time signatures

I've drum-programmed some fairly intricate things over the past 10 or so years, but I still lack some musical or technical knowledge. Even though I can tap out a beat, or even play it on a drum kit, I rarely know what time signature (or combination of signatures) I'm playing, unless it's 3/4 or 4/4. This makes it challenging when I sit down with Doggiebox. I usually do a couple of false starts, changing the combination of tempo/time sig/note value. What's the most reliable way for me to figure out what time signature to start programming a beat with? Are there shareware apps that can help?