Tag Archives: Enterprise Timesheets

Chris Vandersluis, podcast, project management, timecontrol

Our President, Chris Vandersluis is on the TrepTalks podcast!

Chris Vandersluis, Christopher Peter Vandersluis, TimeControl, HMS Software, HMS, TrepTalksIt’s always a thrill to hear about HMS, TimeControl and all the work and accomplishments we’ve made.  This week I’m excited to share a podcast I participated in on TrepTalks.  It’s a little longer than I usually get for a podcast but in just under an hour that gave us lots of opportunity to talk about the industry, the history of HMS and TimeControl and how TimeControl has become so successful both as a commercial timesheet system but also as a source of critical data that organizations of all sizes use for key business decisions about their projects and forward looking project investments.

I hope you like it.

The podcast can be found at: treptalks.com/interviews/chris-vandersluis-of-hms-software.

timecontrol

TimeControl uses hierarchies to manage huge volumes of charges

One challenge we faced when first creating TimeControl were the types of projects that we were presented with.  We’d seen other timesheets which could handle a dozen possible charge types on a timesheet. They’re still quite common.  That’s not at all what we were facing.  Our earliest clients described projects with hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of tasks each.  One client explained that they had over 50,000 active projects world-wide that they expected to load into the system and each project had approximately 1,000 tasks.

The idea that a user would scroll page after page looking for a possible task to charge their time against was a no-starter.

So TimeControl evolved with several possible methods of reducing what end-users would be presented with.  We introduced pre-loading, dynamic filters and assignment selections but perhaps the most powerful tool for displaying high volumes of data in a digestible format was the notion of hierarchies.

The idea of breaking down tasks into groupings and sub-groupings wasn’t new.  The very project management tools we wanted to integrate with already used the idea of Work Breakdown Structures for large projects.  So we incorporated the concept into TimeControl.

At the end user level, the idea is very straightforward.  The possible charge codes that an end user has access to are presented in a breakdown.  The most simple would be just like a project system using a delimited charge code with each period being a new level.  This is amazingly effective.

But TimeControl doesn’t stop there.

The Charge Table can be organized with not one but multiple hierarchy definitions.  Let’s say that for some users, breaking the charges down by location, then billing status then priority is the way to go.  For others perhaps breaking the charges by billable then capitalizable makes more sense.  TimeControl’s hierarchies format can define multiples and end users can select the hierarchy that makes most sense to the.

We didn’t stop there.  The selection of Rates can use the same type of hierarchy structure as can the selection of Employees in other parts of the product.

TimeControl Hierarchies take massive lists of possible data and breaks it down to bite-sized selections.

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Have your TimeControl rules changed?

For many organizations in the past weeks, employees have changed their working conditions.  changesahead_300x223For TimeControl, this may warrant relooking at your timesheet and project progress capture processes.  This is a common occurrence when an organization merges with another or brings on a new department.

For most TimeControl clients, when they implement TimeControl, a process guide is created that covers all the different practices and procedures for events such as onboarding new staff or adding new projects or doing timesheet and project approvals.

In the last few weeks many clients have been shifting staff from working at the office to working at home or working at different hours in order to facilitate social distancing.  This might affect your regular TimeControl processes in a number of ways.

Perhaps your regular office hours are now flexible for anyone working from home.  Perhaps you have new sick leave procedures for your remote workers.  If someone has been tested positive for Covid-19 do you have new timesheet charge types for that person?

There are a number of TimeControl functions that processes that might need checking:

Filters

Filters are used throughout TimeControl to enable features such as restricting what projects are visible to what employees or how a validation rule should work.  If your business has been changed with some people now working from home or taking on new responsibilities, then these filters might need a review.  In particular:

Validation Rule Filters

Validation Rules can changed when working conditions change.  Perhaps you now have more staff working flexible hours or perhaps your current policies on personal time off have altered.  A review of the filters that are the building blocks of Validation Rules can help you adapt.

Employee Table Filters for Projects, Charges, Rates

In the TimeControl Employee Table, there are places to implement filters for each employee.  These filters determine what projects, charge codes and rate codes can be viewed by that employee.  If your situation has changed the way that projects and tasks are being completed, then looking at these filters to see if changes are needed makes sense.

You can find out all about Filters in the TimeControl Reference Guide.

Validation Rules

Have your Validation Rules changed?  You can deactivate a Validation Rule or change it to be a warning only instead of an error if your business conditions are in flux.  This can be done for each rule.

