All posts by chris.vandersluis

TimeControl 6, timesheet, timesheet reporting, timesheet software, timesheet systems, Timesheet tips, timesheet upgrade, timesheets as a service

Meet the new TimeControl Report Interface

February 21, 2013 chris.vandersluis Leave a comment

Meet the new TimeControl Reporting environment

You know TimeControl as one of the most flexible timesheets on the market today but the release of version 6.5 has put reporting of your labor actuals into a whole new category. TimeControl was released in 1994 and the flexible Excel-like reporting environment (which is still included with TimeControl) was introduced in 1999. Since then, it has delivered thousands of reports in a tabular column and row approach which end users could print or save as Excel spreadsheets. As flexible as that was, there were requests for more. Could we fix the report format to show a company logo? Could we do a graphics report? Could we do a report with multiple lines or long fields that would automatically wrap their text? Could we have calculated fields that did formulas inside the report? The new report interface brings all of this and more. While there are some example reports in the new reporting system, the capabilities of this module of TimeControl are vast.

The new TimeControl Report Interface comes in two parts, a Designer and a Presenter. The Designer is designed to be used by a TimeControl Administrator and brings a rich collection of tools to a Windows PC to design and create report formats. The TimeControl Report Designer is installed using Microsoft’s Click-Once technology. The Presenter requires no installed code on the local terminal. It follows TimeControl’s.Net architecture and will present any report that has been made available to that user. The TimeControl Report Interface follows all the same security structures which are already a part of TimeControl. If a user has access only to certain data, then regardless of which report format is selected, only the data to which they have rights will be displayed. If the user is prohibited from viewing certain fields, then even if those fields are in a report format, they will not display to that user.

That’s the basic structure but what now becomes possible?

A lot.

The new report environment includes a WYSIWYG report designer that lets you control fonts, insert objects such as pictures, text, calculations, graphics charts, tables, pivot tables and, of course, data from TimeControl. The new functionality is so extensive we’ve needed to create a brand new manual called the TimeControl Report Designer Guide which adds over 230 pages of new report functionality to consume. Graphics charts include pie charts, histograms, curves and more. For the first time, TimeControl can generate its own burn-down charts and spending curves.

Tabular reports are vastly improved as well. TimeControl now gives font control to every element on the report. There can be some data in a small font, and headers somewhat larger. Fonts can be colored for emphasis and conditional formatting can even show some data in one color and other data in another color based on the values displayed. Tabular reports for the first time can display multiple lines per reporting element and control over formatting extends to dates, currency and more.

Calculated fields let us create effects like transposing the words “Active” or InActive” for the Inactive User field which only contains a T/F flag for (true/false). Or, use calculated fields to calculate budget vs. actual or change person-hours to person-days.

The presentation of reports has also seen a light year leap forward. Having the report presenter created in TimeControl’s .Net environment means that for the first time, reports can be delivered using browsers other than Internet Explorer and in non-Windows environments. Reports can be presented on an iPad or other tablet or even your Smartphone.
Once a report has been created, it can be saved not only as an Excel file (yes, don’t worry Finance people, we would never take that out of the product!) but also as a PDF, an HTML or MHT page, an RFT file, bot XLS and XLSX file, a flat CSV or Text file or even an image file.

There is so much more to this new environment that we can’t possible cover in a single communication and to be honest, we know that the best reports that will come from this new system will probably come from the inventiveness of our own clients. You can see the new TimeControl Report Interface in action on the TimeControl.com site in our Online Lessons area or contact HMS to have us show you how these new reporting capabilities extends TimeControl’s reach in the market.

To find out more about TimeControl’s reports, visit www.timecontrol.com/timesheet/reports or contact HMS at info@hms.ca.

