The Timesheet Blog

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.

At Replicon, our philosophy of constant innovation has paid off once again for our customers.  We are excited to introduce the newest addition to our Web TimeSheet family of products – Web Schedule.  This employee scheduling software module makes creating, updating, and communicating work schedules as painless as possible.

Why Employees Like Web Schedule

With Web Schedule, your employees have access to real-time updates to their individual schedules.  This eliminates confusion about last minute changes.  When you integrate this employee scheduling software with Web TimeSheet, employees can instantly populate their timesheet using the data from their published schedule.  Then, they can simply make changes to indicate any discrepancies (such as additional time or missed time) each day.

Why Managers Like Web Schedule

Managers tasked with managing schedules and approving timesheets can do this much more quickly now.  Any discrepancies are listed and described at the top of the timesheet approval page.  Errors can be corrected before the final timesheet is sent to payroll.  Actual failure to adhere to the schedule can be addressed while the incident is still fresh.  Managers can also pull historical reports to identify a pattern of time & attendance issues.

Why Companies Like Web Schedule

Besides the obvious benefits of saving time and optimizing labour cost through effective scheduling, you get access to a free trial.  Try Web Schedule with your existing access to Web Timesheet or sign up to sample both of these products together.

Watch this quick video to see our Web Schedule software in action.

Are you using this software on a trial basis right now?  We would love to hear your first impressions.  Talk to us in the comments.  Also, feel free to join us via LinkedIn and Twitter to stay fully connected.

It comes as no surprise to anyone in the business world that there is one cardinal rule when it comes to employee time tracking: employees hate to fill out timesheets.

It’s this fact – and this fact alone – that makes supervisors and managers constantly struggle to collect everyone’s completed – and accurate – timesheets.  Here are 10 tips that will help get employees to fill in their timesheets on time:

1. Keep It Simple
   Timesheets should take no more than 5-10 minutes to complete each day. When an employee is using a system that takes 30 minutes or more just to track their hours, the employee gets frustrated and the company loses considerable time that would be better spent on other activities.
   
2. Make Submissions Easy
   Many companies employ complicated or tedious time tracking processes. Simplify or automate part of the process and people will submit their timesheets without delay or complaint.
   
3. Explain WIIFM (What’s In It For Me?)
   Make your reasons clear.  Communicate how the timesheet data is going to be used (and how it’s not going to be used).  Explain the value of time entry to all staff members. If the data helps to reduce the amount of multi-tasking or firefighting, communicate that. By clarifying the process and explaining how timesheets help speed up the billing cycle and increase cash flow – thus gaining the ability to take on more projects (which can mean more money for everybody) – you make them understand and want to help.
   
4. Be Flexible about How the Time is Tracked
   If you don’t want employees watching the clock and getting creative with 15 minute excuses here and there, do not demand timesheets that are precise to the minute.
   
5. Limit the Number of Time Tracking Items
   If you do not want your reports to become nightmares, limit the number of buckets you’re tracking. Group items such as internal meetings, product training and conference calls into a single “Internal” category.  It will simplify your reports and make it easier for employees to log their time.
   
6. Automate Time Tracking
   Eliminate as many manual processes as possible. It will save countless hours of timesheet-related administrative work for the employee, and will help reduce the potential for human error in each submission – saving the approver’s time, as well. Automating the process also makes the timesheet more accessible to employees, no matter where they are located – especially if you use a system that is available online via SaaS (Software-as-a-Service).
   
7. Use Automated Reminders
   A system that automatically reminds the employee when the timesheet is due will help you collect those timesheets on time, and reduce the number of tardy submissions.
   
8. Don’t Penalize People for Being Honest
   It is relatively easy to get staff to report on project time, but quite difficult to get staff to report (consistently and without fear) on non-project time. Rather than penalizing employees for spending time on other activities, use the information as an opportunity - identify the source of the issue and fix it.  You may discover a legitimate internal item that requires tracking – such as morning meets or training.
   
9. Pick Your Battles
   Some projects require extra time entered for project management. Some projects can be easily managed with obvious results. If your team is achieving results on time and within budget, do not nitpick on timesheets.
   
10. Avoid the Reward / Penalty System
    Some companies use penalties to ensure timesheets are submitted on time (such as withholding pay until timesheets are submitted/approved).  While this may solve the problem in the short term, it is unwise.  Using a penalty/reward system can undermine team unity and create an atmosphere of distrust between managers and employees – things you want to avoid if you’re creating a “built to last” company.

If you make your timesheet submission process simple, communicate the reasons and benefits behind it, and still are unable to collect timesheets on time, step back and think about whether the tardy employees are really the right people for your company.  Don’t let a few bad apples spoil the bunch.

Any tips to share? Tell us what made the difference for your company!