Time tracking system and method of use

A computer program product, comprising one or more computer-readable storage devices and program instructions stored on the one or more storage devices, said program instructions which, upon being executed by one or more processors of a computer system, implement a method for billing for time spent in an instant message session by a service person for a project for a customer, said method comprising:

• retrieving, by the one or more processors system, a name of a sender of an instant message from the instant message which identifies the sender in the instant message session, said sender being the customer, said service person being a recipient of the instant message from the sender;
• correlating, by the one or more processors, the name of the sender to the project based on the name of the sender being listed in project settings previously defined by the service person, wherein the project settings include an identification of the project, names of people associated with the project including the name of the sender, and keywords associated with the project for identifying the project based at least on one or more keywords in a text portion of the instant message;
• and
• responsive in part to an inability to identify the project based on one or more key words in the text portion of the instant message, determining, by the one or more processors, another project on which the service person has most often worked and determining a charge to the other project for labor of the service person for participating in the instant message session based on time spent by the service person in the instant message session.

A computer system comprising:

• one or more processors;
• one or more computer-readable memories;
• one or more computer-readable storage devices;
• and
• program instructions stored on the one or more storage devices, said program instructions which, upon being executed by the one or more processors via the one or more memories, implement a method for billing for time spent in an instant message session by a service person for a project for a customer, said method comprising:
• retrieving, by the one or more processors, a name of a sender of an instant message from the instant message which identifies the sender in the instant message session, said sender being the customer, said service person being a recipient of the instant message from the sender;
• correlating, by the one or more processors, the name of the sender to the project based on the name of the sender being listed in project settings previously defined by the service person, wherein the project settings include an identification of the project, names of people associated with the project including the name of the sender, and keywords associated with the project for identifying the project based at least on one or more keywords in a text portion of the instant message;
• and
• responsive in part to an inability to identify the project based on one or more key words in the text portion of the instant message, determining, by the one or more processors, another project on which the service person has most often worked and determining a charge to the other project for labor of the serviceperson for participating in the instant message session based on time spent by the service person in the instant message session.