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Timesheet Feature Review #6: Access & Report Permissions
For any company to run successfully, employees need clear roles and responsibilities within the organizational structure. After all, one employee cannot be expected to do everything by himself/herself; and neither is it useful to have people stepping on each other’s toes in getting things done. In order to ensure that everything is done promptly and efficiently, it is helpful if employees focus on his/her personal work scope. Regular employees do not need to trouble themselves overly about issues in managing projects, while the project managers should not be micro-managing the specific tasks of employees on those projects.
When managing your timesheet system, it is important that your timesheet product is able to reflect this organizational hierarchy. This way, employees will be able to focus on completing their timesheet duties without having to be bogged down by features that fall outside their personal work scope.
One great way of doing this is by managing access permissions, the #6 item in our list of most requested “must have” timesheet features.
Why do I need to manage access permissions?
Timesheet systems are often loaded with tons of features – built-in invoicing, report builders, accounting integration, etc. The only problem with all these features is that the system can be extremely difficult to navigate. One way of avoiding this problem is by limiting access to unnecessary features. For example, regular employees will not need access to report or invoicing features; by removing these unnecessary features, the system becomes more streamlined and well-suited to the employees’ personal work scope.
Another advantage of managing access permissions is that sensitive information can also be controlled. Every company possesses some form of sensitive information – payroll information, secret projects or even company finances; all these need to be kept within a select group of people and not be readily available to everyone. Such information could have devastating effects if released to your employees or worse still, your competitors! By managing access permission, the risk of leaking sensitive information from your timesheet system is minimized.
Other reasons why you will want to manage access permissions include preventing unwanted edits; and allowing appropriate client access and review of data on projects relating to them. For example, it is important to ensure that your employees are unable to view or make changes to the timesheets of other employees. That way, each employee can be held accountable for their own timesheets and employee billability can be accurately gauged from their timesheets.
Being able to manage access restrictions also means you can allow clients to review their projects and relevant timesheets on an as-needed basis, without you having to prepare and send a report. Clients can be allowed to only view projects and timesheets that concern them. This way, the client is able to know just how much time was spent on their project without being able to access the other project files in your company.
How you manage the access permissions of your timesheet system will depend on your organizational structure. For instance, project managers can be permitted to review and approve timesheets submitted by the staff under them. Other managers could possibly be allowed to view the project details but not be granted approval or review permissions. Project staff may be restricted from viewing other people’s timesheets while reporting functions can also be restricted to managers and finance staff. Finally, clients may be able to look through relevant projects but not be granted edit permissions or access to other projects.
What types of access permissions exist?
Apart from the examples already listed above, other forms of sensitive information also exist. Timesheet products that offer access permissions as a feature usually group these into an “admin” package. This means that only accounts that have administrative permissions may view reports that display such information. On the other hand, ordinary “employee” accounts can only view information that concerns their personal work scope. This way, employees are still able to do their jobs well within the timesheet system while all sensitive information is kept hidden from them.
Of course, as you can imagine, different timesheet products offer different ways of managing access permissions. The most common way of managing access permissions is through the accounts permissions method outlined above. However, other ways of managing access permissions include employee assignment and template assignment. Both these methods offer a more customizable approach to managing access restrictions.
Employee assignment allows you to manually configure what sort of information/projects/reports that an individual is allowed to view. This is usually bundled together with accounts permissions to offer a more flexible way of managing access restrictions. For example, a web developer may be granted temporary access into marketing projects so that he can design websites to suit the company’s marketing strategies.
Template assignment is basically a middle-ground between employee assignment and accounts permissions. This method involves creating “templates” that only include certain account types. This way, when projects or reports are created, only certain account types will be able to access them. For example, a special report can be created that can be viewed by both billing managers and expense managers so that employee billability can be gauged. In such cases, employees can be granted special access to special types of reports and projects that may involve elements outside of their job scope. This can be more efficient than individually setting employee access restrictions, especially if a large number of people are involved.
Different types of access permissions management:
e.g. Administrative Account Permission on Harvest Timesheet (www.getharvest.com)
e.g. Restricted Ordinary Account Access on Harvest Timesheet (www.getharvest.com)
e.g. Setting Up Employee Project Access on Intervals Timesheet (www.myintervals.com)
e.g. Setting Up Template Report Access on Replicon Timesheet (www.replicon.com)
What sorts of limitations exist with access permissions management?
Depending on your preferred method of access permissions management, different timesheet products may work better for your company than others. Most timesheet products don’t only offer one type of access permissions management but solutions that incorporate elements from each of the three types. This way, it can be a little difficult to objectively compare between the solutions presented by different timesheet products. Also, because access permissions management is so subjective, what works for one company will not necessarily be relevant to another.
Possible frustrations that companies may face with access permissions management would include: a lack of flexibility – for “accounts permissions”-centric solutions; too much manual work – for “employee assignment”-centric solutions; and a lack of specification – for “template assignment”-centric solutions. No matter what solution you eventually opt for, there will always be a drawback or trade-off that you will have to deal with.
