Category Archives: timecontrol

Office 365, timecontrol

The many links between TimeControl and Microsoft Office 365 including Excel

We often don’t talk about all the ways TimeControl can touch Microsoft technology because there are so many and every organization might be different in how it wants to leverage Microsoft’s technology with their centralized timesheet system.

TimeControl has a pre-defined link to the Microsoft Project products including Project on the Desktop, Project Server, Project Online and Project for the Web.  TimeControl can be displayed inside a Teams tab.  TimeControl can be displayed within SharePoint or even link directly with SharePoint lists, pulling task information from a task list and even pushing back actuals.  TimeControl reports can be saved in Word read-able format orin images for consumption by PowerPoint.

But let’s just focus for a moment on Excel.

Whether you are thinking of Excel on your Desktop or Excel in Office 365, TimeControl has numerous ways to integrate that technology.  Here are just a few:

Importing and Exporting data between TimeControl and Office 365 Excel

TimeControl includes complete support for transferring data to and from Excel files.  If you maintain some data now in Excel, then moving that into TimeControl is a matter of moments.  If you use Excel for analysis of data, then sending TimeControl’s source data to Excel is very simple.  You can even schedule exports to Excel or imports from Excel to happen automatically on a schedule you define.

Importing legacy timesheets from Excel to TimeControl is already included

TimeControl includes import functionality for timesheet data itself so, if you have an existing timesheet system in Excel you can transfer that data into TimeControl.  Our Excel Solutions Portal even has a template for you to download and use so you don’t have to create it yourself.

Integrating Excel Services dashboards into TimeControl

Some people like using Excel’s server-based charting capabilities to create analysis of timesheet or project management data.  TimeControl supports displaying Excel views in the dashboard.  Need an Excel pivot report in your TimeControl dashboard?  No problem. Need an Excel traffic light on the TimeControl dashboard?  No problem.

Displaying TimeControl Reports in Excel

Every TimeControl report including those created in our TimeControl Report Designer or with the TimeControl Drill Down Analyzer can be saved as Excel files so you can do more extensive analysis and reporting in the tools you are familiar with.

Migrating from Excel to TimeControl or TimeControl Online is so simple

When new TimeControl systems are established, they are almost always provisioned for the first time from Excel files.  Even if you are not using an Excel timesheet, Excel is an easy tool for bringing data into one place, manipulating if need be then uploading it into the controlled environment of TimeControl.

For more information on linking to Excel or Microsoft Office Excel 365 or migrating from an  Excel-based timesheet system see our TimeControl/Excel Solutions Portal or speak to one of our TimeControl experts at HMS Software at info@hms.ca.

timecontrol, TimeControl Mobile, TimeControl Mobile App

TimeControl Mobile App includes both labor and non-labor field data collection

If you are a TimeControl Industrial user then you are no doubt familiar with how the free TimeControl Mobile app adapts to whether it is connected to TimeControl or TimeControl Industrial.  For TimeControl Industrial users of the free TimeControl Mobile App, additional features such as Crew timesheet entry appear but TimeControl Mobile App can do much more.

TimeControl Mobile supports not only the data collection of timesheets in the field by using the Crew timesheet.  It also allows non-labor entries.  This makes the app an ideal field data collection tool.  Labor is entered on the Crew timesheet but there is also an icon for Material entries in which any non-labor entries can be made.  Just as in TimeControl Industrial on the web interface, you can enter here materials consumption, equipment usage and even production values right from the field.

With the combination of these and other features, the TimeControl Mobile App delivers a LEMS (Labor, Equipment, Materials) collection system.  The Mobile app can also collect and attach pictures of the site, receipts for material delivery or other attachments that then become part of the centralized record.  Multi-faceted approvals are also handled in the field or back at the office.

This makes the TimeControl Mobile App a powerful field data collection tool and it’s all controlled right in the hand of a supervisor, foreman, team leader or clerk.  Collecting the data  right where the work is taking place leads to a much higher data quality and speeds all parts of the project progress workflow.

Once the data is released for approval, TimeControl’s powerful approval mechanisms ensure it meets the organization’s standards for data and that the people who need to approve the work get to do so whether that is through the Mobile App or back in the office on a computer web browser.  Either way, getting the data ready to update the project management system, the payroll system and the invoicing system happens much, much faster.

The TimeControl Mobile App is free and connects to TimeControl, TimeControl Online, TimeControl Industrial and TimeControl Industrial Online.  There is no fee for downloading or using the app.  The only requirement is that it be connected to an active TimeControl User License on the main system.

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 supports TimeControl on premise version 7.2 and higher, TimeControl Industrial on premise version 7.2 and higher, TimeControl Online or TimeControl Industrial Online.

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.

Contact HMS for more information on how the TimeControl Mobile App can help your remote workers get connected.

timecontrol

Oracle and HMS Software renew their technical partnership through 2021

Oracle and HMS Software extend their technical alliance for a 24th consecutive year.

We are pleased to continue our long standing relationship with Oracle.  It began back in 1997 and has become an enduring example of how technical companies can combine their efforts to deliver better products and services to their mutual clients.

