43 Tariff Clock

A lightweight desktop app for tracking project time against a fixed allocation.

Designed for consulting, research support, and internal services where work is billed or monitored against a predefined time “tariff”.

Access the software here > https://github.com/chrissyhroberts/tariff_clock

43.1 Features

Multiple projects, each with a fixed time allocation
Start/stop timers per project (chess-clock behaviour)
Live countdown of remaining time
Session tracking with automatic logging
Manual time adjustments (+/- hours/minutes) with justification
Full audit log per project (CSV-based)
Editable history for correcting mistakes
Clean, minimal interface with visual state highlighting

43.2 How It Works

Each project has its own CSV file.

The app:

Tracks remaining time
Logs each session when stopped
Stores a full audit trail of:
- start time
- end time
- duration
- user-entered summary
- any manual adjustments

43.3 Installation (macOS)

Download the .zip from Releases
Unzip it
Move tariff_clock.app somewhere convenient (e.g. Desktop or Applications)

43.4 First Run (Important)

macOS will block the app initially because it is not signed.

To open:

Right-click on tariff_clock.app
Click Open
Click Open again in the dialog

After this, it will run normally.

43.5 Data Storage

All project data is stored locally at:
~/Documents/tariff_clock_projects

Each project has its own CSV file.

You can back these up, edit them, or move them between machines.

43.6 Creating Projects

Projects are created automatically when a new CSV is added to the folder.

Basic format:
project_name,remaining_seconds
Project A,108000

(108000 seconds = 30 hours)

43.7 Usage

Click ▶ to start a project
Click ■ to stop (you will be prompted for a summary)
Starting another project automatically stops the current one
Use +1h / -1h / +1m / -1m to adjust time (requires justification)
Scroll to view full project history

43.8 Editing Logs

Logs are stored as CSV and can be:

edited directly in the app
or modified manually in Excel/R

All edits should preserve the audit structure.

43.9 Limitations

Not code-signed or notarised (macOS warning on first run)
Built for Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3 Macs)
No cloud sync (local files only)

43.10 Roadmap (Planned)

Export summaries / reports
Backup and restore tools
Improved audit integrity (edit tracking)
Cross-platform builds (Windows/Linux)

43.11 License

MIT License

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the “Software”), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS IS”, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

43.12 Author

Chrissy Roberts, LSHTM Global Health Analytics

43.13 Notes

This tool is designed to be:

transparent (CSV-based)
auditable (no hidden state)
low-friction (no install, no dependencies)

If something breaks, your data is still intact.