6.5, TC 6.5, TimeControl 6, TimeControl 6.5, TimeControl Industrial, TimeControl Industrial 6.5

What’s new in TimeControl 6.5

January 23, 2013 chris.vandersluis Leave a comment

TimeControl 6.5 is now available and it represents a major evolution of TimeControl since 6.4. Aside from HMS Software’s ongoing work to migrate administrative functionality away from ActiveX controls and our improving TimeControl’s ability to allow Administrators to use multiple devices and browsers to access and administer the system, HMS has added a major new reporting-writing engine, a completely new link option for linking to our new alliance partner Hard Dollar’s HD project cost and estimating system and significant improvements in both performance and other functionality. These notes reflect updates in TimeControl since version 6.4.4.
To see full size images of the screen shots here, just click on the image.
An all new report writer
Long known for its incredible flexibility, TimeControl now extends that philosophy to reporting with a new WYSIWYG reporting engine that allows both tabular and graphic reports, complete format control and even calculated fields.
The new TimeControl Report Designer is so extensive; we’ve only just scratched the surface of its capabilities. Users will be able to quickly create TimeControl reports by just dragging and dropping fields into the layout and, once they have been designed, reports can be displayed on almost any browser including even tablets and Smartphones.
Administrators can create new tabular or graphics reports and can group and summarize at will using the new TimeControl Report Designer. The designer also allows things that TimeControl users have asked about including complete font control element, by element, the ability to add logos, images, shapes and control colors, the ability to conditionally change formatting (for example, displaying negative numbers in red), and even the ability to add calculated fields.
Once created, the new reports are displayed in TimeControl’s multi-browser architecture which means they are able to be displayed on many different pc browsers and devices.
In addition to being able to save data in an Excel format, just as the old report writer did, Users can also save data in PDF, XML, JPG and a variety of other formats. The new TimeControl Report Designer comes with a new 230 page Guide which will help you learn your way around the new functionality.
For those who are now hyperventilating, thinking of all the investment in your existing TimeControl reports, don’t worry. We are maintaining support for both report writers for the foreseeable future.
New Dashboards
We’ve done a complete rewriter of the TimeControl Dashboard creator in our multi-browser architecture and even added a brand-new pie-chart type. You’ll now be able to create or update Dashboards for the system or for users in any browser or device. TimeControl’s support to display dashboards in any browser or device remains unchanged.
Updated System PreferencesWe’ve rewritten System Preferences within our multi-browser architecture and that means Administrators for the most part can update settings for TimeControl from any device or browser without requiring an ActiveX installation. The new updates have been improved not only for look and feel but also for ease of use and effectiveness.

Updated Validation RulesWe’ve rewritten the Validation Rule creator to allow you to use any browser of device and be much more effective working through adding or editing a business validation rule.

All new Manage LanguagesThe multi-lingual module of TimeControl has been rewritten into TimeControl’s multi-browser architecture and while doing so we’ve improved not only the look and feel but also the find, replace and pilot grouping capabilities similar to the Drill Down Analyzer that will make managing multiple languages in TimeControl much more effective. The function will no longer require an ActiveX to load which means you can use this function in any browser, pc or tablet device.

Manage External Tables
TimeControl 6.5 moves the Manage External Tables module to TimeControl’s multi-browser architecture and will make linking to external pop up lists and other external data much easier. The function will no longer require an ActiveX to load which means you can use this function in any browser, pc or tablet device.

Updated LinksWe have completely rewritten the Links modules with an update to the Interface Definition, the Connection Pool and other linking functionality which will serve to improve TimeControl’s already extraordinary ability to link to project management tools

All new Hard Dollar link
This version of TimeControl showcases our newest Strategic Alliance Partner, Hard Dollar. Hard Dollar’s HD project estimating and cost control system is one of the premiere cost control packages in the world. We have worked directly with the Hard Dollar development team to create a link to and from TimeControl and TimeControl Industrial so that users who do field data collection of labor, material, equipment and production values with TimeControl can have that data integrated with Hard Dollar.
Link both Hard Dollar and PrimaveraOur link with Hard Dollar’s HD required a different kind of thinking that previous links because we wanted to support a simultaneous link with project scheduling software such as Oracle-Primavera’s P6. TimeControl and TimeControl Industrial 6.5 can integrate with P6 and HD at the same time, making this combination a uniquely powerful project cost control environment. Create the Project in HD, track the progress in TimeControl or TimeControl Industrial, plan and manage the project in Primavera and all 3 products are kept up to date.
If you are a TimeControl client with a current support and maintenance contract, you can download TimeControl 6.5 today at www.timecontrol.com/support/updates. If you would like a demonstration of TimeControl 6.5 or to discuss the status of your support and maintenance contract, please contact info@hms.ca.

