Tag Archives: timecontrol timesheet

timecontrol

TimeControl Technical Support FAQs

The TimeControl Technical team is often quoted by clients as a key reason for their satisfaction with the TimeControl timesheet system.  One of the ways we deliver on that is by organizing the HMS team so that the same personnel who do development, consulting, and implementation also answer technical support requests.  This makes the quality of responses for technical questions very high.  We thought it would be useful to share some frequently asked questions and answers about the support service.

Question: Who is entitled to TimeControl Technical Support?
Answer: Any client who is a subscriber of TimeControl Online and any client who uses TimeControl on-premise who is either in their first year after purchase or who has paid an annual technical support contract fee.

Question: What is included in TimeControl Technical Support?
Answer: In short, HMS is committed to fix TimeControl if it is not working the way we documented it to work.  But, when calls come in for assistance, they virtually always sound like, “TimeControl isn’t working.  Please fix it.”  Our technical staff triage all incoming calls to sort out urgent issues (for example TimeControl not able to start) from less urgent (for example, I’m not happy with the way a report looks).  Then they start to diagnose the issue.  Often just figuring out if TimeControl is, in fact, broken, they determine the cause of the issue and have resolved it.  Most TimeControl issues are usually data or configuration related a small minority result in a change or fix to TimeControl.

Question: Ok, so what is not included in TimeControl Technical Support?
Answer: Anything that isn’t about fixing TimeControl.  So, with TimeControl on-premise, installations, upgrades, server configuration or upgrades, database configuration or upgrades would not be included. For TimeControl on-premise or TimeControl Online, Training or configuration of TimeControl including making filters, validation rules, reports or anything else that is client-facing are not included.  All of these are services that HMS can provide for a fee.

Question: How quickly are problems responded to?
Answer: HMS is committed to respond to an issue within 4 business hours of receiving it.  That may not mean that the fix or correction is available in 4 hours.  We focus first on any issues that have TimeControl not working at all and then on issues that are less severe.  We are committed however, to initiate the correction process within that 4 hours timeframe.  If you put in a support request first thing in the morning on a workday and haven’t heard back by 1pm that day, you should follow up.

Question: When is TimeControl Technical Support available?
Answer: Technical Support staff are available from Monday to Friday (Excepting Canadian/Quebec holidays) from 9am to 5pm Eastern time (GMT-5) but some of the staff are often working earlier than 9 and working later than 5 so there is never a bad time to send in a request.  If the HMS offices are closed for a holiday, we post that on our Twitter account and that feed is posted to the front page of the TimeControl.com account.

Question: What is the most effective way of contacting TimeControl Technical Support?
Answer: By far the best method is to either fill in a support request at: TimeControl.com/contact/tech-support or send an email to support@hms.ca.  Both of these methods trigger internal triage mechanisms for technical support and have the issue allocated to the most appropriate person to respond.  You can also call the office directly at +1 514-695-8122 but with the staff mostly working remotely, this is the least effective method.

Question: I have the email/phone# of one of the staff who I really liked, can’t I just contact them?
Answer: We would prefer that you do not unless you are already working directly with someone on a particular issue and they have asked you to be in contact with them.  Technical Support staff also rotate into development, design, implementation and consulting roles so sending a message to someone you had a good rapport with is the most likely cause of a delay in response.

Question: Where can I find out more:
Answer: Send us your question at:
https://www.timecontrol.com/contact/tech-support.

timecontrol

US Properties increases efficiency with TimeControl

We are delighted to have received a letter from US Properties about their use of TimeControl. US Properties is the leading commercial real estate brokerage and property management firm in Eastern Connecticut.

Erik Mills, US Properties’ Vice President of Operations penned a letter to us recently explaining how the deployment of TimeControl has allowed the company to improve efficiency to be able to grow without increasing its staff.

“We strongly recommend the system for its ease of use and customization but more importantly the invaluable tech employees who are readily available to assist,” said Mills.

Here at HMS, these letters are a huge motivator for our group so we thank Erik and the whole US Properties team for their support and their letter.