Projects and Charge Codes

Are you still creating projects and charge codes in the same way you done traditionally?  Also, are you creating certain project and charge code entries to identify the specific costs of the change due to Covid-19?  Being able to identify these costs specifically might become important in the near future because of insurance claims or government recompense for such expenses.

Assignments

With people not co-located, you may be rethinking how tasks are assigned. TimeControl’s Assignment function lets you assign or re-assign tasks and create budgets for them.  Perhaps your tasks and assignments should be rethought also in terms of your target completion.  It may take more (or less) time to get certain types of tasks completed.

Dashboards

While most organizations use email effectively to send out news, the Dashboard area of TimeControl is an ideal place to put persistent notices and relevant news in the Announcements area.  Announcements can have as-of and expiry dates and can be fine-tuned to be visible only to certain roles so not all announcements need to be seen by all employees.

TimeControl Mobile App access

Finally, the free TimeControl Mobile App may be more attractive than ever.  If you are using TimeControl Online then you already have everything you need to activate the Mobile App.  The App is enabled in the Administration Area for TimeControl overall then per Profile in the User Profiles area.  Users can download the App for free from Google Play for Android devices and the Apple Store for iOS devices.  If you are using TimeControl OnPremise, then you may have to configure TimeControl to be enabled for the Mobile App.  Contact HMS Support if you have questions about how to do that.

And more…

Aside from actual changes to configuration, what about your approval process and allowances for people who are not in their normal roles.  You may want to investigate delegation through the Alternate User functionality as well as how you are doing your approvals for both the timesheet as a whole and line-item approvals for projects.

What about new processes from HR for onboarding or offboarding?  Are there employees who might be temporarily not doing timesheets?  Are there any new rules from Payroll?

Typically such changes are quick to do in TimeControl but it is important to keep track of what you change because you are likely going to have to change it back sometime soon.

If you need assistance with changing your TimeControl, TimeControl Industrial or TimeControl Online configuration, talk to the HMS Technical staff at info@hms.ca.

 

 

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TimeControl Multiple Timesheet Length Support

Here’s the challenge:  You have one group of personnel who need to collect timesheets every day.  Another group needs to collect them every week.  But, you are determined to use the same timesheet system.  Do you need two timesheets?  If you have two systems, how will you reconcile data into one system for reporting and analysis?

Perhaps the challenge is different.  One group of personnel will need to collect timesheets every week for project management purposes.  Another group will only enter timesheets monthly for exceptions such as sick days and vacations.  Yet a third group needs timesheets weekly but the week isn’t the same because of the country they are working in.   Can we reconcile all of these together?

HMS faced this challenge when we first introduced TimeControl Industrial.  Many people who do field data collection in industrial or construction projects do so daily.  Yet, many personnel who work on those same projects are not working in the field and have more of a weekly cycle for timesheet updates and approvals.

Overcoming that challenge with TimeControl was done with a very specific structure in early versions when the choices of a timesheet were either daily or weekly.  But, TimeControl now supports many timesheet durations.  TimeControl now supports multiple timesheet periods simultaneously in the same TimeControl instance.

In the Manage Periods module, Administrators can create multiple calendars for timesheets.  Supported options are: daily, weekly, bi-weekly, bi-monthly, monthly and custom length.  Then in the Employee Table, Administrators assign one of these calendars to an employee.

That’s it.

The employee now sees a timesheet associated to the calendar periods assigned to them.

TimeControl goes yet further in the area of calendars.  Once the data is collected, there may be multiple services that need reports or extracts of the data.  Even though some users are entering daily timesheets, some are entering weekly and some are bi-monthly, perhaps the Payroll department needs a list of timesheet data only on a bi-monthly schedule where the first part of the month goes from the 1st to the 15th and the second part of the month goes from the 16th to the end of the month.

No problem.

TimeControl’s External System Calendars are designed to be used for exports and reporting to handle just such a requirement.  You can have as many of these as you need.  So if there is another system, HR for example, that requires TimeControl data to be transmitted on a 13 month per year schedule, you can absolutely do that with these extra calendars.  You can create external system calendars in the TimeControl Period Generator Pay Periods module located in the Maintenance section of TimeControl.

Line Item Approval can also be associated to these calendars so if you have line item approvals for each of these external systems, you can ensure that the data has gone into an additional approval cycle before being transferred to that system.

Support for multiple timesheet lengths and external system reporting calendars is just one way that TimeControl’s flexibility empowers your existing corporate systems.