administration, administrator, end-of-year, maintenance, timecontrol, timesheet

Year end Clean up of Data

December 18, 2012 chris.vandersluis Leave a comment

The end of the calendar year is approaching and many TimeControl users wish to clean up their data in preparation for the year ahead. We will be posting a series of blog entries that look into the specifics of doing some yearend cleaning of the TimeControl data. Our focus will be primarily on the table data.

Our recommendation is to track down any missing timesheets and encourage your employees to complete them. If you are missing timesheets for former employees, you can use the Alternate Login to complete any missing timesheets for former employees or for employees who are unavailable to complete their own timesheets. You can set an Alternate User in the User Table.

Once all timesheets are accounted for and posted, the clean- up can commence. A good place to start is with the User Table. User Table entries, because of the relational nature of the data, cannot be deleted. For any former employee or employees who will no longer need to login to TimeControl, go the User Table and check the “User Inactive” flag. This flag will block the user from login in but will maintain any historical data related to the user. If this user appears in an approval path, the timesheet will no longer stop there for approval but will instead move on to the next supervisor. This frees up the license for re-use by a new user. When you make a user inactive, don’t forget to apply the change.

Most Administrators will not want to look at users who are no longer active and TimeControl can help with this by allowing a display filter to be applied so the when the table is loaded the inactive users are not shown. This can be done using the table filter on the right hand menu bar. If you wish to apply such a filter as a standard, it can be implemented in the Users Profiles under the Tables Security tab.

Chris Vandersluis, enterprise timesheet, Field Data Collection, Hard Dollar, Project Costing, Speaking Engagements, timecontrol, YouTube

HMS President Chris Vandersluis to Speak at Hard Dollar Customer Roundup

October 4, 2012 chris.vandersluis Leave a comment

Our president, Chris Vandersluis, will be speaking in Scottsdale, Arizona at the Hard Dollar Project Cost Management Roundup. This annual event, taking place October 15-18, brings together contractors, owners and EPCMs from the construction, mining, oil and gas, STO and power and process industries. Hard Dollar, the publishers of the project cost control software of the same name will provide four days of thought leadership, industry trends and case studies from industry experts and customers.

Chris will be sharing his knowledge and expertise on Field Data Collection and Project Cost Management. He will also use this opportunity to demonstrate the new link between HMS Software’s TimeControl Industrial and the Hard Dollar project cost control system which is the result of a Technical Alliance partnership with Hard Dollar announced earlier this year.

Don’t miss this opportunity. Join Chris on Wednesday, October 17^th at 1PM at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort.

Watch our quick YouTube video where Chris give you more details on this Hard Dollar event:

For more information on Chris and other speakers who will be present, visit the Hard Dollar Roundup Speakers page.

If you would like to organize meeting Chris while he is in Scottsdale to talk about the link between TimeControl Industrial and Hard Dollar, please contact

Kelly Motafferi at kelly.motafferi@hms.ca.

collaboration, project management, SharePoint, SharePoint Timesheet, Solutions, timecontrol, TimeControl timesheet, TimeControl value propositions, timesheet, YouTube

Our Most Popular Video on our YouTube Channel: TC & SharePoint… But Why?

September 27, 2012 chris.vandersluis Leave a comment

We took a look at our rather extensive library of YouTube videos and noticed that one in particular is significantly more popular than the rest: the video demonstrating TimeControl’s integration with SharePoint.

Not surprising, when you think about the worldwide popularity of Microsoft SharePoint. With close to 100 million business users, it’s an important and powerful part of day-to-day functioning of so many organizations as their intranet or collaboration platform.

