Any freelancer or company that invoices clients based on time spent on their projects knows that things can easily get out of control and nearly impossible to track. When this happens, it’s time to enlist the help of a professional tool to keep things organized and accurate. These tools are helpful for the worker in terms of allowing all their time spent on a project to be accounted for, and the customer, who gains full certitude in where their money is going. Every project, company, and professional agreement has different terms and needs from a time tracking tool. Here are a few of the most standard ones that should be sought out in this type of software.
Time Tracking Features
A tool that offers flexibility in terms of how work can be recorded is optimal. It’s useful for the chosen tool to offer the choice of either tracking time during work sessions or for the user to be able to manually input time later on. Work circumstances are not always predictable, and some do not necessarily involve having continuous access to a screen. Ones with mobile tracking are perfect for workers whose jobs involve them being on the move, and if these mobile apps also offer a GPS tracking feature, it’s even better. This particularly comes in handy when figuring out how much is owed for jobs such as attending/running events or other work-related trips.
The time tracking software should also be able to manage multiple projects at once, meaning that it can easily attribute time spent to the right project if you jump around between tasks. Some take this a step further and are even able to automatically create and send invoices specific to each of your projects and clients based on what you’ve been working on. Tie this into an accounting software (many of which do have time tracking functionalities) and you really have an all-encompassing tool. You may wonder what the advantage is to using separate software (one for accounting and one for time tracking) if this consolidated option is available; the reason is simply that software specifically dedicated to time tracking usually has more advanced, detailed features. Take Hubstaff, for example, a time tracking software that does everything mentioned and more, such as reporting the worker’s app usage, activity percentages, and integrates with third-party tools.
When It’s Time to Track
Individuals or organizations in the following scenarios are usually the ones who benefit the most from a time tracking software:
- Freelancers or businesses billing clients based on time
- Normal companies with remote teams
- Teams that want to monitor progress on projects and understand and optimize their time repartition
- Anyone who feels their productivity is not at its best and who wants an honest reality check regarding their work activity
No matter what your case is, time tracking software represents automation and a couple less things you have to remember – in other words, it can only make your life easier. Many offer a free trial, so there’s no reason not to give one or two a go.
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