All posts by chris.vandersluis

timecontrol

MCAP’s IT department is using TimeControl Online for cost tracking

As anyone who uses TimeControl knows, we’re highly committed to our client’s satisfaction so you can probably imagine how excited we get here in the office when one of our clients shares mcap_150x150how  TimeControl is making a difference in their organization.  We’ve just published a case study done by our clients MCAP who deployed TimeControl Online in 2011.  MCAP is a large independent financing company based in Canada. MCAP was considering upgrading a large internal project and portfolio system but instead made a strategic decision to implement TimeControl due to its flexibility.

Previous systems seemed inappropriately sized for MCAP’s needs but TimeControl was able to focus attention on the aspect of project controls that MCAP needed most.  With multiple projects, multiple locations, multiple project managers, a flexible time tracking tool that could adapt as MCAP evolved was a must.

MCAP elected to subscribed to the TimeControlOnline service in the cloud rather than install TimeControl internally which allowed MCAP’s IT department to avoid making their own chargeback timesheet another internal system they’d need to manage.

You can read the story that came from the interview of Barbara McDonald, MCAP’s Senior Director of IT in the MCAP case study at: www.timecontrol.com/why-timecontrol/case-studies/mcap.

To see other case studies on how organizations are becoming more effective by implementing TimeControl, go to www.timecontrol.com/why-timecontrol/case-studies.

timecontrol

See HMS in Rochester on May 14

You can meet our TimeControl team at the PMI Rochester Professional Development Day in Rochester, NY on Thursday, May 14. We will have personnel on hand to show off Rochester PMI PDDthe latest version of TimeControl and TimeControl Industrial and to answer any questions. If you are in the Rochester area and want to see us in person, please let us know at www.timecontrol.com/contact.

See PMI Rochester for more details.

 

timecontrol

HMS and Microsoft renew their technical alliance

We’re delighted to announce that HMS and Microsoft have renewed their technical alliance .  HMS has been a Microsoft certified partner for 12 years now but our relationship is much longer.  We’re very proud to enjoy our 20th anniversary as a Microsoft solutions partner.

HMS became an inaugural member of the Microsoft Project Solution Partner program in 1995.    The link between the first version of TimeControl and Microsoft Project prompted the Microsoft Project team and HMS to work together then and ever since.”

TimeControl has had an integration with every version of Microsoft Project since 1995 and with Microsoft Project Server since it was first launched in 2002.  In 2006 Microsoft named HMS a “First to Market” partner for our work integrating TimeControl with Project Server.

This year we have renewed our Microsoft Partner certifications in both the Application Development and Project and Portfolio Management.  To qualify for these programs, HMS has had to demonstrate success integrating TimeControl with Microsoft Project and Project Server with client testimonials and to have multiple HMS personnel pass Microsoft Project and Project Server testing.  In addition, HMS had TimeControl successfully pass external 3rd party testing which is part of the Microsoft Partner Network program.

Microsoft technology is used to deliver both TimeControl and HMS Software’s in-the-cloud TimeControl Online service functionality but what technologies are used can vary from client to client. Windows Server is the platform for the server and some clients will combine that with Microsoft Project or Project Server, SharePoint or SQL Server.

We’re highly committed to the Microsoft relationship because it enables us to provide the best possible solutions to our clients.

We’ve create a portal to help you identify which Microsoft technology you can take advantage of when using TimeControl.  The Portal includes links to many different HMS and Microsoft resources including white papers, webcasts, PowerPoint presentations and more.  The portal can be found at: www.timecontrol.com/use-cases/microsoft-portal.

To try TimeControl for free on the HMS Software hosted trial site go to: freetrial.timecontrol.com or talk to HMS about your timesheet needs at www.timecontrol.com/contact or info@hms.ca.

timecontrol

Testimonial letter from Sandoz

sandoz_250x66We appreciate our clients every day so you can imagine how excited we get when a letter thanking us for our work arrives from a client.  Sandoz, a Novartis company is a world leading pharmaceutical firm.  Six years ago, one of Sandoz’s divisions in Canada deployed TimeControl to help with R&D tax credit tracking.  A great letter we recently received from Marianne Raiche of Sandoz tells the story.  You can read it for yourself at: www.timecontrol.com/why-timecontrol/testimonials/sandoz.  A list of other testimonials is available on the new testimonial and case study area of the TimeControl website at: www.timecontrol.com/why-timecontrol/testimonials.

