A survey of retail and service industry employees revealed that a surprising 80% of workers admitted to “time theft.” The conventional method of time tracking that is based on paper time cards or sheets, and buddy punching leads to the loss of hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars each year.
If you are an entrepreneur, these facts may be enough for you to upgrade from a manual process to an automated and reliable software solution for time tracking. But, for those who are still on the fence and think that logging time is unnecessary, here are some more compelling reasons why it is essential to have a time tracking system for their business.
1. It helps accurately bill clients and calculate payroll properly
Time tracking helps create accurate bills that can be sent to clients quickly. This system is particularly helpful for businesses that bill their clients on the basis of time, rather than per project. For such businesses, a time tracking system ensures that you never incorrectly charge your client. In the long run, it will help maintain a long-term work relationship with your clients.
Also, not billing enough for your services might cause you a huge loss of profits. A time tracking system helps you track and accurately bill for the services you provide to your clients. Even your clients will appreciate it, as they will know that you’re honest in billing as well with workflow.
Time tracking systems not only help with client billing but also help with properly calculating payroll. This system creates timesheets that employers or human resource managers can use in their calculations. This ensures that your employees are receiving proper pay for the time they dedicate to your company. Even if your employees work in shifts or variable hours, the time tracking system can still handle payroll efficiently.
2. Boost employees’ productivity
As companies start growing, the number of employees increases simultaneously. In this scenario, manually tracking each employee’s productivity and the number of hours they are putting in can be challenging. Automatic time tracking software can help by adding ease and convenience.
When it comes to setting employees up for success and increased productivity, every minute they contribute matters. A time tracking system gives a bird’s eye view of workflow within the company, and the productivity of each employee.
You can easily track the number of hours they spend on a particular project. This system also helps top executives manage and utilize their workforce effectively. With a complete overview and control of workflow and workforce, executives can shift responsibilities to improve productivity or recruit new employees, if necessary.
Framing a time tracking system with the motive of improving workflow encourages employees more than using it as a means of managing their day. Improper time tracking can increase stress and impatience among employees as they focus more on time’s monetary value. On the other hand, a well-implemented system motivates employees to stay on the right track and accomplish their assigned tasks within deadlines while achieving the overall business objectives as well. So, maintaining balance is the key to success.
3. It provides constructive employee performance reviews
Another great benefit that a time tracking system offers is that it provides better reviews of employee performance. Manually searching for an employee and then figuring out their accrued work hours to assess their allowed PTO is tedious and time-consuming. Automated software, like Ximble, has the power to track staff attendance and punctuality in real-time, which will help you stay completely unbiased when judging employees.
A time tracking system prepares you for review meetings. Otherwise, you could miss out on a fruitful opportunity to provide valuable feedback to your employees and encourage them toward growth. It offers an accurate review of your employees’ performances. Having the right information on hand will ensure that your employees have a better understanding of what their employers expect from them. It will help them identify the right work pattern, make them aware of the real goals, and provide them the opportunity to make adjustments as they go.
4. It offers financial advantages
Paper-based time cards and swipe card systems are prone to human errors, system errors, and even dishonesty. Besides these errors, there are many ways that one can lose track of recorded hours, which may lead to unnecessary payroll expenses. With an automated time tracking system, companies can save up to 4% of their annual expenses.
Not only do these systems record and calculate employee’s’ work hours, but they also keep track of resources available within the company. Of a company’s many resources, your employees’ time and energy are the most important, which can be wasted on manual tasks. Rather than employees squandering time on manual work, such as printing and distributing time sheets, a time tracking system allows them to focus on their core tasks.
Moreover, an obsolete and manual time tracking sheet puts unnecessary stress on payroll workers, which can lead to illness and injuries, further adding to company’s expenses. Automated time tracking systems take the burden off payroll workers and increase their morale, as well as work efficiency.
5. Provide more efficient project management
Your business may have several different projects that your team has to complete daily, weekly, monthly, or on a quarterly basis. A time tracking system makes the job of monitoring and managing each task for several different projects a simple endeavor. This is helpful, especially when a limited number of employees are working on multiple projects. Tracking the time they spend on each project and prioritizing tasks will make it easy for you and your employees to handle all of their duties efficiently.
As you can see, a time tracking system offers plenty of benefits to businesses of any size. Just be careful when choosing the time tracking software that’s right for your business. Once you find and implement the software, ensure that everyone in the company knows the objective of the software and how to use it properly.
