Time tracking has become a core part of any business operation model. No matter what industry you’re in, from construction to education, the way time is spent is essential. You need to keep track of payroll, resource use, and how long it takes to complete important tasks. Time tracking software is the latest and most efficient way to achieve all these goals in a platform that provides clarity and easy coordination for your entire workforce.
Of course, there are lots of scheduling and time-tracking software options on the market, so how do you know which one to choose? Choosing the right employee time tracking solution means seeking software that fully meets your needs, is easy to use, and provides essential insights into time use across your teams.
Why Time Tracking is Important
Managers and employees both benefit from the right kind of time management software. There are many benefits, some so essential that you can’t do without. Often, companies will need to track time, with or without a software solution.
Time tracking allows you to track employee attendance for efficient and accurate payroll, and to effectively comply with labor laws with records to reflect hours worked. Time tracking for projects helps keep projects efficient, within budget, and delivered on-time, while tracking time on work you do for clients ensures accurate invoicing.
Time tracking is also often used to achieve increased efficiency by examining how long each task takes and looking for time-wasting elements to remove or improve.
What to Look for in Time Tracking Software
How do you know the right time tracking software for your business when you find it? There are three metrics that you can easily measure time tracking software against to determine if it offers your business significant value.
Functionality
The first is functionality. Does the time tracking software do everything you need? Does it allow you to build schedules, track individual tasks, or invoice clients based on hourly work? If your industry or team has specific time tracking needs, look for software that offers the most practical solution.
Ease of Use
Is the software easy to use? Can your team easily clock their hours and your managers easily assign or review those hours? Are there reports that offer insights, and can you easily access all the features? Is it available on mobile apps and will your team adopt it?
Integrations
Lastly, does it work with other business software in your stack? Integration can determine the overall usefulness of time tracking software as part of your current workflow.
Now let’s look at the features that make time tracking software valuable to your business.
Time Clock Functionality
The time clock is the traditional way that employee’s clock in and clock out of work each day. It measures their total hours worked and the hours for which they should be paid. Time clock functionality means your time tracker can serve as a digital time clock that is easily accessible to managers and employees without rushing to a single time clock location or struggling with outdated scanning or punching mechanisms.
Mobile Apps for Teams and Managers
Time tracking software with a mobile app is far more accessible than PC or web-browser only software. Mobile time tracking means that your team will have an easier time quickly punching in and out of project tasks without having to stop at a workstation to do it. Mobile apps grant accessibility and adaptability to many different types of teams, tasks, and industry work.
Mobile app time tracking works on the retail floor, on the construction build-site, for traveling and remote teams, and in the office.
Analytics Reporting
Reporting is another essential element of business time tracking software. Not only do you want to be able to assign schedules and tasks, but you also want to see metrics on-time performance, efficiency, and patterns. You might want to track how quickly employees finish specific tasks, the overall time spent on a project, or the performance history of your teams.
With analytics reporting, you can build a dashboard with the time tracking reports that are most useful to your management style and goals.
Invoice and Online Payments
For businesses that invoice by the hour, time tracking software that includes invoicing and payment features can become essential. With the right time tracking software, you can quickly transform your team’s clocked hours on client projects into invoices. Clients should then be able to click through those invoices and provide payment online without delays, hiccups, or platform transfers.
Ease of Use
Not all time tracking software is easy to use. You need a solution that your team can easily navigate, finding the features and buttons they need without pouring over the manual or struggling to understand the interface. Ideally, both the management and employee sides of the app will make it simple for each to provide the information and requests they need to keep the team running smoothly.
Tech Stack Integration
Most businesses already have a developed tech stack of other software you use. Payroll and communications, for example, are both types of integration that would benefit your time tracking software. Look for solutions that are already designed to integrate with the other software in your tech stack or have available APIs to easily make this connection.
With integration, your time tracking software will seamlessly merge with your workflow without becoming a data silo of schedule information.
Customer Support
Lastly, every piece of business software you invest in should come with responsive customer support. Should you want to integrate a new piece of software into your stack or customize your invoicing template, having friendly customer service ready to provide assistance can transform your experience from frustration to efficient implementation in just a few minutes.
Streamline Your Team with Time Tracker
If you’re looking for a time tracking solution that, does it all, check out Time Tracker by eBillity. We strive to provide a software solution that is everything a business time tracker should be, from time clock functionality to invoicing and compliance. Our detailed reporting, easy-to-use mobile app, and friendly customer service are designed to make managing your business easier and more efficient at every turn.
Find out if eBillity’s Time Tracker app is right for your business with a 14-day free trial, no credit card required.