In Conclusion
Managing a company or project goes far beyond simply telling people what to do. You also need to be able to ensure that your employees are able to focus at the task at hand without being distracted by unnecessary tasks that fall outside of their work scope. It is only by combining the individual work done by each employee on different aspects of a project that projects can be completed quickly and efficiently. Managing access permissions of your timesheet product is very useful in helping you achieve this effect.
Of course, as seen from above, many methods can be employed to manage access permissions. Regardless of your choice, I hope this post has helped you gain a better understanding of what access permissions management means, the different ways of managing access permissions and the possible drawbacks of adopting certain solutions.
Being able to manage access permissions is a highly sought-after feature. In Software Shortlist’s list of the top 13 “must have” timesheet features, managing access permissions came in at #6. It is small wonder then that of the 21 timesheet products reviewed by Software Shortlist, a whopping 19 products offered some form of access management. This makes managing access permissions one of the most common features of timesheet products, and emphasises the importance of testing out exactly how the function works in a given system. It’s not so much a question of “does it have access permissions?” but rather “does it have access permissions that work they way I’d like them to?”
Software Shortlist is currently counting down on a list of 13 “must have” timesheet features for prospective timesheet buyers as suggested by our search data so stay tuned for our upcoming reviews!
Managing a company or project goes far beyond simply telling people what to do. You also need to be able to ensure that your employees are able to focus at the task at hand without being distracted by unnecessary tasks that fall outside of their work scope. It is only by combining the individual work done by each employee on different aspects of a project that projects can be completed quickly and efficiently. Managing access permissions of your timesheet product is very useful in helping you achieve this effect.
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Timesheet Feature Review #1: “Entering time in a weekly view”
In service firms and project-based organizations, timesheets plays an increasingly important role in helping people manage and control their various accounts and projects. Timesheet software offers the perfect way to keep tabs on multiple projects by generating clear and useful reports used to track the time and work done on any particular project, and can also streamline the billing and accounting process.
Software Shortlist recently published a list of 13 features that its search data suggested were the top “must-haves” for prospective timesheet buyers.
Today, I’ll take a detailed look at the #1 most requested timesheet feature – using a weekly view to enter time.
Entering Time in a Weekly View
There is probably nothing more important to the usability of timesheet software than the way(s) in which people enter their time into the system. Many timesheet systems offer multiple time entry methods, as company needs vary with the nature of their work, plus users often have different (strongly held) views about which is best.
Common time entry options (and a few examples of what they look like) include:
- Daily view: Enter time manually in a view that shows time entries for a single day against relevant projects or tasks, with space for explanatory comments
e.g. Daily Time Entry View with Clicktime (www.clicktime.com)
- Weekly view: Enter time manually in a grid-like format that shows an entire week at a glance, typically with projects or tasks as rows, and days on the top.
e.g. Weekly Time Entry View with Replicon (www.replicon.com)
- Stopwatch timer: Enter time by selecting a project or task and clicking “start” on a timer. When you have finished that work, you click “stop” and the time entry is automatically added to the system.
e.g. Desktop timer widget from Harvest (www.getharvest.com)
Why does entering time in a weekly view matter?
To put it simply, the weekly view makes entering your timesheets about 7 times easier. It allows you, at a glance, to see across an entire week and easily enter time against your projects without constantly having to cycle through multiple pages on the daily view.
It is particularly well suited to people who have regular activities or projects that run across many weeks. You can enter time against one project for the Monday, and then simply tab across to Tuesday, and so on. With only a handful of keyboard strokes, you’ve completed your timesheet …without having to wait for new pages to load. And since the list of projects / tasks is typically carried across to the next week, you usually don’t need to set up the grid again each week but instead just start entering time.
And if you’re someone who never quite gets around to entering your time each day (or you have staff like this!), you’ll find that the weekly view can help jog your memory. You can mentally work your way through the week, comparing and contrasting days, and entering time quickly so you meet that weekly timesheet submission deadline. Not ideal, perhaps, but very much a real world scenario.
What are some drawbacks of weekly timesheet entry?
The grid format doesn’t allow you to easily see or enter detailed comments about how time was spent on a given day. Some timesheet systems provide hover-text or pop-up windows while others have fields below the grid for this purpose, but the simple reality is that the weekly view is not as well suited to providing detailed explanatory notes on how your time was spent as the daily timesheet view.
Whether this matters or not depends on the type of work you do and the expectations of whoever is approving your timesheet (e.g. boss or client). Some people prefer to enter the time in a weekly view first, and then go back and enter detailed notes on a daily view afterwards. Others prefer to enter time and notes simultaneously on a daily view.
The other key issue with a weekly view for time entry is about accuracy: it encourages you to enter time on a weekly basis and therefore your entries are only as good as your memory, and entries are often rounded to the nearest increment (e.g. 15 minutes or half an hour). This results in over- or under-billing, depending on the personality of your staff.
