Howard Enos
ec98c6c636
- Promote timer_entry → charge_timer_entry to default billing path; demote bare add_line_item to a clearly-labeled fallback for non-time items only. Mike caught the bare-add_line_item bug across 31 tickets on 2026-04-30; repeated on 3 tickets 2026-05-01. Time entries are required for Syncro reporting (hours per client, tech productivity, prepay burn). - Replace /tmp/*.json payload pattern with heredoc throughout. /tmp resolves to C:\tmp\ in the Write tool but %LOCALAPPDATA%\Temp\ in Git Bash on Windows — different real directories. Caused a wrong-comment incident on ticket #32225 2026-05-01 (rogue payload from prior session). Heredoc avoids the file handoff entirely. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
3.2 KiB
name, description, type
| name | description | type |
|---|---|---|
| Syncro — log time entries first, never bare add_line_item | All Syncro tickets must have a Syncro time entry recorded for any work done. Use timer_entry + charge_timer_entry to bill, NOT bare add_line_item. Bare add_line_item leaves Syncro time tracking at 00:00:00 and breaks reporting (hours per client, tech productivity, prepay burn rate). This applies even to warranty/free work; only cancelled tickets are exempt. | feedback |
Rule: When billing a Syncro ticket, the workflow MUST be:
- Do the work.
- POST
/tickets/{id}/timer_entrywithstart_at,end_at,billable,product_id,notes. This records hours in Syncro's time-tracking system. - POST
/tickets/{id}/charge_timer_entrywith{"timer_entry_id": N}to convert the timer into a billable line item on the ticket. - POST
/invoicesto roll the line item onto a customer invoice. - PUT ticket status as needed.
Why: Syncro's reporting (hours per client, technician productivity, average resolution time, prepay burn rates) is built on the time-entries table, not on invoice line items. If we use bare add_line_item and type hours into the description ("Applied 1.5 Prepay Hours"), the invoice posts but Syncro's time tracking shows 00:00:00. We lose all reporting visibility on actual work performed.
How to apply:
- Default billing path:
timer_entry → charge_timer_entry → invoice. Always. - Bare
add_line_itemis NOT a default option. Only acceptable when there is genuinely no time component to bill — e.g. selling a hardware product or a flat-fee service with zero labor. For any work-time billing, use the timer path. - Even warranty/free work needs a time entry. Set
billable: false(or appropriate type) on the timer entry. Time still records, just doesn't generate a paid line item. - Only cancelled tickets are exempt from time entries.
Real-world incident — 2026-04-30: Mike audited 31 closed tickets and found ALL 31 had 00:00:00 in Syncro time tracking. 29 had proper invoices with revenue captured correctly, but the underlying time data was bypassed entirely. Examples: #32156 (Cascades) "Applied 8.0 Prepay Hours" — should have been an 8.0 hr time entry. #32218 (Instrumental) "Applied 1.5 Prepay Hours" — should have been a 1.5 hr time entry.
Repeat incident — 2026-05-01: I (Claude, Howard's session) billed three tickets the same broken way (#32225 Sombra $525, #32229 Mineralogical Record $262.50, #32214 Cascades $0 prepaid). Winter retroactively added time entries to fix them. The skill examples need to be updated to make timer-first the default, and that's tracked in the syncro skill rewrite work.
Where the fix needs to land:
.claude/commands/syncro.md— promote the timer-entry workflow to be the documented default. Demoteadd_line_itemto a clearly-labeled fallback for non-time work only. Every example in the "Billing workflow" section should use the timer path.
Skill author note: Currently the skill presents both patterns as Option A (simpler — add_line_item) and Option B (timer + charge). That framing is wrong. Option B is the only correct path for time-bearing work; Option A is a fallback at best.