Simple timer start function

Simple timer start function

When I submit a form to the server, I can easily get the finish time, but what do I need to do to get the start time? By 'start time', I mean, that the focus is initially on the first text field, and when the focus is changed I'd like to have the timer start. There doesn't need to be any display of this to the user, only that it's available when it's submitted to the server. Should I use a plugin to do this? Or something else? Thanks.