Desktop

Ask something
Discussion Locked

Timesheets

0 helpful
13 replies

by onbliss 1 view

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.

I am just going to whine and rant about completing and submitting Timesheets.

As a consultant I had the Opportunity :-) to fill in a maximum of 3 timesheets for the same work I was doing. One to my consultancy company, one for the group/department/team/whatever and one for the billing folks.

The timesheet for my consulting company is the simplest of them all. Just complete an Excel spreadsheet and fax/email. Otherwise they are usually just complex and slowly working softwares.

For some reason, several companies have adopted a Web-based (intranet) software to track time. And I have never seen a fast one. It takes ages to fill them up.

Apart from the technical issues, sometimes the demand to break the work into a finite unit gets on to the nerves. Requiring to capture work done at the level of 15/30 minutes is not unknown. To top it, the billing systems use different categories/codes to Capitalize or Expense the work.

I know consultants who work in a Report Generation teams that are spending more than 90 minutes each week just entering the time. If the company is some kind of Third Party Administrator (TPA), then they want to capture the information as accurately as possible so that they can bill their customers correctly.

I understand the need to record the time accurately and judiciously. But sometimes it is just frustrating a chore.

Anybody have similar experiences?

13 replies

by tony hopkinson

And then the buggers 'lose it' and delay payment as your fault because you 'forgot' to send it.

We've got a web based one, two seconds to process each value put into the grid.

If I wrote something like that for a customer they'd fire my ass.

by joep3

There is an SaaS offering called myBizio.com that specfically addresses your concerns about muliple entry requirements and consistency. It's an account-based application that can route info to clients, employers and project managers from a single point of entry regardless of backend accounting or project management application being employed. This app targets exactly the your issues.

by onbliss

...I am in no position to use or recommend such softwares. But thanks for the info.

One wish, on my wish list is that the software integrates Outlook Calendar. In my previous contract, I used to attend more than 4 hours of meeting each day and wanted an automatic entry into the timesheet.

by jdclyde

While I do have a "time sheet", being salary, the only thing it is really used for is to keep track of vacation days.

A simple time in, time of lunch, and leave for the day.

of course, this can be very trying on someone such as myself. I mean, I have to write in a spreedsheet the time I get there, and AGAIN when I leave. Will it never end!?!?!

B-)

I would say "I feel your pain", but I don't... :p

by jmata019

You should try entering both timesheets and expense reports on multiple systems. I got stranded in a foreign country on assignment when my employer rejected several months of expense reports (that automatically sent payment to Amex) without notifying me. I had to have spouse wire personal money to Amex to get out of the country. I don't work for that company anymore. Do you wonder why?

by metoyoux1

My problem is i am supposed to enter into timesheet if i work for example 6.75hrs in a day, how do i work out the .75 as i have never been shown.
Can anyone provide me with the way to do this,

by neil

Hi there,

I've done timesheets for a long time and have owned a couple
consulting companies. I never had a simple, fast system. My
frustrations led me to co-found http://www.nexonia.com.
That's what we do...timesheets and expense reports. We're
always trying to come up with new ways to make the process
easier...we work hard on our UI.

Anyways, I relate to what you're saying. If you'd ever be so
inclined (or anyone else), I'd love to show you what we have and
hopefully get some feedback from you. We're always seeking
out ideas. I know your time is valuable. Thanks.

...Neil

by jimmie.kepler

As a salaried support analyst I never have liked doing timesheets. They seem like a plot by project managers to justify their jobs at times. I use a slow web based system that does not keep the categories from week to week. I spend so much time tracking time that I asked our CIO for a time tracking category in the timesheet to track all the time spent tracking time. Yea, I know they use it for billing, etc. ... but what a pain.

by shaun.lockett

It has always amazed me that the consulting firms I've worked for use the most cumbersome means necessary to collect their most vital information: billable hours!

When I signed on with my current company, FourthLink, Inc., one of the best features of their fully integrated resource process management solution was the simplicity of the timesheet (that's right: singular t-i-m-e-s-h-e-e-t).

Check out the solution at www.fourthlink.com.

by mazirra

I have users entering time and remaining work into Timesheet (Single Entry Mode). If the task owner rejects the hours, the system is not succesfully carrying forward to the next step.. For example, If Joe enters 20 hours against atask a, the system will not re-submit time back into the project plan. Any clue?

http://www.labortimetracker.com/

This discussion is closed to new replies.