7.3, timecontrol, TimeControl updates, TimeControl upgrade, TimeControl upgrades

TimeControl 7.3 has been released with some big new features!

We’re very excited to release this latest update to TimeControl. TimeControl 7.3 comes with some significant new features and many enhancements. This version is available in TimeControl, TimeControl Industrial and shortly in TimeControl Online.

Here’s some of what to expect:

Do your expenses in the free TimeControl Mobile App

The TimeControl Mobile App is a free App designed to work on both Android and iOS (Apple) devices. This version of the TimeControl Mobile App allows you to add expense items to any line in your timesheet. Each timesheet line item allows you to add an unlimited number of expense items and each item is associated to both the charge item and a non-labor resource type. You can also attach multiple receipts as photos or files to each expense item. The TimeControl Mobile App is available at no cost on the Apple Store for iOS devices and Google Play for Android devices.

Use your camera to add attachments to timesheets or expenses

The TimeControl Mobile App now lets you attach multiple items to your timesheet. TimeControl lets you use your device to select photos, videos, to take a picture from your camera or even access files that are available to your device on Google Docs, Dropbox, iCloud or OneDrive.

Schedule reports to be created automatically and sent via

TimeControl reports can now be delivered by email on a schedule. Choose from sending an email on a schedule of your choice with a PDF attachment or just sending a direct link to an encrypted server-stored file.

And much, much more…

There is so much more. We’ve made huge improvements in filtering, added new auditing functionality and reporting for time-off banks, added single-sign-on support to the mobile app, added new dashboards and reports, added budget controls for the Charge and Project tables, enhanced the link to Microsoft Project Online and enhanced performance.

If you are a TimeControl Online subscriber, your systems will be updated over the next couple of weeks.  If you are using TimeControl on-premise and have a current support contract, you can access this latest update at: TimeControl.com/support/updates.

For more information on TimeControl 7.3, go to TimeControl.com/features/latest.

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Evaluating Timesheet Software

If you are here on the TimeControl blog, there is a possibility that you are evaluating timesheet software and have found TimeControl among your possible solutions.  We have resources that will make your evaluation of TimeControl and any other timesheet systems a little easier.  HMS has been in the business of providing timesheet systems since 1984 and we have an appreciation for how challenging it is to select a timesheet that will meet your needs. We have created a number of tools that are available to anyone seeking to select a timesheet for their own needs regardless of whether that timesheet is our own TimeControl or not.

“Why?” you ask?  It’s pretty simple really.  There’s nothing less productive for us than to sell TimeControl to someone who really needed something else.  It is far preferable to not make a sale if the product isn’t the right fit.

So, on the TimeControl website, you will find all kinds of resources that you may find of interest if you are evaluating timesheets.  Some of those tools are specific to evaluating TimeControl but many are generic in nature and are designed to help researchers evaluate any timesheet.

Here are just a few:

Timesheet Buyer’s Guide

HMS maintains a portal of resources and information on how to evaluate timesheets. It includes white papers, calculators, factsheets and more. There is no cost or obligation to access the Timesheet Buyer’s Guide which can be found at: TimeControl.com/why-timecontrol/buyers-guide

Free TimeControl Evaluation

For those who wish to evaluate TimeControl further, HMS provides free access to TimeControl for a renewable 2 week period. Prospective users can get access to a system complete with pre-poulated data so they can try any of the functionality they wish.  The evaluation system can be accessed at: freetrial.timecontrol.com.

TimeControl Evaluation Guide

When users log into the free TimeControl trial, they are given a link to a simple-to-follow evaluation guide that takes the user through some of the basic functionality of the system. That guide has recently been upgraded and can be accessed directly at: TimeControl.com/pdf/whitepapers/tc_evalguide.pdf

Timesheet Evaluation Grid

When creating a list of requirements for a new timesheet system, it is best to start off with the business challenges that are generating the interest in the new system. However, many organizations prefer to look at a list of key functionality. We’ve created such a list to ask as a starting point for your own requirements. We’ve already checked off what TimeControl can do so and there are additional columns to use for evaluating other systems under consideration. The spreadsheet can be downloaded from:  TimeControl.com/docs/timesheet_eval_checklist.xlsx

TimeControl Benefits Calculator

One of the biggest challenges often faced by evaluators is trying to justify the benefits that could be realized by implementing a timesheet system. We’ve put together a calculator you can use for your own evaluation that shows how quickly you could realize a return on investment from deploying a timesheet like TimeControl. The calculator is available from: TimeControl.com/docs/tc_roi_calculator.xlsx.

