Project Metrics
Daily snapshots, six insight cards, progress and velocity charts, health timeline, per-task time breakdown, and CSV or JSON exports - a complete analytics dashboard for your project.
The Metrics tab turns your project into a live analytics dashboard. Every day the project's state is captured as a snapshot - progress percentage, health status, task counts, milestone and goal completion - and those snapshots drive every chart on the tab. You see where the project stands today (insight cards), how it's trended over time (charts), and where the time is going (per-task time breakdown). Snapshot data and time tracking data both export to CSV or JSON for external reporting.
Press 7 on the Project Details Page to jump to this tab.
Project Metrics is a Pro feature
All daily snapshots, velocity tracking, health timeline, progress-vs-expected charts, and snapshot exports require Pro. Basic task time tracking is on every license, but the project-level time breakdown and time tracking export are Pro. See License Settings.
Use Metrics for trend review
The Overview tab is best for today's status; Metrics is best for how the project has changed over time.
What you can do
See six insight cards
at the top - Schedule Gap, Average Velocity, Project Progress, Completion Rate, Health Streak, Time Spent
Track progress over time
with an area chart comparing actual progress against expected pace
See status distribution
a horizontal bar showing how tasks are distributed across statuses
Measure task velocity
a bar chart of tasks completed per day
Review health history
a segmented timeline showing every change in project health
Break down time spent
per task - timer sessions and focus sessions combined
Open the Time Statistics modal
for a deep-dive view with per-task ranking, time range filters, and recent activity
Export snapshots
as CSV or JSON for external reporting
Export time tracking
as CSV with per-entry breakdown
See the full snapshot history
as a table with dates, progress, health, tasks, milestones, and goals
Refresh the dashboard
manually when you want to force a recalculation
How daily snapshots work
Metrics are powered by daily snapshots - one per day per project. Each snapshot captures:
- The project's progress percentage at that moment
- The project's health status (On Track, At Risk, Behind, Critical, or Completed)
- Completed and pending task counts (including CRM tasks when applicable)
- Completed milestone count and total milestone count
- Average goal progress
Snapshots are captured automatically as you work - when project data changes in a way that matters (a task is completed, progress moves, health shifts), PrimeTask records the change. Only one snapshot per day is kept - if data changes throughout the day, the existing snapshot for that day is updated.
Snapshots are stored alongside your project data and sync with your other devices via File Sync or iCloud. There's no retention limit - all snapshots persist so you can review long-term project trends.
Snapshots build history over time
New projects may need more activity before every trend has enough data to be useful.
Manual refresh
A Refresh action at the top of the Metrics tab lets you trigger a snapshot immediately. Useful if you want to capture a specific moment (e.g., right after completing a milestone) without waiting for the automatic cycle.
The six insight cards
The top of the Metrics tab shows six cards summarising the project's current state.
Schedule Gap
The difference between your actual progress and your expected progress based on elapsed time. A positive gap means you're ahead of schedule; a negative gap means you're behind. Expected progress is calculated from your project's start date and deadline.
Average Velocity
Tasks completed per week, averaged across all snapshots. Requires at least two snapshots to calculate. If you don't have enough history yet, the card shows "Needs more snapshots".
Click the card to open the Tasks modal filtered to completed tasks.
Project Progress
The project's overall completion percentage, computed from the weighted combination of tasks, milestones, goals, and CRM tasks. See Project Health & Progress for the full calculation.
Completion Rate
Tasks completed as a percentage of total tasks (including CRM tasks). Subtext shows how many tasks are done out of the total and a count of overdue tasks.
Click the card to open the Tasks modal.
Health Streak
The current health state plus how long it's been stable. Shows the latest health (On Track, At Risk, Behind, Critical, or Completed) and a "Stable since [date]" label based on how many consecutive snapshots have had the same state.
Time Spent
Total time tracked on the project - combining timer entries and focus sessions across every task. Subtext shows the breakdown between timer time and focus time.
