Category Archives: timecontrol

Hardware Requirements, IE10, Internet Explorer, Internet Explorer 10, TC6, TC65, timecontrol, timesheet

The Perfect 10 with IE10

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Ok, maybe it’s not fair to compare Bo Derek with TimeControl but today’s topic is Internet Explorer version 10.  As Windows 8 is making its way onto more and more PCs, IE10 has become more and more prolific amongst our users.  In the last couple of weeks Microsoft has made IE10 available to a wide range of Windows 7 users as well and we have had numerous questions about TimeControl’s support of IE10.
If you are a TimeControl 6 basic timesheet user then you will likely find that TimeControl is supported without having to do anything new.  Some of our tests have shown that under some conditions, you must turn on compatibility mode in which case you can add your TimeControl URL to your list of compatibilty sites to ensure that compatibility mode activates automatically for your site.
If you are a TimeControl Administrator, or someone who must use one of the few remaining ActiveX controls in TimeControl (such as for System Preferences) then you will have to ensure that IE10 is running in 32bit mode.   Unlike IE9, Microsoft no longer ships two different Internet Explorer versions (32bit and 64bit).  Both are contained in the same system.  To turn on 32bit mode however isn’t obvious.  If you are in a situation where you must run a TimeControl ActiveX, then you can turn it on in the Advanced Tab of your Internet Options.  Scroll down to to “Enable Enhanced Protected Mode”, click it on and then click OK.  Close all browser windows and restart and hey-presto!  You’re in 32bit mode.

For most users this will not be required as it only applies to the handfull of users who must use one of those last few ActiveX Controls.  If you have any challenges with IE10, please let TimeControl Support know at support@hms.ca.

Field Data Collection, Hard Dollar Timesheet, Industrial Timesheets, Primavera Timesheet, Project Cost Control, timecontrol, TimeControl Industrial, timesheet

Integrate TimeControl, Primavera and Hard Dollar Solution Page

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With the release of TimeControl 6.5, organizations are now able to create a remarkably powerful project management environment by combinging the best of HMS’s TimeControl, Hard Dollar’s HD and Oracle-Primavera’s P6 all at the same time and we have created a TimeControl Solution Portal to give you access to resources on how this could help you with organizational efficiency.
Haven’t you ever wished you could take the best of the most popular project management tools and blend them together?
Now, thanks to TimeControl version 6.5, you can.

You can now integrate TimeControl or TimeControl Industrial with Hard Dollar’s HD and Oracle-Primavera’s P6 simultaneously to create one remarkably flexible and powerful environment.  Hard Dollar is known for its strength in project cost estimating and cost control.  It has been used for years in construction, engineering, utilities, mining and other industrial industries to create a rich definition of cost requirements for labor, material and equipment requirements for projects.  Primavera is world-renowned for its project scheduling, project tracking and resource capacity planning functionality.  TimeControl Industrial brings field data collection to a new level.  TimeControl has been available since 1994 and is one of the world’s best known timesheet systems.
TimeControl and TimeControl Industrial have had the ability to integrate with Primavera since 1997.  When Primavera users need to extend timesheet capabilities to meet financial requirements for not only job costing but also invoicing, payroll, HR and numerous government compliance rules, TimeControl is often the choice. 
HMS and Hard Dollar created a technical alliance in 2012 to create the same kind of integration between TimeControl Industrial and Hard Dollar’s HD cost control system and while doing so realized that something remarkable was possible.  There was already an integration between HD and Primavera’s P6 and the addition of TimeControl Industrial which already had the P6 integration itself meant that all the products could be combined together.  The TimeControl/HD integration was designed with that requirement in mind and it has surpassed our best hopes for improved efficiency. 
The bi-directional link between TimeControl and HD brings in job definitions and sends back the actuals on a day-to-day basis.  The bi-directional link between TimeControl and P6 brings in activity and step definitions along with resource assignments and sends back not only the resource and financial actuals but also estimate to complete and Activity Step progress.  TimeControl’s unique Matrix Approval Process for Labor Actuals™ means that data arrives already approved from both the organizational and project perspectives and is ready to use by Project Management, Job Costing, HR, Payroll and Finance.
It’s the best of not just both but all three worlds.  A blend of the best in world class performance from the leaders in project management systems.

