Work Areas help you organize contractor time and costs around a specific project or type of ongoing work. Each Work Area can include its own contractors and Workstreams, which contractors can use to categorize the work they perform when tracking time.
With Work Areas, you can review where contractor hours and budget are being spent, compare activity across different types of work, and analyze how contractors contribute to specific Workstreams.
How Do I Access Work Areas?
- Sign in to your goLance client account.
- Select Work Areas from the left-side menu.
The Work Areas page displays your existing Work Areas, including their type and associated Workstreams.
From this page, you can:
- Search for a Work Area
- Filter by Status or Type
- Open an existing Work Area
- Select + New Work Area to create one
How Do I Create a New Work Area?
Select + New Work Area.
Creating a Work Area involves four steps:
- Set up the Work Area
- Enroll hourly contracts
- Set up Workstreams
- Review and create
What Type of Work Area Should I Choose?
During setup, first select the company the Work Area belongs to, then choose one of the available Work Area types.
Project
Use Project for time-bound work with a defined scope and deliverables.
Examples include:
- Website redesigns
- Mobile apps
- Product launches
- Other temporary projects
Ongoing Work
Use Ongoing Work for recurring or continuous work without a fixed end date.
Examples include:
- Customer support
- Marketing
- Operations
- Other recurring work
You can also choose an icon and color, enter a Name, and add an optional Description.
The icon and color help make the Work Area easier to identify in lists, time logs, and reports.
Select Continue when finished.
How Do I Add Contractors to a Work Area?
During the Enroll Hourly Contracts step, select the hourly contracts that should have access to the Work Area.
You can:
- Search by contractor name or role
- Select individual contracts
- Use Select All to enroll multiple contracts
Contractors enrolled in the Work Area will be able to see it when using their task and time-tracking tools.
Contracts can also be added or removed later.
What Are Workstreams?
Workstreams represent the types of work contractors can select when logging time within a Work Area.
For example, a software-related Work Area might contain Workstreams such as:
- Project Coordination
- Backend Development
- Frontend Development
- QA
- Meetings
- Research
This allows contractor time and cost to be categorized by both the broader Work Area and the specific type of work being performed.
How Do I Set Up Workstreams?
You can create Workstreams in two ways.
Start From a Predefined Setup
Choose a predefined configuration for an area such as:
- Technology
- Design & Creative
- Marketing
- Support & Operations
- Legal & Finance
After selecting a predefined setup, you can:
- Remove individual Workstreams
- Add additional Workstreams
- Select Change Setup to use a different configuration
Build Your Own
Select Build Your Own if you want to create a custom list.
Select + Add Workstream and enter the categories you want contractors to use.
At least one Workstream must be added before you can continue.
What Should I Review Before Creating the Work Area?
The final setup step displays a summary of the Work Area.
Review:
- Work Area name and type
- Company
- Enrolled contracts
- Workstreams
Once everything is correct, select Create.
Enrolled contractors will then be able to select the Work Area and its Workstreams when creating tasks or logging time.
What Can I Review Inside an Existing Work Area?
Select any Work Area from the main Work Areas page to open it.
Each Work Area includes four main sections:
- Overview
- Workstream Breakdown
- Enrolled Contracts
- Time Entries
What Does the Overview Tab Show?
The Overview provides a high-level summary of activity within the Work Area.
Information may include:
- Total time tracked
- Total cost
- Number of contracts that have worked in the Work Area
- Number of contracts currently enrolled
You can also review several trend charts.
Total Work Area Trend
Review how overall activity has changed over time.
You can switch between:
- Time Tracked
- Cost
- Weekly
- Monthly
Workstream Trends
Compare activity across individual Workstreams.
You can choose which Workstreams appear on the graph to focus on specific categories.
Contractor Trends
Review how individual contractor contributions have changed over time.
You can also choose which contractors appear in the chart.
History
The bottom of the Overview page includes a history of activity associated with the Work Area, such as when it was created.
What Can I Review in Workstream Breakdown?
The Workstream Breakdown provides a more detailed view of how contractor time and cost are distributed.
At the top, you may see summary information such as:
- Time tracked
- Cost
- Number of contracts
You can also adjust the reporting period.
What Is Workstream Allocation?
Workstream Allocation shows how total activity is distributed across the Workstreams in the Work Area.
For each Workstream, you may see:
- Number of contracts
- Time tracked
- Cost
- Percentage of the Work Area
You can switch between Time Tracked and Cost to change what is being compared.
What Is Contract Allocation?
Contract Allocation shows how each contractor contributes to the Work Area.
The section may display:
- Contractor
- Role
- Primary Workstream
- Time tracked
- Cost
- Percentage of the Work Area
What Is the Contract × Workstream Matrix?
The Contract × Workstream Matrix provides a detailed comparison of contractor activity across individual Workstreams.
Each contractor appears as a row, while each Workstream appears as a column.
The table shows how much time each contractor contributed to each type of work, along with totals.
You can switch the matrix between:
- Time Tracked
- Cost
How Do I Add or Remove Workstreams?
- Open the Work Area.
- Select Workstream Breakdown.
- Select Manage Workstreams.
The Edit Workstreams window displays the Workstreams currently available.
From here, you can:
- Select + Add to add another Workstream
- Use the trash icon to remove a Workstream
- Select Done when finished
Note: Workstream changes take effect immediately.
How Do I Manage Contractors Enrolled in a Work Area?
Open the Enrolled Contracts tab.
You can search the list and filter contracts by:
- All
- Current
- Removed
The table may include:
- Contract and contractor role
- Work Area period
- Time tracked
- Percentage of the Work Area
- Cost
- Last activity
Previously removed contracts remain available in the history and show the period during which they were assigned to the Work Area.
How Do I Add or Remove Enrolled Contracts?
- Open the Enrolled Contracts tab.
- Select Manage Contracts.
- Select + Add to enroll another contract, or use the trash icon to remove an existing one.
- Select Done.
Note: Enrollment changes take effect immediately.
Can I Review One Contractor’s Activity in More Detail?
Yes.
Select a contract from the Enrolled Contracts list to open its detailed Work Area summary.
The contractor view may include:
- Enrollment date
- Last activity
- Time tracked
- Cost
- Weekly or monthly time trends
- Workstream breakdown
- Tasks associated with each Workstream
- Assignment history
This provides a more focused view of how one contractor contributed to the Work Area.
How Do I Review Individual Time Entries?
Open the Time Entries tab.
You can filter entries by:
- Date range
- Contractor
The table may display:
- Contract
- Session period
- Workstream
- Task
- Time tracked
- Source
- Activity
Select Export to CSV if you want to download the filtered time-entry data.
How Do I Edit a Work Area?
- Open the Work Area.
- Select Edit Work Area in the upper-right corner.
You can update:
- Work Area type
- Icon
- Color
- Name
- Description
Select Save Changes when finished.
How Do I Mark a Work Area as Completed?
Open the Work Area and select the three-dot menu next to Edit Work Area.
Select Mark as Completed.
This can be useful when the project or ongoing work represented by the Work Area is no longer active.
How Do I Delete a Work Area?
- Open the Work Area.
- Select the three-dot menu beside Edit Work Area.
- Select Delete Work Area.
- Follow the confirmation prompts.
Deleting a Work Area is a destructive action, so make sure you no longer need it before proceeding.
Need Help? We hope this guide was helpful! If you have questions or need additional assistance, please contact our support team through the goLance chatbot. Our team is happy to provide further guidance.