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November 14, 2022

How timekeeping helps business owners stay on top of duties

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Tired of paperwork?

Companies both small and large need to make sure that their employees’ working hours are spent productively to avoid unnecessary costs and project delays. This is where time tracking tools come into play.

A time tracker will not only show employees how they use their working hours but also how frequently they become distracted. Additionally, they can discover how their productivity levels are influenced by different environments when they monitor their time.

We’ve compiled 24-time tracking benefits that can help:

  • Small businesses,

  • Employees,

  • Larger companies.

Before we get into them, let’s quickly look at why you need a time-tracking tool.

Why should you track the employee time in your organization correctly?

The benefits of time tracking are endless. Keeping track of time at work correctly will allow you to measure productivity and find out how much time employees spend on each task. It will also help you identify where you are spending too much or too little time so that you can adjust accordingly.

There are four types of people who should be tracking their time:

  • Employees who want to track their productivity in order to know where they need to improve;

  • Managers who want to track the productivity of their employees;

  • Entrepreneurs who want to make sure they are spending the right amount of time on each task;

  • Business owners who want to boost efficiency and grow their business.

Keep on reading to learn how everyone from freelancers and small businesses to large organizations can benefit from time tracking.

8 key benefits of time tracking for small businesses

Efficient timekeeping for small businesses is extremely advantageous. Some of the benefits of employee time tracking for small businesses include

  • Efficient team management,

  • Improved productivity,

  • Profitability boost,

  • Control over hidden tasks,

  • Better overview of client project value,

  • Prioritize tasks more effectively, 

  • Progress tracking,

  • No micromanaging, and 

  • Better project management.

Let’s get into each of them.

Efficient team management

Efficient team management is one the of many benefits of time tracking for businesses. It helps managers see which employees are on the clock, on break, or on leave. This way, they’re able to better schedule shifts and make sure no employee is overloaded with tasks.

Improved productivity

Using time tracking for productivity boosting is another huge benefit. Some types of time-tracking solutions also track how much time is spent on different apps. This option helps you see if there are any distractions that take away focus from work, like social media or cat videos.

Profitability boost

With the help of time tracking, businesses can view how projects are going, as well as see an overview of how time is being spent. With this data readily available, managers and business owners can track which jobs are more profitable, and which ones could use a little push.

Control over hidden tasks

A time tracking app is also a great tool to keep track of tasks that are often not brought up to the surface. Some of these hidden tasks include things like time spent on travel, if employees are taking their breaks, meetings, and task management. With time tracking, you’ll have an overview of tasks that you spent time on but haven’t billed for, like email communication.

Better overview of client project value

Another one of the benefits of project time tracking is being able to have a macro overview of all client jobs that are going on or have been finished. You can then assess the value of the projects to see which ones are money-bringers and which ones use way too much time and resources.

Prioritize tasks more effectively

Keeping track of your time in order to be more efficient and making sure you spend your time on the right tasks is incredibly important. This is where time tracking software comes into play, helping to better prioritization of tasks.  

No more micromanaging

Being a small business means that you don’t have that many employees. It can be easy to fall into micromanagement habits because you need to keep track of everything that your business does. With time tracking tools, you no longer have to call or message your team members frequently to get updates. Your team’s time is automatically tracked and you can check employee performance from one dashboard at any time.

Manage projects better

Better project management is another advantage of a time tracking system. Because you automate time tracking data, you can see project costs, how long different projects take time to complete, the pricing for each project, and more. With all this data, you can better schedule a workday for employees to make sure that no task is too time-consuming and that every project will be completed within a deadline. Most time tracking apps integrate with project management software, making it easier to streamline work processes for future projects.

8 key benefits of tracking time for employees

There are many benefits of time tracking for employees. Among other things, you can use time clock apps for project time tracking as well as creating a more transparent workplace culture.

Task prioritization

One of the many advantages of time tracking is being able to prioritize tasks more effectively. Employees will have a detailed overview of how much time each task needs, and can therefore plan and allocate time accordingly.

Workplace transparency

Because time is automatically tracked and updated in real-time,  time tracking tools’ dashboards, will show exactly how many hours each employee spends on the job. This creates more transparency within the workplace, as no hours will be lost and every employee will know beforehand how many hours they’ve accumulated.

Motivation booster

Boosting motivation in the workplace is another of the many benefits of time-tracking software. Managers and business owners can use timekeeping apps to help motivate employees to use their time more productively by putting to the forefront what distracts them.

