Why does the stopwatch show an incorrect time (in minus or plus)?

If the stopwatch seems slightly off when clocking in or out, it’s usually because the time on the user’s computer is not accurate.

Common reasons for this include:

• The time is set manually on the computer.

• The computer is synced with an NTP server that is slightly off.

This discrepancy does not affect the actual time tracking, but it can lead to unusual behavior in the display.

What’s happening step-by-step:

1. The user clicks “Clock in”.

2. A request is sent to our server.

3. The server generates a timespan starting at, for example, 09:00:00.

4. This timespan is sent back to the client.

5. The client displays the timespan starting at 09:00:00 and shows the stopwatch counting time since then.

However, if the user’s computer believes the current time is 08:59:47, it sees the start as 13 seconds in the future. The stopwatch then appears to be -13 seconds off right from the beginning.

When the user clicks “Clock out”, the server again sets the time (now also ~13 seconds ahead of the client), and the overall duration is still calculated correctly.

💡 Tip to fix it:

Ask the user to check their system settings and enable “Set time and timezone automatically”.
This ensures their clock stays synchronized with a reliable time source and prevents display issues in the stopwatch.