How to import legacy Clockify and CSV logs into RaterSidekick

The Fragmented Work Log Problem

AI contractor work moves fast. One month you log hours on Outlier. The next week you pick up tasks on DataAnnotation, Mercor, micro1, or TELUS. To keep up, many contractors start with generic stopwatches or basic spreadsheets. Over time, your lifetime earnings record gets split across flat CSV exports, Clockify workspace files, and local Excel sheets.

Switching tracking methods usually means leaving your history behind. Standard time trackers dump raw numbers into generic text files. When you review your total income or prepare tax estimates, you have to open five separate files. We previously analyzed how generic manual time trackers vs AI contractor task hubs differ in capturing operational data. Moving away from standard stopwatches should not force you to abandon years of work history.

RaterSidekick allows you to bring legacy session exports into your central dashboard. Imported rows remain distinct from live tracked sessions, but your dashboard totals and performance charts show your complete work history in one unified place.

Step 1: Clean and Prepare Your Legacy CSV Files

Before uploading historical data into RaterSidekick, review your export files. Platform CSVs, Clockify workspace reports, and custom spreadsheets often use different column headers and date formats. Cleaning these files ensures every task, pay rate, and duration maps accurately to your project profiles.

Open your spreadsheet files and check for these essential fields:

• Dates and timestamps: Ensure dates follow a consistent calendar format across all rows so historical charts plot correctly.
• Project names: Standardize platform names like Handshake, micro1, or TELUS so past tasks link to the right project profile.
• Durations and task counts: Verify that active session time is recorded clearly alongside task totals where available.
• Pay rates or estimated earnings: Align hourly rates or per-task pay figures to calculate accurate earnings for each period.

Remove blank rows, corrupted timestamps, or test entries. If your Clockify export contains breaks or untracked off-platform time, filter those out before importing.

Step 2: Import Legacy Logs into RaterSidekick

Once your CSV or spreadsheet files are cleaned and formatted, open your RaterSidekick dashboard. Navigate to the import tool to bring your files into your work hub.

RaterSidekick processes your Clockify exports, platform CSVs, and manual spreadsheets directly. The system separates imported historical rows from live sessions logged by the Chrome extension. This operational separation protects your real-time tracking data from accidental overlaps, double-counting, or duplicate records.

After importing, your dashboard charts automatically update. Your lifetime earnings, cumulative hours, and historical task activity appear alongside current work sessions, giving you an unbroken record from your very first platform project.

Step 3: Audit Consolidated Earnings with Pay Checker

With past and present data living in one dashboard, you can verify your actual records against platform earnings statements. Rating platforms frequently adjust rates post-session or delay payouts across billing cycles.

Use the Pay Checker feature to compare your local imported records against platform pay reports period by period. Cross-referencing historical platform exports with your consolidated hub reveals missing hours, underpaid tasks, or mismatched pay cycles. Doing this regularly allows you to gather concrete evidence before platform dispute windows close. To understand how to document discrepancies effectively, review our guide on how to audit weekly AI contractor pay before dispute windows close.

Step 4: Transition to Live Automated Tracking

Once your history is successfully imported, set up live tracking so you never need to manually organize CSVs again. RaterSidekick operates as a Chrome extension that runs only on websites you explicitly designate, such as Outlier, Mercor, or custom evaluation portals.

The extension detects task completions using a user-selected keyboard shortcut assigned as your submit action. It logs active session duration and task counts automatically. No screenshots, keystrokes, screen recordings, or task contents are ever captured or stored.

New live sessions stack cleanly on top of your imported historical baseline. You keep full ownership of your work history across every platform you work on, backed by a 7-day free trial with no credit card required.