The Evolution of Time Tracking

The concept of time goes back several thousand years but Time Tracking is a fairly recent idea. While Europe was still in the shackles of aristocracy, there was no concept of work hours.

The lords and earls spent a large part of their day in Court sycophanting the king, the peasants and serfs worked from dawn till dusk in the fields to pay off the rent, feed the children and save up food for winters.

But with the onset of industrial revolution, all started to change. Aristocracy started crumbling as more and more peasants headed to urban centres in order to find employment in factories. This eventually pushed the government to pass legislations for limiting the number of working hours and define minimum wages for an employee.

All these efforts to ensure betterment of the common man, amidst of labor union activism, gave birth to the concept of Time Tracking.

Time Tracking initially was done for the purpose of calculation of wages of the workers, as they were paid by the hour. The first tools used for the purpose were crude, time consuming and often inaccurate.

As a factory worker left the premises after his work day, he would take out his time card and get it punched by the time clock. The supervisors would later collect the cards and manually enter the time in a payment ledger to calculate the time spent while working. This process was mundane, long and prone to human error.

For many decades, time clocks with some innovations here and there were used but they didn’t really solve the problem.

Meanwhile, the classic tool for record keeping, paper, was also used a lot. This system also heavily relied on the efficiency of the people involved in the process.

Evolution of human in pictures

 

In 1990s, the electronic time recorder made its way into the industry. With the help of magnetic stripe cards, the machine automatically logged the time that an employee spent while working.

With the advent of computers and their extensive usage in almost every industry, desktop based applications that automatically tracked time started getting popularised.

This new tool for tracking time saved professionals from a lot of pains of inaccurate time logging practises but this system had its own problems. Since, the applications were desktop stationed they didn’t have the functionality of syncing the data to other devices.

Over the years, internet change the way we lived our lives. Many professionals now opt to work from home and reap the many benefits of telecommuting. Many others work in remote offices that are situated thousands of miles away.

Many more have made freelancing as a way of life. These shifting patterns of how we work opened up space for innovative time tracking tools. And web based Time Tracking Applications came into existence.

There is a plethora of web based Time Tracking Software out there. Each one of them offers many similar and some diverse features. The best ones, however, are those that ensure flawless time tracking that remains unaffected by human error. The more automated the system the better.

But there is a fine line between tracking time and invading privacy of an employee. And there are only a few reliable applications out there that do not track URLs or Keystroke activities.

These sophisticated tools have made working away from workplace easier and more reliable. The advantages of tracking time accurately not only benefits the employees but also help the employer is boosting up the productivity of their business.

Importance of Time Tracking Software For Lawyers

Setting high goals for himself, John entered a prestigious law firm and became an associate. But this was just the beginning of a very long way, with the end goal of eventually becoming a partner, a dream many law graduates envision but only a few have the mettle to fulfill. However, John soon realized that the road to becoming a partner is not without twists and turns.

From Associate to Partner

Starting off as an associate can be quite mundane. While being hired on salary and pinned up with a mentor for the purpose of learning, a new associate probably wont have much work during the first few months of the new job.

This is because a partner starts assigning work to the new guy only after he has considerably proven his worth. But soon the work starts piling up and huge stacks of files on a young associate’s desk is quite a norm, but this bundle of work paves way for an associate to become a partner.

An associate’s productivity is measured by the billable hours. A firm typically expects an associate to bill 2200 hours a year. While this might not seem a lot for an entire year, but if you do the math, it comes down 8.5 hours a day!

Well, working 8-9 hours a day is pretty much standard but it certainly is hard to convert those work hours into billable hours. This means that a lawyer simply cannot afford to lose the track of time while being boggled by too much work.

How bad Time Tracking practices impede Productivity?

 

 

Billable hours are the easiest way to track the productivity of an employee.

But keeping the track record of billable hours is a tricky business because inflating the billing hours could land a lawyer in the midst of lawsuits and jail time, while underbilling could mean that the dream of printing ‘Partner’ on the visiting card will never come true.

A seasoned joke about a lawyer that when he dies and goes to the Pearly Gates, St. Peter says to him, “you must be some 45 years old” “Yes,” says the lawyer, “I just turned 45.” “But our records say that you are 94 years old.” “Oh,” replied the lawyer, “you must have been looking at my billing records.”

