Time Tracking

Read more about top time tracking providers

Written by Steve Bryan

During the race to reach the Moon in the 1960s, the engineers who worked on the Apollo program followed the motto "Waste anything but time." More than 40 years later, that statement still holds true for many businesses because time really is money and can’t be wasted. That's why managers and business owners are doing more in-depth time tracking than ever before.

Calculating the real cost of a project

A few decades ago, most employees simply had to enter their time on a paper time sheet or punch a time clock. The emergence of inexpensive time tracking software changed all that. If a group of software engineers is working on an in-house project, for example, they now have to enter the hours worked in a "time bucket" for that particular effort.

Project managers can then use time tracking software to calculate exactly how much a development effort is costing the company in terms of human resources. Time tracking can also show how many hours an individual employee is devoting to each project, allowing a manager to allocate the company's human resources more efficiently.

Companies that benefit from time tracking

In certain business sectors and professions, time tracking software can have some very tangible financial benefits:

• Law offices. When determining billable hours for one particular case, tracking software can produce accurate numbers and invoices for clients.
• Consulting firms. Companies that send contractors and consultants to a client site must keep accurate records of the hours worked. A consultant wants to be paid for all hours worked; a client doesn't want to be overcharged. All of this makes time tracking essential.
• Self-employed workers. Even if you work out of your home, this kind of software can help you track the real cost of freelance projects, showing you exactly how much you are making on an assignment.

Additional benefits

Using specialized software to track employee time can help your firm in other ways:

• Forecasting. Project managers who don't know how many hours were spent on a particular project won't be able to accurately schedule future efforts.
• Individual employee analysis. Time tracking software can produce a breakdown of how each employee is spending his or her time. This can point out employees who are spread too thin and help with resource allocation.
• Scheduling. If a critical project is coming down the pipeline, time tracking can help ensure that you have enough essential employees on duty to help with the effort.

Are you ready to purchase time tracking? Submit a free request for price quotes and get matched to multiple dealers who will try to get you the best deal for your business.

Free Time Tracking Price Quotes

Fill out our short form to get free rates for time tracking.