3 other good reasons to use a Timesheet software; a business tool that many executives consider the cornerstone of their business along with payroll, accounting, and project management.
Time tracking allows you to know if your projects are on track to meet budgets and deadlines; in short, to know if they will be profitable or not.
But a timesheet software will also allow you to improve other areas of your management.
A Timesheet software facilitates the management of project expenses
Project time tracking, when performed with the right tool, will also create a record of all project expenses. This can be very useful for later analysis.
Some advanced timesheet software allows you to easily associate expenses with projects or a timesheet. And if your timesheet software is well integrated with your billing system, for example, then your expenses will be automatically associated with invoices.
This will not only give you a clear view of all expenses incurred on a project but will also ensure that they have all been invoiced because throughout the project, all employees keep track of expenses and at the end of the month an administrator will approve the expenses before invoicing the client.
In addition, if clients unexpectedly ask you for detailed explanations of their project expenses, you’ll feel comfortable providing them with a detailed report.
A Timesheet software preserves Customer Relations and facilitates Crisis Management
Time tracking within a project, when properly executed, will also allow you to create a record of all hours and tasks performed, downloadable as Excel or CSV reports. This can be very useful in a crisis of confidence with a client.
The client has the right to ask for a detailed explanation of why a project went over schedule and over budget. Every customer wants to get value for their money.
With this data, it will be much easier to have healthy discussions with your clients because metrics that show the time allocated to the original project scope and the time allocated to change requests speak for themselves.
Also, if you work in an industry that is susceptible to scrutiny, time tracking will be an essential safeguard of the work and expenses you have done. If you are awarded a contract by a government agency, for example.
Improve your work processes with a Timesheet software
How many hours a day do you spend in meetings?
How many hours a day do you spend on administrative and management tasks?
Without hard data, it’s hard to get a clear picture of the real productivity of your teams, your employees… and yours!
People are almost always surprised by what their timesheets actually tell them about their work habits and those of their resources.
Not surprisingly, it’s the bad stuff that jumps out at first: management errors, lack of resources, rework”, resources that must deal with excessive multitasking, and sometimes unfortunately, the incompetence of certain resources, etc.
However, since you have this data in hand, you can start improving your processes:
- Reduce the ratio of meetings / project
- Reduce the number of participants / meeting
- Identify the tasks that generate non-billable hours?
- Identify the tasks for which each of your employees is strong or weak?
- Identify processes that systematically exceed estimated hours?
- Calculate the time spent on administrative tasks whose added value may be questionable
All of this information will rise up to the light with the right timesheet software and show you the way to achieve greater productivity and profitability.
Time tracking will allow both managers and employees to improve their work process.
Conclusion
Time tracking is essential for projects review (post mortem) with clients, and to improve expense management and resource and process management, in general.
Finally, in some cases, your Timesheet software will be the undisputed insurance policy in a crisis management process with a client or with the organization’s leaders.