — so historical payroll reports are never lost.

Retention by plan
Plan Raw monitoring data retained for
Community60 days
Starter60 days
Professional90 days
Business365 days (1 year)
EnterpriseUnlimited (custom window on request)
DeskAgent local cache (30-day offline buffer)

The DeskAgent desktop application caches up to 30 days of monitoring data locally on the employee's device before syncing to the server. This means monitoring continues normally even during extended offline periods or connectivity drops. Once the device reconnects, the agent uploads the buffered data to the server automatically.

Payroll cycle snapshots — aggregated summaries beyond the raw retention window

When you request timesheet or payroll data beyond your plan's raw retention cutoff, the system sources the figures from pre-computed PayrollCycleSnapshot rows rather than raw TimeLog records. This means:

  • Raster screenshots and per-minute activity logs are purged at the retention cutoff.
  • Clock-in/clock-out totals, payroll cycle summaries, and timesheet aggregates remain available for compliance and historical reporting — regardless of plan.
What gets deleted vs preserved
Data type Retained for Aggregated summary preserved?
Raster screenshotsPer plan (60 / 90 / 365 days / unlimited)No — deleted at cutoff
Per-minute activity logsPer planNo — deleted at cutoff
TimeLog records (clock-in/out)Per planYes — via PayrollCycleSnapshot
Payroll cycle totalsAlways retainedAlways
Invoices & billing records7-year tax retentionn/a
How to extend your retention window

Upgrade to a higher plan to unlock a longer retention window. Business gives you 365 days; Enterprise gives you unlimited retention with a configurable custom window. Contact to discuss Enterprise options.

GDPR right to erasure

Employees may request early deletion of their personal monitoring data at any time, subject to applicable legal retention requirements. Submit a request via your Organisation Admin, or email . See our Privacy Policy — Data Retention section for the full legal basis.

Can't find what you need?

Our support team typically responds within 2 business hours.

Book a Live Demo
Response times
Email support 2 business hours
Enterprise SLA 1 hour
Business hours Mon–Fri 9am–6pm UTC
Quick links
What's new in TheDeskMonitor API documentation Download the desktop agent System status

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answers to common questions

Can't find what you're looking for? .

Getting Started Billing & Pricing Privacy & Monitoring Time Tracking Mobile App Security & Data DeskAgent Team & Admin Technical & Integrations

Getting Started

Register with your work email at /account/register. You'll receive a one-time password (OTP) to verify your email. Once verified, complete the tenant setup — enter your company name, select your timezone and country, then invite your team.

Yes. All new accounts start on a 14-day Business plan trial with full feature access. No credit card is required to start the trial.

Go to Settings → Users → Invite Users. Enter the email addresses of your team members. They will receive an invitation link to join your workspace and create their account.

The DeskAgent is a lightweight desktop application that runs in the background on employee machines. It captures activity data, periodic screenshots, and app usage metrics. It is currently available for Windows. macOS support is coming soon. Download it from /download.

Most teams are fully set up within 30 minutes. DeskAgent installation on each device takes under 5 minutes per machine.

You can bulk-invite employees via CSV upload. Historical time data import is not currently supported.

Employees accept the invitation link sent to their email, create their account, and install the DeskAgent on their work machine. The whole process takes under 10 minutes.

You'll be prompted to choose a paid plan. Your data is fully retained. If you do not upgrade, access to the dashboard is restricted but your data is not deleted for 30 days after the trial ends.

Billing & Pricing

Pricing is per-user per-month. The Community plan is free for up to 3 users. Starter from $12/user/month billed annually ($14 monthly), Professional from $22/user/month annually ($27 monthly), Business from $42/user/month annually ($51 monthly). See our pricing page for full details.

Billing starts after your trial ends. Charges are made monthly based on the number of active users in your workspace at that time.

Yes. You can upgrade or downgrade at any time from Settings → Billing. Changes take effect immediately on upgrade; downgrades take effect at the next billing cycle.

New users are pro-rated for the remaining days in the current billing period. You will only be charged for the days they are active.

Annual billing with a discount is coming soon. For enterprise annual agreements, please contact us directly.

Go to Settings → Billing → Cancel Subscription. Your access continues until the end of the current billing period. You will not be charged again after cancellation.

We offer a 30-day money-back guarantee on your first payment, no questions asked. Subsequent payments are non-refundable except for billing errors. Please see our Refund Policy or contact .

Yes, we offer special pricing for qualifying nonprofits and early-stage startups. Contact us at to discuss your options.

