I've just noticed something that seems like a bug to me, but I turn to you guys at FreshBooks in case this is a "feature" I'm overlooking:

When requesting time entries via API (using the time_entry.list method), all time entries are returned, regardless of whether they're associated with deleted clients or projects.  The only way to identify these "orphaned" time entries is to follow up with a request for their associated clients or projects to see whether their parent client/project are active or deleted.

This functionality is a hindrance for my organization, because we're using the API to collect time entries to deduct from our client's support retainers and to automatically email clients in danger of overrunning their allotted hours for the month.  Had I not spotted the orphaned time entries appearing in the API results, it would have been very easy to count these hours against our clients' retainers. 

What complicates the matter is that the orphaned time entries are not viewable via the FreshBooks web interface, but instead they're available only via API, as far as I can tell.

It seems to me that FreshBooks should perform a cascading delete on associated projects and time entries if a client is deleted (with copious warnings to the user that this will happen).  Failing that, the Time Tracking area of the website should list the orphaned time entries in an "archived" pane, like in the Clients area of the site.

Could someone please explain to me whether I've found a bug, a peculiarity, or if this is the intended behavior of the API -- and if it is, the reasoning behind it?

Thanks in advance for your help,

Jacob Patton