Precision in timesheets is a necessity, not a luxury because the price to be paid for inaccurate data is too high. Some of the common inadequacies of run of the mill timesheets are:

Here are a few key points to be considered when evaluating a timesheet solution:

1. Clear visibility of up-to-the-moment status of a project. If the solution does not offer this then the project manager will have difficulty in keeping the project on time and on budget.
2. Cloud solutions are far more efficient in terms of time and cost, both in the short term and in the long term.
3. Easy to use software is the key factor in getting the most efficiency out of employees. The rate of adoption increases dramatically and, above all, reporting and tracking become completely error-free.
4. Safety and security of data should always be the number one consideration. And this is accomplished in a variety of ways including independent certification by leading industry standards bodies, adequate data protection, firewalls, encryption of in-transit data, off-site data back-up, tested disaster recovery provisions and most importantly, service level guarantee for the availability of the data and software used by the company.

Replicon considers these to be must-haves for any timesheet solution provider without which a company’s efficiency, safety and productivity will certainly be compromised. Another factor to keep in mind is to ensure that the system is intuitive with built-in intelligence to anticipate the needs of the user. Quality project time tracking software solutions are highly flexible and easy to run, providing real time reports.

Replicon recommends that the buyer ensure that data capturing capabilities are part of the solution along with in-built capacity to share this data with other applications. This is critical for a project management tool where requirements such as expense reimbursement, payroll and other processes are critical. The ideal solution is one which allows seamless exchange of data via an open API (application programming interface).

Replicon believes that an efficient time tracking solution ensures that both internal business rules and external/legal regulations are captured smoothly. It is absolutely essential that employees have the ability to check their own time-off balances as well as review time-off requests, directly. This makes things easier for the payroll and/or HR department and also allows managers to review attendance hours and time-off requests and approve them accordingly.

A quality time management solution is the way to go to get accurate and timely data. Many smaller companies still opt for traditional, manual methods. These archaic processes slow down efficiency and are often dangerously inaccurate. A hassle-free, cloud-based system like Replicon’s, is the best choice for tracking time and attendance in the new millennium.