best practices, project management, project timesheets, Tips

Grouping Projects for Selection

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Blog_Grouping_1Many TimeControl clients group their projects by various categories such as; by client, project  type, billable / non-billable and other criteria.  When an employee needs to select a project from the pick list for inclusion on their timesheet, the common practice is to select the category first then drill down to the projects included under that category. A common example of this is to select by client first then select the project associated with that particular client.

This type of grouping is most typically identified as a user defined field on the Project Table and may be named however required. This field can be used to create a tree-like display on the project select list when inserting a new line item on a timesheet. Grouping_blog_2An example of this would be a company who has a lot of projects that are associated to a specific client. Being able to choose the client first and then the project makes it easier for an employee to select the appropriate project, when completing their timesheet.

The setup of the tree field for the project table is completed on the Administration / System Preferences tab. For the Project tree structure, select the filed you wish to use for grouping by using the dialog box. If you wish, you can choose multiple fields and have a multi-level display.

Once this has been setup the project pick list on the time entry screen will show in a cascade fashion following the user fields. Grouping_blog_3
It is important to note that these are global settings and will affect all users.
banked time, dashboard, hr timesheets, human resources, TimeControl Timesheets, TimeRequest, TimeRequest Wizard, timesheet reporting, Validation Rules

Managing Holidays with TimeControl

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The holidays are upon us and here at HMS when we think of Holidays, we think of what Payroll and Human Resources people need to do to properly account for them in the TimeControl timesheet. TimeControl includes functionality that is perfect for managing holidays that will be taken by many staff people and assisting those personnel with entering the appropriate line item in their timesheet.

TimeRequest Wizardclip_image002
The TimeRequest Wizard is a great function which is typically made available only to Administrators. It to add entries into future timesheets and approve those entries in advance. The function is extremely simple to use. Administrators select a date in the future and then enter the description, number of hours and the charge and rate code that are appropriate for the upcoming holiday. Then the Administrator selects which users should get this timesheet entry. Once the Administrator confirms the entry, TimeControl creates a pre-approved TimeRequest which will automatically create an entry for each of those users in the future timesheet with the properly entered number of hours and charge code already done.

TimeControl Administrators often enter the entire year’s holidays in advance for the entire staff early in the year. Using the TimeRequest Wizard means fewer errors in entry during holidays for those who are entitled to the time off.

Some of the challenges which the TimeRequest Wizard’s functionally overcomes include:

How to manage different holidays for different groups?
The TimeRequest Wizard can create future entries for any filtered or selected group of employees. Perhaps you have US Thanksgiving for the American staff and Canadian Thanksgiving for those in Canada. No problem. The Administrator simply selects different filters for different groups.

What if someone unexpectedly works on the holiday?
No problem. The TimeRequest has been pre-approved and will pre-load into the employee’s timesheet but the employee can overwrite or delete that line should they wish. The TimeRequest entry simply provides them an entry that is pre-made for them, not something that they can’t undo when the time to do their timesheet comes along.

Other functionality that is important for HR and Payroll managers at this time of year includes:

Managing vacation and Personal-time-off (PTO) banks
Around the holidays it’s quite common for some staff people to want to take additional time off from their vacation or Personal-time-off banks. TimeControl supports up to 9 separate banks of time by default. In an employee wants to put additional time on their timesheet for vacation or personal time, they can make a TimeRequest to get approval and then TimeControl’s Validation Rules can check to make sure the employee still has enough time in their time-off bank.

Links to external systems
TimeControl has been designed to link to external systems such as HR and Payroll systems or services so your Holiday and time-off data can get to the right place without having to retype.

Powerful reporting and dashboarding
TimeControl’s reporting and dashboarding options lets us show summary and detailed reports for holidays booked, holidays taken as well as any additional time taken.

clip_image003TimeControl Human Resources Solution Portal
To find out more about TimeControl and how it can help with your Human Resources (HR) requirements as well as other business challenges, visit the TimeControl HR Solution Portal at www.timecontrol.com/solutions/hr. You’ll find a webcast, and screen shots and you can even see a webcast of the TimeRequest Wizard in action.

timecontrol, TimeControl Clients, TimeControl testimonials, TimeControl Timesheet Software

Another happy customer

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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.

Billing, rate codes, time and billing

TimeControl for Time and Billing – Solutions Portal

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TimeControl is a remarkably flexible timesheet system that can be used to fulfill multiple requirements simultaneously.  It can serve as a time and attendance timesheet, a project timesheet and as a time and billing system. 

Some of TimeControl’s features that are ideally suited to a time and billing configuration including:

Easy to use interface
TimeControl’s easy to use interface can be updated from anywhere and supports a wide range of web-browsers including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Mozilla.

