Many of us are lax in our time tracking (you know who you are!) however it can be detrimental to your billings. From the HOW magazine website come these 5 simple tips:

Charge for Enough of Your Time by David C. Baker (click link for full article)
  • Second, broaden your definition of “billable” to include anything specifically related to client work (like meeting time, travel time, phone time, and traffic time).
  • Third, enter the time daily, not weekly.
  • Fourth, monitor time spent against time estimated every day or so.
  • And fifth, make sure you are doing those time sheets, too, or no one will take the process seriously.
I use a desk calendar to record time spent per project, then transcribe to individual timesheets. My goal is to be more diligent about recording non-client work, which is also important to keep check on.

How does everyone else handle time tracking?


Comments:
3 Comments posted on "Time tracking tips"
Matt Mayes on April 2nd, 2008 at 9:23 am #

I use 5×8 note pads. I’ve tried tracking it on the computer, but when the pad is sitting right there, it just seems easier to do. I round to 15 minute increments, and record everything. If phone/email dialogs go long, I record that, and then decide if it’s appropriate to bill it later based on the project’s context. I religiously invoice on the 1st of the month, and some clients like it on the 1st and 15th as well. When you hit that slow streak, you’ll be glad you stuck to your schedule as the checks arrive.


lidia on April 3rd, 2008 at 10:01 pm #

Good point, Matt. Pairing accurate time tracking with a regular invoicing schedule is good for the cash flow :)


Donna Chu on April 8th, 2008 at 9:50 am #

We started using Pacific Timesheet (http://www.pacifictimesheet.com) last year, and it has exceeded our demands. We use it mainly for attendance and payroll time tracking, but some groups use it for light project time tracking, too. It saves us significant time to have one time tracking software for the entire organization.

Regards,
Donna Chu


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