Sometimes here at HMS, we work with something within the TimeControl timesheet system so often, that we forget just how remarkable a feature it is.
TimeControl and TimeControl Industrial Rates functionality falls right into that category. There are numerous TimeControl functions that make up the Rates capabilities and we’ve now released a tutorial on how to work with those functions to solve business problems
Some clients need to price hours for invoicing. Others need to cost the hours for job costing. Perhaps you have different rates for different clients or different rates for different projects. The rates architecture in the TimeControl timesheet system is the most flexible in the industry and it must be because TimeControl is used for different purposes simultaneously.
It is a key differentiator over other timesheet options.
Did you know that TimeControl supports an unlimited number of Rate Codes per employee or 
an unlimited number of Rate Codes in the system? And, for each and every Rate Code, you can store multiple values. Rates in TimeControl can be defined globally, at the resource or employee level and you can configure TimeControl to show only those rates that are appropriate to a particular situation.
TimeControl Rates can be used to track both internal costs and external invoicing values at the same time.
TimeControl Rates allows you to track an employee working at one rate on one project, and another rate on a different project in the same day.
TimeControl Rates allows the tracking of unpaid overtime and even though you have no extra actual cost today, you could still invoice the work recorded.
Rates play a key part of many timesheet scenarios and TimeControl responds to that challenge with its flexible rate structure.
Both current and prospective TimeControl architects can find out more about TimeControl Rates in our new tutorial at: www.timecontrol.com/timesheet/rates/rates_tutorial.pdf and on the new section of the TimeControl website at www.timecontrol.com/timesheet/rates.
All posts by chris.vandersluis
Updated DCAA Solutions area
Every year the US Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) audits thousands of government contracts representing billions of dollars of value. 
The Agency does this not only for the US Department of Defense but also for the Department of Energy, Homeland Security and many other federal and state agencies. The DCAA sets standards for how to account for, track and invoice government contracts and amongst those standards are requirements for timesheet systems.
TimeControl has been used by many of our clients to help with their DCAA compliance and given HMS Software’s long standing high profile in defense and aerospace, it will come as no surprise that TimeControl has many features that were specifically designed to accommodate the DCAA.
On the TimeControl website, you’ll find a solutions area dedicated to how to configure TimeControl for DCAA compliance. We’ve just updated the DCAA Solutions area with a new white paper, slides and webcast that are up to date with the latest in DCAA Requirements. For more information on the DCAA, go to www.dcaa.mil.
Access to the DCAA Solutions area is free. You’ll find it at www.timecontrol.com/solutions/dcaa.
Chris Vandersluis to speak at PMI Global Congress
HMS Software’s president, Chris Vandersluis speaks at events all over the world about 
Enterprise Timesheet and Enterprise Project Management systems and principles. This month, you can hear Mr. Vandersluis speak at two Project Management Institute (PMI) events: If you are in the Ann Arbor area, Mr. Vandersluis will be presenting “Creating Business Prioritization for Projects and Portfolios” at PMI’s Hudson Valley Chapter On October 21st, You can find out more about this event on the PMI HVC website. Are you going to the PMI Global Congress in New Orleans? On October 25th and 26th, Mr. Vandersluis will be speaking on two topics On Monday, October 28 at 10:45AM he will present “Cancel a Project Without Cancelling your Career”
On Tuesday, October 29 at 11:30AM he will present “Panning for Gold by Data-mining your Project Tracking Data”
You can find out more about the 2013 PMI Global Congress at: congresses.pmi.org/NorthAmerica2013.
