All types of businesses can benefit from time tracking software, no matter how large or small a business is. These apps are well worth the money, because they can track all team activity, handle expenses, and more. Business owners who use this technology find increased productivity, which ultimately leads to increased profits, which is obviously the bottom line of any business.
Benefits of Using Time Tracking Software
Using time tracking software has several advantages, including better task management. There are so many little tasks involved in any business, and often, most of us don’t even realize just how many tasks are being managed at once. Time tracking software ensures that nothing is ever missed, and that everything gets done when it should. Other benefits of using time tracking software include:
Payroll Management
There are some systems that will not only track employee time, but also create timesheets that can be used for payroll purposes. Every company has had issues at one time or another when it comes to employees not receiving the proper amount of pay. This software will virtually eliminate that problem. This is perfect for companies that have employees who work odd hours.
Better Focus
One of the great things about employees being able to track their own time is that they really get to see the whole picture of how productive they actually are. When they see areas where productivity is lower than others, they are able to focus better on their work. They will know how much time they are spending on each task, if they are running behind, and how they can better allot their time to be more productive. They can also inform managers that some projects may be a bit late so the project deadline can be extended.
Better Workflow
When you have time management software, you are better able to understand everything that is going on within a business. It gives business owners a great overview of the entire business, how employees are spending their time, and more. This is helpful when it comes to streamlining things, rearranging projects, assigning tasks, etc.
Cut Expenses
Obviously, the bottom line for any business is profits, and business owners are constantly looking for a way to cut costs and increase profits. When they have time tracking software, they are better able to understand the company workflow, and see where there are any problems that need to be addressed. Often, small problems go unnoticed until it is too late. This technology will prevent that from happening.
Better Client Billing
Another problem that many companies face is client billing. It is important that clients are properly billed, and in the proper amount of time. Without time tracking software, this doesn’t always happen. For instance, if your business is one that bills clients by the hour rather than by the project, using this software will ensure that clients are charged the right amount.
Employees Are In Charge of their Time Off
When a company has time tracking software, employees will no longer be wondering how many vacation days they have left, if they still have sick days, etc. They will be able to access all of this information when they are set up as system users. This means that they actually end up with a bit of a sense of ownership, because they are somewhat in control of their time off.
Reduced Unplanned Absences
When employees are able to see what they have for days off, they are able to plan their personal schedules better. This means that employers are going to notice a big change in the amount of unplanned employee absences, which affect productivity. Obviously, there are still going to be cases of employees being sick. It happens, and no one can plan for that. But, this type of system will help employees schedule their time, and flag anyone who is abusing the system.
Less Work for the Payroll Department
It can be quite a challenge for any payroll department to properly calculate all hours and make sure that each employee receives accurate pays, deductions, etc. When they are using this software, the job is a lot easier, and fewer mistakes are made. All calculations can be put into a timesheet program. Because employees are tracking their own time, there is less work for those in the payroll department, and employees receive accurate pays.
Talk to Your Employees
Many employees get nervous when they hear about things like time tracking software. They hear the word “tracking”, and automatically feel as if they are being constantly watched. For some, this can be a cause to leave a position, because they don’t feel like they are trusted and valued employees. It is important that employees know that the use of time tracking software is not a means of spying on them. They need to realize that it is not a means for you to watch them at every minute of the day, but that it is a way for them to improve their performance and increase their skills and confidence on the job.
Employers need to make sure that their employees realize the true reasons for having time tracking software, and that it is not just for them. It is about payroll issues, client billing, and cutting expenses. These are things they can understand, when employers take the time to really talk to them and not just treat them like numbers.
Choosing the Right Time Tracking Software
Once you have decided that you want to have time tracking software for your company, you need to figure out which software package is going to be best for the needs of your company. There are a variety of different companies that offer this software. Many have different tiers for different sized companies, and each package has something that is going to be of value to any company. Some of the most popular include Time Doctor, Toggl and Paydirt. Before choosing software for any type of business, here are some of the things that should be considered.
Time Tracking
One of the first things to think about when choosing time tracking software is time tracking itself. This is obviously the crux of this type of software, and it is important to have in order to make sure that employees are able to better manage their time when they are at work. There are certain aspects of time tracking to look for as well. For instance, if you have staff who work outside of the office, you need to offer them a service that allows for multiple ways to clock in and out. There needs to also be offline support for employees who are working in areas where they have limited Internet access, or no Internet availability at all. Tools that the software should include are TSheets and GPS features.
Timesheets
Time tracking software should include a way to handle timesheets. It is ideal when the software lets you divide timesheets according to project, which makes billing a whole lot easier. Make sure that you look into approval workflows when choosing the tools you need. A good software package should allow project managers to approve or reject any timesheet instantly, and there are some applications that will even send email alerts when anything has been submitted, including timesheets and expenses.
Project Management
Time tracking software should also allow employers to monitor resources for projects, track tasks, and even add special notes to various tasks so everyone knows what has been done, and what needs to be done. It should also include support for recording expenses (billable and non-billable), as well as invoice creation.
Reports
Any time tracking software you get should have a reporting feature that lets you create a huge variety of different types of reports that will help your company. These reports are used to help managers learn about time worked, expenses, invoices, and more. The right software will let you customize reports, so users will be able to include the exact information that they want in each report. The app should also be able to export and print reports so they can be shared easily.
Help and Support
It is important to choose time tracking software that is easy to use, and reliable. It should be easy enough to use that anyone in the company can use it, and it should have a great level of customer support. Make sure that any software package you choose offers email, telephone, and live chat support. This makes it a lot easier to solve any issues that happen to arise.
Integrations
Finally, you need to consider integrations when choosing a time tracking application for your company. Integrations are important, because you need to know that you are going to be able to sync the time tracking application with data from other software that your company already uses. It is a good idea to look for software that offers integration with all of the packages you are currently using for CRM, accounting, payroll, content management, project management, and ERP.