Click the card to open the Time Statistics modal for a detailed per-task view.
The five chart sections
Below the insight cards, the tab shows five visualisations - each one an angle on a different aspect of the project.
Progress Over Time
An area chart showing actual project progress over time, optionally overlaid with an expected progress line (calculated from elapsed time between start date and deadline). When your actual progress is behind expected, the line changes to indicate the gap.
Requires at least two snapshots to show a trend. The expected progress line requires both a start date and a deadline on the project.
Dates unlock expected progress
Set both a start date and deadline if you want schedule comparisons in Metrics.
Task Distribution
A horizontal stacked bar showing how your tasks are distributed across statuses. Each segment represents one status with its count. A legend shows the exact counts per status. Only statuses with at least one task appear.
Task Velocity
A bar chart showing tasks completed per day, derived from day-over-day differences in completed task counts. Requires enough snapshots to calculate day-over-day deltas.
Health Timeline
A segmented horizontal timeline showing every health status change over the project's life. Consecutive snapshots with the same health are grouped into segments; colour indicates the health state. Hover any segment to see its date range and snapshot count. The legend shows only the health states that have actually appeared.
Time Breakdown
A stacked visualisation showing how the project's tracked time breaks down between timer sessions and focus sessions. Click through to open the full Time Statistics modal.
The Time Statistics modal
The Time Statistics modal gives you a detailed per-task time view. Open it by clicking the Time Spent insight card or the Time Breakdown section.
Time range filters
Pick a window: Today, This Week, This Month, or All Time. Every stat and list in the modal updates to the chosen range.
Stats grid
Four primary numbers:
- Total Time - timer + focus combined for the selected range
- Timer - total timer time (start/stop sessions plus manual entries)
- Focus - total focus session time (Pomodoro)
- Breaks - total break time from focus sessions, plus average break per session
Per-task breakdown
A ranked list of the project's tasks sorted by time spent. For each task you see:
- Rank badge (1 is highest, descending)
- Task name (click to navigate to the task)
- Badges for Subtask or CRM when applicable
- Timer entry count and focus session count with individual dots
- A bar showing relative time contribution compared to the top task
- Expandable to see every individual time entry (timer or focus) with its date, duration, and source
Recent Activity
The most recent time entries across all project tasks, chronologically. Shows the first several entries with a Show all action to expand to the full list.
CSV export
An Export CSV action in the modal footer exports every time entry for the selected range. The CSV includes:
Export the selected range
Choose Today, This Week, This Month, or All Time before exporting time data.
| Column | What it contains |
|---|---|
| Project | Project name |
| Task | Task name |
| Type | Task, Subtask, or CRM |
| Source | Timer or Focus |
| Date | ISO timestamp of the entry |
| Duration | HH:MM:SS formatted |
| Duration (seconds) | Raw seconds for spreadsheet math |
| Description | Entry description (if any) |
| Break Duration | HH:MM:SS for focus sessions (if any) |
The filename includes the project name and time range, so you can keep separate exports without overwriting.
For the full time tracking system on the project, see Project Time Tracking. For the underlying task timer, see Task Time Tracking.
Snapshot history
Below the charts, an expandable Snapshot History section shows every snapshot as a row in a table. Columns:
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Date | The snapshot's date |
| Progress | Progress percentage on that date |
| Health | Health state on that date |
| Tasks | Completed / Total |
| Milestones | Completed / Total |
| Goals | Average goal progress |
Rows are sorted newest first, so you can scan recent activity quickly and scroll back for long-term context.
Exporting snapshots
The Metrics tab has export actions for both CSV and JSON.
CSV export
Creates a flat spreadsheet with one row per snapshot. Columns include Date, Progress (%), Health, Tasks Completed, Tasks Pending, Milestones Completed, Total Milestones, Goals Progress (%), CRM Tasks Completed, and CRM Tasks Total.
