Category Archives: timesheet

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

Year end Clean up of Data

Leave a comment

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Most Administrators will not want to look at users who are no longer active and TimeControl can help with this by allowing a display filter to be applied so the when the table is loaded the inactive users are not shown.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.

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?

Leave a comment

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.

best practices, Did you know, Solutions, successful implementation, support, TimeControl timesheet, timesheet, timesheet software, Tips, Tips and tricks

Check out our Timesheet Best Practices Solution Portal

Leave a comment

Timesheet Best Practices Solution Portal partial Over the last few weeks here at HMS, we’ve been doing some hard work assembling collateral, questions, answers, and other materials about the best ways to use a timesheet. We’re happy to finally reveal our new solutions portal for everything you need to know about timesheet best practices.

HMS Software employees are often asked for advice on the best practices for timesheet use, and many of these questions are not TimeControl-specific. This is why we’ve created a solutions portal with materials that will help you use timesheeting to its full potential.

We realize that timesheet usage is multi-faceted, so we divided up our efforts. Some timesheet usage recommendations are appropriate to the organization, and others are more focused on the individual. With this in mind, we divided the best practice information based on the end-user’s perspective and their information needs. You’ll notice that the solutions are categorized for use by the organization or the individual. This will make it easier so that you can quickly and easily find the recommended best practices you need.

One of the key new sections included in the best practices portal is the Timesheet Best Practices Q & A page. Ever wondered just how much time is too much to spend on entering your timesheet? Do you question just how much detail is productive in a timesheet? Or, perhaps you’re wondering if it makes sense to track the start and stop times of the day along with the durations for each task. We turned these types of timesheet questions we most often receive over to our technical staff. Their answers to these questions, and their timesheet expertise on these topics and more, are now available and ready to be shared with you.

There are many links, materials and collateral referenced by the Best Practices Solution Portal including white papers on how to increase resource capacity through better timesheet practices, guidance for executives on how a timesheet system can benefit the organization, videos of how to be effective with your timesheet system and even a blank timesheet process template for creating your own timesheet process.

Check out our new Timesheet Best Practices solution portal today! You’ll undoubtedly discover something some new information that can help you to get the most out of your timesheet.

To access the Timesheet Best Practices, visit timecontrol.com/solutions/bestpractices.

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

TimeControl Industrial 6.4 now available

Leave a comment

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.

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

New white paper: The Timesheet Approvals Challenge

Leave a comment

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

Leave a comment

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.

64-bit, 64bit, Installation, TC5 installation, timecontrol, TimeControl 5, timesheet

TimeControl 5 Supports 64bit installations

Leave a comment

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)
Install_64Bit_1

2. The under *Advanced Settings* set the *Enable 32-Bit Applications* setting to *True*
Install_64Bit_2

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.
Install_64Bit_3

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.

consolidates timesheet data, Financial timesheet, TimeControl value propositions, timesheet, timesheet reporting, timesheet software, timesheet systems, timesheets

TimeControl Value Propositions for Executives

Leave a comment

The use of TimeControl can have many benefits across an organization.  Sometimes it is helpful for people to understand just how TimeControl can benefit them according to what position they hold in the company. 
Today I will outline some of the key benefits that Executives would get out of TimeControl.CAMERA PICTURES 140
If you’re an executive, you’re used to looking at the big picture because your daily decisions affect the organization.  TimeControl allows executives to have timely reports to show where labour is being spent.  In some organizations, executives have to look at project data to track metrics on project progress and then look at financial timesheets to assess non-project labour.  One of the major benefits of using TimeControl is that it collects both project and non-project data for everyone which means that consolidated data is available for all staff. 
TimeControl offers flexible reporting with unlimited levels of data selection, filtering and sorting.  The ability to have immediate access to any report you need saves you time and energy and allows you to focus on decision making.  Perhaps you would be shocked to see how many hours have been spent in meetings over the past week.  TimeControl gives you the information you need to focus resources onto more effective tasks which saves money and improves the bottom line.
For more information on the benefits of TimeControl by role, please see the TimeControl Value Propositions factsheet located on the www.timecontrol.com site.

banked time, TimeRequest, timesheet, timesheet software, timesheets

Managing banked time with TimeControl

Leave a comment

Keeping track of banked time is one of the fundamental reason for purchasing a timesheet system.  Every company has it’s own policies which offers employees certain types of non-standard time that that needs to be kept track of.  Vacation time, personal time and sick days are the most common and that is why they come as part of the default set-up in TimeControl.  These can be modified or added to for a total of 9 banks per employee. 
Hours are allocated to each of the banks through the employee table. As the employee draws from the banks, TimeControl keeps track of the time taken.  When users log into TimeControl they will see a table of banked time on the main dashboard.  This table shows the allotted time, time taken and time remaining which allows employees to keep track of their own banked time.
Validation rules can be created to ensure that people are not taking more hours out of a bank than is available.  Also, employees can use the TimeRequest function to request permission to take time from a particular bank when permission is needed. 
For more information please check out the webcast entitled Managing Banked Time which is available in the TimeControl Online Learning Center.