How do you create and use a timesheet in your business?

There are a number of different ways of understanding time tracking in project management.

The timesheet is a must. 

What is a timesheet?

You probably already know what a timesheet is for, and we're willing to bet you've already used one in one way or another. 

Timesheet: definition

The term "timesheet" means "time sheet". 

An integral part of time and activity management it's all about - surprise, surprise : a sheet enabling employees to annotate their working hours.

Often associated as a monitoring tool by employees, timesheet time recording is often perceived as a tedious administrative exercise. 

Minimize time recording processes will be clear and fast - or even fully automatedthe higher the risk of detachments, forgotten dispatches or data entry errors, impacting business management.

This can have a negative impact on employer credibility when it comes to billing.

Why use timesheets in business?

Beyond the assurance it represents for employees and the respect of their rights regarding time worked, this follow-up is required for strategic growth reasons such as optimizing resource planning - resulting in higher productivity and performance, but also for billing purposes, in the case of projects invoiced to the customer.

The timesheet then proves to be a real tool for optimizing financial performance, since it provides a clear view of the allocation of resources in time to tasks.

As a result, it becomes easier to identify the best profiles to mobilize on certain types of project, and to optimize your utilization rate to maximize occupancy on profit-generating assignments.

On the HR side, monitoring team and employee performance enables us to draw up relevant development plans, based on existing data from past projects.

Last but not least, the timesheet enables much more precise and justifiable and justifiable in the case of projects sold on a time and materials basis.

What media should you choose to set up timesheets?

Plot twist: the timesheet doesn't have to be presented as a sheet!

It is available in a wide range of formats to suit all types of industry, in a context of digital transformation.

The paper timesheet

For the nostalgic or the more manual among us, the paper format can do the job just fine. 

• The benefits

The simplest solution to implement, without question. 

This free timesheet has no deployment or maintenance costs -  if, however, you consider a pack of sheets and a few pens to be purchased material..

Intuitive and fast, it doesn't require any technical skills, and can be flexibly adapted to your company's needs.

• The limits

While this method may be suitable for a small company or department, it is more restrictive on a larger scale.

Paper is more easily lost and degraded. The problems associated with forgetting or mistyping paper therefore remain. 

This materialized approach also adds further difficulty to the monitoring and analysis process data is processed one by one, by hand. Sheets risk being delivered in installments (when they are delivered at all), and physical storage is cumbersome.

Using Excel as a timesheet

Entering working times in Excel is perfectly suitable for creating and creating and monitoring timesheets.

• The benefits

As a spreadsheet star, your employees are probably already familiar with Excel or similar software such as Google Sheets or Numbers.

Accessible in the cloud, information is centralized, so there's no need to provide a sheet for each employee or team.

A formula to calculate them all: spreadsheets offer a high degree of customizability, allowing you to automate your calculations and save precious time.

• The limits

While tracking is automated, time recording is not. Data entry represents an effort that is sometimes put off until later, and can lead to errors or inconsistencies.

Unauthorized access to the timesheet table can lead to unintentional modifications of the implemented functions, which can corrupt the file.

Finally, the larger the team or the more specific its features, the more difficult it will be to manage time.

Using a time clock

Time clocking is a way of to record working hours with great precision.

Can it, however, meet the challenges of time management?

• The benefits 

Little effort is required on the employer's side, so the risk of dissatisfaction and neglect is virtually eliminated. 

Management is also simplified by the automation of data collection.

• The limits 

This approach leaves little room for flexibility: forget teleworking days and off-site collaboration.

Forgotten or lost your badge? A return to the manual solution is necessary, which can create integration problems with the tracking system.

Installation and maintenance costs are high, and malfunctions can distort data.

Finally, this method does not allow precise segmentation by task or project. It's difficult to analyze production without taking into account the reality on the ground.

Using timesheet software

The online timesheet seems to combine the strengths of different timesheet media in a single tool.

• The benefits

A true time and attendance software combined with atime management application, the timesheet tool enables more reliable time tracking.

One of our flagship features is the ability to create validation stages, a way of securing entries in the event of an inspection.

Times are easily segmented into categories for instant, easy-to-understand graphical reports.

Some programs allow you to record times live, using a stopwatch for example.

• The limits

This time-saving time sheet entry and tracking them at a higher cost than a physical or spreadsheet-based method.

Some suppliers do not offer integration or training services. The process of choosing a tool can therefore take time, to avoid wasting time with an unsuitable choice.

The timesheet software must also be sufficiently easy to use so as not to discourage its use employee side.

A lack of integration with your other management systems is a disadvantage that must be anticipated.

