Recently, Monster.com projected that the San Francisco Bay Area would be a key region for job growth in the second half of this year. We’re already seeing signs of that upswing. Our home office is in Calgary, but we opened a branch in the Bay Area not long ago. Part of the reason is that there’s a much bigger pool of the talent and experience we need. But even with many more people available, these days it’s a very competitive situation to fill open positions. Our cofounder, Lakshmi Raj, says that typically candidates who get job offers from us already have received two or three others. Why do some of them (and why might you or someone you know) ultimately choose our team over “brand name” companies?

For one thing, when we say “team” we really mean it. You’ll join a great group of people who are good at their jobs, and who thrive by working together. They’re smart, creative, and energized by the prospect of making the world’s best time-tracking software. While we work hard to make things hassle-free for our customers, we keep things in perspective. So you’ll find there’s plenty of humor and work-life balance. People here don’t wear suits—not even our co-CEO’s. (But you could if you wanted to.)

Replicon is also a good size for getting noticed—just a few hundred folks instead of thousands.  And we’re committed to giving you opportunities to advance your career. We care about your well-being, too:  There are great benefits, and you’ll find there’s also flex time and lots of holidays and vacation.

Engage us with your comments: We’re always happy to talk about how much we like working at Replicon.

And check out our open positions here. Besides the Bay Area, we need good people in Calgary and in our Bangalore office. Help us make the world’s best online timesheets!

In Web TimeSheet, you manage several types of confidential data including project pricing, client information, and payroll records. You need to control who sees this private information. Fortunately, our Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) products are specifically designed to keep your data secure. It will be safe from prying eyes while giving the appropriate amount of access to the users you select.

Here’s how it works:

Secure Browser Connections
The Web TimeSheet host server features Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocols. That means all the information sent between your computers and our host server will be encrypted. This keeps your confidential data safe from external parties.

Customizable Permissions
Every action a user can take in the Web TimeSheet system requires permission. This includes viewing or modifying data, running reports, entering time worked, creating a project, etc. You get to decide who can do what. Use our standard role-based permissions profiles to quickly assign access to each user in your organization. You can fine tune these profiles to restrict or add more capabilities if necessary.

Hierarchy Filtering
Hierarchy filtering prevents users from viewing or editing data outside their own department. A single mouse click allows you to activate this option and ensure confidential information is only accessed on a “need to know” basis.

Password Restrictions
Your overall data security is increased when you use complex passwords and change them regularly. Web TimeSheet helps you follow best practices in this area. You can decide how complex user passwords must be and when they will expire.

Idle User Session Timeout
Use our automatic timeout feature to choose how long Web TimeSheet can be left idle before the system automatically logs the user off. If a user forgets to sign out before leaving their workstation at the end of a session, the amount of time their private data is accessible to unauthorized users will be limited.

Do you have questions about additional steps you can take to increase your level of security? Ask us in the comments section. Also, remember to connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn to keep up with our latest announcements.

As your SaaS vendor, we take full responsibility for continuously upgrading all our products. We’ve just finished improving Web TimeSheet version 8.11.1 to make it even more user-friendly. Check out these new features!

Increased Employee Visibility into Time-Off Requests

As a manager, it’s no fun telling an employee he can’t take a vacation because someone else has already asked for that week off. Now, employees can collaborate in scheduling their time-off. In addition to viewing approved time-off for coworkers, Managers have the option to grant permission for team members to see requests that are still awaiting approval. That way, they have the opportunity to work out their conflicting requests and come up with a plan that satisfies everyone.

Keep Your Work Weeks Straight

Do you need to limit the number of hours employees work each week to stay in compliance with labor laws in your area? Set up a “weekly” Web Timesheet validation rule to automatically monitor hours worked. Base this on your organization’s definition of a work week for each individual’s profile. That way, if you use a monthly timesheet you don’t have to worry about employees surpassing their permitted hours.

In the past, this error might not be caught immediately. This could happen if the excess hours were worked during the final days of a partial week at the end of a month. Payroll would have to manually check timesheets to catch this problem. Now, you can set up Web TimeSheet to validate full work weeks even if they are split between two different months.

