OpenProject time tracking with GPS for field work packages

Teams run OpenProject on their own infrastructure for a reason: project data should not leave the organization. Taskloc respects that. Hours on work packages go through the API into your instance, and for routes and GPS there is a self-hosted Taskloc option that keeps them on your server.

What field work looks like in OpenProject

• Time on a work package is typed in by hand, after the fact.
• Whether the assignee was on site is confirmed only by their word.
• Travel and work on site merge into one number.
• For an organization with data-residency requirements, any cloud tracking service means a separate approval process that is easier not to start.

How OpenProject time tracking works

1. Connect: your instance address plus an API token. The token is in OpenProject under My account → Access tokens → API.
2. The employee opens a work package from a project in the app and starts a GPS session.
3. Time and route are recorded automatically; a check-in marks the visit.
4. When the session stops, the hours are logged to the work package; the comment and status change go there too.

The app uses OpenProject's own term — work packages. Browsing by project, creating tasks, comments, status changes, time entries, attachments and custom fields are supported. One nuance when creating: the new work package gets the first type available in the project.

What managers get

• Hours on the work package, recorded while the work happened, not typed in later.
• A check-in as proof of the visit: location, geofence, route.
• Mileage and the route of each trip on a map.
• Per-employee reports and a team map in the web dashboard.

OpenProject connector limitations — the important one first

Deleting a task from the app permanently deletes the work package in OpenProject. OpenProject has no trash; it can't be restored. Treat deleting from the app as carefully as deleting in OpenProject itself. By comparison, a deleted Kaiten card goes to the trash — see Kaiten time tracking.

The rest:

• No auto-pause: pauses are recorded in Taskloc only.
• No tags — OpenProject uses categories.
• No ready-made filters.
• Custom fields are mapped by hand: get the field ID from your instance admin and enter it in the connector settings. An automatic field catalog is built only for Redmine and Bitrix24.

Setup guide: connecting OpenProject.

Privacy and where the data lives

The employee starts the GPS session. Outside an active session no location is collected: stop the shift and you disappear from the team map.

Now the data boundary. Work packages and time entries stay in your OpenProject instance. Routes and GPS can stay with you too: the self-hosted Taskloc option keeps them on your own server — from 10 seats, billed yearly, by invoice and bank transfer. For organizations with data-residency requirements, this is usually the deciding factor.

OpenProject questions

Where is the data physically stored?

Work packages and time entries — in your instance. Taskloc routes and GPS — either in the Taskloc cloud on servers in Russia, or on your own server with the self-hosted option.

What do we need from the instance admin?

An API token (My account → Access tokens → API), plus the custom field ID if you want mileage and address written to the work package. No extra server permissions are needed: the connector acts as the user whose token it has and sees exactly the projects that user sees in the browser.

Do we need a plugin or module in OpenProject?

No. The connector uses the instance's standard API; all it needs is the API token of the user whose name time entries and comments will carry.

What happens if I delete a task from the app?

The work package is deleted permanently — there is no trash.

What about sites with no signal?

Tasks, the timer, comments and starting or stopping a session work offline — entries queue on the device and reach the instance once the network is back. Routes, reports and the team map need an internet connection.

Is there auto-pause?

No. Pauses are set manually in Taskloc. Server-side auto-pause with notes in the issue exists only for the Redmine connector — see time tracking for Redmine.

Is there an iPhone app?

No. Field staff use the Android app; the manager's dashboard runs in a browser.

Who it fits

Public-sector organizations and engineering firms usually come for the data boundary and stay for field visit tracking. If your field work is service requests, see field service visit tracking.

Try it on your instance

Free works forever for one seat. The Team trial gives 14 days and 3 seats, once per account; no card is needed at sign-up and nothing is charged when it ends — the account simply moves to Free. For self-hosted (from 10 seats, billed yearly), write to support.

Team payments are currently accepted only with Mir cards issued in Russia and the CIS and via SBP. If you are elsewhere, contact us and we will look at your case — we can't promise a particular payment method in advance.