Category Archives: TimeControl upgrade

timecontrol, TimeControl Industrial, TimeControl upgrade

TimeControl version 8.6 now available

TimeControl, TimeControl 8.6, TimeControl upgrades, Chris Vandersluis, Christopher Vandersluis, Christopher Peter VandersluisWe are delighted to announce that TimeControl 8.6 is now available for our on-premise customers.  There are numerous new and enhanced features which are a part of TimeControl on-premise and TimeControl Industrial on-premise.  These same features will be included in the update to TimeControl Online, TimeControl Industrial Online which will come in the next few weeks.

Here are just some of the great enhancements to TimeControl. now available:

An all-new Line Item Approvals

We have rewritten Line Item Approvals with an updated interface and a wave of new features. Line Item Approvals is part of TimeControl’s unique Matrix Approval Process for Labor Actuals™ which has been a part of TimeControl since its first version. This version of TimeControl extends that process dramatically. After organizational approvals are complete, Line Item Approvals allows multiple paths or processes to approve each cell of each line of the timesheet. Line Item Approvals stands apart from Project Manager Validation and allows others in the organization to approve timesheet data. For example, a project manager might have to approve lines before they are sent back to the project but in a completely different process, a billing manager might have to approve lines before an invoice can be created and a Finance manager might have to approve lines before they are accepted into Capital Costs and Assets of the organization. The approvals are organized around an integration process with a mind to reviewing TimeControl data before it is sent out to be consumed by other corporate systems.

We’ve enhanced Line Item Approvals with additional email and notification capabilities along with an ability to add a second sequential level of approvals for each process. In what should be welcome news to those who have already used this feature, we’ve also given the creation dialogs a complete rewrite to make it simpler for administrators to create their own line item approvals.

Line Item Approvals for Materials / Equipment

As if everything we just described for Line Item Approvals wasn’t enough, in TimeControl Industrial and TimeControl Industrial Online we’ve extended the Line Item Approval concept to approvals for Materials and Equipment. Now material consumption and equipment usage has its own Matrix Approval Process where each line item can be approved both at the Materials entry level and then at the Line Item level.

Use Multiple Tabs at the same time

Over the years, working to support multiple browsers and to help with the performance of data being displayed on the screen, we lost the ability to open multiple tabs of the same TimeControl instance at one time. We have rewritten the memory management for TimeControl’s interface and can now happily report that TimeControl supports multiple tabs into the same instance of TimeControl.

This would allow, for example, an administrator to open the User Table in one tab and the Employee Table in a second tab instead of having to exit one table and flip to another.

Support for Multi-factor authentication in Microsoft Project Online

If you are using Microsoft Project Online or SharePoint for Microsoft 365, you may be recommended to use Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) for security purposes.  TimeControl supports linking with SharePoint for Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Project Online with Multi-factor authentication enabled or disabled for the connecting user.  The instructions to support Multi-factor authentication have multiple steps and can be found in the TimeControl Reference Guide.

TimeRequest is now part of the free TimeControl Mobile App

The free TimeControl Mobile App has a major new enhancement. Now your TimeRequests can be created, released and approved right from your phone or tablet! This allows you to create a request for vacation, personal time-off or any other category that your organization might have configured TimeControl to use TimeRequest for. This is a big enhancement to efficiency. And, did we mention? The App is free to anyone with a TimeControl license. It can be downloaded from the Apple Store or Google Play.

Enhanced Autofill now allows for multiple weeks and more

Autofill is one of the most popular TimeControl features for TimeControl Administrators but up until now, it has only worked on weekly timesheet periods. To be fair, that is by-far the most common timesheet period selected among TimeControl deployments but for those with bi-weekly, bi-monthly or monthly periods, Autofill felt incomplete. That’s not the case any longer. With TimeControl 8.6, Autofill has been enhanced and the Wizard to create new Autofill definitions has been rewritten to allow different types of periods to be selected. The same old power is still there but in a bi-weekly time period, you can fill in 14 days instead of 7 of expected hours for Autofill to take advantage of.

And… there is so much more!

There is so much more to this version, ability to report on the code or the description of a user defined field, hierarchy tables and screens can now flag a hierarchy as inactive, ability to import external tables, Materials Posting now supports posting procedures and more.

