Keeping track of your employees’ progress is essential for the growth of your business. Without that, you won’t know whether your employees are productive or have too much workload. The solution to this problem is Timesheets, a popularly used time management software.
But just as important it is to use Timesheet is, so is finding the right Timesheet system. If you select the wrong Timesheet, the chances of errors, late, and inaccurate invoices increases. Moreover, you may not be able to bill a client appropriately.
In simple words, it means you need to find the best Timesheet system for your organization. For this, you need to understand the 5Ws of tracking time. It is as follows:
The 5W’s of tracking time are; who, what, where, when, and why. Here is what each means explicitly;
Why Are Timesheets Critical To Business Growth?
As author Simon Sinek famously writes about in his book, “Start With Why,” we are going to begin this list by doing just that. Before beginning any Timesheet journey, you should first question ‘why a timesheet is critical for the growth of your business?‘
If you’re investing in a Timesheet, you should know why your company even needs it in the first place. A solid “why” is the bedrock to getting adoption from employees and finding the right tool for the job. Timesheet is a revolutionary solution for introducing better time management and productivity skills in your business.
Who Should Track Time?
The next ‘W’ of effectively tracking time is ‘who should track time?‘ Timesheets are used for monitoring attendance, calculating payrolls, billing clients, and analyzing future costs.
You can use Timesheets to calculate productive time spent on a project and create accurate invoices. Your internal and external expenses become easier to track with Timesheets. So, just figure out what areas of your company you want to track.
What Features Do I need?
Now you need to ask yourself, ‘what features do I need in my timesheet?’ An online timesheet system can come with an array of innovative features you and your company can benefit from. Selecting the right features allows your employees to effectively and accurately track time and create invoices.
Here you can ask yourself a couple of more questions like:
- What device your employees use to track time?
- Do your employees need automated time trackers or do they prefer entering manually?
- Do you want to track productive hours to find a precise bill?
Questions like this allow you to select all the right kinds of features you’ll need from the Timesheet you ultimately choose.
Where Will Employees Enter Time?
The next ‘W’ is asking yourself, ‘where will the employees enter their time?‘ Here you need to spend some time asking yourself whether an app is necessary for your team or not.
There are a plethora of timesheet apps available, each with its bonus benefits. Typically, Timesheet apps track employees’ proactive hours, reduce errors made by automatically tracking time, and ensure transparency. Plus, automated entries in spreadsheets means your workers can focus on their present tasks.
When Should You Implement Your Timesheet?
Next comes the when ‘when should you implement your Timesheet infrastructure and are your employees ready for it?‘
If you start using Timesheets and your employees are not on board with the idea, they won’t be committed to daily and appropriate submissions. What you need to do is communicate the value of Time tracking and integrate it into the workflow. Next, get them on board with the idea and motivate them by rewarding them.
In Conclusion
Timesheets offer you a variety of benefits. It includes better security against time theft, easily customizable and accessible, accurate billing and invoices, and increased productivity.
Begin with a solid “why” and then look at the who, the what, then where and when. Once you have the 5W’s of choosing a Timesheet answered, you will be ready to efficiently grow your business and get the most out of your time.