Mobile interface
Every TimeControl also includes a mobile interface designed for use from your Smartphone.  Enter or approve your timesheets on your iPhone, Blackberry, Android or Windows Mobile 7 device from wherever you are.

Expense entry
When billing must include more than just the time, TimeControl’s expense entry allows you to capture non-labor costs within the timesheet.

Remarkable table flexibility
It is TimeControl’s flexibility of its background tables which makes it capable of fulfilling many requirements at the same time.  This allows us to group data by client, by project, by task and more.

Unlimited multi-value rates
TimeControl’s power rates system is highlighted in a time and billing scenario.  Create an unlimited number of project-based rates by person and have each rate code manage multiple values.

Powerful reporting and dashboarding
TimeControl’s reporting and dashboarding options lets us show summary and detailed billing reports by client, by project or by any combination of data.  We can even show detailed reports with both the internal cost and external billing price for any hour entered.

Links to external systems
TimeControl has been designed from scratch to link to many different external systems so you can integrate your timesheet data to your finance, hr, payroll, invoicing, costing and project systems simultaneously.Time&billing sol pg

We have created a brand new solution portal dedicated to using TimeControl for time and billing.  The portal includes some great new material including a webcast, a whitepaper , slides and more.

Access to the TimeControl time and billing solution portal is free at: www.timecontrol.com/solutions/timebilling.

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What our clients are saying about us

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We are always thrilled to hear that TimeControl is making a real difference for our clients. We recently received this glowing testimonial from Mark Weissberger at Intelcan explaining how TimeControl is invaluable to this growing company.

Intelcan Testimonial

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.

project management software, project timesheets, TimeControl value propositions, timesheet reporting, timesheet software

TimeControl Value Propositions for CIO’s

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CAMERA PICTURES 209For the CIO, the major benefit for using TimeControl is that it reduces redundancy. Many organizations have two or more different timesheet systems and trying to consolidate all this data can be a real headache. TimeControl collects both project and non-project time making it a perfect fit for everyone in the organization. Having one timesheet for everyone is definitely more efficient and cost-effective and consolidation of data becomes a non-issue.

a company-wide timesheet also means that there is also no need to support and maintain multiple systems thereby saving even more time and money. Having all the data in one place makes reporting a much simpler task. The CIO benefits from this direct access to data for metrics and scorecarding.

Because TimeControl is so flexible, it has the ability to integrate with other corporate systems such as Project management, HR, Finance, and ERP. TimeControl can even integrate to different systems and different versions of the same system simultaneously. This huge flexibility allows the company to leverage it’s existing IT infrastructure.

Aside from all the benefits for the organization, the CIO himself may want to incorporate TimeControl for his own internal staff. He may have his own needs to track things such as project vs. non-project time, internal billing, costing, R & D time and more.

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, Blackberry timesheet, dashboard, smartphone timesheet, TimeControl Mobile, TimeControl timesheet, TimeControl value propositions, TimeRequest, vacation

TimeControl Value Propositions for Team Members

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We have focused on making time-entry in TimeControl quick, easy and convenient because CAMERA PICTURES 018the truth is that team members just want to get their timesheet done – usually in a hurry on Friday afternoon.  The fact that TimeControl is web-based means that employees can enter their timesheet from almost anywhere, as long as they have access to the internet.  With TimeControl Mobile, users can even enter time from their smartphone mobile device. 
The TimeControl timesheet can be pre-populated with scheduled tasks imported from a project management system.  The timesheet can also be pre-populated with tasks that the employee usually performs, we call this a personal pre-load.  Having the tasks already in the timesheet means the team member simply needs to assign hours to the tasks that are already loaded.  Another form of timesheet pre-load involves the use of the TimeRequest module.  Employees request time-off or other special time through TimeRequest by filling out the date and description of the time (vacation time, personal day, banked time, etc …).  When this time request is accepted, the time is automatically populated in the future timesheet. 
From the MyTimeControl homepage dashboard, employees can quickly see how much sick time, personal time and vacation time they have taken and is available.  Training hours, banked time and more can also be seen if the company opts to track this type of time.  This knowledge empowers employees to better manage their time and eliminates the need to be constantly be calling HR to ask for this information.   
This post has been a continuation of the TimeControl value propositions started last week.  Over the coming weeks I will continue on this series outlining the key benefits of using TimeControl by company role.  Last week we covered Executives and in the posts to come we will continue with CIO’s, Project Managers, CFO’s, Resource Managers, HR managers and Payroll managers.
For more information on the benefits of TimeControl by role, please check out the TimeControl Value Propositions factsheet located on the www.timecontrol.com site.

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

TimeControl Value Propositions for Executives

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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.

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