Such kind of anecdotes have been around for decades because lawyers are notorious for overbilling. While it could have been overlooked in the olden days, today having extremely transparent practices is very important. And so is extremely accurate billing practices!

How Time Tracking can boost Productivity?

There is only one way that can solve the many problems of the law field. And it is efficient Time Tracking.

Many lawyers fill up their Time Sheets at the end of the week, often making mistakes, by either forgetting to add up the time spent on replying to emails or by mistakingly exaggerating the time spent upon research for a particular case.

Similarly many lawyers use the old school method of keeping a diary to record all the time spent while working. As simple as it may sound, this method is prone to manual errors.

Some lawyers have switched to Spread Sheets like Excel, while the medium of record keeping has changed, the problems associated with Time Tracking essentially stay the same.

Time Tracking has been revolutionised in the age of Digital Technology. There are many Time Tracking Software For Lawyers that help is tracking time that is correct to the minute.

Many law firms and lawyers have started making use of the efficient technology to not only resolve the hassle of Time Tracking but also to produce correct billable hours. The lawyers are aided to a great extent and they do not need to pick up the pen or open up an excel sheet every time they email to the client about the progress of the case or read up a research paper regarding the matter of the case.

StaffTimerApp: Time Tracking Software For Lawyers

While there are many Time Tracking Software For Lawyers out there, there is nothing quite like StaffTimerApp.

This web and desktop Application works like a charm for lawyers. The lawyers can set up the Cases that they are working on and give access to their clients so that they can know exactly how the time is spent on every aspect of the case. This way the Clients can have a transparent idea of what they are being billed for.

The Application runs in the background without any interference and successively captures Screenshots of the activity of lawyers, the Screenshots are then translated into billable hours. This provides an absolutely foolproof way of tracking time correctly.

The application goes even further and gives the option of Screenshot categorisation. The system is powered by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning algorithms and they automatically classify the Screen time that is spent while working on a Case and the Screen time spent wondering around on, perhaps, Facebook! With so many wonderful features that have the strength of easing the life of a lawyer, StaffTimerApp is a perfect fit!

Why Time Management is Important For Marketers

Marketing is a field of paramount importance. It can essentially make or break a business. It has always been like this but nowadays the field has evolved and become a lot more complex.

The marketing managers are busy most of the times and Time is everything to them. Let’s explore why time management is important for marketers.

Paradigms of Marketing

The contemporary fast paced world

You have got to market a new SaaS product or an innovative design for the upcoming Fashion Week, if you’re not fast enough, you’re going to lose!

Even if their idea is not as good as yours, even if their product is below par yours, it is still highly likely that they will succeed simply because they reached the audience first. It’s quite like the Tera Nullius of State Acquisition!

Fierce competition, big fish ready to prey on little fish

As unfair as it may sound, survival of the fittest is the norm. And the bigger the business, the more it is likely to eat up the little ones. Hence, small companies have to act very strategically and timely. If they fail to act in time, they are bound to lose.

Big organisations have big teams

Big businesses have huge resources at their disposal and to compete with them, the small ones have to make use of every resource that they have. But for big businesses to design and manage successful campaigns, efficient Time Management is the key.

Marketers are the face of a Business

No matter how amazing your new product is or how useful service you’re offering, if you fail to reach the target audience and that too on time, failure is inevitable. Hence it is safe to say that marketers are the face of a Business!

What slows down Marketers

Fine line between work and leisure

 

Marketing is a very diverse field and it has evolved to become a fun filled profession. Many marketers often feel that there is a fine line between work and leisure and they often unknowingly cross the line.

It is natural for a Digital Marketer to waste time on Facebook. Similarly, many marketing executives spend a little too much time on harbouring contacts and links.

Multitasking affects performance

Marketers are multitasking all the time. They develop campaigns, conduct research, present ideas and strategies, create digital content, manage and maintain websites, coordinate and organise events and much more!

But too much of multitasking can actually cause a decline in the productivity of people. Hence, tasks should be managed diligently.

Presence in too many places

Since the marketing executives have too much on their plates, their virtual presence is needed in a lot of places.

Without proper time management and time tracking practises, the marketing executives often feel lost in the corporate world.

Extensive use of digital technology

Today, marketing is incomplete without making a mark in the digital arena. The people in the industry spend a large chunk of their time while managing and improving the online presence of their business.