Burnout prevention

With the help of time tracking tools, employees can see if they’re doing too much overtime work. This is extremely important for preventing burnout. When you see that you’ve already reached your weekly required working hours, you can then better manage your time for the rest of the week so that you’re not overworked.

Better PTO Management

Managing paid time off is another perk of automatic time tracking. Many apps offer the possibility to see which employee is on leave and which ones are not. You can better schedule your own time off so that you don’t coincide with others and you’re always aware of who is available to take on shifts.

Maintain work-life balance

Using timekeeping for keeping track of time at work is a great way to make sure you are balancing out your work life and personal life. You’re able to see every working hour right there on the dashboard, and managers can also see this. There is more transparency around working hours, so employees can manage their time better.

More conversations around progress

When everything is right there on a single dashboard, it’s easier to have conversations about progress. If employees are falling behind, they can check in with managers to see if there is an external factor affecting it, or if they simply need more shifts. Similarly, when an employee is excelling at work, there is a track record to prove it, and can be a basis for promotion.

Stop procrastination

Another advantage of time tracking software is that it shows you how you spent every single minute, even if you’re wasting it. If you’re spending too much time on social media or watching videos, then these tools will show you. There are also many tools that track how much time you spend on every single app, even if it’s just checking the weather, making sure to stop you procrastination.

8 key benefits of time tracking software

The benefits of employee task and time tracking software are numerous, and they help businesses streamline various workflows, such as:

Ensuring accountability

Because every minute on the clock is automatically tracked, it ensures that employees and managers will have more accountability on time management and scheduling. Managers will be able to see how their scheduling of shifts affects employees and productivity, and employees can see how much they are working.

Easier calculation of employee salaries

One of many automatic time tracking benefits is being able to easily calculate the salaries of employees. Many time tracking apps offer the option to add hourly rates and are able to integrate well with payroll software. This way, all hours are automatically tracked and summed up, ready to be sent for processing.

Integration with payroll

Perhaps one of the best perks of time tracking tools is being able to streamline the payroll process. Many apps integrate well with payroll software, making it easier to calculate and pay out salaries. Simply generate time sheets and send them for processing. 

Time and cost savings

Businesses can save a lot of time and costs when using a time tracking software. Especially when a tool offers GPS tracking, you can better manage your resources to make sure that they’re being spent wisely, as well as see areas where you can cut unnecessary costs.

Overview of all projects

Being able to see a full overview of all past and ongoing projects is another one of the many benefits of time tracking apps. Managers and business owners can check the status of projects at any time and from any device, as they are updated in real-time. They can see if things are going according to plan or if they are falling behind.

Easier and more accurate billing

With detailed timesheets, you can accurately bill clients for every minute spent on the job. Everything is automated, and you’ll build trust with your clients through these reports. They’re able to see how much time was spent on every aspect of the project, and it shows transparency and correctness from your side.

Better project forecasts

When you’re tracking time and gathering data, you can make better project forecasts for future jobs. If one specific project takes about three to four weeks to complete almost every time, you can prepare easier and give clients more accurate cost estimations.

Clearer objectives

Time tracking helps businesses formulate better and clearer objectives because they’re able to see how much each team progresses and uses their time. You can use your accumulated data and reports to back up these objectives, as well as set realistic timeframes for them.

Looking for the best way to keep track of employees’ hours? Contact Atto

The best way to keep track of employees’ hours is by using a time-tracking solution. Atto is there to help you every step of the way, by making sure that every minute is accurately tracked. 

With Atto, you can:

  • Save a lot of time and admin work with automated timesheets,

  • Track hours via GPS for remote and field teams,

  • Accurately calculate salaries, 

  • Cut payroll costs with accurate time entry, as well as

  • Stay in the loop with all your teams.

Seems like something that would work for you? You can try Atto for free for 14 days! 

Final points on time tracking benefits

There are many benefits of tracking working hours for both businesses and employees. The functionality of this software makes time allocation for remote teams incredibly easy, as well as makes sure that employees clock in and out easily.

With the help of time tracking software, businesses can:

  • Efficiently manage their teams,

  • Improve employee productivity,

  • Streamline payroll and admin processes,

  • Save time and costs,

  • Accurately track billable hours, and

  • Make better project estimations.

Similarly, employees can also benefit from time clock tracking, such as

  • Easier prioritization of tasks,

  • More transparency in the workplace,

  • Boosting motivation,

  • Better time management for work-life balancing, and

  • More progress-related conversations.

Good remote employee tracking software reduces the time spent on time tracking and task management because the tools simply do it for you. If you’re interested in using a time tracking tool, make sure that it fits your needs and is easy to use. 

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