We focus a lot around here on how auditable TimeControl data is.  It’s woven into the fabric of our operations.  TimeControl started, back in its infancy in the 1980s as a system which would be used for both Payroll and Project Management.

The Project Management people were happy with cost controls which were within a few dollars or a few thousand dollars of expectations.  At the end of the year, a project report covering tens of millions of dollars of project costs that could say it was accurate within five or ten thousand dollars was completely acceptable.

That wasn’t how the Payroll people saw things.  A single penny, they explained, just one penny out of place would be enough to stop Payroll.  Employees would arrive to the Payroll department saying “I know it shouldn’t bother me, but my pay was short one cent last week and I’d like it corrected.”

So TimeControl has had that standard of data tracking since before we even started calling it TimeControl.  It’s why the product is so often deployed for government compliance reuirements such as R&D tax credits or DCAA compjliance.

We’re often asked about what we mean when we say “Accountability” so there’s a White Paper among our large library of resources to explain it feature by feature complete with TimeControl screen shots of different functions.  We’ve just updated it in the last few weeks so it’s worth a new download even if you’re read it before.

Read more in the TimeControl Auditability white paper on the TimeControl website.

The ability to save Start and Stop times for each day of a timesheet has been a part of TimeControl for many years. Early versions of a single start and stop time per day gave way quickly to a more detailed multi-line start and stop time for each day. While not every client uses this feature, it was one of the first things we were asked to create in a timesheet system long before TimeControl became a commercial product.
While this functionality is well-established, one of the things that has been requested for a long time is the ability to have a schedule to compare the start/stop times to. That is now a part of TimeControl as of version 8.6.1.
The Shift function allows an administrator or supervisor to create numerous schedules to use as a default list of start/stop times. Then in the Employee Table, each employee can be assigned to one of the Shift default lists.
The Shift Schedules and the Start/Stop entries have been enhanced to include a description of each detailed line, so a full day might look like 8:00 – 12:00: Work, then 12:00 – 13:00: Lunch, then 13:00 – 17:00 Work. Or more detailed with mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks. The schedule can be as detailed or as summary as is appropriate for each environment.
There can be as many schedules as you wish. There can be different schedules for people in different locations or different departments. There can be daytime and nighttime schedules. You decide.
With the default schedule now a part of the product, this opens the possibility of comparing the actual start/stops with the expected start/stops and reporting on discrepancies. This is not a requirement, but some organizations must report in this manner for safety or compliance purposes.
With default starts/stops in place, entering actuals becomes that much easier. End-users can simply accept the defaults or go just to the lines where there is a discrepancy and make the changes needed.
Start/Stop functionality appears in both TimeControl and TimeControl Industrial (whether on-premise or on-line). Entering Start/Stop times is also now available in the free TimeControl Mobile App making all of these features even more accessible to users.

To use the function, Administrators will need to ensure that the menu option is activated in User Profiles to show and edit the Shift Table.  To assign a shift or default to an employee or crew, the Administrator will  need to go to the Field control in User Profiles then in the Employee and Crew tables ensure that the field “Shift” is not made invisible.

We released the first mobile interface for TimeControl 15 years ago.  Mobile access to enterprise systems was quite new at the time and we elected then to work through existing browsers on mobile devices to access TimeControl’s key functionality.  In 2017, we released the free TimeControl Mobile App which has constantly evolved over the last 9 years.  The app is designed to work on both Android and iOS devices and it’s interface adapts to the screen resolution available to take advantage of extra space on tablets or different sized device screens.

With the release of TimeControl 8.6.1, the free TimeControl Mobile App has gained several new features to add to the impressive list so far.  You’ve always been able to do your timesheet in the App but you can also do timesheet approvals, add expenses, add images or other files from your phone to your timesheet or expense lines, you can do adjustments in a debit/credit, work offline, and view reports especially designed for the mobile app along with support for single sign on.

But that’s a lot.  There’s more?

There is.

With version 8.61, the free TimeControl Mobile app embraces TimeControl’s Alternate Users (supervisor and administrators are going to love that.  Also, you can now do your start/stop entries in the app while doing your timesheet.  Also, if you’re a TimeControl Industrial user, you can access the new Crew Start/Stop screen (though you might want to use a tablet for all that data).  The start/stop functionality also support the new Shift functionality to populate the start/stop screen with the expected times of starting, stopping, breaks etc.  This should help with reducing entry time of start/stops.

The new app version also support Timesheet Sign-off, a new feature of TimeControl that lets employees sign off on their actual hours work and breaks taken.  This new approval mechanism works on both unposted and posted timesheets and is managed in parallel to the existing Matrix approval mechanism. For clients who need new timesheet entries and adjusted entries approved by the employee who actually did the work such as in a California Work Rules environment, this will be a key feature.

Did we mention the app is free?

That’s right.  It’s free.  All you need is to download the free TimeControl Mobile App from the Apple store for Apple/iOS devices or Google Play for Android devices.  There is no charge for the app. Once downloaded you can connect to your on-premise version of TimeControl or TimeControl Industrial or the SaaS versions in the cloud of TimeControl Online or TimeControl Industrial Online.  Administrators must first allow for mobile users to access TimeControl so ask your Administrator before trying to connect.

For more information on the free TimeControl Mobile app, go to mobile.timecontrol.com.

A few months ago, we were proud to announce a new Strategic Alliance Partnership with Birdview PSA.  This world-class project management system serves integrated project management functionality to clients worldwide.

Now, we are delighted to announce that in the recently released TimeControl version 8.6.1 we have included a bi-directional link to Birdview.  The TimeControl development team has worked with the Birdview technical team to achieve this new TimeControl integration.  This is now a part of both TimeControl on-premise and TimeControl Online

The Link was created using TimeControl’s Link technology and Birdview’s full function API.  With help from the Birdview team, the TimeControl developers were able to add Birdview as one of our standard out-of-the-box integrations making it available for on-demand or automatically scheduled integration.

The new Link moves Project, Task and Assignment information from Birdview from one or multiple Project Spaces.  The Link can be configured to check Birdview regularly and automatically add new projects to TimeControl when they appear.in Birdview.

Once in TimeControl, timesheet data is entered as always and the Link can return to Birdview both hours and estimate to complete (ETC).  The hours are posted in Birdview through the Time logs history function so that Birdview can use the hours with their own time and billing rates.

The combination of these two products produces a powerful system where the flexibility of TimeControl’s multi-purpose collection and analysis of auditable actuals can be used for Finance, government compliance, job-costing and other needs and the Birdview project management system can be updated without needing time entry in more than one place.

You can find out more about the new Birdview Link and see it in action on the TimeControl site at: Timecontrol.com/use-cases/birdview.

You can find out more about the link on the Birdview site on their Integrations page at: birdviewpsa.com/integrations/timecontrol/.

If you’d like more information how the TimeControl/Birdview combination would work for you, please contact HMS at: Timecontrol.com/contact.