Timesheets are more accurate if time is captured closer to when it was spent, such as using a stopwatch or completing timesheets on a daily basis. A stopwatch allows you to capture exact increments of time at the instant they are worked, but may accidentally be left running or not started in the first place. Daily timesheets provide a good middle-ground, but require the discipline of setting aside some time each day to fill them in.
In Conclusion
The weekly view for entering timesheets is the single most popular “must have” feature requested by users of Software Shortlist’s timesheet comparison service. After reading this article, hopefully you now have a better understanding of the weekly timesheet method for entering time, why it is so popular, and the trade-offs involved in its use.
Why not join in the conversation and let us know which method you prefer for entering time on your timesheet system and why?
Stay tuned for more reviews of the other top “must-have” timesheet software features…
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Timesheet Feature Review #8: Remote or Web Access
In today’s modern world, technology has made it possible to work remotely from anywhere and at any time. It’s no wonder then that so many office products are web-based, allowing users to log on at any moment and do work from wherever they are. Being able to work remotely has its advantages; chief among those is the increase in productivity enjoyed by employers who allow their employees to telecommute.
To help cater to the increasing number of employees who work remotely, timesheet developers have also adapted their products to allow remote/web access. Many of the timesheet products available on the market today operate from websites that allow users to log on at any time to access the timesheet system. But how useful is a web-based timesheet product exactly? And why is being able to remotely access their timesheets so attractive to timesheet users, making it one of the top must-have features?
The Art of Flexibility: Timesheets Whenever and Wherever You Want Them
Isn’t the internet wonderful? The ability to connect people from all across the world through the web is an amazing technology. To regular timesheet users, this means being able to access the timesheet system whenever they need it. With the increase in telecommuting, the need to track time spent outside the office has grown tremendously.
With web access for timesheets, employees are able to work remotely and key in their time immediately without delay. This provides both convenience and accuracy as time is entered immediately and the employee does not have to work back from memory.
Companies that employ web-based timesheet products also benefit in a different way – various branches of multi-national corporations will be able to work together on the same timesheet system; contractors can be hired from all over the world and international clients can be granted access into the timesheet system to review the projects relevant to them.
The key idea behind web access is flexibility. Employees have the option to only do work from their offices or they can also take their work with them on-the-go. Either way, a web-based approach is able to cater effectively to both groups. Web access brings time tracking into the 21st century and with it, all the perks and conveniences of the internet are also incorporated into the system.
e.g. Web Access of Easy Time Tracking (www.easytimetracking.net)
e.g. Accessing Freshbooks From A Web Browser (www.freshbooks.com)
So What’s the Downside?
There’s always one important vulnerability with any web-based application: Downtime. Web systems are prone to crashing, servers can be overloaded by sudden spikes in traffic; any number of things can go wrong with the website. Thankfully, the best timesheet products are hosted on safe and secure servers to minimize the chances of downtime. Perhaps more likely is some interruption to your internet connection, that prevents you from working on a purely web-based system until it is restored. So, although unlikely, the possibility of your timesheet system crashing around you is still something that you will have to deal with should you opt for a web-based product.
There’s also a more insidious threat to web-based timesheet products. Companies that use web-based timesheet products should be wary of hackers and illegal access to their data. Although timesheet products are usually hosted on encrypted servers, caution is still advised when uploading any top-secret information into your web-based software product.
So What Does This All Mean?
To sum up, web access is the ability to log into your timesheet system through a web browser. This is the most common form of remote access although other methods such as downloading a software client also exist. Web/remote access allows users to track their time spent working outside of the regular office. This offers an advantage over entering the time at a later time as users do not have to rely on their memory, which might be inaccurate. Finally, web/remote access also allows users from all over the world to log their time into the same timesheet system. This allows time tracking across various departments in multi-national companies as well as for international contractors to log their time.
Whether or not you prefer a web-based solution, there’s no denying the usefulness of incorporating the utility of the internet into time tracking solutions. The key difference between web-based and software-based timesheet products lies between utility and reliability. Software-based timesheet products will probably not suffer from the security issues of web-based solutions. Because all the information is stored securely in the office intranet, the chances of a hacker gaining access is arguably smaller than with web-based timesheets.
However, if you’re willing to trade-off the remote possibility of downtime and hackers for the amazing usability of a web-based product, then web-based timesheet products will put you heads and shoulders above software-based users.
Have Your Say
Now that you have a better idea of the perks and possible downsides of web-based timesheet products, why not leave us a comment telling us which system you prefer?
As it stands, web access is a very common feature amongst timesheet products. Of the 21 timesheets reviewed by Software Shortlist, all of them featured web/remote access as either a basic feature or as an optional add-on. It’s no wonder then that web/remote access is within the top “must have” timesheet features as suggested by Software Shortlist’s search data! Web/remote access comes in at a respectable #8 out of the top 13 features deemed as “must have” by timesheet users. Do you agree with this rating? Drop us a comment to tell us how you feel about the ranking of our top 13 features.
Also, stay tuned for more reviews on “must have” features as Software Shortlist continues its countdown!
