All posts by chris.vandersluis

timecontrol

TimeControl integration extends with new API

TimeControl has long been known throughout the industry as the timesheet that is most flexible to integrate with other internal corporate systems whether they are commercial off the shelf programs or custom internal software.

Clients over the years have enjoyed the pre-defined bi-directional integrations with project management tools like Microsoft Project, and Primavera and most recently, BrightWork.  The Links section of TimeControl has allowed the creation or consumption of transaction files in native Excel, XML or plain text formats and with the scheduling option, these movements of data in and out of TimeControl could be automated to run unattended at any time.

Now the integration capabilities of TimeControl have taken a giant leap forward.  Starting with version 7.2, TimeControl has added a full API (Application Programming Interface) so programmers can consume TimeControl data or populate TimeControl with data from other systems.

The TimeControl API uses the ReST (Representational State Transfer) architecture which is well known to many programmers.  It is highly secure and TimeControl Administrators can turn the API on or off and even control access through User Profiles.

The TimeControl API is now included as a part of TimeControl version 7.2 and higher at no additional cost. Programmers can take advantage of code-examples from within TimeControl or from the TimeControl development staff.   

For more information on TimeControl 7.2, visit TimeControl.com/features/latest.

 

TimeControl Mobile, TimeControl Mobile App

Let us introduce the free TimeControl Mobile App!

We’re so excited about the new TimeControl Mobile App, that it’s hard to talk about almost anything else around HMS these days.  The new TimeControl Mobile App brings TimeControl right to the palm of your hand on your SmartPhone or Tablet.

The TimeControl Mobile App connects your device directly to your TimeControl or TimeControl Online system. All your timesheet configuration, profile security, data selections and customizations are all already there so what appears on your screen matches what you would see on a full browser when connecting to TimeControl.

You log in with the same credentials you use for TimeControl and you can now create a new timesheet, update one in progress, or complete your week and release your timesheet. If you are a supervisor, you can do your approvals right from your phone or tablet!

TimeControl supports both Android and Apple (iOS) phones. The screen functionality is highly responsive and will adjust to the resolution available to it in both portrait and landscape modes.

Timesheet entry
The TimeControl Mobile App includes a number of different views to see or update your timesheet. You can view current and past timesheets, update an existing timesheet or create a draft timesheet and add projects and charges from the selections that are available to you.  A simple tap where you see the hours and you can update hours and minutes for that line in an instant.  The TimeControl Mobile App supports the same timesheet durations as TimeControl so whether you are working in weekly, bi-weekly, bi-monthly, monthly or custom periods, the date range at the top of the screen lets you scroll to the relevant day and date and update the information you need.

Approvals
Supervisors can use the TimeControl Mobile App to review, approve, or reject a timesheet. Automated Validation Rules work just as they do in the full-sized web version. If a user tries to release a timesheet that doesn’t follow one of the timesheet business rules defined in TimeControl, then the user is immediately prompted with the error and asked to correct it.

What do you mean it’s free?
We mean there is no additional cost.  None.  When you download the app from Google Play or the Apple App store, you don’t pay a thing.  All you need to do is connect to your existing TimeControl system.

The TimeControl Mobile App functions with all versions of TimeControl 7.2 and higher.

You can find out more about the TimeControl Mobile App at: Mobile.TimeControl.com.

You can download the TimeControl Mobile App from Google Play or the Apple App store.

timecontrol

TimeControl 7.2 is now available and it includes the new TimeControl Mobile App!

We’re very excited to announce the release of TimeControl version 7.2. This update to TimeControl includes numerous new and enhanced features and also showcases the release of the TimeControl Mobile App!

There are some incredible new features in this version and some major enhancements too!

The TimeControl Mobile App!
It has been a while in the making but the TimeControl Mobile App is now available.  It is a free App designed to work on both Android and iOS (Apple) devices.  The App lets users log into their TimeControl account and create a timesheet, update an existing timesheet, complete and release a timesheet and, if a supervisor, approve or reject timesheets.  The App is highly intuitive with a responsive design interface.  If used on an Android device, it adopts the styles and characteristics of that device.  If on an Apple device, it appears as any other Apple-based App.  The screen adjusts to the resolution available to it.