Did you know TimeControl can be installed within your preexisting SharePoint environment? With TimeControl, there is no need to leave the SharePoint platform to fill out your timesheet. Here at HMS our long-standing relationship with Microsoft means we’ve worked alongside SharePoint since its creation. The integration of the 2 means that adding TimeControl as your company’s timesheet will be easy and avoid the headache of an interrupted user experience.

With close to 1000 views, our TimeContol & SharePoint video is worth the informative 13 minute investment of your time.

Check out our TC & SharePoint brochure
For a TC & SharePoint Power-Point PDF printout, click here:
For even more information, go to our complete solutions portal for everything TC & SharePoint

In other news…
Don’t forget TimeControl 6.5 is scheduled to release in October! We’re on our way to wrapping up final details as we have already begun testing the code here at HMS. Stay tuned.

best practices, Did you know, Solutions, successful implementation, support, TimeControl timesheet, timesheet, timesheet software, Tips, Tips and tricks

Check out our Timesheet Best Practices Solution Portal

September 17, 2012 chris.vandersluis Leave a comment

Over the last few weeks here at HMS, we’ve been doing some hard work assembling collateral, questions, answers, and other materials about the best ways to use a timesheet. We’re happy to finally reveal our new solutions portal for everything you need to know about timesheet best practices.

HMS Software employees are often asked for advice on the best practices for timesheet use, and many of these questions are not TimeControl-specific. This is why we’ve created a solutions portal with materials that will help you use timesheeting to its full potential.

We realize that timesheet usage is multi-faceted, so we divided up our efforts. Some timesheet usage recommendations are appropriate to the organization, and others are more focused on the individual. With this in mind, we divided the best practice information based on the end-user’s perspective and their information needs. You’ll notice that the solutions are categorized for use by the organization or the individual. This will make it easier so that you can quickly and easily find the recommended best practices you need.

One of the key new sections included in the best practices portal is the Timesheet Best Practices Q & A page. Ever wondered just how much time is too much to spend on entering your timesheet? Do you question just how much detail is productive in a timesheet? Or, perhaps you’re wondering if it makes sense to track the start and stop times of the day along with the durations for each task. We turned these types of timesheet questions we most often receive over to our technical staff. Their answers to these questions, and their timesheet expertise on these topics and more, are now available and ready to be shared with you.

There are many links, materials and collateral referenced by the Best Practices Solution Portal including white papers on how to increase resource capacity through better timesheet practices, guidance for executives on how a timesheet system can benefit the organization, videos of how to be effective with your timesheet system and even a blank timesheet process template for creating your own timesheet process.

Check out our new Timesheet Best Practices solution portal today! You’ll undoubtedly discover something some new information that can help you to get the most out of your timesheet.

To access the Timesheet Best Practices, visit timecontrol.com/solutions/bestpractices.

Chris Vandersluis, PMI, project management, Speaking Engagements, timesheets

Our president will be speaking at the PMI Buffalo Professional Development Day

September 13, 2012 chris.vandersluis Leave a comment

Chris Vandersluis, the president of HMS, will be speaking in Buffalo Thursday, September 20^th as part of PMI’s Professional Development Day. This will be an insightful and valuable opportunity to “Become a Person of Success”. You will have two opportunities to see his talk on the subject of “Improving Resource Capacity” in the afternoon portion of the day. Chris will be discussing how to generate project resource capacity without having to hire by using best timesheet business practice. Join Chris on September 20^that the Buffalo Convention Center, at the Convention Center Plaza, in Buffalo, New York.

For more information, visit PMI Buffalo’s website at www.pmibuffalo.org.

Watch Chris’ quick YouTube video where he gives you more details about the PMI Buffalo event.

Crew Timesheet, Field Data Collection, Project Costing, Project Material Costing, timecontrol, TimeControl Industrial, timesheet

TimeControl Industrial 6.4 now available

July 18, 2012 chris.vandersluis Leave a comment

This is a big month of announcements at HMS. As you may have seen in our last newsletter, we have completed the migration of TimeControl Industrial into the TimeControl 6 family. This is a major new version of the TimeControl Industrial edition. TimeControl Industrial 6.4 has been designed specifically for field data collection of labor and non-labor usage on industrial and construction field sites. This builds on the already popular functionality of the classic TimeControl and delivers a timesheet system that can be used simultaneously for back office and field personnel as well as a field data entry system for material consumption, equipment usage and even production values accomplished.