For more information, see the Timesheet Buyer’s Guide on the TimeControl website.

timecontrol

That was an awesome 2017… now bring on 2018!

Our TimeControl team turned in a year of remarkable accomplishments in 2017.  Here are just a few of the highlights…

In our development department, we released 2 major releases of TimeControl in versions 7.1 and 7.2. Interim versions 7.1.1 and 7.2.1 updated several features as well. The features released this year have propelled TimeControl further forward than in any period since its original release in 1994!

Among other spectacular features, were the free TimeControl Mobile App and the TimeControl API as well as:

  • Line Item Approval
  • No more ActiveX’s in TCi
  • Primavera Web Services link
  • BrightWork link
  • Link to Project Online
  • SharePoint bidirectional link
  • Grouped timesheets
  • Scheduled Autofill
  • Language support for TC Mobile

For more information on what’s new with TimeControl, visit TimeControl.com/features/latest.

TC Mobile App

The release of the free TimeControl Mobile App on the Apple App store for iOS devices and Google Play for Android devices marked a milestone for TimeControl. TimeControl introduced one of the first mobile interfaces many years ago but the TimeControl Mobile App has to support the incredible flexibility of TimeControl along with its powerful centralized auditability. We’re very proud of the App we released. It is on an independent yet coordinated development stream so new updates of the App are released separately and are designed to always be backward compatible so the TimeControl Server and App are not required to be updated simultaneously.

TimeControl API

TimeControl has long been acknowledged as the most flexible and integrateable timesheet in the industry thanks to the many ways external applications such as HR, Payroll, ERP, Finance and Project Management systems can be linked to it. The release of the TimeControl API gave a quantum boost to an already robust suite of integration options. Now programmers can pull from or push data to TimeControl to create an even more intimately integrated system.

Case Studies and Testimonial letters

Happy TimeControl clients continue to be our strength in the industry.

Over the last year we’ve collaborated with our clients on 3 case studies and have received more testimonial letters.

You can read case studies published in 2017 from:

and testimonials published in 2017 from:

and next week a brand new one received late in the year from Otonabee.

We appreciate each and every one of our clients and are delighted when they share their TimeControl experience with others.

Coming in 2018… 

There is so much more from last year but let’s look into our crystal ball ahead to the year to come. Looking forward to 2018 promises to be even more exciting.

A major release of TC during the year will be 7.3 with a slew of new and improved features. We expect that to be released by mid-year and we’re already working on a major new version of TimeControl which we’ll be able to talk about more near the end of 2018.

Our development staff have also started research on something completely new for the project management community that we think will be of great interest to many of our TimeControl users. That we will be talking about by summer time.

We are working on new material and elements of the TimeControl website. Already there are new factsheets, slide shows web sections and online training. We’ve got lots more of that to come. Online training will be greatly expanded this year to include more extensive courses on things like report writing and customizing TimeControl. We’ve also got more collateral coming on using the new TimeControl API so stay tuned!

We’ll keep you up to date on developments this year in our quarterly newsletter by email and the blog at blog.timecontrol.com along with our Twitter feed @HMS_TimeControl.

 

7.1, timecontrol

TimeControl 7.1.1 now available

We’re not usually so excited about what we call a “point-release” but this new version of TimeControl is something to cheer about.  TimeControl version 7.1.1 builds on the recent release of TimeControl 7.1 with three new exciting features.

TimeControl integration with Project Online

TimeControl can now link with Project Online.  Project Online is Microsoft’s in-the-cloud subscription service of Project Server and integrating with it requires using a whole new toolset from Microsoft.  The TimeControl link with Project Online is now available in version 7.1.1 of TimeControl.
To find out more, visit: TimeControl.com/use-cases/ms-project-online.

TimeControl integration with BrightWork

The BrightWork collaborative project and portfolio management system has been around almost as long as TimeControl and now both HMS and BrightWork have worked together to integrate these two systems into one powerful combination of functionality.  In TimeControl 7.1.1 TimeControl includes a complete integration link with BrightWork and BrightWork Online.
To find out more, visit: TimeControl.com/use-cases/brightwork.

TimeControl integration with SharePoint

TimeControl has had a link from SharePoint for some time but in version 7.1.1 this has been rewritten entirely into a full integration.  Now, TimeControl and SharePoint can integrate bi-directionally as well as in all the ways it could in the past.  You can even present TimeControl right inside SharePiont if you wish.
To find out more, visit: TimeControl.com/use-cases/sharepoint.