How do I create a timesheet?

Although the concept may be clear to you, it's natural to wonder what parameters will make up your timesheet.

To create an effective, readable timesheet that is consistent with your strategic objectives, follow our step-by-step action plan.

Step 1: Choose your timesheet format

As we have already seen, there are a number of different ways to design your timesheets.

One is not necessarily better than the others. Several criteria need to be studied to adapt to YOUR current use case. 

You can adapt your solution or change it as soon as the need arises.

• Which method for which company size?

Small team or well-established group? The number of employees involved in your time management system can depend on both the maturity of your business or your business model.

As a company grows, so does the need for automation and cutting-edge technology.

• What's the right budget for timesheet software?

More or less correlated with your maturity and available resources, the implementation budget is an important criterion.

Investing in an overly elaborate and costly solution can be counter-productive on a small scale. Just make sure you adapt or change the tool to suit your growth.

• Which solution for which purpose?

If your main concern is to analyze in-house time allocation to certain tasks or projects, there's no need for a multi-featured solution.

If you want to reduce the time you spend on invoicing, you want to be able to use your timesheets as a reference to automatically fill in your invoices.

To optimize financial performance, timesheet software is essential. In particular, Stafiz enables you to allocate resources more efficiently, taking into account employees' current and future availability, skills and preferences.

Step 2: configure time tracking

Companies can take different approaches to time management. Consulting and services can be sold on an hourly, daily or half-day basis.

Some employees may benefit from special contracts, such as part-time work, which impacts reporting and data analysis particularly when monitoring of utilization rate.

For example, you need to be able to consider the utilization rate of a part-time employee in its entirety. So, for a total of 20 hours, he or she will have a 100% rate, compared with 57.1% for a colleague with a 35-hour contract.

For the best representation of reality, integrate rules that allow :

1. legal compliance with maximum working hours (breaks, hours in a day);
2. the inclusion of employee absences, whatever their nature (paid or unpaid leave, sick leave).

Step 3: Categorize the tenses

For optimize your production through efficient monitoring, segment time precisely to obtain an exhaustive view of how the employee time are used.

To label them, it's up to you to identify the elements to be tracked according to your organization. 

Some examples of categories: 

• programs and projects ;
• phases, tasks and subtasks ;
• internal projects (training, R&D, administrative tasks, etc.);
• TRAINING ; 
• teams, business units and departments.

With time sheets, Stafiz creates a reporting system that allows you to track time and activities in great detail.

Step 4: Include cost management

For study your profitability or to prepare customer invoices, you can integrate the hourly rate for each employee into your timesheets.

In the case of paper timesheets, you'll need your calculator. 

In Excel, add up the totals, remembering to include the specific hourly rates for billing purposes.

On dedicated software, financial data are automatically calculated according to the times entered in timesheets. Track your margins and project progress in real time. 

How do you analyze a timesheet?

Apart from invoicing, timesheets are intended to be read, interpreted and challenged to optimize productivity within the organization. 

Being able to identify which tasks are the most time-consuming, or which deserve more attention, is a way of reporting back to management on the reality in practice, and of being able to put into action solutions to  overcome blocking situations.

Identify deviations from forward planning

Deviations between the initial schedule and the times recorded on the timesheet are the first warning sign.

Using integrated software, this comparison can be illustrated graphically. This is a powerful way of identify deviations at the earliest stage of project execution, so that corrective action can be taken quickly.

Production report: variances between targets and actuals.

Make a financial analysis

In addition to timesheets, Stafiz integrates the management of associated budgets (with CJM and ADR management).

In this way, you can perform a financial analysis of your business and anticipate when deviations will occur and act proactively by adapting resource planning.

Comparison of variances between actual and production targets in Stafiz.

Establish a regular follow-up

Setting up timesheets takes time, and it would be a shame to invest in setting them up only to fail to analyze them.

Once timesheets have been created, managers and teams need to take responsibility for their proper use, and this requires regular monitoring.

This follow-up can take two forms.

You can schedule timesheet analysis meetings on a monthly basis, or following project closure.

Invite your collaborators to discuss their feedback, goals and, of course, congratulate them on their efforts. 

On a more recurring basis, generate automatic reports at the pace you need. This allows you to take a step back from daily real-time monitoring, and prepare for follow-up meetings.

Create a history

Use the reports generated by your timesheet software to build up an archive.

A veritable goldmine for tracking your objectives, you'll have access to a range of metrics to help you compare the effectiveness of your actions, and subsequently improve your pricing.

It also helps you make strategic decisions about your current and future resource capacity.