HMS and Oracle partner across multiple fronts. HMS Software’s TimeControl timesheet system supports Oracle databases, we also integrate with numerous Oracle Applications including Oracle-Primavera EPPM and Primavera Pro.

Some of the many TimeControl’s value-added benefits when linking with Oracle-Primavera include:

  • Support for multiple rates per employee
  • Automated business rule validations
  • Automated workflow
  • Auditable timesheet records suitable for Finance, HR, Invoicing or Payroll
  • Missing timesheet notification
  • Simultaneous support for multiple versions of Primavera
  • The free TimeControl Mobile App for smartphones and tablets supporting both iOS and Android
  • Matrix timesheet approvals with HMS’s unique Matrix Approval Process for Labor Actuals™
  • With TimeControl Industrial, the Crew Timesheet and Materials and Equipment field data collection

You can read our Press Release on this latest extension to the HMS Software / Oracle partnership.  For more information on how Oracle and HMS Technologies work together, visit the Oracle/TimeControl Portal at: Oracle.TimeControl.com or contact HMS at info@hms.ca for more information.

 

timecontrol

The benefits of alternates

Since the earliest days of TimeControl we have had a request for people to stand in for another user for a host of different reasons.  Perhaps a supervisor is absent on a Friday when they needed to be doing approvals or perhaps a person will be out of the office and away from the Internet and needs to call in to have their timesheet completed in their absence.  “Do we need to share our passwords to deal with this?” was a common question.

When we considered how to address this problem, we had to consider also the base principles of TimeControl being an auditable system.

The end result is the Alternate Users function.  This functionality allows a user to declare other users as their delegates.

When you log into TimeControl, you will be presented with a screen that appears only if you have been declared as an Alternate User for that person.  You will be asked if you’d like to log in as yourself or as the alternate.

When you elect to log in as the Alternate, at the top of the screen you’ll see that you are logged in as the delegate but you’ll see your user name too.

That’s because TimeControl will keep track of who is really in the system as you make changes and edits.  As an Alternate you will now see TimeControl exactly as that user, rather than yourself.  You’ll see only the menu functions they see. You’ll see only the data they have access to.  Even changing a personal preference will be changing their personal preference.  If you make additions or changes to key data.  TimeControl will log those changes as though it was the alternate but it will also attach your own user name so that in an auditing situation, it will be apparent who actually made the change, approved the data or added new entries.

If you are listed as the Alternate for multiple users, at the top of the screen under your login name, you’ll see a down arrow and a new option that allows you to switch between any of the alternate users without having to log out and relog in again.

While an Administrator can create alternates for users in the User Table, A user can define for themselves who they wish to have as an alternate in their Account information.

A user can define one or multiple alternates.  For each alternate they can define when that person’s access to their account will automatically expire and they can also ask that emails from TimeControl that would normally go to the user, be redirected to the delegated user.  Throughout the entire Alternate User environment, TimeControl security and auditability are maintained.

Alternate user functionality has been with TimeControl for a very long time and it’s a way of keeping the organization entering and editing data effectively when some people will be away from their post.

 

timecontrol

HMS and Microsoft have extended our long standing alliance

TimeControl within Microsoft Teams
TimeControl within Microsoft Teams

We were delighted to announce this week that HMS has renewed its technical alliance with Microsoft. This will make 26 consecutive years we’ve had a formal partnership with Microsoft which, in itself is remarkable. Most software companies don’t last 26 years but this alliance has thrived over these many years.

The relationship formally started when we first released TimeControl version 2 in 1995. We had decided that we needed a link to Microsoft Project which was then at version 4.0 with version 4.1 named ‘Project 95’ about to be released. Once we’d found the right people to connect with at Microsoft, our ability to work together moved quickly.

Since then we have integrated TimeControl with every version of Microsoft Project right up to the most recent. That includes Project for the Desktop, Project Server, Project Online and Project for the Web. We invest in this integration every year. It’s a constant for the TimeControl development team. Numerous HMS team members have links to multiple Microsoft staff. It’s a broad team collaboration.

Over the years we’ve leveraged many aspects of Microsoft’s technology including SharePoint, Teams, Office 365, SQL Server and the Windows Server operating system.

That will continue.

To read our press release on the alliance’s renewal, see: TimeControl.com/resources/newsroom/press-releases/2021-06-09

timecontrol

Table Validations have a huge impact on data quality

We have had timesheet Business Validation Rules since the first version of TimeControl but did you know that you can apply the same kind of logic to table entries?

All TimeControl tables include an option called Table Validations.  These rules are defined by you and determine what makes an accurate entry into that table.  Think that doesn’t matter much?  You’d be surprised.  The number one issue reported by TimeControl Administrators is caused by inaccurate or incomplete entries in one of TimeControl’s tables.  Let’s imagine that you have a timesheet Charge Code filter that is defined by the department an employee is in.  That’s great unless someone forgot to enter a value for that employee’s department.