If you’d like more information about these sessions, would like to meet Mr. Vandersluis during these events or to see more information on talks by Mr. Vandersluis, stop by his speaker’s site at www.vandersluis.name or his EPM Guidance blog at www.epmguidance.com or contact us here at HMS Software at info@hmssoftware.ca
Updated Timesheet Buyer’s Guide
One of the most popular areas of the TimeControl.com website has been the Timesheet single source of HMS Software expertise in how to select a timesheet has been a great collection of resources for anyone interested in updating their timesheet system.as it makes tools available at no charge and without obligation. We’ve done a number of updates on the Buyer’s Guide site to the tools and information provided there. This area of the website provides information that both helps prospective timesheet buyers determine what kind of timesheet they might require and then shows how TimeControl can respond to those requirements. The information however isn’t specific to just TimeControl so no matter what kind of timesheet you’re looking for, this section of our site may be of use to you. The Timesheet Buyer’s Guide includes a number of tools that may be of interest to those considering a new timesheet system including:
- Webcasts of how to determine what type of timesheet might be required,
- A white paper analyzing the choice of buying a commercial off the shelf timesheet system vs. writing a customized timesheet,
- A downloadable evaluation checklist spreadsheet of the most commonly requested timesheet features with options for weighting features and scoring multiple timesheet systems,
- A Return on Investment Calculator spreadsheet which shows the financial impact of automating your timesheet system and;
- Numerous links to other resources.
The HMS Timesheet Buyer’s Guide is available at: www.timecontrol.com/solutions/buyersguide
Migrating TimeControl from SQL 2005 to 2008
Many clients have asked about the technical process of how to migrate the TimeControl database from SQL Server 2005 instance to SQL Server 2008 R2. Here is a step-by-step description from our technical department:
1. Stop all three TimeControl services from the Windows Services console (ATS, TTS and Scheduler). This will prevent anyone from accessing TimeControl while the transfer is being done.
2. Back up the current TimeControl databases in SQL Server 2005. There will be two databases, with names similar to TCSECURE and TIMECTRL. This may be different if you elected to use different names during the original installation.
3. Create the same logins that exist in SQL Server 2005 as SQL Server 2008. There will be one for the TCSECURE database and another for the TIMECTRL database. If you used the default entries, these will be tcuser and sysdba. These logins should be mapped to the appropriate TimeControl databases (tcuser should be mapped to TCSECURE and sysdba should be mapped to TIMECTRL).
4. Restore the SQL Server 2005 backups from Step 1 into SLQ Server 2008 and ensure the logins you created can login to SQL Server and have access to the appropriate databases.
5. Reconfigure the “TimeControl.ini” file found in the TimeControl installation to point to the new SQL Server 2008 instance (this should be the SERVER_NAME property). Save and close the file when finished making the necessary changes.
6. Restart all three TimeControl services and check to make sure access to TimeControl is working as expected.
If any issues arise, the original SQL Server 2005 databases are still intact and fully functional so rolling back is very fast.
The TimeControl expense dialog view
Most people who use TimeControl know there is an expense tab on the timesheet in which you can enter non-labor expenses. The tab becomes visible when you click the “+” sign to the left of any line and shows several tabs of additional information that can be entered and attached to your timesheet.
The Expense tab has a grid view much like the timesheet where you can add an unlimited number of lines of expenses to each timesheet line. The timesheet doesn’t need to have hours, just a selection of the project and task and then expenses can be added to it.
But, did you know that there is also a dialog view for entering expenses? The grid is preferred by many but there are some who find the dialog view more pleasant. It’s easily accessible. When you hover your mouse over the “Append” button to add an expense line, the Dialog View option appears. 
The data is the same. Only the presentation changes. You can edit an existing line in the dialog view by clicking the dialog button on the far left of any saved line.
New Contractor Management Solution Page
HMS has just released a new use-case solution page to show how TimeControl and TimeControl Industrial can be used to better manage contractors. With the human resource partnering, outsourcing and sub-contracting of today, being able to 
manage your contractors is a critical element to being competitive and we’ve made this solution available at no charge to show how an organization can make tremendous efficiency improvements in how it manages its contractors.” included on the solution page is both a webcast and PowerPoint presentation as well as references to related information. The webcast includes a presentation and a software demonstration. Some of the benefits that are presented by using the techniques described in the presentation include:
- Shortcut the invoice approval process. Save countless hours of purchasing personnel, clerks, project managers, contract managers and even the contractors themselves.
- Find out what the contractors are working on, not just how much time they’re working
- Find out how long it takes contractors to finish the tasks you’ve assigned.
- Compare the performance of internally trained personnel to contractor personnel.
- For contractors: Get paid faster.
- For the client: negotiate an early payment discount because you’re now able to approve the invoice in days, not weeks.
