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.
Are 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
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
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.
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 
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 
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) 
The resulting CSV file will export the notes which should be readable into Excel.
There are a number of clients who have happy TimeControl 5.x installations and for one reason or another aren’t ready to move up to the TimeControl 6 family. While there are numerous great reasons to go to TimeControl 6, we understand that upgrading right away isn’t for everyone.
We’re happy to report that while we are not putting new functionality into TimeControl 5, improvements in its infrastructure continue. We’ve found with the help of a couple of clients who were determined not to say no, how TimeControl 5 can be successfully installed into Windows 2008 R2 (yes, R2, the 64bit version!)
We’ll make sure we include these steps in future TimeControl 5 Installation documentation but for those who want to try this sooner, here are the steps required. First, do your installation as normal in your Windows 2008R2 64bit server environment. We have only tested this 64bit installation technique on that version of Windows Server using IIS7. Next:
1. Create an application pool and in *Basic Settings* make sure you set the *Managed Pipeline* to *Classic* (Click on the image at right to see the full-sized screen)
2. The under *Advanced Settings* set the *Enable 32-Bit Applications* setting to *True*
3. Then set the web site to this application pool by going into the *Basic Settings* and select the *Application Pool* to the new application pool that was just created. 
4. Now restart the Application Pool and the Web Site to make sure the new settings are accepted and voila, you should be good to go.
It’s a great feeling when clients tell us how much they love TimeControl and how it makes their life easier but when people actually take the time to write us a letter it’s even better!
I’d like to share with you an excerpt from a letter we received from Laura Nadeau of AeroInfo Systems (a Boeing Canada company):
“… My name is Laura Nadeau, I am the TimeControl administrator for Boeing Canada. When I started with this company three years ago, I had to release every single employee individually. Now, all it takes is a simple reminder notice to employees and their managers to release their hours and the system does all the hard work for me. Thank you so much for this, as I no longer dread Monday mornings …”
Thank you Laura, you made my day.
If you are interested in reading more TimeControl testimonials, please visit: http://www.hmssoftware.ca/clients/testimonials/ If you or someone you know is interested in writing a testimonial, please contact our marketing department at: (514) 695-8122.
TimeControl entries are typically in hours and minutes but TimeControl can be configured to work in percentages. These slides will walk you through how.
TimeControl 6.3 has arrived and with it a long list of great new features many of which have been suggested by our clients. Some of these features should delight both Administrators and End users. Here are a few of the new features:
Virtual TreesTimeControl has always allowed for hierarchical display of our charge codes and other table entries. Some TimeControl clients have tens of thousands of such hierarchical table entries. In the past, TimeControl has had to load 100% of these records and then had to sort them into their appropriate hierarchy prior to displaying them and when the volume was large, this could take some time. Our new Virtual Tree display allows TimeControl to fetch only the top level of the hierarchy, display that and then fetch only the data the user wishes displayed when they click on the “+” key. We’ve been doing testing with 150,000 records and the results are startlingly fast.
Manage statutory holidays with the new TimeRequest™ WizardThis allows administrators to create pre-approved TimeRequests for employees of their choice. It’s an ideal tool for pre-loading entries such as statutory holidays. A TimeControl administrator can now create a “Statutory Holiday” TimeRequest for every employee in the system that would include all statutory holidays for the year (Canada Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc…). These TimeRequests are automatically approved and will appear on all affected employee timesheets at the time of their creation. TimeRequest iCal 
When your Vacation is approved in TimeControl you can now just click to have it automatically open in your Outlook or other calendar program! TimeRequest Notifications People love how TimeControl can notify you by email automatically when there’s a problem with a timesheet. Now you can do the same with TimeRequests. When your vacation is approved, your supervisor can send you a quick note right from the TimeRequest screen and even include a link to add it to your agenda. It’ll be nice to get happy emails from TimeControl! Lots, lots more…There are numerous other improvements including:
Existing TimeControl clients with current support contracts can find more information on TimeControl 6.3, on the Support/Updates page at timecontrol.com/support/updates. There is no charge for the upgrade.
It’s summer time and the vacation schedules are just about to get underway. Here at HMS we thought it would be a good time to share with you a free guide on how to use TimeControl to better manage vacations in your organization. TimeControl is 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.