Employee Monitoring & Privacy

Yes. TheDeskMonitor is transparent-by-default. Employees are notified during onboarding that monitoring is active. The DeskAgent displays a visible icon in the system tray so employees always know when it is running.

The DeskAgent captures: active application names, URLs visited in browsers, keystroke activity levels (activity count — not keylogging), and periodic screenshots. It does not record passwords, clipboard contents, or personal messages.

Yes. Every employee has a personal self-dashboard showing their own productivity score, time logs, app usage, and screenshots captured on their device.

Monitoring is controlled by your organisation's policy. Employees cannot unilaterally disable monitoring on company-managed devices. However, if admins have enabled it, employees can toggle Privacy Mode during personal breaks.

Admins can enable Smart Blur to automatically blur sensitive on-screen content in screenshots. Privacy Mode allows employees to pause screenshot capture during personal breaks, depending on your organisation's policy configuration.

Configurable per tenant. The default is every 10 minutes during active work sessions. Admins can adjust the interval from 5 to 30 minutes in the monitoring policy settings.

Monitoring is only active when the DeskAgent is running and the employee is clocked in. The agent does not capture activity outside shift hours unless your configuration explicitly enables it.

Yes. Admins can add applications to an exclusion list in Settings → Monitoring Policy. Activity and screenshots will not be captured while excluded applications are in focus.

Time Tracking & Timesheets

The DeskAgent automatically tracks active work time based on keyboard and mouse activity. Employees can also manually log time against tasks for meetings or offline work.

A shift is a defined work schedule (for example, 9 AM–5 PM Monday–Friday). Shifts determine expected hours and form the basis for timesheet calculations and attendance reporting.

Managers review employee timesheets weekly in the Timesheets module. Approval triggers a ledger entry for payroll processing. Rejections can include a note for the employee to correct and resubmit.

Employees can submit time correction requests with supporting notes. Managers review and approve or reject the corrections before they are reflected in payroll.

The system automatically closes the shift at the scheduled end time. Admins receive a notification about unclosed sessions so they can review and correct the record if needed.

Yes. Each employee's time is recorded in their local timezone and automatically converted for aggregate reporting at the company level.

Yes. Timesheets can be exported as PDF or CSV from the Reports section. You can filter by employee, team, or date range before exporting.

The timesheet calendar view is a 7-day visual overview showing daily clock-in and clock-out times, total hours worked, and a colour-coded productivity status for each day of the week.

Open Timesheet → Today's view. Empty time-slots within your assigned shift have an Add link. Click it to expand an inline form — enter the start time, end time, project or task, and an optional description. Times must fall within your shift window for that date. Click Save to submit the entry; it queues for manager approval before affecting payroll.

Yes. In Timesheet → Today's view, each entry has a Remove link. Clicking it shows a confirmation dialog with the original duration before you commit. Two restrictions apply: (1) entries that have already been approved by a manager cannot be removed; (2) entries that belong to a prior, processed pay cycle cannot be removed. For entries outside these restrictions you can Remove, then Add a corrected manual entry in the same time-slot.

No — overlapping entries are not permitted. If the DeskAgent has already captured time for a slot you want to correct, remove the auto-tracked entry first, then click Add on the now-empty slot to enter the correct details manually. Manual entries must also fall within your assigned shift hours for that date; entries outside your shift window are blocked with an inline validation message.

Manual entries and removals are only permitted within the current active pay cycle. Entries from a prior pay cycle that has already been processed are locked — the Remove link is hidden and the Add form is disabled for those dates. If you need to correct a prior-cycle entry after it has been processed, contact your Owner/Admin who can make corrections and re-run the payroll export for that period. Approved entries are also locked regardless of the cycle — unapprove them first before making corrections.

Mobile App

The Android app is available today as a direct APK download — see /download for the link and install instructions. An iOS App Store listing and a Google Play Store listing are both coming soon. In the meantime, the web app and DeskAgent (Windows) provide full functionality on all platforms.

No. Screenshot capture is a desktop-only feature provided by the DeskAgent. The mobile app does not capture screenshots.

The app records a GPS breadcrumb trail during work hours at a configurable interval. Location data is visible to managers on the Office Locations map inside the dashboard.

Yes. Mobile clock-in and clock-out is fully supported and follows the same shift rules as desktop clock-in.

Basic clock-in and clock-out functions work offline. Data is buffered locally and automatically syncs to the server when the internet connection is restored.

The app requires location access (for GPS tracking) and notifications (for shift reminders). It does not request access to contacts, camera, microphone, or files.

With the same email and password used on the web app. The first login on a new device requires email OTP verification for security.