If you have a current support contract, you can download TimeControl 7.1.1 right now from the TimeControl Update site at: TimeControl.com/support/updates.  TimeControl Online users will be upgraded automatically in the coming weeks.

 

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Meeting your HR and Payroll requirements with TimeControl

Human ResourcesWe tend to talk so much about the project management aspects of TimeControl that we often overlook the much more common part of a business that is interested in timesheets and that’s Human Resources.

Unlike the timesheets that are included with many project management systems, TimeControl is designed to serve both Project Management and Human Resources at the same time.  Aside from project management needs, there are several aspects of the organization that will have a great interest in the timesheet data.  Some of those departments are combined and usually all of them will fall within the Finance group.

Human Resources

This department focuses on employee attendance and participation in HR related tasks such as training.  HR will usually manage statutory holidays, vacation approvals, sick leave and other benefits.  Their interest in timesheet data is usually the exceptions.  When did someone take the day off and was that associated to some bank of benefits to which the employee was entitled?  HR may also manage time employees are expected to take for training, certifications, safety briefings and other compliance time.  Data collected from the timesheet can be key for tracking this type of effort.

Payroll

Well, of course everyone wants to get paid and for some organizations this means collecting timesheets with each hour identified.  Payroll may have to collect timesheet data even if everyone is on a salary.  There are many exceptions for which Payroll must be able to identify whether someone worked overtime, was absent or worked in conditions that would affect their pay (such as while travelling).

Other Finance

There are other Finance areas outside of the interests of which may also have an interest in timesheet data for such things as including Billing, labor costs for R&D tax claims, and labor cost of assets that will appear on the balance sheet for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and more.

What do these departments need?

One thing that is common to all the areas above is the level of data quality and control that they required.  Approvals for payroll will almost certainly be different and more stringent than the approvals for project management.  We often explain that if the budget vs. actual for project management is off by a hundred dollars, no one will get excited.  But, if someone’s paycheck is off by one single cent, they will feel compelled to complain.  The level of attention to the data is different from the HR perspective.

The TimeControl.com site has an area with numerous resources of interest to HR and Payroll departments.  These pages include webcasts, white papers slide shows and more.  Here are a few links that may be of interest:

If you need more help with determining how TimeControl can fulfill your HR and Payroll requirements, you can also contact HMS and we’ll set up a call with one of our implementation specalists.  Just go to TimeControl.com/contact and let us know you want to talk about your HR/Payroll needs.

 

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Best Practices

Whether you are new to TimeControl or have used it for years, getting the fiscal year underway is a good time to review your timesheet practices to look for improvements.  bestpractices_300x168.jpgThe TimeControl website has numerous resources for this.

Organizational Best TimeControl Practices

When we think of best practices for timesheet use from the administrator or organization perspective, we think of processes, how to improve efficiency of the organization overall.  The TimeControl website includes a section in the Best Practices area called Timesheet Best Practices for Organizations. At: http://www.timecontrol.com/resources/best-practices/organizations

Personal Best TimeControl Practices

Timesheets are an application which may be used by every employee in the organization.  If we can save each person only a few minutes each week, the combined savings can be enormous.  The TimeControl website has a section called Timesheet Best Practices for Individuals at www.timecontrol.com/resources/best-practices/individuals which includes presentations and materials which show how each user can shave time off their timesheet entry effort.

Additional Use Case Scenarios

It is very common for us at HMS to receive calls asking how to use TimeControl for a particular use-case scenario.  This is often because TimeControl was originally implemented to solve a particular set of business challenges and now that it is a stable part of the organization’s culture, we don’t pause to think of what else it might be able to accomplish for us.  Take a look at the TimeControl Use Case Scenarios at www.timecontrol.com/use-cases to see the most common business challenges TimeControl solves and see if any of these can be applied in your own organizations.

Missing Features

You might not keep track of all the functionality that TimeControl offers.  Once you have deployed the functionality you originally designed into your timesheet process, it is quite common to ignore any new functionality which may have been added in the meantime.  So, take a moment and peek at the TimeControl Features overview at www.timecontrol.com/features which shows the most popular aspects of the TimeControl system.

FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions

We use the TimeControl blog itself to archive answers to the most frequently asked technical questions.  You can go to the search function of the blog and enter “FAQ” or just click on this link at:  blog.timecontrol.com/?s=FAQ.

For more about TimeControl Best Practices, go to: www.timecontrol.com/resources/best-practices.