Table Validations can catch all of that.  You can make a rule that says that a particular field cannot be blank or a field is dependent on another field or that the value must fall into a particular range or even that the range is dependent on the value of some other field.  A rule can have several arguments within it and you can have multiple rules for each table.

When combined with TimeControl’s Pop-up selection functionality, this rule structure has data in the all-important TimeControl tables be of very high quality.  The rules are also respected when using an API or the TimeControl imports to load a table.  If an import doesn’t conform to the table’s rules, it will be rejected.

Table Validations are easy to create but you should strategize about what rules you want to create and follow to make sure you don’t make rules that contradict each other.  HMS Technical Services can always help.  You’ll find more information about Table Rules in the TimeControl Reference Guide.

timecontrol

New TimeControl White Paper on Change Management

Process change in an enterprise can be complex.  The more people who are touched by the changed process, the more likely it is to have people concerned by even the smallest change.  At HMS we encounter this phenomenon on a regular basis.  When you think about TimeControl, for most users it constitutes a tiny part of their work week but the implementation of a timesheet touches every human in the organization and sometimes beyond to those not even in the organization.  So, the potential for resistance to a new enterprise system becomes very real.

Our president, Chris Vandersluis, speaks on this topic often when lecturing or teaching at project management groups.  He has grouped some of his work on the subject into a White Paper entitled, “Managing the Change of Change Management”.  We’ve formatted it into a TimeControl white paper although the subject has relevance to almost any enterprise system deployment.

You can find the white paper on our Resources White Paper directory. or you will a version of it on Mr. Vandersluis’s blog at EPMGuidance.com.  The white paper can be downloaded in PDF format in case you wish to share it.

This is a subject that will likely be added to as time permits so keep an eye on the website for changes.

timecontrol

Free Timesheet Buyer’s Guide on the TimeControl website

The TimeControl team hosts a section of our website that could be of value to anyone choosing a new timesheet system.  The TimeControl Buyer’s Guide is a free collections of resources that are the culmination of experience from our TimeControl timesheet deployment experts.

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 isn’t specific to just TimeControl so no matter what kind of timesheet you’re looking for, these resources 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. subscribing to a timesheet in the cloud vs. writing your own 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 Timesheet Buyer’s Guide is available at: TimeControl.com/why-timecontrol/buyers-guide.  Access to the Buyer’s Guide is free.

 

timecontrol

The TimeControl team continues to add free Online Training

The TimeControl printed documentation can be intimidating at first glance.  It runs over 1,000 pages.  But our User and Reference Guides are only one of the many tools available to Administrators and end-users on how to use TimeControl.

We’ve done added some lessons to our Online Video Training Library. There are many lessons for TimeControl 8 and even older versions.

The video lessons are only 3-7 minutes each and are designed as “how-to” so users can work at your own pace. Each mini-lesson shows a single feature or function of TimeControl. Some are designed for end-users, others for TimeControl Administrators.

There are many other resources as well on the website including webcasts, white papers, slide presentations and factsheets.   You can browse through all of these resources at no charge at the Resources Area TimeControl.com.

timecontrol

How TimeControl notifies users

TimeControl can communicate on its own automatically or on demand to users in a variety of methods and for a range of different circumstances.   Here are some of the methods TimeControl uses to talk to users directly.

The TimeControl Notification Bell

You may have noticed the Alarm bell at the top right of the TimeControl screen.  In most cases, the bell is white and motionless.  But, if there is a message from TimeControl notifications, the bell will start to ring back and forth silently, letting you know that TimeControl has something of importance for you t9 know.  Most notifications in this area are from the timesheet approval process but as time goes on, you can expect the notification area to include notices for different kinds of events.  In some cases, clicking on the message can bring you right to the document required.  Clicking on a “Timesheet Rejected” notice for example, should bring you right to that timesheet in the Timesheet Entry screen.

Emails

TimeControl can be configured to send emails for numerous different events.  It’s often not enough to count on people going into TimeControl and noticing the Notification Bell.  So, an email can direct users to go to the system to attend to a variety of events.  Emails can be sent for missing timesheets or rejected timesheets but also to let you know that a job has been processed, a report is waiting for you or that the Workflow Engine has detected a condition that you wanted to be notified about.

Dashboards

TimeControl dashboards can do so many different things but it’s one method TimeControl can use to notify you of your timesheet status, the status of other’s timesheets, vacation status for you or your team, budget vs. actual reports or so much more.  Dashboard are usually presented as soon as you log in so they can be a key place to get important information at a summary level.

Condition Reports and Scheduled Reports

TimeControl’s Report Interface can create reports that are delivered automatically on a schedule.  Scheduled reports will send an email with the report attached in PDF or Excel (or other) formats.  Or, if the report is too large to attach, it will include a link to an encrypted copy of the report on the TimeControl server.

Scheduled reports won’t send anything if there is no data to select so this is a great method of creating exception reports that will only appear if there is some exception to report.

Whether TimeControl is sending information to different users on demand or automatically, it’s capabilities of communicating directly with users with the information they need to know helps make the entire organization more effective.