Top 5 Questions to Ask When Evaluating Timesheet Solutions

It’s difficult to find the perfect solution for all your time tracking needs. How can you be sure you’ll get a system that works for your company and is immune to the most common problems people experience when buying a time and expense management solution?

Here are a few considerations:

1. Am I Being Duped by a Deceptive Sales Demo?

This is the most common mistake in buying timesheet software. You have the power to demand that any vendor absolutely, completely prove to you that their solution will solve your company’s specific business problem. You deserve a detailed demonstration that uses your employee list, your customer list, your project list, your company’s logo and color scheme and that shows you reports on your data to give you confidence how your business problem will be solved.

2. Will I Receive Responsive Support from My Vendor?

Most vendors provide a static outdated FAQ list and support staff that are often part of the sales team. When support is part of the sales force you only get help as a prospect. Always double check any commitments prior to making payment, as it’s more difficult to get help once payment has been collected.

3. Is the Timesheet Solution Web-Based or Web-Enabled?

Many timesheet systems that claim to be web-based are in fact only web-enabled, meaning that only some aspects of the software work via internet browser, or that it doesn’t work well with certain browsers or operating systems.

Your company’s chosen operating systems and chosen browsers will change over time, and if a vendor doesn’t support all systems and browsers today, then it might not support whatever you choose in the future. Web-based software works on all browsers, on all operating systems, and every aspect of the software can be administered via the web. This enables real-time accurate data collection and management worldwide without the difficulties of maintaining special software on client machines.

4. Can I Gain Efficiencies from a SaaS Solution?

Most timesheet software companies either sell software or a SaaS service, not both. SaaS means software-as-a-service. You might also have heard it referred to as “the cloud.” Essentially, it means you rent access to 100% web-based software that’s running on external servers instead of installing it on a server at your office. This allows early rollouts, server protection and easier upgrades.

Software has to be built, stored, secured, upgraded, and maintained – which can be very costly. Saas, on the other hand, provides a simple and efficient way for customers to access technology that is hosted somewhere on the web by paying a monthly or annual subscription fee. So, when looking for a time tracking software, you should strongly consider whether you can save money and streamline business processes with a cloud-based solution.

5. Is This Solution Flexible for All My Employees?

Most timesheet programs offer a single environment for time tracking that includes a few minor options for customizing an employee’s timesheet layout and process. Limited ability to customize an employee’s timesheet is a problem for two reasons.

Firstly, acceptance and daily usage of your timesheet system is required in order to realize the full benefits of automation. Employees are more likely to feel comfortable with the transition to a new system if the tracking environment and process resemble the process they followed previously and are familiar with. The ability to customize employee timesheets to emulate previous processes facilitates compliance and overall success.

Secondly, not all types of employees track their time the same way. Exempt employees, hourly part-timers and contractors may all require different methods of tracking time. The ability to use different timesheets for different types of employees-in one cohesive system-is necessary in order to emulate each employee’s time tracking process and keep your payroll and billing systems running smoothly.

Finally, consider the following three questions:

1. How much time are my employees spending on projects?
2. What type of work are they doing?
3. How much does a project cost us by employee?

Journyx can help you answer these questions and more with our powerful, cloud-based time tracking solution, which is designed especially for tracking project-oriented or client-oriented work. This data will give you actionable insights into where your business is spending its time and money, so you can make better, more informed decisions.

Journyx offers a high level of flexibility and customization. With automated features like payroll validation rules and robust reporting options, you can reduce timesheet errors and get the data you need, when you need it.

Learn more about how our project time tracking and resource management solutions can help you plan project resources, bill clients more accurately, control labor costs and expenses, and save your business both time and money.