Timesheet: A Smart Way To Log and Track Time

Running a business and reaching the summit of success- the gap between the two is enormous. Creating an effortless bridge between the two requires impeccable managerial skills. In this, one of the significant tasks is tracking the employees’ working hours. 

Timesheets

Beyond a question of doubt, time tracking is a tedious and highly monotonous job, and if the systems aren’t in tandem, time tracking can prove to be extremely arduous. And here, a timesheet is your absolute savior!

What is a Timesheet? How can automated timesheets prove to be fruitful in benefitting my business? What are the modern-day applications of timesheet automation? Indeed, these questions are popping into your head. Rest assured, as we’ve narrowed down everything you need to know about timesheets in this article. Read on to know more!

What is a Timesheet?

An employer can track the amount of time a specific employee has spent working on a given activity using a timesheet, which is a data table. This tracks working hours, making it an essential tool for project managers to manage resources, track payroll, determine holiday entitlements, and keep tabs on employee progress.

Timesheets in the past had the appearance of simple weekly schedules that were hand-drawn or printed on sheets of paper, requiring manual work. There was a risk these paper timesheets easily being lost, harmed, or destroyed. Contrarily, modern timesheets are digitalized, adaptable, and largely automated, which makes workforce management incredibly simple and efficient for all parties.

Kinds of timesheets

Depending on the purpose, timesheets are mostly of  three types:

Employee timesheets:  

Used for hourly-paid non-exempt staff members

Payroll timesheets:

Aid in streamlining the payroll of employees

Online timesheets:

Traditional payroll timesheets in digital form

Benefits of Implementing Timesheets in Businesses

Time-tracking is nothing but meticulous management. Employing timesheet automation, on the other hand, can prove to be beneficial in a myriad of ways.  Let’s find them out!

Task Management

Managing responsibilities is a gargantuan task. Because of this, it is important to use timesheet software to simplify all of your tasks. Without getting exhausted, you may add new work, categorize your jobs as billable or non-billable, design new projects, and manage several clients simultaneously.

Offers Comprehensiveness

With a comprehensive understanding of your current tasks, timesheet automation enables you to create a more realistic action plan. You can use the timekeeping log to record time for the week’s job in the list view, learn more about your monthly schedule and long-term deadlines in the calendar view. You can fill details of each project and task worked upon along with the details of clients, jobs, and billing options for each day of the month.

Swiftness of Work

Automatic timesheets can help employees to work swiftly because human error is less likely to occur. The number of hours that an employee has worked can be entered into automated software. This thereby would be more accurate than having to manually enter an employee’s hours worked into a system after they had written down their total workday.

Budget Management

Cost management is one of the essential elements of project management. Since timesheet automation provides accurate information for calculating labor costs, it is essential for controlling costs and staying within the set budget.

Project managers can analyze the actual and budgeted expenditures to see if there are any discrepancies and then can take the necessary action. Data derived from timesheets also enables early detection of potential budget overruns and timely corrective action to maintain it.

Legal Compliance

States have varying policies on overtime. As an employer, you need to be aware of the employees who are and are not exempt from them, the accepted regular workweek duration in your region, the overtime pay rate, and so on. Timesheet automation helps you in tracking the overworked hours and thereby determining the overtime pay.  It assists you in minimizing legal risks and demonstrating flawless adherence to regional labor laws.

Future Work Estimation

In the professional world, you must estimate how long it will take to perform each task in a set of project requirements. You can estimate project tasks more precisely if you have a history of similar jobs in a timesheet system.

Real-Time Progress Monitoring

Timesheets play a significant role in project management by providing real-time information on how activities and tasks are progressing. By monitoring the time spent on each job, project managers can make a comparison between planned and actual tasks, identify anomalies, and take the right action.

This enables them to monitor project milestones, identify any delays, and ensure that the given project is finished on schedule. Data from timesheet can be used to generate progress reports and inform stakeholders about changes, which ultimately encourages accountability and transparency.

Timesheet Automation: Modern-day applications

Automated timesheets have a whole range of applications in the current times. Some of the examples are as follows:

Payroll Management

Employers use timesheets to keep track of employee hours. They can also keep track of accruals, any additional modifications needed for processing payroll, and leave or holiday allowance. Payroll administration is now simpler, quicker, less prone to errors, and more affordable.