The TimeControl Mobile App is free and available on Google Play and the Apple App Store.  The TimeControl Mobile App works with TimeControl 7.2 and higher installations.

You can find out more about the TimeControl Mobile App at mobile.timecontrol.com.

TimeControl API
TimeControl now includes a complete Application Programming Interface to the already numerous methods of integrating TimeControl with other corporate systems. With scheduled links already available, many organizations can take advantage of transferring data to and from TimeControl through transaction files. This new REST-based API goes even further, letting organizations program the movement of data into and out of TimeControl by creating programming calls to the TimeControl API. The API is optionally installed as part of TimeControl and security is controlled in both System Preferences and User Profiles.

Timesheet Grouping
TimeControl now allows you to group your timesheet or for TimeControl Industrial users, the Crew Timesheet. For users with a large number of line items, grouping them can help with data entry. There are up to five levels of grouping and you can group by any field displayed on the timesheet.
New buttons to Expand All or Collapse in the Actions Menu at the top allow you to quickly display all lines in the grouped format or go back just to the summary lines.

There is so much more!
Additional new and enhanced features include: Scheduled Timesheet Creation, Scheduled Autofilled Timesheets, email notifications in Line Item Approvals, pretest Validation Rules, SAML 2.0 authentication support, new data views in the Drill Down Analyzer and more.

For more information about TimeControl version 7.2, visit TimeControl.com/features/latest.

This new version is available now for clients with a current support and maintenance agreement at no additional charge from the TimeControl upgrades site: TimeControl.com/support/updates. TimeControl Online users will be upgraded automatically in the coming weeks.

timecontrol

HMS is in The Twin Cities this week

Our HMS team is in Minneapolis/St-Paul this week for the Minnesota PMI’s Professional Development Days.  Our own president will be speaking at the symposium and we will have a booth with staff at the show so attendees can get their questions about TimeControl answered.  We’ll be showing the upcoming version 7.2 of TimeControl with the all-new TimeControl Mobile app.

If you are attending the symposium, please come by the TimeControl booth and say hello.  For more information on the Minnesota PMI’s Professional Development Days, visit: pmi-mn.org.

timecontrol

Irma’s impact

While Hurricane Irma has had and continues to have a terrible effect on those in the Carribean and SouthEastern United States, it has touched HMS as well.  We have personnel we work with who live in Florida who safely evacuated last Friday and are now back at their homes but this has affected some of our marketing activities.  We’re happy to say that our people were not injured or suffer any damage to their homes but the disruption of this storm has long reaching effects that are still being felt and will be felt for some time to come.

Here at HMS we’re getting back onto what we laughingly call our normal schedule and we have so much news to share.  You’ll find the HMS Newsletter out today and other announcements in the days to come that we are very excited about.

In the meantime, if you would like to contribute to IRMA relief, the Red Cross is a good place to start.

timecontrol

Integration with BrightWork is not just the technical link

Over the last few months we have been working closely with the team at BrightWork to present to our mutual clients a united front not only in terms of the technical link between TimeControl and BrightWork that we released early this summer but also in the marketing, sales and technical support areas.  BrightWork is a popular collaborative project management system based on SharePoint.
Driven by the CEOs of both firms, we have had numerous initiatives behind the scenes that will make using both products together even easier for prospective and existing clients.
BrightWork and TimeControl teams have extended their relationships to include training of the marketing, sales and support staffs.
You will now find information about TimeControl on the BrightWork websites and blogsites and information about BrightWork on our TimeControl websites and here on the blog.  Also we’ve worked on increasing the availability of collateral and other internal training information for both teams.
BrightWork will even be featuring one of the BrightWork/TimeControl joint clients in an upcoming webinar.

