What Advantages Does a Timekeeping System Offer Your Company

What Advantages Does a Timekeeping System Offer Your Company

It's difficult to manage a tiny company. We are always asked to take on new and different responsibilities. Many of us probably have jobs that can be summed up as "do everything!" It's unfortunate that not all of our efforts directly increase profits for the company. On the other hand, there are occasions when some extra paperwork actually helps us get more done. Here, we'll take a quick look at timesheet systems to see if and how they can boost our company's cash flow.

It's likely that you've recognized the value of a time tracking system if you're here reading this. If your company now uses timesheets, you should know that there are better systems out there. It's worth your time to see if the one you're using is giving you the most bang for your buck.

In many jurisdictions, businesses that bill customers based on the amount of time they spend on a project must maintain time and billing records. There are several benefits to employing a timesheet system that may not be immediately apparent to owners of different sorts of organizations.

If your company has employees, using a timesheet system is a great way to monitor their productivity. Staff time spent on activities peripheral to achieving business goals may come as a surprise to you. If you want to conserve money, for instance, you can decide not to upgrade your computer system or software this year. A closer look at the timesheets may reveal that your employees are spending more time than expected on computer-related tasks that do not directly contribute to revenue generation. A timesheet system is a potent resource for uncovering and quantifying the financial toll of such problems.

A time tracking system can help you save money if you run a project-based firm and bid on assignments with fixed-price proposals. In today's cutthroat business environment, the difference between landing the job and seeing it go to a rival can be negligible. If your competition has a lower quoted price, you may lose the sale. If you underbid the competition, you might land the job, but at a big financial loss. If you have had issues like these in the past, it might be time to implement a timesheet system. If you are putting together a bid for a task that is identical to one you have already finished, you may use your time tracking software to determine how long it actually took to finish the first one. 

The time spent on each individual sub-project may surprise you. Let's compare two cases: To put it another way, you can take the manager's assessment that "we feel that project X came in on budget, but we need to budget for a little more time to complete project Y in future quotations" and adjust your estimates accordingly. In contrast, in our alternative scenario, a timesheet system is in use at the company, and the management states that "project X was completed at 23% below budget and project Y came in 279% over budget, resulting in the overall project being 160% over budget." Everyone makes errors in estimating how long a project will take, but companies that keep track of their time may learn from these miscalculations and improve their estimates in the future.

Few would dispute that a timesheet system is critical to monitoring and assessing operational efficiency and output. A manual, written timesheet system can work well for a small business with one or a few staff members and one or a few projects or clients. To begin, make a list of the tasks into which you want to divide your time. If you want more specific information regarding the progress of your projects, you may divide them into smaller sub-projects. Include both in-house (financial, administrative, etc.) and client-facing (the actual task) projects. After that, make a timesheet for the team to use, complete with sections for each project, the employee's name, and the current date.

It's worthwhile to investigate available software packages whenever you have more than a handful of employees or your projects begin to become more complex. Some businesses opt to use Excel or another spreadsheet tool at first, but in my experience, doing so is more time-consuming and error-prone than it is to just purchase a cheap timesheet software package. 

Support for many users and users on the go, centralized company project and client lists, and in-depth reporting of the work done by all employees are all standard features of the most popular time tracking software programs. Most of them will also integrate with other programs, such as an accounting system or a project management tool. As most software programs operate in their own unique ways, these connections may at times cause more problems than they solve. 

For more information about Spherical Timesheet, which tracks computer-based work to aid in filling out timesheets, visit http://www.sphericaltech.com. In addition to completing timesheets mechanically, this program integrates with common accounting and project management tools, generates a variety of helpful reports detailing earnings for each project, and is available for a free 30-day trial. Always try out a trial version of the time tracking software you're considering purchasing to make sure it has all the capabilities you need.

Implementing a timesheet system is the first step toward learning more about your company. Better company decisions, more efficient operations, and a leg up on the competition are all possible thanks to the data provided by a timesheet system. The best part is that your timesheet system may evolve alongside your company, letting you fine-tune your procedures for maximum profit as you go.