For a more complete list of features in TimeControl 8.6, visit www.timecontrol.com/features/latest.

How to upgrade

If you have a current service agreement for TimeControl or TimeControl Industrial you can download the new version on the support/updates page. The free TimeControl Mobile App will be updated on the Apple Store and Google Play automatically regardless of whether you are an on-premise or online customer.  For subscribers to TimeControl Online, TimeControl Industrial Online and TimeControl Project, these systems will be updated automatically in the coming weeks. Subscribers will receive a notification within their system at least one week prior to the upgrade.

For more information on the latest TimeControl features or our upgrade services, please fill in a contact request at email info@hms.ca .

7.3, timecontrol, TimeControl updates, TimeControl upgrade, TimeControl upgrades

TimeControl 7.3 has been released with some big new features!

We’re very excited to release this latest update to TimeControl. TimeControl 7.3 comes with some significant new features and many enhancements. This version is available in TimeControl, TimeControl Industrial and shortly in TimeControl Online.

Here’s some of what to expect:

Do your expenses in the free TimeControl Mobile App

The TimeControl Mobile App is a free App designed to work on both Android and iOS (Apple) devices. This version of the TimeControl Mobile App allows you to add expense items to any line in your timesheet. Each timesheet line item allows you to add an unlimited number of expense items and each item is associated to both the charge item and a non-labor resource type. You can also attach multiple receipts as photos or files to each expense item. The TimeControl Mobile App is available at no cost on the Apple Store for iOS devices and Google Play for Android devices.

Use your camera to add attachments to timesheets or expenses

The TimeControl Mobile App now lets you attach multiple items to your timesheet. TimeControl lets you use your device to select photos, videos, to take a picture from your camera or even access files that are available to your device on Google Docs, Dropbox, iCloud or OneDrive.

Schedule reports to be created automatically and sent via

TimeControl reports can now be delivered by email on a schedule. Choose from sending an email on a schedule of your choice with a PDF attachment or just sending a direct link to an encrypted server-stored file.

And much, much more…

There is so much more. We’ve made huge improvements in filtering, added new auditing functionality and reporting for time-off banks, added single-sign-on support to the mobile app, added new dashboards and reports, added budget controls for the Charge and Project tables, enhanced the link to Microsoft Project Online and enhanced performance.

If you are a TimeControl Online subscriber, your systems will be updated over the next couple of weeks.  If you are using TimeControl on-premise and have a current support contract, you can access this latest update at: TimeControl.com/support/updates.

For more information on TimeControl 7.3, go to TimeControl.com/features/latest.

TimeControl 6.4, TimeControl Mobile, TimeControl updates, TimeControl upgrade, TimeControlOnline

HMS has released TimeControl 6.4

Leave a comment

HMS has just released TimeControl version 6.4 for new and existing clients. This version extends on the long-standing success of the TimeControl timesheet system with another new wave of enhanced and new functionality. Since its initial release in 1994, TimeControl has been one of the most recognized timesheet systems for organizations who need a single timesheet interface to fulfill the multiple requirements of payroll, human resources, project management and finance.

Enhancements in this version include the following:

All new Project Manager Validation!
We’ve completely redesigned the way that Project Manager Validation works in TimeControl 6.4. pmvalidationThe all-new multi-browser, multi-device interface allows project managers to highly individual line items that they approve or reject and TimeControl can now be configured to only transfer to a project management the approved items. This extension of TimeControl’s remarkable Matrix Approval Process for Labor actuals will make life even easier for project managers and organizational managers alike!

Not only can this view be used for approvals but project managers can move directly from the PM Validation view to do an adjustment on any timesheet line that they have rights to adjust and do the adjustment instantly. Plus Project Managers can update the ETC (Estimate to Complete) right on the screen before sending the data over to a project management system like Microsoft Project, Project Server, Primavera or Open Plan.

Direct Link to SharePoint task items
We’ve had integration with SharePoint almost since its release to the market but now TimeControl goes even further with a new ability to automatically load charge items from SharePoint task or project task lists just like we do with project management tools like Microsoft Project and Primavera.

