Have you embraced automation yet? Or, are you still on the fence about it?
The word “automation” often gives the impression that it involves the use of complex processes or requires deep technical knowledge. Both of which can put people off from using it.
However, we’re here to show you that automation can be surprisingly simple and incredibly beneficial, especially where time tracking is concerned.
When comparing automated and manual time tracking, there are some clear differences.
Automated time tracking makes use of technology and specialized software to record time and activities without the need for constant human intervention. In contrast, manual time tracking relies on each individual to accurately log their hours, either on paper or in a digital format such as a spreadsheet.
Manual time tracking is more labor intensive, less efficient, and opens the door wide open for errors and inconsistencies. The result is a less reliable dataset which can cause problems in key business areas such as payroll and compliance.
Switching to automated time tracking prevents many of these issues from occurring. Instead of staff getting bogged down in manual tasks, automation takes care of the job. Consequently, the resulting data is much more precise and accurate.
Rather than waiting until the end of each day to receive all team members’ timesheets, time tracking software makes it possible to automate the submission of each time log the moment it has been created.
This gives administrators the ability to see timesheet updates in real time and removes the requirement for team members to remember to submit them manually. Automatic timesheet submission also ensures that all time data in the system is 100% up-to-date and current.
Sometimes people need a little nudge to remind them to complete their timesheets. Having to do it manually quickly gets tiresome, but, fortunately, it’s no longer a necessary job.
Time tracking software can automatically detect who has forgotten to log sufficient hours and will send out a reminder for them to do so. These reminders can be sent out on a daily or weekly basis – whichever works best for the organization.
Additionally, automatic warnings can be sent to those who have logged more than their target hours to advise them they have gone into overtime. This feature is extremely useful for preventing team members from working too much and controlling the cost of overtime payments.
Where approving timesheets is concerned, having the ability to bulk approve multiple timesheets at once removes the administrative burden of doing each one manually and saves considerable time and effort for busy team leaders.
Automatic timesheet locking prevents team members from going back into their submitted timesheets and making changes.
This feature maintains data integrity and accurate payroll processing. It also creates an auditable trail, which is essential for maintaining compliance with labor laws.
Time-tracking software that automatically calculates the cost of labor and other expenses allows you to tell at a glance how costs are being managed. This helps stakeholders make informed decisions on where improvements can be made.
Automated labor calculations also support efficient payroll processing, reduce the administrative burden, and streamline the entire payroll process.
Time-tracking software should offer different billing methods that allow you to serve your clients best. For example, MyHours can automatically calculate:
This gives you the flexibility to bill your clients in the most appropriate way without having to go to the trouble of trying to work everything out manually.
Additionally, personalized invoices can be automatically generated for your clients or exported into the invoicing software of your choice.
Managing costs effectively is a critical task for any type of business and it’s surprisingly easy to let budgets spiral out of control. However, you can use time-tracking software to automatically track whatever budget you set for a project or task and ensure you never go over it.
One highly useful feature is receiving automated reminders once you have reached a certain threshold in budget expenditure. As an example, MyHours will automatically notify project administrators once 80% of a budget has been spent.
Think back to 10 years ago when creating reports required an in-depth knowledge of Excel spreadsheets and complex pivots tables and formulas.
Thanks to automation, this is no longer the case and reports can be generated at the touch of a button. Whether you want a simple dashboard overview or a complete breakdown of all time and cost-related parameters, an automated report feature will whip up the information you need in seconds.
Moreover, you can have the report instantly transferred into a readable format complete with graphs and pie charts. Imagine how much time that saves you from having to create them from scratch.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of automated time-tracking software is that the margin for error is drastically reduced.
Since you no longer have to manually shuffle data around or perform calculations, it is less likely that errors will be made. This allows you to bill your clients and pay your staff accurately – and on time.
When you replace manual tasks with automated ones, you create streamlined and efficient processes. And when an organization is more efficient, it can increase productivity, reduce cycle times for processes, and free up valuable resources.
The data your automated time-tracking software collects serves as a tool to drive even greater efficiencies.
Analyzing the historical data gives you insights into the:
You can then use these insights to further optimize your processes and make workflows even more efficient.
An automated timesheet process significantly reduces the administrative burden and costs associated with tracking work hours and payroll processing.
By freeing your staff from administrational tasks their skills can be utilized in other areas of the organization – most notably, the areas that generate profit.
Compliance obligations loom over every type of organization, but it needn’t be a complication if you have automated your time-tracking processes.
From precision data capture capabilities to seamless integration and data transfer with HR and payroll systems, automation is your fierce ally in maintaining compliance throughout your business.
When stakeholders have a full overview of all time tracking data, they can more easily monitor project progress, resource utilization, and allocation, as well as budgets.
In addition, time-tracking apps give a full overview of employees' workflows and help managers understand who’s got too much or not enough on their plate which enables better resource allocation to specific areas of projects or tasks.
While implementing yet another piece of software can seem daunting, the benefits of using automated time-tracking software will show themselves almost instantly.
After all, businesses are always looking for ways to spend time more efficiently, what better place to start than with time-tracking?