We’re extremely excited about TimeControl Industrial coming into the TimeControl 6 architecture. Bringing TimeControl Industrial’s field data collection functionality together with the highly flexible functionality of the classic TimeControl is a winning combination for many of our clients.”

TimeControl Industrial adds several elements of functionality that are ideally suited to collecting data in heavy construction, offshore, industrial or plant shutdown environments where the employees doing the work don’t have access to computers to enter the data themselves. These functions include:

Crew Timesheet Entry
TimeControl Industrial adds an additional timesheet interface to the weekly timesheet that is included for back office workers. TimeControl Industrial’s Crew Timesheet Entry allows crews to be assembled and then time entered for the entire crew at once. Crew Timesheet supports weekly, daily or even multiple timesheets per day to accommodate multiple shifts. Blank timesheets can be carried by the foreman or supervisor and then the timesheet for the entire crew is entered at one time. The Crew Timesheet Entry interface is included as both a web-browser and Windows Application Interface.

Material / Equipment / Production Entry
TimeControlIndustrial extends Field Data Collection beyond timesheets with the Material / Equipment / Production Entry interface. Non-labor cost entries can be allocated by project, by task, by resource and with a limitless number of possible rates to track material used, equipment expended and even production values of what was accomplished. This module is also delivered as both a web-browser and Windows Application interface for high-volume entry. When combined with either the Non-labor rates tables or the Extended Materials Rate system, multiple values can be tracked at once such as the actual internal cost, estimated cost, average project cost and invoiceable billing price. Once entered, Material / Equipment and Production can have unique approval paths or can be approved along the same lines as the Crew Timesheets.

Extended Rates
TimeControl Industrial includes functionality to vastly extend Rate tracking to accommodate complex burdened or premium rates or rates that vary for particular conditions. Imagine a field situation where unionized workers are paid different hourly premiums if they work the evening or overnight shifts and additional premiums if they work in inclement weather or in a remote location. Or imagine equipment costs that are different if the equipment is used at night or when the temperatures are very warm or very cold. Managing this with a traditional timesheet could be a challenge, but not with TimeControl Industrial, The extended Rates system handles these types of situations easily by matching user-defined and existing columns of data in the Crew Timesheet Entry and Material / Equipment / Production Entry interfaces with identical columns in the Extended Rates table.

TimeControl Industrial delivers a highly flexible timesheet and material / equipment / production data collection system to the field. It has been developed with requirements straight out of field use with our clients and we have found from experience on client sites that it delivers increased productivity. But, we also know that organizations and requirements change and TimeControl Industrial’s flexibility means the system can adapt whenever that is required.

TimeControl Industrial includes all the functionality that has made TimeControl one of the world’s most respected timesheet systems including links to project management systems such as Oracle-Primavera, Microsoft Project and Deltek’s Open Plan. It also includes links that can be defined for Payroll, HR and Finance systems as well as ERP systems such as PeopleSoft, Oracle Financials and SAP.

TimeControl Industrial is available immediately. Clients with current support contracts have access to the upgrade at no cost. For more information on TimeControl Industrial, visit http://industrial.timecontro.com.

TimeControl Industrial is available both for installation on premise or as a subscription in the cloud online.

About TimeControl
TimeControl was originally released in 1994. It was immediately successful in the project management sector and today is recognized not only as a project management solution, but also as an enterprise timesheet solution in use by companies worldwide. TimeControl is designed as a multipurpose timesheet able to serve the needs of both Finance and Project Management simultaneously. It includes features such as a multi-browser, multi-device interface, a PC and mobile interface, vacation approvals, executive dashboards, extensive approval functionality, flexible reporting and links to project management and corporate systems which makes the timesheet product ideally suited for integration with existing systems in any organization. TimeControl’s flexibility allows it to be deployed for use as a time and attendance, time and billing, project tracking and flex-time system. TimeControl is available both for purchase for an on-premises installation or as an on-line subscription in the Cloud.
For more information about TimeControl and TimeControl Industrial, monitor the TimeControl blog at blog.timecontrol.com, the TimeControl Industrial website at industrial.timecontrol.com or the main TimeControl website at www.timecontrol.com.
For information about TimeControlOnline, our hosted timesheet subscription service in the cloud, go to www.timecontrol.net.
For any other questions, please contact HMS Software at info@hmssoftware.ca.

