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Microsoft Docs Add-in

 
 

The Microsoft Docs Add-In tracks active time spent in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel. There are two components to this integration:

  1. The Add-In itself which tracks document activity (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). This has to be activated for every doc, either manually or through automation (see #2).

  2. A macro that automatically activates the Add-In for each Word or Excel document.

This feature is for you if:

  1. You use Microsoft Word, Excel or Powerpoint desktop apps regularly

  2. You have a Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard or Premium account or a Microsoft E3 account.

  3. You store your docs anywhere outside of Sharepoint/OneDrive. For firms that use SharePoint/OneDrive to store their docs and edit files, the Add-in is an optional integration.

Installing the Add-In

  1. First, IT admins should deploy the Add-in on behalf of members of the org. See IT instructions.

    1. To check if this is already installed, open a Word or Excel doc and see if the Billables Add-in is visible in the top ribbon:

    2. In some cases, you may need to click on the Add-ins menu to load the Billables Add-In. See "Finding The Microsoft Add-In" for more.

    3. You can minimize the right panel after you open the doc and the Add-in will continue working

    4. Each doc only needs the Add-in activated once per lifetime of that document

    5. The Add-in only needs to be deployed by an IT admin once per account and will show up on all devices. The Macros need to be installed locally on each device you use for work.

Installing the Macros (Word & Excel)

This only applies once IT admins have installed the Add-In for each user. See IT instructions here. The macros should be installed on each work computer you use

Note: This macro currently only applies to Word and Excel, and not PowerPoint.

The Billables Word macro is a small macro whose only job is to automatically activate the Billables Word Add-In for you whenever you create or open a new document. By installing the macro once, you do not have to worry about remembering to click the Billables assistant icon in order to activate the add-in; the macro will do it for you.

To install the macro:

  1. First, make sure that the Billables Assistant Add-In is visible in Word and Excel. For the macro to work, the Billables Assistant Add-in must be visible in the ribbon (the navigation bar in Word and Excel).

    1. Once you've verified the Add-in icon is visible in your toolbar for Word and Excel, close out of both programs and proceed to the next step.

      2.   Go to the Integrations page on Billables and scroll to the Documents > Desktop                               Applications section:

       3.     Click to download the installer (it will be either a Windows or Mac button). A download of the installer file will automatically begin.


      4.      [For Adobe Acrobat users] While the installer file is downloading, click the second                            button to generate a code for the Adobe extension:

You'll see a unique code displayed - copy this code:

      5.      When the installer has finished downloading, open the file:

 

[For Adobe Acrobat users] Check the Adobe Acrobat box, then paste the code into the text field.

[For all users] Check the Word Macro and Excel Macro boxes, then click "Install". Note: Make sure you have closed out of Word and Excel before installing.

    • For Mac users, you'll need to authorize Billables in your Accessibility Settings. Learn more here.

      6.     You should see a Success message when complete.

The macro should now be active! You will know it’s working if the Billables Add-In task pane (on the right side of the window) automatically opens a few seconds after you start or open any new Word or Excel doc.

Once you see the task pane, you can safely close it. The Billables Assistant will continue to work in the background to track your activity.

Manually activating the Add-in for your Docs

This only applies once IT admins have installed the Add-In for each user. See IT instructions here. The macros should be installed on each work computer you use

This is only required for Word or Excel documents if you are unable to or do not wish to install the Word macro

In order to integrate with Microsoft, the Billables Add-In must be activated one time for each doc that is created. Once it's activated, it will remain activated for the lifetime of that document.

To activate the Billables Add-In on a new doc, click the Billables Add-In icon in the top right:

You’ll see a side panel show up on the right, confirming you are connected to the Billables app. Each time you open your doc, you will see this panel as a reminder that the Add-in is activated.

Not seeing the Billables Add-In in your docs? See "Finding the Microsoft Add-In


FAQ

I'm getting the following error: "An error occurred activating the Billables assistant. Please activate it manually for this document, or try quitting and re-starting Word." What's going on?

This error occurs when the macro is unable to activate the Add-In. This could happen for a couple of reasons:

  1. The Add-in was not installed before the Macro was installed. The Add-in needs to be installed by a system administrator first before the Macro can be installed and activated.

  2. The doc was opened but quickly closed, switched or minimized before the Macro could activate the Add-In. Try giving the doc a couple seconds in order for the Add-In to load.

 

An immediate fix is to manually activate the Add-In yourself by clicking on the Billables Assistant icon in your Word, Powerpoint or Excel toolbar.

If you continue to get this error, please reach out to support@billables.ai for help troubleshooting.

 

Does the side panel need to be open the entire time for Billables AI to track activity?

No, once the Add-in is initiated (and the panel opened up once), you can minimize the side panel and your activity will still be tracked. For those using the Word or Excel macro, you'll notice your side panel open quickly and disappear. It is still tracking your activity in this case. Only if you get an error will the side panel remain open, along with an error message.

 

Will the Add-in work for all accounts?

The Billables Add-in only works for Microsoft business accounts (Business Basic, Standard, Premium or E3 accounts), not personal accounts.

 

I am getting the following error: "You don’t have permission to use this Add-in. Contact your system administrator to request access." What do I do?

There’s a known Microsoft-side limitation that can cause odd errors during the first 1–3 days after installing the Add-in. We recommend refreshing the Add-in in Word/Excel by following these steps: 

  1. Open Excel/Word

  2. Navigate to Home on the ribbon, then click Add‑ins icon, followed by More Add‑ins.

  3. ​When the Office Add‑ins dialog opens up. At the top, you’ll see two tabs:

    1. My Add‑ins — for your personally installed add-ins.

    2. Admin Managed — for centrally deployed add-ins by your organization.

  4. ​Click Admin Managed reveals any add‑ins the IT team has deployed. Then click the Refresh button  (located in the top-right) to update the view.