You can read the letter in its entirety at:
TimeControl.com/why-timecontrol/testimonials/usproperties.

timecontrol

In TimeControl 8 we extended integration of Project Server to Project Server 2019

While some vendors have abandoned the on-premise market, we have not. You may have noticed that TimeControl 8 included a brand new integration, this time for Microsoft Project Server 2019 on premise.

We have maintained a link between TimeControl and Microsoft Project since 1995 and with every version of Project Server since its first launch in 2002. The integration of TimeControl with Project Server 2019 as well as Microsoft’s SaaS version; Project Online shows our commitment to serve both in-the-cloud and on-premise clients.

Not all our clients are willing or ready to move their corporate systems into the cloud.  We know that’s true for TimeControl and it is also certainly true for Microsoft Project.

All versions of TimeControl now include the integration functionality for on-premise implementations of Project Server 2019 including TimeControl on-premise, TimeControl Industrial and TimeControl Online, our in-the-cloud Timesheet as a Service.

In creating the link between Project Server 2019 on-premise and TimeControl 8, we found that Microsoft had leveraged new technologies for creating such links.  Fortunately for HMS, we were already up to date on these technologies as they were used in the link to Project Online.

This link adds to a long list of integrations already included with every version of TimeControl including Microsoft Project desktop, Project Online, SharePoint, BrightWork, Oracle-Primavera Professional, Primavera EPPM, ARES PRISM, Open Plan, Cobra, Hard Dollar and VersionOne. TimeControl can support integration with multiple project management tools or even multiple versions of the same project management tool simultaneously.

To find out more about the link to Project Server, visit TimeControl.com/use-cases/ms-project-server

7.4.1, timecontrol

TimeControl 7.4.1 is now available!

We’re delighted to tell you that TimeControl 7.4.1 is now available for download.  This version updates TimeControl, TimeControl Industrial, TimeControl Online and the free TimeControl Mobile App.  TimeControl and TimeControl Industrial clients with a current support and maintenance agreement can download the new version immediately at TimeControl.com/support/updates.  HMS is preparing for the upgrade of TimeControl Online which will happen automatically in the next 2-3 weeks.  TimeControl Online customers will be notified a week in advance of the update.

There are many new features to be excited about.  Here are some of the highlights:

Charge Hierarchy

TimeControl now supports multiple methods of displaying a hierarchy of charge codes.  TimeControl has long been recognized for supporting hierarchical charge structures but the new functionality takes this to a new level.  Field hierarchy permits hierarchy to be built from multiple user defined fields in the Charge Table and you can create multiple breakdowns then switch them on the fly when you’re searching for charge codes in the timesheet!

Numerous new API methods

We have made extensive additions to the TimeControl API making it even easier to integrate TimeControl as part of an overall corporate environment.

Mobile Debit/Credit Adjustments

The TimeControl Mobile App now allows Debit/Credit update Adjustments.  This allows supervisors and administrators to open a Posted timesheet and apply adjustments to that timesheet and release those adjustments to Posting.

Mobile Posted Expenses and Attachments

The TimeControl Mobile App now includes the ability to view the expenses that are attached to a posted timesheet in the past as well as any attachments that might have been associated to the timesheet or expenses.

Assignments

We have made major changes to the Assignments Table.  Assignments can now be made as part of a person’s full time availability so one person could be put on two tasks simultaneously at 50% of their availability each.  You can also now have the assignment start and finish be dates other than the charge start and stop so assignments that were meant to occur only during part of the charge can be defined that way.

Administrator configuration enhancements

We have taken numerous elements of the TimeControl configuration and moved them from the TimeControl.INI file into the Administrator System Preferences and User Profiles functions.  This will make a huge difference for TimeControl Online environments where some of these features had to be managed at the server level.

New User Profile Features

There are numerous new settings in User Profiles that allows TimeControl’s configuration to be tailored to the person or group with that User Profile setting.  These changes include all-new Super-User reject and Modify rights .  You can also change how the Timesheet List appears, allowing only a certain number of weeks in the past or future to display.  A new Highlight feature helps when adding a timesheet by highlighting the current week or the last missing week for a new timesheet.