HMS has representatives or distributors in Argentina, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, Finland, Ireland, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, the UK, and the U.S.

About HMS Software
Based in Montreal, Canada with offices in Toronto, HMS Software has been a leading provider of project management and enterprise timesheet systems and services since 1984. HMS Software’s first customized timesheet application was written in 1984. With the launch of TimeControl as a commercial application in 1994, HMS Software began servicing clients worldwide.

HMS Software’s client list reads like a who’s who of business. It includes Acergy, Aecon, Rio Tinto, the Atlanta Airport, the City of Montreal, the County of San Mateo, Electromotive Diesel, EXFO, FT Services, Kelly Services, Koch, Merck Frosst, the Government of Quebec, Georgia Pacific, Parker Hannifin, Rolls Royce, Sobeys, Volvo Novabus, Zimmer Inc. and hundreds of others.
For further information about HMS Software, please visit the HMS website at: www.hmssoftware.ca or contact us at info@hmssoftware.ca.

Uncategorized

The nature of training on enterprise systems

June 18, 2012 chris.vandersluis Leave a comment

“How long will it take us to get completely trained?” I was asked recently.

“That would depend completely on your definition of ‘completely’,” I replied.

The challenge with enterprise products like TimeControl is that they can be configured to be so many different things for so many different people. The strength of TimeControl is its flexibility. This allows TimeControl to be a multi-purpose timesheet serving the needs of many different perspectives within the organization. It can be used for time and attendance, time and billing, project management tracking, earned value, government compliance for R&D tax credits or the DCAA. And all this from the same interface at the same time.

Yet not every organization is created the same. Not every organization requires the same types of functions or tracking. Even when two clients have a similar product to like to like SAP or MS Project, those products are not configured identically either. So each implementation of TimeControl is often unique. Oh there are common elements but there are many elements that are different and not everyone even uses the same functionality.

What we’ve discovered here at HMS when we apply this challenge to training is that training is best done in layers. The first layer or phase occurs during the original implementation. If our technical staff assist with the implementation, we train the administration staff as we make decisions together on how to configure the system. This has a high degree of success but does it mean that these administrators are “completely” trained?

If your definition is, “The administrators should be able to operate TimeControl in accordance with the configuration and existing processes we have defined at the time of implementation.” then the answer is Yes.

But, let the company advance for 6 months or a year even and we find that the level of maturity in the use of TimeControl in the organization is now such that the types of questions the client would ask have evolved. Now there are questions on functionality that would have never been asked during the original implementation because the questions are now able to be understood or because the organization itself has evolved to have new timesheet requirements.

This isn’t unique to TimeControl. We’ve seen similar phenomena when we look at project scheduling tools like Primavera, Open Plan or Microsoft Project Server.

Our view is that training should be an ongoing investment. Do a little less on the first day than you’d expected. Let that training soak in; be absorbed; be implemented in practice. Then having a trainer come back or do another remote session for a few hours. Use that to advance your own knowledge but also to advance the capabilities used of the software. As new administrators come on board over time, they’ll naturally just take up training that is regularly scheduled.

Doing training in phases or layers ultimately gives the best return on investment.

SaaS, Software as a Service, timecontrol, timecontrol online, timesheets as a service

June 6, 2012 chris.vandersluis Leave a comment

Did you catch us in the recent InformationWeek report on Software as a Service (SaaS) Project Management Tools? Yes, that was TimeControlOnline listed in tools you can use to manage your projects online through a subscription service.

The article is free and can be found at: Information Week Reports.

For more information on TimeControlOnline, you can go to www.timecontrol.net.

TimeControl Blog