How to get the time spent report in Jira

[#1]

Ever wondered how much time your team is actually spending on tasks in Jira? Whether you're managing a complex project or simply tracking individual contributions, understanding logged time is key to keeping things on track. Jira offers several ways to view and report on the time logged by team members, but finding the correct report for your needs can be tricky. In this article, we'll dive into the different methods for accessing time spent reports in Jira, from built-in options to advanced tools, so you can easily track progress and optimize your team's productivity.

Native Jira time spent reports

🔸 Time Tracking Report. Jira provides a built-in Time Tracking Report that offers a basic overview of time logged against issues in a project. It’s a straightforward way to see how much time has been spent on tasks, how much time is remaining, and compare it to the original time estimates.

How to Access the Time Tracking Report

1. Navigate to your Jira project.

2. Click on the Reports section in the sidebar.

3. Select the Time Tracking Report option.

The Time Tracking Report displays the following information:

• Original Estimate: The time initially predicted for a task.

• Time Spent: The total time logged against the task.

• Remaining Time: The estimated time left to complete the task.

This report can be viewed by individual issues, and you can filter the results by specific dates, teams, or other parameters. It provides a simple, high-level view of time tracking data across your project or sprint.

Limitations

While the Time Tracking Report is useful for basic tracking, it has its limitations:

• It lacks advanced filtering options, making it difficult to drill down into specific users or tasks.

• The report is somewhat static and doesn't offer the level of customization some teams might need.

• Visualization options are limited, offering only basic charts for comparison.

If you're looking for a more detailed or customizable time-tracking solution, you may want to explore additional apps or advanced features within Jira.

---

🔸 Jira issue search + time spent column. You can also access and filter this information through issue search. This lets you get time entries per user, issue, or project, giving you a clearer picture of your team’s logged hours.

How to view worklog data in search

1. Go to issue search or click on Filters → View all issues.

2. Click on the Columns button and add the Time Spent field.

This report is great for seeing the time spent on each issue, providing a clear overview of how much time was allocated to individual tasks. It’s particularly useful for project managers and team leads to monitor time tracking at a high level, helping ensure that estimates align with actual work. 

Limitations

• No aggregation – you can see time logged per issue but not a total per user or across projects unless you manually sum the values in an export.

• No worklog breakdown – Jira issue search doesn’t display detailed worklog entries (who logged time and when).

---

How to get time spent change report

If you need a detailed breakdown of how time has changed or been logged across issues, check out Issue History for Jira. This app allows you to track the changes in time logs and gives you visibility into exactly when and by whom time was logged, as well as any updates made to those entries.

Breakdown of time spent changes made by different users on each task

Key Features:

• Time log changes: Easily track when time was added or updated for each issue.

• User-specific logs: See the time logged by specific team members and track their contributions to various issues.

• Custom reports: Generate custom reports that show changes over specific time periods or for particular users.

This app is perfect for teams that need detailed, historical time-tracking data and an audit trail of issue changes.

Takeaway

Effective time tracking is a key element of successful project management, enabling teams to monitor progress, optimize workflows, and ensure that time is spent efficiently across tasks and projects. While Jira’s native reporting features offer basic time tracking capabilities, third-party apps from the Atlassian Marketplace can provide more advanced, detailed insights into your team's time logs.

With tools like Issue History for Jira, you can easily track who logged time and when, giving you a comprehensive audit trail of all time-related changes. This makes it easy to review time entries, ensure accuracy, and maintain transparency across projects.