Furthermore, a lot of time is spent using digital tools for marketing management. Its very easy to get distracted and lose productivity.

Why Time Management is Important

Insights into the Time Spent

Marketing executives spend time doing a lot of diverse activities. By keeping a track of activities that occupy an executive’s day and the fruits that it bears, time could be better spent at achieving superior results.

Good time tracking and management practises can boost the productivity to a great extent.

Identify and defeat distractions

Insightful Time Tracking reports can tell a marketer how much of their time was spent on useful activities and how much of it was wasted. By sound diagnoses, the professionals can weed out the time wasting activities and habits.

Defeating the distractions is the first step towards achieving high goals and enhancing productivity.

Hawkeye over the team

Many marketing managers employ people remotely since a lot of marketing related activities are carried out over the digital devices and physical presence is not necessary.

To make sure that the remote team is working efficiently, Time Tracking Software can help a lot in remote monitoring. By real time access to the productivity of remote employees, Marketing teams can boost productivity by leaps and bounds.

Save time by Tracking Time

In the olden days, a lot of time was wasted while tracking time for employees and businesses. And the results were often far from accurate. But the story isn’t the same today.

Automated Time Tracking systems do not even interfere in the activities of an employee, instead they work quietly in the background only to generate smart insights and useful results.

With such intelligent systems and Software, Time Tracking can actually save time! this is how Why Time Management is Important. Marketing managers believe that sound Time Tracking practices can help them to a great extent in achieving their professional targets and goals.

Best Time Tracking app for Software Developers

Estimate how much time will be spent on a project and bill accordingly

Many software agencies charge clients by the hour. Many freelance developers do the same. A developer or a software house can only give a reasonable ballpark figure only if they know how much time it takes to implement the project.

To develop such insights, previous knowledge of Project Management and effective Time Tracking proves helpful. And this knowledge can be acquired by using Best Employee time management.

Track time to improve productivity and get rid of distractions

It is only natural to feel distracted at times. A software developer who spends a major chunk of his day working in front of the screen is bound to spend some time wandering across the social media applications.

While spending a few minutes here and it isn’t really very harmful, but if these sprees become a regular habit and intervene in the progress of a developer, it can cost a lot to not only the developer but also the clients. Best Time Tracking Software is a great project management tool that is used by many developers around the world, remote or not!

 

Track time during developing projects as sometimes it can take longer than expected

A software developer often hesitates when he is asked about an estimate for a software project. This is a fact because software development is a tricky business. Time-consuming bugs are often lurking around and only become obvious when you’re deep into the abyss of development.

Hence, an initial estimate of time and project cost might not remain relevant. Time Tracking can help the developers a great deal as it chronicles all the ups and downs of a project and this information can be used in future negotiations.

Track time and achieve a work-life balance

 

Many people opt for remote jobs so that they can achieve a great work-life balance. They want to stay at home and spend time with their partners. They want to take time out to water the plants.

They look forward to going to watch their kids at soccer practice. But working from home is no walk in the park. It takes a good deal of time management skills and habits. Many people end up spending more time on work only because they get distracted a lot, become lazy and lose focus.

There is, however, a solution to these issues. Best Time Management Software, that runs in the background and takes note of how you spend each minute can keep a developer on track and save him from losing the focus.

For Managers

Get an idea of what the employee is up to

The managers need to know what their employees are up to. It is important in order to ensure the health of the projects, make better plans for the future and keep the human resources happy. Deep insights into the activities of an employee are the basic information for management in today’s day and age.

Track to make better estimates with best developer time tracking software

Managers track time for the developers in a software house so that they can pitch better estimates to future clients. It is the job of a manager to come up with useful and reasonable estimates in terms of time and money.

Good estimates turn into profitable business relationships. And good estimates are only possible with the help of successful Time Tracking and Time Management.

Acknowledge the challenges of Software Development

Ever have to explain how Instagram works to your elderly grandpa? Imagine the frustration. It is quite like that when a software developer has to explain the nitty-gritty details of the challenges that developers face every day to their layman managers.

However, the manager can acknowledge the challenges faced by the software developers if they can actively track the progress. If they get real-time insights about the amount of time that is spent on fixing a bug or implementing a seemingly simple feature, managers can truly acknowledge the challenges faced by programmers and developers.