My Assignments view
We’ve added an all new view in the MyAccounts area that lets users see what tasks they’ve been assigned to right from their own screen. myassignmentsIt allows users to look forward in TimeControl to what’s coming their way. Not only can users see this view, they can report on it or save it as an Excel or PDF file.

Expense Dialog view
Entering expenses in your TimeControl timesheet have gotten even easier as we’ve now created a new Expense dialog view that shows expenses in a form as well as a grid.

Cross-tab reports
We’ve created some brand new report types that we think will be super popular with both the accounting and project personnel. Cross tab reports let you put financial periods (Quarters, months, Weeks) as columns at the top of the report and projects and tasks as rows. It’s just the thing to show trends in labor being spent over time in any category that interests you.

Grouping by financial period
Aside from the all new cross-tab reports, we’ve made other reporting improvements. While you’ve always been able to sort and select along a financial period, it’s been harder to do sub-totals and grouping in reports by year, quarter and month.
Not anymore
TimeControl 6.4 adds date categorization fields to every line item including all historical data to allow you to do grouping and sub-totaling of any TimeControl report by these financial periods.

Improvements in TimeControlMobile
We’ve been busy with TimeControlMobile also. The updates in TimeControlMobile 6.4 includes the ability to update your (ETC) Estimate to Complete right on your smartphone. We’ve also added support for user defined fields on the timesheet. We’ve taken the opportunity to reorganize some of the data on the mobile screens so it is easier to view and update on your iPhone, Blackberry, Android or Windows Mobile 7 devices.

And lots, lots more…
There’s so much more that just won’t fit into our announcement. We’re confident that both existing and new users will love this new version.

TimeControl 6.4 is available immediately. TimeControl customers with existing current support contracts can download the new version from the Support/Updates area of the TimeControl website at no charge. TimeControlOnline customers will be notified in advance before we update our online Timesheet as a Service environment.

For more information about TimeControl, monitor the TimeControl blog at blog.timecontrol.org, the 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 contact HMS Software at info@hmssoftware.ca.

TimeControl 6, TimeControl upgrade, timesheet upgrade

TimeControl 6 upgrades now available

Leave a comment

For those clients who have patiently been waiting for their upgrades to TimeControl 6, the upgrades to the new version are  now available.  Clients with a current support contract can download the upgrades which includes a full installation of TimeControl 6, and a complete ISO image of the CD.  In addition, the download area includes the Installation and Upgrade guide which includes the hardware requirements, the installation instructions for the new version and instructions on how to upgrade an existing TimeControl 5.1.8 database to the new version. 
Clients with existing support contracts should go to www.timecontrol.com/support/updates where the new version is available at no additional charge.
Clients whose support contracts have expired can contact custsvc@hmssoftware.ca to update their contract.

TimeControl 5, TimeControl upgrade

TimeControl 5 is Alive!

Leave a comment

It’s a paraphrase from the hilarious 1986 movie Short Circuit but we’re talking of course about TimeControl, not a newly self-conscious robot. While all the news from HMS has been about TimeControl 6, we wanted to put in a good word for the ongoing support and availability of TimeControl 5. There will be many organizations who are keen to deploy the venerable TimeControl 5 and put off an upgrade to TimeControl 6 for the time being. TimeControl 6 is an exciting new interface based on an exciting new architecture but that alone is enough for some IT departments to ask to put off installing it. Many IT departments have a standard that insists that new versions be available for at least several months before they’re installed. Others will prefer the rapid keystroke response of an ActiveX compared to the HTML version of TimeControl. For organizations who need TimeControl Industrial, they’re still looking at a TimeControl Industrial 5 environment.

Of course existing clients who have TimeControl 5 deployed may need additional licenses and HMS will not force them to move to TimeControl 6 in order to have them.

TimeControl 5 will be supported for the foreseeable future. In fact, we have some clients who are still being supported on TimeControl 4 and this year we have a couple who have just upgraded from the old TimeControl 3, purchased originally in the 1990s.

So, if you’re looking to move forward with a purchase of TimeControl, you have the choice now of requesting us to ship TimeControl 5 or TimeControl 6. If you ask for TimeControl 5, you’ll automatically be entitled to your upgrade of TimeControl 6, ready to deploy whenever you are.