Interested in seeing how the two systems work with the bi-directional integration between them?  Take a peek at this video:

In the coming weeks there will be even more news to share about the BrightWork / TimeControl link as the TimeControl Mobile app is launched for both Apple and Android devices. BrightWork clients who are using TimeControl will now be able to see and update their BrightWork tasks right on their mobile device.

The TimeControl / BrightWork integration is included at no cost with all versions of TimeControl both on premise and in the Cloud.
If you’d like more information visit TimeControl.com/use-cases/brightwork.
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Case Study: Hamon Deltak uses TimeControl Industrial to improve efficiency

We are delighted to have worked with our client Hamon Deltak on a case study highlighting how they have deployed TimeControl in their Minneapolis-based offices.

Hamon Deltak is an engineering firm that focuses on the energy industry.  They do custom design, planning and manufacturing of power plant components with projects that can run anywhere from 8,000 to 20,000 hours of work.  So making sure that those hours are properly accounted for is a key component of their business.

We collaborated with several of Hamon Deltak’s staff to get this story written and we are very excited with the results.  You can read this story in its entirety at TimeControl.com/why-timecontrol/case-studies/hamondeltak.

To see a list of other case studies, visit: TimeControl.com/why-timecontrol/case-studies and to see some of our client testimonial letters, visit: TimeControl.com/why-timecontrol/testimonials

FAQ

FAQ: How do you deal with an employee who leaves in the middle of the week and their timesheet is only partially complete?

This is a common situation and it can occur for many reasons other than just someone leaving the organization. What happens when a timesheet is only partially completed and won’t be completed by the end-user?  TimeControl has several functions that come into play for this orphaned timesheet scenario depending on the situation.  Here are a few options:

First, the Administrator could assign a delegate to that person (such as their supervisor) and have the supervisor enter as the delegate and finish the timesheet.

Second, the Administrator could use their own Super-Admin privileges to advance the timesheet to a supervisor with editing rights.

Third, the Administrator could use the Change Ownership function to move the timesheet to anyone along the release path who has rights to edit the timesheet.

timecontrol

A timesheet, is a timesheet, is a timesheet… Isn’t it?

A timesheet is just a timesheet, isn’t it?

Not so much.

What we’ve found here at HMS since 1984 is that timesheet requirements seem to be all the same until you put different departments who need them into the same room. Suddenly, the requirements seem quite different.

In 1984 when we were working on the very first mandate as HMS Software, we had to create a timesheet that would encompass the requirements of payroll and project management at the same time. The design requirements were so different, we ended up almost doubling the effort we had estimated in doing the work originally.

We needed a Time and Attendance timesheet for payroll with numerous requirements from the Finance department.

We also needed a task-based project tracking timesheet with the ability to update the project management schedule.

And, that was complex enough. The project was delivered successfully but the seeds had been planted for what would ultimately become the commercial TimeControl 10 years later.

As we did design on the out-of-the box multi-function TimeControl we realized there were more types of timesheets than just those two.

How about Time and Billing? What about Job Costing?  How about timesheets for R&D tax credit compliance and so on.

We’ve created a short white paper identifying some of the timesheet types that we are most commonly asked about but this is not a theoretical exercise. If no one intervenes in what kind of timesheet to select, the most likely result is that multiple timesheets will be implemented.  Payroll and HR will want a Time and Attendance timesheet.  Finance may require a Time and Billing timesheet or a Job Costing timesheet or both.  There may be requirements from Sales or Contracts to comply with government regulation timesheets in order to successfully comply with a new order or contract.

In some organizations we arrive to find 2, 3, 4 or even more timesheets all deployed at the same time. In a worst case scenario, employees must fill in 2 or 3 timesheets every week to accommodate all the requirements.

The best solution for this dilemma, as we discovered over 3 decades ago, is to create a multi-function timesheet that has a single interface in the front end so it is easy for end users, yet has all the controls that each of these requirements demands in the back end so Administrators can fulfill the different needs from a single source.

You can read the Timesheet Types and TimeControl white paper at: TimeControl.com/pdf/whitepapers/tc_timesheet_types.pdf.  To see our complete list of white papers, visit TimeControl.com/resources/whitepapers.

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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.