Don’t pay more OR less

If a manager has to pay a remote employee by hourly rate, time tracking becomes the key method of calculating billable hours. No manager wants to pay more than what the effort is worth.

To solve this conundrum, time tracking is the perfect tool. With a remote time tracking application, managers will only pay for the real work and nothing more.

Similarly, the developers will not be paid less for doing more work simply because their time is properly tracked.

Manage projects better

Time tracking can help a manager in extracting sound insights related to employee capacity, talent utilization, and time management. These insights can help managers do a better job of making plans, executing projects and bringing in business. Hence, Time Tracking is of utmost importance in the Software Engineering Business.

Time Tracking software for Accountants

Accounting and Book Keeping is one of the most important jobs that is performed in an organisation. Because the calculations of cash flow decide the direction of a company in the future. So we can claim that sound Accounting practises are a prerequisite of running a successful business.

But what keeps Accounting from derailing? t’s effective Time management. And that can be done by using a good Time Tracking Software for Accountants.

Meeting deadlines is a make or a break in the field of Accounting. there are several reasons for that:


  1. Many of the deadlines are set by the governments, for example tax filing. Failing to meet them is a breach of law and can cause heavy financial penalties. Hence, Accountants have no option of being slack about their job. There is no Plan B!
  2. Deadlines are very important as they deliver results that are subsequently used to make informed Corporate decisions. Shareholders, customers, investors, suppliers and many more depend upon the fiscal reports to make future decisions of all the entities involved.
  3. The contractual obligations of businesses require accurate and timely reporting of Accounts and Finances because the future business trajectory heavily relies upon the information compiled by the Accountants.

Deadlines are best met when good habits of Time Tracking are used by the Accountants. Gone are the days when a paper and pen was used by an Accountant to keep track of his professional activities.

Even the classic Time Sheets aren’t good enough for the Accountants of today because they do not work on a single project or with a single client. Instead, a contemporary Accountant works on multiple projects and multiple clients at the same time. This calls for a smart tool that is automated, flexible and works in the background.

StaffTimerApp: Time Tracking Software for Accountants

There is a mushroom growth of Time Tracking SaaS products. But StaffTimerApp is best suited to the needs of an Accountant. It can help an Accounting and Book Keeping professional in the following ways!

 

 

  • StaffTimerApp provides a sleek Dashboard where the tasks are divided as Projects and the employers can invite the employees to work on their Projects. We can imagine that an Accountant using StaffTimerApp gets invited by several clients to work on their unique Accounting related tasks. The Dashboard of the employee will look like a collection of Projects, each Project being supervised by the respective client. This division of work in small manageable pieces is the first step towards effective time management.
  • The client related to a project will have access to view the progress of the task that is underway. No matter if the Accountant is an in-house resource or a remote employee, the employer can get real time access to his work activities. StaffTimerApp also gives the option of monitoring in real time that is implemented through Screen Sharing. The option of Screen Sharing can also help in resolving an issue, as the shared screen will show the client which problem the Accountant is referring to. The clarity achieved by visual access can help in settling disputes that can blow up in the future and consume a lot of time and consequently push deadlines.
  • Many Accountants bill by the hour. To cater to this need, StaffTimerApp works like a charm. Because it tracks time by capturing the screenshots and the accuracy that is achieve is very high. Also it offers not only the exact counting of billable hours worked for a certain project but it also provides verifiable records of the time that is spent on a project, hence transparency is ensured! The remote monitoring and deep insights into the progress help the employers and employees in setting up realistic deadlines!
  • Working with an intelligent Hawkeye that keeps track of how every moment is spent can be very useful in identifying the distractions. This diagnosis leads to planning for resolving and weeding out the distractions. Moreover, it can also pinpoint the complications that come up and predict a failure of meeting deadlines. The heads up can trigger damage control strategies.
  • Using StaffTimerApp can prove very beneficial for the Accountants as the generated reports out minute details about the work habits. For a certain professional, morning hours might be a lot more productive as compared to the evening hours. A person can boost up the productivity if he works in accordance to his natural strengths and weaknesses. And this in turn can help in meeting deadlines quicker!

The lives of Accountants can be simplified to a great extent by using StaffTimerApp, a great Time Tracking software for Accountants. The woes of clients who hire remote Accountants are also answered. In a nutshell, the whole process is streamlined and simplified!