See Who Needs To Approve Timesheets Next

Several new fields are available in the Timesheet Status Details report. For example, you can now include the name of the next approver scheduled to review a timesheet. This person appears in the “Waiting Approver Name” column. You can see the previous approver(s) who have already done their job listed under the “Approver Name” column.

Check out the complete documentation on this latest version of Web TimeSheet for more.

Do you have suggestions for further improvements? We are always eager to hear your ideas. Talk to us in the comments. Track our latest developments on Twitter; network with us on LinkedIn; and sign up for a free trial.

Two big thumbs up to our own Lakshmi Raj as she once again joins the ranks of the 100 most powerful women in Canada! WXN™ (Women’s Executive Network) is honoring Replicon’s cofounder as one of the top 10 female entrepreneurs of 2009.  The award is well deserved; Lakshmi Raj has been diligently building Replicon as the leading provider of time and expense Software-as-a-Service business since 1996.  The last 13 years of inspiration (and perspiration) have resulted in smashing success for this privately held company.

Lakshmi Raj has spearheaded the development and refinement of user friendly Web TimeSheet solutions with the help of two groups – the Replicon team and the company’s ever expanding customer base.   Her leadership skills have seen the business through its challenging initial years to its current place as the industry front-runner in project and time management solutions.

The hands-on approach Raj models for other woman entrepreneurs is one reason Replicon and its employees continue to thrive.   Expect to hear more great things about this Canadian “captain” of technology and her team as Replicon continues to innovate and excel.

Join us in the comments section to congratulate Lakshmi on her continued commitment to excellence! Let’s all stay connected on Twitter and LinkedIn too.  Your feedback helps make Replicon a success.

Some time back, we came across a couple of tweets about getting automatically logged out of Web TimeSheet:

Well, that day’s here – in fact, it’s been some time now since we’ve included this option!

We’d like to thank Dave and Mentha for bringing up this issue and today we’re going to see how to avoid getting automatically logged out.

But before we jump in, here’s something to note:  Timesheet data can be as confidential and as critical as financial statements.  Most companies don’t want timesheets created, modified, or deleted by anyone other than the timesheet owner.  While you can limit such activities through system permissions, the permissions alone will not prevent an unauthorized user from taking action while signed in with someone else’s credentials.  To avoid such problems, we recommend setting a session timeout in Replicon Web TimeSheet.  The session timeout will automatically log out the current user after a set timeframe, thus protecting the user’s timesheet information from unauthorized access in the event they’re called away from their desk.

If you need to turn off – or at least modify – the automatic logout setting, you can do so in Web TimeSheet version 8.7 and higher.

To modify your logout settings, you must have administrator access.  Go to the Administration tab and click on System > System Preferences in your left menu.  Look for the setting “Idle user session timeout (minutes)”.  You can enter a different logout timeframe, or choose the “Never automatically log out” option to never be logged out again.  Make sure you save your settings when you’re done!

Idle User Session Timeout

[Click on image to view full screenshot]

Hope this helps!

Please feel free to post comments or queries you may have about this feature.

]]> http://www.replicon.com/blog/staying-logged-timesheet/feed/ 5 http://www.replicon.com/blog/hello-world/ http://www.replicon.com/blog/hello-world/#comments Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:31:28 +0000 Jessica http://localhost/blog/?p=1 info@replicon.com if you have any questions or blog requests, and also to leave comments or questions on any individual blog posts that interest you. [...]]]>

We are excited to launch the first official blog of the Replicon Team!

This blog will be a resource area, dedicated to posting valuable material on timesheets, time tracking, automated systems and SaaS (Software-as-a-Service). We will keep you informed on company news, product releases and updates, as well as any relevant industry news that can affect your business.

We encourage you to contact us directly at info@replicon.com if you have any questions or blog requests, and also to leave comments or questions on any individual blog posts that interest you. We want to hear your feedback!

In addition to our blog, feel free to check out our forum to find topics of interest posted by the Replicon Team and by users like you.