Useful for pulling the data into Excel, Numbers, Google Sheets, or any BI tool. The filename uses the project name.
JSON export
Creates a formatted JSON file with the full snapshot array, preserving all fields and types. Useful for scripting, bulk analysis, or importing into another tool.
Things worth knowing
Snapshots can't be edited
Snapshots are a historical record - once captured, they're read-only. If you see an incorrect number in a snapshot, it reflects the project's state at that moment. Use manual refresh to create a new snapshot reflecting the current state.
Manual refresh replaces today's snapshot
Triggering a refresh captures the current project state and replaces today's snapshot (if one exists) with fresh data. Yesterday's snapshot and earlier are untouched.
The Metrics tab requires data
A brand-new project with no tasks shows empty charts until snapshots accumulate. As the project progresses, the charts fill in. You need at least two snapshots to see trend-based metrics like velocity and schedule gap.
Velocity is week-normalised
Average Velocity is reported in tasks per week, even if your snapshot range is shorter than a week. This makes the number comparable across projects of different durations.
Health Streak measures stability
A project that's been On Track for 30 days straight shows "30 snapshots" or "Stable since [date]" on the Health Streak card. If health changes, the streak resets - useful for noticing when a project starts drifting.
Time Statistics combines timer and focus sessions
The modal shows the full picture of time spent - start/stop timer sessions, manual time entries, and Pomodoro focus sessions - all aggregated. This lets you see total effort on a task regardless of which tracking method you used. See Task Time Tracking and Task Focus Mode.
The CSV export uses raw seconds alongside formatted duration
Time tracking CSVs include both HH:MM:SS formatted durations and raw seconds. This lets you do spreadsheet math on durations (sums, averages, filters) without parsing text.
Expected progress needs both dates
The Progress Over Time chart's expected-progress overlay requires both a start date and a deadline on the project. Without both, the chart shows actual progress only.
Common questions
"I don't see the Metrics tab."
The Metrics tab requires Pro. Check your license - see License Settings.
"My Velocity card says 'Needs more snapshots'."
Velocity requires at least two daily snapshots to calculate. Keep working on the project for a few days and the card populates. You can also use the manual Refresh action to force snapshot capture.
"Why is my Schedule Gap negative?"
Schedule Gap is actual progress minus expected progress. A negative number means you're behind the pace implied by your start date and deadline. To improve it, either complete more work or extend the deadline (from the Edit Project modal). See Project Health & Progress.
"The expected-progress line isn't showing on my chart."
Expected progress needs both a start date and a deadline on the project. Open the Edit Project modal (press E) and make sure both are set.
"Can I see metrics across multiple projects?"
The Metrics tab is per-project. For a cross-project roll-up, export each project's snapshots to CSV and combine them externally. See also Reports Overview for the broader reporting system.
"How do I delete a snapshot?"
Snapshots aren't user-editable - they're a historical record. If you need to "reset" metrics, you'd need to delete the project and recreate it. There's no individual snapshot delete.
"Are snapshots shared with my team?"
Yes - snapshots are stored with project data and sync via File Sync or iCloud Sync. Anyone with access to the Space sees the same snapshots.
"Can I export metrics for a specific date range?"
The snapshot exports include every snapshot. For time tracking, the Time Statistics modal's CSV export respects the time range filter (Today / This Week / This Month / All Time). To filter snapshot exports to a range, export and filter in a spreadsheet.
Where to go next
| If you want to… | Read this |
|---|---|
| Understand health and progress calculations | Project Health & Progress |
| See time tracking with timer + focus breakdown | Project Time Tracking |
| Track budgets, ROI, burn rate, and runway | Project Financial Tracking |
| See overview widgets for this project | Project Overview Tab |
| Work with tasks inside the project | Project Tasks Tab |
| Use the basic task timer | Task Time Tracking |
| Run focus sessions on tasks | Task Focus Mode |
| See cross-project analytics | Reports Overview |
| Return to the Projects hub | Projects Overview |