diff --git a/admin_settings_ticket.php b/admin_settings_ticket.php
index 2d6d4efd5..4fda533e5 100644
--- a/admin_settings_ticket.php
+++ b/admin_settings_ticket.php
@@ -53,6 +53,13 @@
                 </div>
                 <?php } ?>
 
+                <div class="form-group">
+                    <div class="custom-control custom-switch">
+                        <input type="checkbox" class="custom-control-input" name="config_ticket_timer_default_no_autostart" <?php if ($config_ticket_timer_default_no_autostart == 1) { echo "checked"; } ?> value="1" id="ticketTimerSwitch">
+                        <label class="custom-control-label" for="ticketTimerSwitch">Default to pause ticket timer <small class="text-secondary">(This will prevent the timer from starting automatically and pause when leaving ticket focus)</small></label>
+                    </div>
+                </div>
+
                 <div class="form-group">
                     <label>Number of hours to auto close resolved tickets</label>
                     <div class="input-group">
diff --git a/db.sql b/db.sql
index a757b2a2e..682cc3464 100644
--- a/db.sql
+++ b/db.sql
@@ -1736,6 +1736,7 @@ CREATE TABLE `settings` (
   `config_ticket_autoclose_hours` int(5) NOT NULL DEFAULT 72,
   `config_ticket_new_ticket_notification_email` varchar(200) DEFAULT NULL,
   `config_ticket_default_billable` tinyint(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
+  `config_ticket_timer_default_no_autostart` tinyint(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
   `config_enable_cron` tinyint(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
   `config_recurring_auto_send_invoice` tinyint(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 1,
   `config_enable_alert_domain_expire` tinyint(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 1,
diff --git a/get_settings.php b/get_settings.php
index f14c2ee10..fa6f06658 100644
--- a/get_settings.php
+++ b/get_settings.php
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@
 $config_ticket_default_view = intval($row['config_ticket_default_view']);
 $config_ticket_moving_columns = intval($row['config_ticket_moving_columns']);
 $config_ticket_ordering = intval($row['config_ticket_ordering']);
+$config_ticket_timer_default_no_autostart = intval($row['config_ticket_timer_default_no_autostart']);
 
 // Cron
 $config_enable_cron = intval($row['config_enable_cron']);
diff --git a/js/ticket_time_tracking.js b/js/ticket_time_tracking.js
index f2a7d6fe8..2d1ed604f 100644
--- a/js/ticket_time_tracking.js
+++ b/js/ticket_time_tracking.js
@@ -4,10 +4,16 @@
     document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() {
         // Initialize variables
         var timerInterval = null;
-        var isPaused = false;
+        //var isPaused = false;
         var ticketID = getCurrentTicketID();
         var elapsedSecs = getElapsedSeconds();
 
+        //get database setting for autostart ticket Timer and pause if true
+        var isPaused = noAutoStart === 1 ? true : false;
+        if (isPaused === true) pauseTimer();
+        //end get timer pause setting
+
+
         function getCurrentTicketID() {
             const urlParams = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search);
             return urlParams.get('ticket_id');
diff --git a/post/admin/admin_settings_ticket.php b/post/admin/admin_settings_ticket.php
index bc75e5180..c7d73f116 100644
--- a/post/admin/admin_settings_ticket.php
+++ b/post/admin/admin_settings_ticket.php
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
     $config_ticket_moving_columns = intval($_POST['config_ticket_moving_columns']);
     $config_ticket_ordering = intval($_POST['config_ticket_ordering']);
     
-    mysqli_query($mysqli,"UPDATE settings SET config_ticket_prefix = '$config_ticket_prefix', config_ticket_next_number = $config_ticket_next_number, config_ticket_email_parse = $config_ticket_email_parse, config_ticket_email_parse_unknown_senders = $config_ticket_email_parse_unknown_senders, config_ticket_autoclose_hours = $config_ticket_autoclose_hours, config_ticket_new_ticket_notification_email = '$config_ticket_new_ticket_notification_email', config_ticket_default_billable = $config_ticket_default_billable, config_ticket_default_view = $config_ticket_default_view, config_ticket_moving_columns = $config_ticket_moving_columns, config_ticket_ordering = $config_ticket_ordering  WHERE company_id = 1");
+    mysqli_query($mysqli,"UPDATE settings SET config_ticket_prefix = '$config_ticket_prefix', config_ticket_next_number = $config_ticket_next_number, config_ticket_email_parse = $config_ticket_email_parse, config_ticket_email_parse_unknown_senders = $config_ticket_email_parse_unknown_senders, config_ticket_autoclose_hours = $config_ticket_autoclose_hours, config_ticket_new_ticket_notification_email = '$config_ticket_new_ticket_notification_email', config_ticket_default_billable = $config_ticket_default_billable, config_ticket_default_view = $config_ticket_default_view, config_ticket_moving_columns = $config_ticket_moving_columns, config_ticket_ordering = $config_ticket_ordering, config_ticket_timer_default_no_autostart = $config_ticket_timer_default_no_autostart  WHERE company_id = 1");
 
     // Logging
     logAction("Settings", "Edit", "$session_name edited ticket settings");
diff --git a/ticket.php b/ticket.php
index 3053ebf69..4a1816b04 100644
--- a/ticket.php
+++ b/ticket.php
@@ -459,6 +459,12 @@
 
             </div> <!-- Card Header -->
 
+            <!-- create js variable related to ticket timer setting -->
+            <script type="text/javascript">
+                var noAutoStart = <?php echo json_encode($config_ticket_timer_default_no_autostart); ?>;
+            </script>
+
+
             <div class="card-body pt-3 pb-0">
                 <div class="row">
                     <div class="col-sm-4">