The choice of time recording software is large, but not all solutions meet the requirements of project-oriented companies.
Software solutions for time recording are a dime a dozen. The selection ranges from the standard software Microsoft Excel, which is "bent" into a time recording solution with the help of specific templates and extensions, to special solutions, which are often offered in connection with corresponding hardware for access control, to mobile apps, which can be downloaded from the well-known app stores. Companies that want to use time recording software are thus faced with the challenge of selecting the optimal solution for them from the abundance of available solutions.
As mentioned at the beginning, there are different requirements for time recording software. These begin with the question of what time is to be recorded. Is it purely about the presence of a (shift) employee, possibly with the corresponding access control to a company building or a factory facility? Is it about logging the working time of an external employee or is it ultimately about recording and billing the project times worked both internally and externally to a client/customer? In many project-oriented sectors such as the IT sector, management consultancy, the agency sector, architecture and engineering or other service sectors, it is specifically the latter case that we would like to deal with more specifically in the following.
Precision in time recording plays a central role, especially in the project business. After all, the recorded times are ultimately the basis for invoicing the client. For this reason, it is essential to be able to prove as precisely as possible who has done what work for which project and when. If this can be proven, the client will usually approve the work in a timely manner; if it cannot be proven, there will be enquiries and the billing will be delayed.
Another aspect of the project business is the variety of billing models: According to daily rates, according to hourly rates, according to agreed flat rates. If time recording is limited to the mere recording of hours, rework is necessary, because these hours must of course be linked to the agreed billing models in order to ultimately provide a business overview of the project business and to enable billing of the project hours worked.
Another aspect that plays a central role, especially in project-oriented companies, is mobility, because project work usually takes place on site at the customer. For this reason, it makes sense to give employees the option of recording their working hours independent of location and time via a mobile device (laptop, smartphone, tablet). The same applies to the corresponding travel expenses and receipts. This means that they do not have to wait until the next time they are back at their desk in the office to do this work.
Closely related to the topic of mobility is the last item on the list of requirements for time recording software: user-friendliness. Recording project times with the corresponding travel expenses and receipts is not exactly one of the "favourite tasks" of many employees, but is rather seen as a necessary evil. On the other hand, as already mentioned, management is of course dependent on precise and timely recording, because this is the only way to ensure precise and timely accounting. As numerous practical examples show, user-friendliness and an intuitive, easy-to-understand user interface play a central role in the acceptance of time recording - and thus its use.
So, if we summarise the above-mentioned special features of time recording, the following requirements for a time recording system for project-oriented companies result:
With ZEP, the company provantis IT Solutions offers a web-based software solution for time recording and project controlling that was specially developed for project-oriented companies. It is not for nothing that ZEP stands for "time recording for projects". The basis for the development of the solution was the many years of experience of the two company founders, Thilo Jahke and Oliver Lieven, in the project business of a medium-sized IT service provider and the resulting requirements for a software solution in the areas of time recording and project controlling.
An overview of the functions and modules of ZEP can be found on the ZEP website.
Read article ↗
Read article ↗