Control Period Create Times

When creating timesheets, TimeControl allows the number of periods in the past and the future to be constrained to avoid accidentally creating a timesheet in the wrong period or in a period when Finance is not expecting it.

Copy Hours

We’ve made it possible to control who is allowed to copy hours when creating a new timesheet using the Copy Timesheet function and activated the ability to copy hours.

And…

There’s so much more.  We’ve done a lot of work on high volume capacity, improved performance, added more revision auditing, and improved usability across the application.

Find out more at TimeControl.com/features/latest

timecontrol

We’re so pleased to have received this letter from RN Engineering

A company is only as good as its clients and at HMS, this is no exception.  We received a letter a few weeks ago which we’re delighted to have now put on our website in the Testimonials area.

The letter is from Mark Simpson a Project Manager at RN Engineering and talks about how they have been able to blend 3 separate business processes into one much more effective process using TimeControl.  You can read the letter in its entirety at RN Engineering Letter.

To Mark and his entire team at RN Engineer, we say a big Thank you!  We appreciate our partnership with the RN Engineering team and we look forward to many more years of working together.

Excel, Excel timesheets, timecontrol

The relationship between TimeControl and Excel

We often get questions here at HMS about how TimeControl and Excel.  Answering appropriately requires knowing why people are asking.  timecontrolexcel.jpgFor those who are interested in knowing if they should migrate from an Excel timesheet to TimeControl, there are numerous resources on the TimeControl website identifying the benefits of going to a centralized data-driven timesheet model.  But, there are so many other ways that the two systems are tied, we’ve created a special solutions portal to help

Let’s take a look at some of the different ways you might be thinking that TimeControl and Excel are related:

Migrate from an Excel timesheet to TimeControl

Many organizations create their first timesheet using Excel. It’s a natural fit. The Excel format is infinitely flexible and perfect for designing a grid that has to use calculations to total up the week’s time and even costs.  But, as an organization grows, the need for the functionality of a full timesheet system grows also. Maintenance and the management of an Excel timesheet when an organization is a handful of employees is relatively simple. When the number of people grows, that maintenance becomes more complex, more costly and a bigger challenge.  That’s where TimeControl’s centralized data structure becomes much more attractive.

Importing and Exporting data between TimeControl and Excel

TimeControl includes complete support for importing and exporting data in an Excel format.  If you maintain some data now in Excel, then moving that into TimeControl is a matter of moments.  If you use Excel for analysis of data, then sending TimeControl’s source data to Excel is very simple.  You can even schedule exports to Excel or imports from Excel to happen automatically on a schedule you determine.

Integrating Excel Services dashboards into TimeControl

Some people like using Excel’s server-based charting capabilities to create analysis of timesheet or project management data.  TimeControl supports displaying Excel views in the dashboard.  Need an Excel pivot report?  No problem. Need an Excel traffic light dashboard?  No problem.

Displaying Reports in Excel

Every TimeControl report including those created in our TimeControl Report Designer or with the TimeControl Drill Down Analyzer can be saved as Excel files so you can do more extensive analysis and reporting in the tools you are familiar with.

You can find out more about how TimeControl and Excel can work together to help your organization become more efficient on our TimeControl/Excel Use-Case portal at: www.timecontrol.com/use-cases/excel-to-timecontrol.  On the portal you’ll find webcasts, factsheets and slide presentations explaining some of your options and potential benefits.

 

PMI, project management, timecontrol

See us at PMI Westchester April 2nd!

pmiwestchester_300x34.pngWe’ll be on the road next week at the PMI Westchester’s Professional Development Day which takes place April 2nd at the Holiday Inn in Mt. Kisco, NY.

HMS is this year’s Platinum sponsor so attendees will get a chance to talk to HMS personnel about their timesheet needs and see the latest of TimeControl, TimeControlOnline and TimeControl Industrial.

For more information on the conference, see pmiwestchester.org and if you’d like to make an appointment to speak to HMS personnel while you’re at the conference, contact info@hms.ca.