timecontrol

New White paper: choosing the ideal timesheet length

ChooseTimesheetLength_150X194With the advent of TimeControl version 6.9, Administrators can now configure TimeControl to have timesheets other than a 7 day week.  Of course exports from TimeControl could already be of different intervals.  It has been common for years to have a weekly integration with the project management system but a bi-weekly link to payroll. Timesheets could now be 14 days long (bi-weekly) or bi-monthly or monthly or quarterly or custom length.  But with all that flexibility comes some decision making that has to be done.  How long should the timesheet ideally be?  We discuss the decision and give some guidance on how to select wisely for your own organization in the white paper “Choosing the Ideal Timesheet Length”.  It’s on the TimeControl website at: www.timecontrol.com/pdf/whitepapers/tc6_choosingtimesheetlength.pdf.  For a complete list of white papers in the new White Paper Resources area, go to: www.timecontrol.com/resources/whitepapers.

Uncategorized

HMS will be at the PMI Westchester Professional Development Day

Leave a comment

HMS will be visiting the PMI Westchester Professional Development Day in Westchester, NY on March 28th.  We’ll be showing off the latest version of TimeControl and TimeControl Industrial and speaking with existing and future clients.  If you’ll be attending the PMI Westchester PDD, we’d very much like to meet you.  Contact toronto@hms.ca to make sure we connect. For more information on the PMI Westchester PDD, go to: www.pmiwestchester.org/PDD_2015.

 

timecontrol

HMS Releases TimeControl version 6.9

This is a major update to TimeControl
We are very excited to announce that TimeControl and TimeControl Industrial 6.9 are now shipping.  This version is major upgrade from previous versions of our TimeControl timesheet system

Here are more details on the new and enhanced features available in this version:

Variable Length Timesheettwo-week-timesheet_250x157
This is a major evolution in how timesheets are defined in TimeControl. Now, you can select from a number of different lengths of timesheet to better accommodate the process cycle in an organization.  Timesheets can be weekly, bi-weekly, bi-monthly, monthly or custom length and just as in monthly or bi-monthly, the timesheet lengths of each timesheet are no longer required to all be the same length.  The new functionality comes with a period generator which will automatically and/or manually create the periods.  Administrators are also not stuck with a one-time decision.  They can elect to change future timesheet periods to be different lengths so if an organization has always worked with weekly timesheets but wanted to change, they could have 14 day timesheets instead going forward!  We know this will make a big difference to how some organizations will configure their TimeControl environment.

Integration with VersionOneversion-one
VersionOne is the world-recognized leader in Agile Enterprise Project Management.  HMS and VersionOne have teamed together to integrate TimeControl, TimeControlOnline and TimeControl Industrial with the VersionOne online system.  Now sprints, backlog items, defects and issues can be updated in TimeControl and the resulting effort completed and remaining work can be sent back to the VersionOne project.  Like all TimeControl links, the VersionOne integration can be activated at the same time as other integrations so if IT development projects are in VersionOne and other projects are being managed in Primavera or Microsoft Project, TimeControl can accommodate them all at once.  More information about the VersionOne link can be found at: www.timecontrol.com/use-cases/version-one.

Export Wizard for QuickBooksquickbooks_250x225
TimeControl has supported a link to QuickBooks for years but in TimeControl 6.9 we’ve made configuring that link easier and more intuitive with the QuickBooks Export Wizard.  Now administrators can select the accounts to debit and credit for timesheet data themselves in an easy to select manner.  The TimeControl export will format the export data in the exact format that Intuit defines for QuickBooks so you can import it immediately.

Many other new and enhanced features
There are many other new features in this version including: Locked columns in the timesheet, A super-user Administrator mode, Performance enhancements and improved backward compatibility with older browsers.

Plus, we’ve made performance and minor improvements in a wide range of other modules.  Find out more about TimeControl 6.9 at www.timecontrol.com/features/latest.

TimeControl version 6.9 is available immediately.  Existing users with a current support contract can access the upgrade at no charge at www.timecontrol.com/support/updates or talk to us about your timesheet needs at info@hms.ca.

 

hms software, primavera timesheets, timecontrol, TimeControl Industrial, timecontrol online, timesheet software, timesheet software as a service, timesheets

Our websites are sporting a whole new look!

