Category "Time & Project tracking"

One of the most important objectives for any organization is to avoid budget overruns in their projects. Stakeholders only want to invest time and energy in projects that are profitable, and the risks of project costs running over the board can seriously hamper the project profitability. SolutionCorp’s project software offers plenty of project budgeting options to keep the project costs organized, accounted for, and most importantly under control. The project cost tracking of the software enables the managers to keep close track of the costs incurred in the project by various related activities and employees at every phase.

Some of the key functionalities offered by SolutionCorp’s project budgeting and project cost tracking modules are:

• Organize the project costs into different phases of the project so that the project budgeting requirements and expenditures of each phase are clearly outlined.
• Plan the expected costs for labor, equipment and other overhead expenses in advance.
• Calculate and track the actual costs that are incurred for labor, equipment and overhead expenses, and thus monitor the variance occurring between the planned and actual costs.
• Get reporting of project expenses by expense code. Using parameters like project, expense, customer, account director and project manager, user can retrieve a report on expenses for a given time period.
• An expense entry system where a user can input and save expense details like date of expense, project name, expense type, expense description, invoice id, cost, employee by whom expense is incurred, etc.

The project time and expense system by SolutionCorp is smartly designed to help managers bridge the gap between the expectations and reality of their project expenses. It is only when this happens that the annoying problem of project budget overruns can be successfully avoided and the project can meet its profitability goals and criteria.

 

As simple as it may seem, filling timesheet system is sometimes considered a futile effort by employees. Some find it difficult to record their exact hours spent on a task, some find it unnecessary and time-consuming, and then there are some who are just too lazy or forgetful to log into the timesheet software daily. As an employer, you may face a hard time getting everybody on-board with the idea of regularly filling an online timesheet. Use these tips to ease the transition for your employees:

 

1. Educate about Time Tracking

Don’t just train your employees on how to fill the timesheet, but also educate them on the benefits that doing so will achieve, talk to them about the bigger end-goal here. Your employees should not see using timesheet system as just another chore, instead they should be able to perceive its wider implications. Explain to them why it’s better if their time spent is tracked.

 

2. Clarify all Suspicions

If you just mandate time tracking for your employees without giving any reasons for doing so, they’ll start thinking of all the possible shady reasons on their own, like overtime control, privacy violation, feelings of distrust, etc. Step in early and eliminate these brewing suspicions by giving concrete reasons for implementing project time tracking, which could be controlling overhead costs, streamlining employee payroll, or revising rewards policy.

 

3. Keep It Simple Silly!

The simpler the timesheet software is, the more convenient your employees will find it for using on a daily basis. Implement a timesheet system that has a simple, intuitive, and inviting user interface. As far as easy system setup is concerned, cloud based timesheet is the way to go. Your employees wouldn’t have to bother with any software download or frequent software fixes and updates. They’ll only need to login online for filling out their timesheet.

 

 

As a project manager, you may be hard-wired by now to always chase success. But have you ever stopped to wonder what project success actually means? There are several factors at play that determine whether a project can be successful or not. Knowing about these obvious as well as subtle factors can help you evaluate your project in progress and predict whether it is routed towards success or failure. Let’s look over what these crucial factors are that can decide your project’s fate:

 

1. Clearly Defined Goals– Whether it’s your client or your team members, every one associated with the project should be on same page when it comes to what needs to be achieved. You should use a project management system (PMS) to keep track of the project goals.

 

2. Balance Between Promise and Capacity– It’s good to be confident in your abilities, but unwise to promise your client way more than you can actually deliver. Estimate work time and costs bearing limitations in your mind and then use a good PMS for project budgeting, project time tracking and project cost tracking.

 

3. Channels for Open Communication – If a team member is facing a problem in achieving results, they should be able to get help without any fuss. Creating an open, dynamic work environment is essential in getting work done. This is how problems are identified and fixed.

 

4. Track Daily Work Done – You have to dive into the nitty-gritty and track the tasks that are being done by your teammates on a daily basis. Implement a timesheet system to make this easier on yourself. Ask your team members to log in their daily tasks and hours in an online timesheet software so that you know what’s getting done every day.

There are many things that can go wrong in project management. Without an efficient project management software holding it all together, the chances of projects going down the hill increase that much. It’s no wonder that project managers who don’t use project management tools often end up spending sleepless nights worrying about issues like:

1. Poor Budget Management
Without the project cost tracking feature of the project management software, it can be a nightmare for the managers to monitor the expenditures and savings of the project budget. Overhead costs can quickly spiral out of control leading to overspending. Smart project budgeting management is a crucial factor in successful project completion.

2. Insufficient Team Engagement
Project managers may not be school principals, but they still need to make sure that each of their team members is contributing enough time to working on respective projects. An online timesheet system is the most convenient way, for employees as well as project managers, to track time expenditures of employees.

3. No Way to Track Progress
For a project to complete as per expectations, it should also progress along as per expectations. Every project has certain end-goals, deadlines, and guidelines that it needs to adhere to. Project management software offers various reporting features that help managers keep close tabs on where the project is headed.

4. Sloppy Performance Monitoring
With no method to monitor project performance, project managers have no way to assess project quality. Performance reporting in project management tools gives managers the evidence they need to believe that project is indeed performing as well as it should.

5. Lack of Enough Visibility

A good project manager makes it a point to get involved in the nitty-gritty of the project operations, and not just oversee it superficially. A quality project management software gives such a manager the requisite visibility into the project proceedings to remain closely involved.

You don’t need the best project management software of the world, you only the software that’s best for your own business. So, how do you cut through all the noise and find the right project management system for your business? Well, here are a few tips to get you started with the selection process:

• Analyze Your Project Requirements

Your first step should be to chalk out your functional requirements and expectations from the project management system. Map out the areas of project management in which you need help. Do you need help with project cost tracking, project budgeting, project time tracking, project performance management, project reporting, or some other aspects? Once you have an outline ready for your project management needs, you can streamline your choices to the ones that meet these needs.

• Check the System’s Scalability

Think about years from now, when your organization has probably multiplied many times in size and is handling more projects than ever. Would your prospective project management system still be able to serve you with the same efficiency as now? This should give you a good idea about the scalability potential of the software.

• Ensure the Software is Easy to Use

You don’t want to burden your employees with a software that they find too difficult to use on a day-to-day basis. To avoid such a scenario, give your team members a chance to use the system on a trial basis first. See what feedback they have to offer about the software’s usability.

• Assess Deployment and Integration Convenience

Ideally, a cloud-based system would be the best way to go, since you wouldn’t have to worry about any software installation or maintenance related work in this case. You can start using this web-based system in no time. Also, you should make sure that the project management system that you’re choosing can be easily integrated with your current organizational systems, like your ERP. This will help in keeping your IT operations coherently inter-connected.

 

 

We are proud to announce the latest upgrade to the SolutionCorp Timesheet system.

All new design with complete manager approvals & project tracking.