We’ve created a free webcast narrated by HMS Software’s President, Chris Vandersluis. It’s only a few minutes long and you can see some key functionality demonstrated that helps organizations manage vacations whether from an end-user or administrator perspective. Included in the webcast are discussions on:
The TimeControl Dashboard
The TimeControl dashboard includes a module by default which shows Vacation, Sick Leave and Personal time banks with indicators of how much time the employee has available in each bank, how much they’ve taken and how much is remaining. Just knowing how much time is left available to them lets employees plan their vacations better.
Managing Banked Time
TimeControl can also control banked time in a number of ways. TimeControl can be configured to accrue vacation as its earned so the bank of time increases each month. You can also track banked overtime if your organization has such a policy and track deposits of overtime into the bank and withdrawals of time off from the bank.
Vacation Approvals with TimeRequest™
TimeControl’s TimeRequest feature let’s the employee request approval for vacation right inside the timesheet itself. Then, once approved, the vacation is automatically inserted into the employee’s future timesheet.
Validation Rules
TimeControl’s Validation Rules let administrators determine what vacation rules are acceptable. You can restrict an employee from taking time that they’re not entitled to or, if you allow it, permitting time to be taken before it’s earned. These business rules have everyone who enters their vacation timesheet already complying with the organization’s policies.
Alternate User Functionality
We’ve thought of supervisors also. After all, managers and supervisors take vacation too! TimeControl’s Alternate User function lets a supervisor delegate their approval responsibilities to someone else while they’re away. (TimeControl still tracks who has actually done the approvals for proper auditing.)
TimeControl Mobile
Finally, if the vacation is going so well that you’d like to keep it going for another week, TimeControl Mobile is a part of every TimeControl implementation. Use your Smartphone to log into TimeControl from wherever you are and add a week’s vacation in your timesheet!
To see the free webcast, visit the TimeControl HR Solutions page at http://www.timecontrol.com/solutions/hr/. The webcast is available in the Webcasts area at the bottom of the page.
HMS has released TimeControl 6.2 for both new and existing clients.
This version continues the 6th evolution of one of the world’s most popular timesheet systems. Since its initial release in 1984, 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 TimeControl 6 new features, enhanced functionality and feature updates including the following:
TimeControl Mobile™ 
TimeControl Mobile is designed to work on popular smartphones like the Blackberry and iPhone. This is a web application that works with TimeControl as an extension of your existing implementation. As a mobile web-application there’s nothing to install. The user simply points their smartphone browser to the new /mobile directory of their TimeControl implementation and they are directed to an interface specifically created for the mobile device.
TimeControl Mobile includes functionality for adding, editing and deleting a timesheet, adding, editing and deleting timesheet lines. Even changing values for user defined fields is supported.
Just like the full web-based TimeControl, users who have pre-loading turned on or have defined personal pre-loaded charges will see them appear automatically in TimeControl Mobile when they create a new timesheet. This makes adding data very easy in the mobile device.If your TimeControl implementation is tied to a project management system like Microsoft Project or Primavera, your assignments could automatically appear when you create a new timesheet so you can update your activity hours in the field.
TimeControl Mobile works in both Portrait and Landscape mode. When the user flips their device from one orientation to the other, TimeControl immediately resizes the screen to take advantage of whatever space is available.
We’ve tried TimeControl Mobile on iPhones, Blackberry’s, Android and Windows 7 Mobile devices. Whatever your smartphone, there’s a good chance that TimeControl Mobile will work on it.
Filter details in Report headers
TimeControl now allows an option where the report headers will show the details of the filter you’ve selected. This means that selecting a date range or a particular range of data will be apparent from the values in the filter thus making it easier to ensure you’re looking at the right report data.
Improved table performance
We’ve made some huge improvements in table performance some of which have improved some table functions by as much as 500%!
Improved customized branding
TimeControl has allowed the client to insert their own image into the TimeControl login screen for some time. Now we’ve enhanced the ability for customized branding by providing a new image in the header of each TimeControl page.
Improved links with Microsoft Project Server
We’ve improved our TimeControl to Project Server link to take advantage of some of Project Server 2010’s capabilities. Now enterprise fields can be put into the charge code definition when linking and TimeControl will support the transfer of Sub-projects.
And lots, lots more… There are improvements and other minor enhancements across the system including in logs, reporting fonts, the timesheet list, the timesheet interface and drop down field descriptions.
TimeControl 6.2 is available immediately. TimeControl customers with existing current support contracts can download the new version from the Support/Updates area of the TimeControl website.