For Freelancers

Freelancers value their time as money. Because almost all freelancers bill clients by the hour, precise time monitoring is of utmost importance. Determining the time spent on a project becomes challenging for people who work remotely. By using a time-tracking system, they can track working hours and provide their clients with these records. Additionally, they can use this to generate accurate invoices and appropriately charge clients.

For Law Firms

Law companies often charge clients by the hour. Thereby, keeping accurate records of their working hours and information on the services they provide to clients is of utmost importance. Here, timesheet automation steps in. 

Conclusion

Timesheets might seem uninteresting, but being inculcated with such amazing benefits and features, they are unquestionably a great investment for your organization. Nonetheless, you must begin by selecting a good timesheet software and such as  Juntrax which is an all-in-one cloud-based PSA, HR, and Invoicing platform for Startups and SMEs from the Professional Services Industry.

Sign up at Juntrax  today and get going!

9 Must-Have Features for Time-Tracking Software

Introduction

Time tracking is one of the essential components of business management systems. It helps the user keep track of their time, allowing them to organize their time into projects and tasks. Using time-tracking software, you’ll be able to manage your projects and get an accurate idea of how much time you’re committed to each task. In this article, you’ll find out what to look for when choosing a time-tracking software for your business.

Time-tracking software allows users to quickly log all the time spent on specific tasks, projects, or activities. However, not all time-tracking software is the same. Some have features that others don’t offer. These features can be beneficial when it comes to keeping track of your time accurately. Here are nine must-have features for any time-tracking software you may use.

Take a look at 9 Must-Have Features.

Timesheets: 

Users can create their timesheets, especially those who work overtime. To do this, they’ll need to specify in the timesheet app how long it takes them to complete each task and the type of task they’re doing within a project. With timesheets, users will have an easy time accurately keeping track of their work. They can keep track of the specific tasks and projects they’re working on at any time, allowing them to stay organized as they work towards goals or projects.

Analytics and Reports: 

Reports and analytics will allow you to see how much time you’ve spent working on specific projects or tasks. This can help business owners, especially those interested in optimizing their time within a given project or job.

Customizable Alerts: 

You’ll be able to choose from various alert features that come with time-tracking software, allowing users to stay organized when working on their tasks and projects. With customizable alerts, users can set reminders for themselves about upcoming events or activities. When the event or action occurs, they’ll receive a notification letting them know about it. For example, users can create alerts for scheduled meetings and deadlines for project updates and deliverables.

Payroll management: 

Time-tracking software can also handle payroll. It can be beneficial for small businesses. When you’re using time-tracking software, you’ll easily be able to track your hours and those of other employees regularly. You can also input the exact necessary information for payroll entries and end-of-year tax preparation in a concise amount of time. This will save you time and allow you to focus more on your tasks and those of other employees.

Time Tracking: 

Juntrax’s time-tracking features help users keep track of their time. You can create custom fields for specific information within the time tracking category. For example, you can create a lot for the task type (web design, project management, etc.). You can categorize tasks.

Invoicing: 

A time-tracking software package will also handle invoicing, which can benefit small business owners. With time tracking, you’ll be able to generate an invoice from the information you have quickly. You’ll also be able to save time with the automation of an invoice after logging hours for specific tasks and projects within your software.

Mobile App: 

Online time-tracking software often includes a mobile app for convenient access to reports anytime, anywhere. Tracking time on the go is advantageous for remote or virtual tasks and projects.

Cloud-Based System: 

You don’t need to install anything using a cloud-based time-tracking solution. Begin time tracking for your staff, and you’ll notice a significant increase in productivity right away. Updates and maintenance are not a concern while using a cloud-based system. The data in the cloud is secure and can be accessed by anyone from the company at any time.

Choosing a time-tracking software can be confusing because so many options are available.Although certain features may be more appealing to specific users, the listed features cater to most seeking a reliable time tracker. It’s crucial to consider the support provided by such companies. With all these features, it’s easy to see why time-tracking software is a practical choice for any business using it.Insights into the Top 10 FAQs on Timesheet Management by Juntrax

Conclusion:

Your business should focus on serving customers, not micromanaging your employees’ time. With efficient time-tracking software, you’ll be able to keep track of all the hours worked by your employees with minimum effort.

Juntrax, an ideal time-tracking tool for small business owners, offers automated timesheets, workflow management, and efficient time tracking, ensuring seamless organization and productivity. Also, MSMEs with less than ten employees can avail of Juntrax’s automated services free of cost. Interesting, right?