Leave a comment

We’re excited to tell you about a major overhaul of HMS Software’s web environment.  HMS are the publishers of TimeControl, the world’s most flexible timesheet system.  This is a significant change to one of the world’s most venerable web environments.
“The HMS Software websites are among the oldest in the world,” said Chris Vandersluis, President of HMS. “HMS has been around for 31 years and the original HMS Software website was established in the mid 1990’s just aver the release of the original Netscape browser.”
Over the last 20 years, the HMS Software web site has gone through a generational change every few years.  As the publishers of TimeControl, one of the world’s most popular timesheet systems, the web environment expanded beyond a simple website to accommodate the numerous perspectives of different types of users.
The original website was more of an online brochure and was one of the first of its kind.  We were rather proud of being about the 7,000th entry in the Yahoo directory.  That might not seem like the very start but the Yahoo directory was registering over 16,000 websites a day at its peak.  With the release of TimeControl in 1994, HMS started to expand the web environment quickly.  The most current iteration of the TimeControl sites has been across 5 domains: timecontrol.com, industrial.timecontrol.com, timecontrol.net, hms.ca and the original hmssoftware.ca.
Under the completely new design, the web environment will be pared down to three domains to respond to the core elements of HMS Software’s business.
The new site structure will allow us to better serve visitors with streamlined navigation, support for multiple devices such as tablets and smartphones and easier to find material.  With so much collateral available on the three sites, it should be much easier to locate and use with the new design.

The main site for TimeControl will remain timecontrol.com where existing clients will still be able to log in and get support and update information as well as access the extensive library of webcasts, white papers, factsheets and other technical collateral.  Prospective clients will be able to try TimeControl for free on the hosted trial site which they can register for here.  Prospective clients can find out about buying TimeControl for on premise installation or subscribing to the TimeControl Online service here. 


www.hms.ca

The corporate site will now become hms.ca where information about clients, new partnerships or marketing will be managed.  Traffic from the original hmssoftware.ca will be redirected to this site.This site contains our HMS history and news about us such as press releases.

industrial.timecontrol.com

For those interested in TimeControl Industrial, HMS Software’s field data collection version, information will remain at industrial.timecontrol.com.  Here the additional features of crew timesheets and tracking material and equipment usage will be explained along with the other features of Industrial.

The new websites have been optimized for numerous browsers, devices and operating systems so those who are using a tablet or smartphone to access the sites will be able to enjoy a rich user experience.

hms.ca, hmssoftware.com, industrial.timecontrol.com, timecontrol, timecontrol.com, timecontrol.net, website changes

Our web sites are about to change

Leave a comment

HMS Software has one of the oldest web environments in the world.  We first started the site in the late 1980s when websites were just new to allowing graphics images.  Our first version had about 7 images including the logo and a half dozen menu buttons.  We were about the 7000th entry in the then-pre-eminent Yahoo index.   That may not seem like much but at one time Yahoo was adding about 16,000 business entries a day.  We talk about our web environment because it’s more than a website.  It’s a collection of websites, domains and web services including this one; our blog at blog.timecontrol.org (or blog.timecontrol.com).
In today’s modern age, an organization’s web presence is critical to its public image and HMS Software’s web environment has changed many times over the years.
It’s about to change again.  Since mid-2014, we have been working on a complete re-architecture of how our websites look and how we provide information to our HMS andtimecontrol.com-old TimeControl communities.
Changing the look and feel of a website for an organization isn’t a casual decision.  Aside from the costs and effort involved, we’re sensitive that returning visitors may find the change unsettling.  However, the design we’ve used for almost 10 years now was made in a PC-only world and we have to do a better job of accommodating many devices.  So, sometime later this quarter, our current sites at hmssoftware.ca, hms.ca, timecontrol.com, industrial.timecontrol.com and timecontrol.net are going to change their look from what you see on the right here…
timecontrol.com-newTo what you see on the right here…
We’ll be consolidating the 5 domains above into timecontrol.com for all things TimeControl, industrial.timecontrol.com for all thing TimeControl Industrial and hms.ca for anything more general about HMS Software.
We’re doing a lot of work in the marketing department to make sure we don’t lose any content during the change and we’ll be doing a large number of “re-directs” for pages that have names that have moved.
Stay tuned… We’ll be making another announcement on this shortly before the sites change.