For more information on combining TimeControl Industrial, Hard Dollar’s HD and Oracle-Primavera’s P6 into your winning combination, see our Solution Portal at industrial.timecontrol.com/solutions/tchdp6/
 For information on TimeControl Industrial, go to industrial.timecontrol.com or contact HMS Software at info@hms.ca, or call us toll free at (877) 699-8463 (International +1 (514) 695-8122).

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

Year end Clean up of Data

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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

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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 17th 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?

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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.

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

TimeControl Industrial 6.4 now available

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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 TC64_CrewEntry_300x209included 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 / tc6_materialentry_300x209Equipment / 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 atc6_crewextendedrates_300x238ccommodate 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.

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

HMS is going to London… Ontario that is

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boothAre you going to the PMI Southwest Ontario Symposium?  Us too!  HMS will be exhibiting at the SWOC PMI Chapter’s Symposium event on April 27th.  The event is being held at the

Lamplighter Inn & Conference Centre at: 591 Wellington Road, London, Ontario.

If you are interested in meeting HMS staff in person or talking to us about TimeControl or other HMS Services and are in the area, then please let us know.  If you are attending the symposium and would like to make sure we organize an appointment with you, please email info@hmssoftware.ca or give us a call at 514-695-8122. 

For more information on the symposium, go to: www.pmiswoc.org

Matrix Approvals, Multifunction timesheet, multipurpose timesheet, timecontrol, timesheet

New white paper: The Timesheet Approvals Challenge

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We’ve done a rewrite of our core white paper; the document that describes how TimeControl became one of the world’s most popular timesheet systems.  “The Timesheet Approvals Challenge” shows why so many organizations end up implementing more than one timesheet system.

We know that no one wakes up one day and says “I’ve got a great idea.  Let’s deploy as many timesheet systems as we can find,”

The problem is that different aspects of the organization are trying to solve different problems and even if they find a powerful timesheet, where it breaks down is in the concept of approvals and that is most challenging in a matrix organization.

When an organization needs a timesheet for only time and attendance, timesheet approvals are fairly straightforward.  We have the supervisor approve the timesheet in its entirety along with any time off that was recorded. There are timesheets that cater to this need.

When it needs a timesheet for only project tracking, again timesheet approvals are fairly simple.  We have project managers approve the time allocated to each task.  There are timesheets that cater to this need.

When the organization needs a timesheet for only HR Tracking, timesheet approvals are again quite basic. HR supervisors will ensure that the timesheet does not exceed entitlements for vacation, sick leave or personal time off. There are timesheets that cater to this need.

When a timesheet is implemented for billing, it is the account manager and the billing clerk who will review the time and ensure it meets the billable criteria and has the appropriate rate.

But, what do you do when you have more than one of these requirements?  It is to this environment that “The Timesheet Approvals Challenge” white paper was created.  The paper outlines the timesheet selection and implementation difficulties that are most prevalent in industry and outlines how organizations try to overcome them.

The paper lays out key criteria for deploying a multi-purpose timesheet with the approvals functionality required to allow a single timesheet interface to collect and approve the timesheets for multiple requirements.

Access to the white paper is free and can be found on the Matrix Approvals Solution portal of HMS Software’s TimeControl website at timecontrol.com/solutions/matrixapprovals.

Excel, timecontrol, TimeControl Reporting, timesheet

Exporting / Printing long notes

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If you have timesheet notes that are longer than 255 characters, you may have found it difficult to print those notes in a regular TimeControl report.  This is thanks to the Formula1 module that has been used in TimeControl for a very long time to product and view reports.  In an upcoming version of TimeControl we’ll have some additional reporting functionality but for the moment, there is another easy way to get a report that includes notes up to 4,000 characters.
Just export them to Excel.  Here are the basic steps
1. Make a new Table Export based on PSDetails
exportnotes1
2. Select fields that may interest you such as Charge Codes and Descriptions from the Posted Charge Revision table and Hours and Date work performed from the PS Detail table
exportnotes2
3. Now select the Posted Detail/Line table and select Posted Notes. These are the notes that are attached to each line in the timesheet. (For the notes that are attached to the entire timesheet header, select the Posted Line Header table and select Posted Header Note)
exportnotes3
The resulting CSV file will export the notes which should be readable into Excel.