What You Need to Know First
Monitoring compares what you agreed to deliver with what you actually delivered. This works for any measurable unit: hours tracked, accounting entries processed, documents reviewed, or any custom field volume you define. When actual work exceeds your agreement, Uku alerts you so you can adjust pricing or scope before losses accumulate.
Without monitoring, scope creep is invisible until invoicing time. By then, you've already done unprofitable work. Monitoring shows:
Which clients need price adjustments
Where your team spends more time than expected
Which services consistently exceed estimates
When to renegotiate client agreements
Step 1: How to set up monitoring in Uku?
Select "Settings & Apps" from the main menu, and click on the "Monitoring" box.
In the window that opens, select "Activate."
From the main menu, select "Clients" and tick the clients you want to set up monitoring for.
Select Monitoring.
Step 2: Set Up Client Agreements
Before monitoring can compare work, you need to define what you agreed to deliver. This is typically based on your client service agreements or contracts.
Go to client card → Select client
Tick the client -> Select Monitoring
If you agreed to specific hours per month or period:
Enter the agreed hours for the period
Set allowed fluctuation percentage (optional tolerance)
If you agreed to process specific quantities (entries, invoices, transactions):
Create a custom field for tracking volume (Settings & Apps → Tasks → Custom Fields)
Use "Number" type custom fields for countable items
Add this field to relevant tasks
In monitoring, enter the agreed volume for comparison
Save the changes.
Step 3: Monitor Time by Topic
Topic-based monitoring reveals which services drive scope creep:
Go to Setting&Apps -> Tasks -> Topic
Click on the Topic -> tick the box Monitoring
Step 4: Understanding What You Can Monitor
Monitoring compares these metrics:
Hours Tracked
Total time team members log on client tasks
Most common monitoring method for service-based agreements
Automatically pulled from time tracking data
Custom Field Volumes
Accounting entries processed
Invoices reviewed
Tax returns completed
Documents processed
Any numerical custom field you create
By Topic
Time spent on specific service types
Identifies which service causes overages
Useful when overall agreement looks fine but one service type exceeds expectations
Step 5: Interpret Monitoring Results
Monitoring displays progress visually:
Progress Indicators:
Green - Within agreement and tolerance
Yellow - Approaching tolerance limit
Red - Exceeded agreement plus tolerance
Percentage shown - Completion rate (95%, 105%, etc.)
What Numbers Mean:
Balance - Difference between agreed and actual
Completed amount - Work actually delivered
Agreed amount - What contract specifies
Percentage - Completion rate (over 100% = exceeded agreement)
Step 6: Filter Your Monitoring View
Focus on relevant clients using filters:
Available filters:
Time period - This month, quarter, year, custom range
Client groups - By service type, contract level, or your custom groupings
Topics - Specific service types
Members - Work by specific team members
Status - On track, over budget, under budget
Step 7: Connect Monitoring to Task Custom Fields
Custom fields make monitoring more powerful:
Common Monitoring Custom Fields:
For tax preparation:
"Tax returns filed" - number field
Agreement: File 20 returns monthly
For bookkeeping:
"Entries processed" - number field
Agreement: Process 200 entries monthly
For document review:
"Documents reviewed" - number field
Agreement: Review 50 documents weekly
Setting Up Custom Fields for Monitoring:
Go to Settings & Apps → Tasks → Task Fields
Click "+ Add" to create new field
Enter Title and choose "Number" type for countable items
Enable for monitoring - tick this option
Add to relevant task templates so team members always see it
Adding the custom fields in Monitoring report
Using Monitoring Data in Client Conversations:
Export monitoring data to support pricing discussions:
Select clients in monitoring view
Click download icon for Excel or PDF export
Share visual progress report with clients
Use specific numbers: "We agreed to 8 hours but delivered 12 hours for three consecutive months"