You can access the Contractor Management Solution Portal at: www.timecontrol.com/solutions/contractormanagement and see a complete list of solutions at: www.timecontrol.com/solutions/.
TimeControl 6.6 now available
Version 6.6 of TimeControl is now shipping. We made both TimeControl and TimeControl Industrial 6.6 available for download for existing clients as well as available for new clients on July 4th and we couldn’t be happier with all the major new and enhanced functionality. This version of TimeControl and TimeControl Industrial is a big accomplishment and includes improvements that our clients will be delighted with. The enhancements in version 6.6 are the result of the partnership between HMS development and our remarkable clients. TimeControl 6.6 includes a wide range of improvements and enhanced functionality. Some of the most notable enhancements include: Multi-browser Drill Down Analyzer
HMS has enhanced one of the most popular TimeControl features ever created. Using this tool allows administrators to respond to unexpected queries about the timesheet data in seconds without creating a whole report. The module has been rewritten into the multi-browser, multi-device architecture. Now these queries can be analyzed on an iPad or mobile device. New and improved Import Tables
Also improved is the Import Tables module with more formats supported and a highly enhanced interface with previews, simpler drop menus and more. TimeControl / Hard Dollar and Primavera
We’ve enhanced the TimeControl link that supports the Hard Dollar cost management system and Oracle-Primavera project management system simultaneously. Data between the three systems has more options, more data can be transferred and it is easier to keep all three systems in synch. Other features that have been enhanced, updated into the new multi-browser/multi-device architecture or rewritten include:
- Timesheet List enhancements in the Filter function
- Batch Release
- The New User Wizard for onboarding
- Default Charge and Rate for TimeRequest
- User Profiles
- Reveal Culture in Manage Languages
- AutoFill
- Filter announcements by user and profile
- Reports Table
- Change timesheet ownership
- Filter table
- Timesheet Image now in the Report Designer
- Adding Tabbed Separated Values Export (TSV) as an export format
TimeControl 6.6 and TimeControl Industrial 6.6, HMS Software’s Field Data Collection version Both TimeControl 6.5 and TimeControl Industrial 6.6 are available for immediate shipment. TimeControl pricing begins at $120/User for on premises purchases. Pricing for TimeControl Industrial, TimeControl Online and TimeControl Industrial Online, HMS Software’s hosted Timesheet as a Service in the cloud is available upon request. Read What’s New in TimeControl 6.6 to see a complete list of new and enhanced features or see the TimeControl 6.6 press release.
HMS President to speak at ProjectWorld Canada
Chris Vandersluis, HMS Software’s president will once again be speaking at the prestigious ProjectWorld Canada Conference in Toronto on June 3rd and 4th. He will be presenting a paper entitled “Cancelling a project without cancelling your career on Monday June 3rd and then will be part of a panel on when to apply Agile project management methods on June 4th. ProjectWorld / Business Analyst World Canada will be held this year at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. For more information on the conference, visit http://projectworldcanada.com.
Performance tips on TimeControl with Symantec
It’s impossible to test every combination of browsers and virus scanners when we release TimeControl. Our most common configuration in the office is either Internet Explorer or Firefox with AVG as the virus scanner. We know that the incredible number of possible virus scanning options, firewall options, network protection options and other settings in your operating system, server operating system and supporting technology can have an effect on TimeControl. As we hear good tips from clients or consultants who find settings that are a problem, we’ll pass them along here in the blog.
These notes are in no way an endorsement or condemnation of any product mentioned. We do not promise that these settings will work for you, for the version of the software you are using or that the use of these options will not compromise your security. Your system architecture and your network systems are your business. These notes will be simply areas we are recommending investigating if you believe they may affect you.
We’ve had a note from a client recently regarding the use of TimeControl 6 with Internet Explorer and Symantec Endpoint Protection 12.1.2015. One of our clients has reported that disabling the option: Network Threat Protection Settings-> Intrusion Prevention -> “Enable Browser Intrusion Prevention”, the performance of the TimeControl web pages increased dramatically.
If you have combinations of products and/or settings that you use that have improved (or degraded) performance of TimeControl, please send them along to support@hms.ca.