Whatever your business, time is money. If you're not tracking where time is spent in your organization, you are almost certainly wasting money on low priority activities, missing out on insights about what drives your business, and for professional service firms, failing to charge for all your billable activities.

Every serious business has accounting software in place to track, understand and manage the flows of money in your business. Since time is money, why not manage your time just as carefully?

Timesheet software helps you manage your time, whether billable or not, to get the most out of your most important asset: your people.

There are a host of different timesheet software solutions available to help you manage your time. Choosing the right one for your business can be difficult but that's why Software Shortlist is here to help!  Read on to find out more about consulting timesheets or use our free matching service to find timesheet systems well-suited for your specific organization.

A Quick Introduction to Timesheet Software

There are many words used to describe software for managing time in an organisation:  timesheets, time tracking software, web timesheet, time and expense software, time clock, time and attendance, ... the list goes on.  Sometimes the difference is just one of convention for a particular country, but other times it implies a distinct and important difference in the functionality or industry focus of the software application.

In essence, timesheet software is used to record and analyse the time spent by individuals on tasks. Typically, tasks are linked with projects and clients, and staff assigned to work on them. Costs and/or revenue can usually be defined, and may vary depending on the person, task, project or client. A variety of timesheet reports then provide insight into how time is being spent across the organisation, which can be used for analysis and management decision-making or for billing clients.

Timesheet software can be a stand-alone application, where you use reports or export data as required. Or, at the other end of the spectrum, timesheet software can be fully integrated into a business management application (such as an ERP or PSA system).

Why Use Timesheet Software in Your Business?

Your business or organisation can use timesheet software to improve how you manage your time.

Understanding where time is currently spent is the first step to being able to pro-actively manage your time. People often have a perception of how their time is spent that is very different to the reality ... and timesheets allow you to reveal this.  For example, one small company was shocked to discover that the annual cost of meetings in their organisation was over $100,000.  This insight then led to a discussion about the role of meetings and ultimately to changed working practices. The result: shorter, more productive meetings and happier staff.

Timesheet software allows you to track time more accurately than manual methods or spreadsheets. And small differences can add up to a significant gap over a month or year. This gap in time recorded versus time worked represents hidden costs or foregone profit that directly impacts on your profit and loss. For example, when quoting for a new project you can use reports from your timesheet software to ensure the estimate is both realistic and competitive.

Importantly, modern timesheet software is convenient and user friendly. After all, you don't want to place an undue administrative burden on your employees - and thankfully the days of emailing spreadsheets around the company each month are over.  Nowadays, employees can enter time wherever they are:  in the office, at the client site, even on the road via mobile phone.  And it's simpler than ever to manage job codes, consolidate information, and run reports.

What Should You Look For in a Timesheet System?

Choosing the right timesheet system involves matching the needs of your business with what is available in the market. Important things to consider include:

• Do you want a simple stand-alone timesheet system?  Or does it need to integrate with your other applications?
• What is the nature of your business? Do you bill staff time to clients, or just want to keep track of how time is spent on activities internally?         
• How many people will be using the timesheet? Will this number expand over time?
• How will staff enter time?  Are they always in the one place, or do they need to log in from many different locations using different devices?         
• What features are essential for your organisation?  Which are simply "nice to have"?
•  ... and many other questions

There are literally hundreds of timesheet systems available worldwide. Software Shortlist helps you quickly narrow down the options to a custom shortlist of relevant timesheet solutions for your organization...

Next Step: Let Us Help You Find the Right Timesheet Software...

Software Shortlist are experts in software selection. After understanding your requirements, we match you up with a shortlist of relevant providers that meet your requirements.

It's a completely free service that uses our extensive knowledge and network of approved vendors to find solutions that meet your needs. We then make an introduction so you can complete your evalution process and discuss any questions with the appropriate person.

Importantly, we look broadly at timesheet systems on the market, and are not tied to any one vendor. A few of the many leading timesheet systems that we have reviewed or matched people with include:

Get a free shortlist of relevant software by submitting your requirements below