No. Each device holds its own independent session token. An employee can be logged in and active on both a mobile device and a desktop machine simultaneously without conflicts.

Security & Data

All data is stored on servers located in Germany (Hetzner data centres), covered by EU data protection standards including GDPR.

Yes. All data is encrypted in transit using TLS 1.2+ and encrypted at rest. Screenshots are stored in encrypted cloud object storage.

Only your tenant's admins and the specific employee's own data is accessible within the platform. TheDeskMonitor staff do not access your data except in response to support requests you initiate.

Yes. TheDeskMonitor is GDPR compliant and acts as a data processor. Your organisation is the data controller. We offer a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) on request.

Raw monitoring data (screenshots, activity logs) is retained per your subscription plan: 60 days for Community and Starter, 90 days for Professional, 365 days for Business, and unlimited for Enterprise. Payroll cycle totals and timesheet summaries remain accessible indefinitely via aggregated snapshots, even after raw data expires. After account cancellation, data is held for 30 days before permanent deletion. See our full retention guide for details on what is deleted vs preserved.

SAML/SSO integration is on the roadmap for Business and Enterprise plans. Contact us if this is a blocker for your organisation.

Full data export in JSON/CSV format is available on Enterprise plans. For other plans, contact our support team to request a manual export.

We take security seriously. To report a vulnerability responsibly, please contact .

DeskAgent (Desktop App)

Windows 10/11 (64-bit). macOS support is coming soon. Linux support is on the roadmap.

Yes, initial installation requires administrator privileges. After installation, the agent runs as a standard user process and does not require elevated permissions during normal operation.

Typically under 1% CPU and approximately 80 MB RAM during normal operation. It is designed to be unobtrusive and not impact employee productivity.

Activity data is buffered locally on the device and automatically synced to the server when the internet connection is restored. No data is lost during connectivity outages.

Admins can remotely deactivate an agent session from the dashboard, which stops data reporting immediately. Physical uninstallation must be performed locally on the device.

The DeskAgent should only be installed on company-managed devices. Employees have the right to refuse installation on personal devices, and it is not intended for use on personal hardware.

Updates are pushed automatically when the agent is online. In most cases, no manual action is required. You will see a version number in the agent tray menu after an update.

Yes. The DeskAgent is compatible with VMs, RDP sessions, and terminal server environments including Citrix and AWS WorkSpaces.

Team & Admin Management

Three roles are available: Owner Admin (full platform access), Team Manager (team-level access to their assigned teams), and Employee (personal dashboard access only).

Go to Teams → Create Team. Add members from your employee list and assign a Team Manager. Teams are used to organise reporting, monitoring policies, and cost centre allocations.

Yes. Employees can be members of multiple teams simultaneously. Their activity and time data will appear in reports for all teams they belong to.

Cost Centres let you allocate budgets to specific departments or projects and track actual labour costs against those budgets. This enables project-level profitability tracking and payroll allocation.

Shift schedules and monitoring settings can be configured at the team level. Global defaults apply to any team that does not have specific settings configured.

Go to Settings → Users → Deactivate User. Their historical data is retained for reporting purposes. Any active monitoring sessions are terminated immediately upon deactivation.

Time logs, screenshots, and activity data are retained for historical reporting. The employee's personal login access is revoked immediately. You can submit a GDPR erasure request if permanent deletion is required.

No. Team Managers can only view data for users in their assigned teams. Cross-team visibility requires the Owner Admin role.

Technical & Integrations

Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari (latest 2 versions of each). Internet Explorer is not supported.

Yes. A REST API is available on Business and above plans. See API Docs for full reference documentation.

Integrations with Jira, Asana, Slack, QuickBooks, Xero, PayPal, and Wise are available or currently in development. Zapier is on the v1.x roadmap — it depends on webhook support, which is also on the roadmap (see the webhooks question below). See /integrations for the full list and current status.

Webhook support for key events (shift end, timesheet submitted, alert triggered) is on the roadmap. Sign up to our changelog to be notified when it ships.

API calls are rate-limited per tenant. The current limit is 1,000 requests per minute on Business plans. Enterprise plans have higher limits. Contact us if your integration requires a custom limit.

White-label and OEM options are available for Enterprise plans. Contact our sales team to discuss requirements and pricing.

Yes. The DeskAgent is compatible with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, AWS WorkSpaces, and other cloud desktop environments.

In-app notifications and email are supported on all plans. Slack notifications are available via the Slack integration on Business plans and above.

Not yet a TheDeskMonitor customer?

Start a free 14-day trial with full Business-plan access and dedicated onboarding support.

Start Free Trial