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Whether you are an IT services company, a digital services firm, an agency, or even a freelance consultant in software development, tracking the time spent on your projects is essential—especially when working on a fixed-price contract. This is crucial not only for monitoring profitability but also for maintaining a healthy and transparent relationship with your clients.
Having a clear and precise understanding of the work completed versus what was initially agreed upon in the project specifications allows you to highlight the “remaining work” and avoid any surprises or misunderstandings with the client. This is even more critical in the IT sector, where projects can quickly evolve and become complex, requiring technical support and rigorous oversight.
Of course, the success of this approach is inherently tied to your ability to integrate these tracking practices into your company’s daily operations while ensuring that your teams develop the necessary skills to adapt to these new working methods.
You’re probably asking yourself many questions: How can I optimize time tracking without disrupting existing workflows? How can I provide my clients with a complete and flawless view of project progress? How can I implement a solution that meets the specific needs of each project while staying within deadlines and budget?
By considering these factors and implementing the necessary measures, you will be well-equipped to tackle the challenges of time tracking in both fixed-price and time-and-materials projects—minimizing the risk of penalties while maximizing your chances of success.
The importance of activity report software in project time management
To simplify time tracking on your projects, it is essential to adopt enterprise time management tools, such as an activity reporting software. This type of solution not only allows for precise tracking of hours worked but also automates activity management and invoicing. By providing a clear and detailed overview of completed tasks, CRA software optimizes project management and enhances profitability. It becomes an indispensable asset for ensuring transparency and client satisfaction.
What are the obstacles to tracking time spent?
In fact, although this is central to the smooth running of the business, there are often several problems that arise:
- It’s a pain!!! Let’s be honest, logging time spent daily is often seen by teams as a tedious and meaningless task. Which is understandable, considering that profitability concerns are usually far removed from those who have to track their time every day…
- Declarative tracking is often judge and jury. The one doing the work is the one reporting it, so if they report anything inaccurately, that’s a problem. Or in other words, how to bill the client for more coffee breaks than actual project progress…
- The challenge of oversight. Indeed, this type of self-reporting requires someone to regularly (ideally every week) verify that what has been logged actually reflects the work done.
Why is time recording often perceived as a chore by teams?
Recording time spent on projects can quickly become a source of frustration for teams. Here are a few reasons why this task is often perceived as a chore:
- Lack of understanding: Team members don’t always clearly see how logging their time benefits the project or the company. They may feel it’s only used for monitoring rather than improving processes.
- Repetitive and tedious task: Logging time daily or weekly can feel repetitive and boring, especially if the system used is not user-friendly.
- Lack of time: Paradoxically, team members may feel too busy with their daily tasks to take the time to log their hours properly.
- Negative perception: There may be a fear that the logged information could be used against them, especially if the project is behind schedule or over budget.
How can we overcome the problem of declarative time tracking?
The declarative, while essential, poses its share of challenges in tracking time. Here are some strategies for overcoming these problems:
- Training and awareness: Ensure that your teams understand the importance of logging their time and how it benefits everyone by improving transparency and enabling better project management.
- Use user-friendly tools: Invest in time-tracking systems that are easy to use and allow for quick, effortless entry.
- Encourage consistency: Motivate your teams to log their time regularly, such as at the end of each day or after completing a task, so it becomes a habit.
- Involve teams in the process: give your teams the opportunity to participate in choosing time tracking tools and methods, so they feel more involved and responsible.
- Lead by example: leaders and managers need to set an example by capturing their own time rigorously and transparently.
- Positive feedback: stress the importance of keeping track of time and congratulate team members who do it properly and regularly.
By addressing these aspects, you’ll help to create a positive culture around time recording, transforming a task perceived as a chore into a key element for project success.
So how do you make the most of your time on a fixed-price project?
At Furious, we’ve come up with a whole host of possible scenarios so that everyone can get on with it, in a fun and happy way!
- From your Outlook or Gmail calendar with automatic synchronization.
- With a great widget where you can enter everything you've done in the past week (see screenshot).
- With a time tracker of death: play / pause / play / pause... “on the phone with a customer” etc...
- Directly from the schedule with intelligent production vs. project management notifications
- Avec la saisie du temps directement à la clôture d’un ticket.
Comment utiliser votre agenda et les outils de synchronisation pour suivre le temps ?
Using your diary can be an effective and intuitive way of keeping track of the time you spend on your projects. Here’s how to maximize its use:
- Automatic synchronization: make sure your calendar is synchronized with your time-tracking tools. Whether you use Outlook, Gmail or any other calendar, automatic synchronization allows you to record your time without any extra effort.
- Create dedicated events: create specific events for each task or project. Be sure to name them clearly and include all the necessary details.
- Use categories and colors: use categories and colors to differentiate task and project types. This will make your tracking visually intuitive and easy to analyze.
- Retrospection: take the time at the end of each week to look back at your diary to make sure everything is recorded and to adjust if necessary.
The use of widgets and time trackers for optimized time recording
Widgets and time trackers are invaluable tools for optimized time recording. Here’s how to make the most of them:
- Widgets on desktop or mobile: use widgets accessible directly from your desktop or mobile to capture your time quickly and without interrupting your workflow.
- Play/pause function: choose a time tracker that offers play/pause functionality. This allows you to start and stop the counter with a single click, which is ideal for tasks that require high precision in time tracking.
- Categorization: make sure your widget or time tracker allows you to categorize your tasks. This will make it easier to analyze your time and help you identify areas where you can gain in efficiency.
- Reporting and analysis: choose a tool that offers reporting and analysis features. This will enable you to visualize your time data in a comprehensible and usable way.
How can I integrate time recording into the ticket closing workflow?
Integrating time recording directly into the ticket closing workflow can greatly optimize your process. Here’s how:
- Automation: set up an automation that reminds the user to enter their time when closing the ticket.
- Mandatory fields: make time entry mandatory to close a ticket. This ensures that time is accounted for every task completed.
- Guides and tooltips: provide guides and tooltips at the time entry field level to help users understand how and why to enter their time.
- Feedback and continuous improvement: collect user feedback and continuously improve the process to make it as smooth and intuitive as possible.
By following these tips, you’ll optimize time recording within your team, contributing to better project management and increased productivity.
And what about HR?
Internally, we can’t advise you enough to orchestrate the whole process. To find out, ask yourself these questions:
-> Do you reward those who enter their time? For example, priority access to the production schedule, etc.
-> Do you systematically check that timesheets have been completed?
-> What do you do if this is not the case? In a large consulting firm that we won’t name, if the allocations aren’t done on Friday evening, it’s up to the manager to do them for the employee on the following Monday… In general, this doesn’t happen twice!
-> Have you gamified the process to make it fun?
-> Have you given “project” meaning to the action of imputing? For example, bonus on project profitability etc…
How can you motivate your teams to make the most of their time?
Valuing and motivating your teams to enter their time correctly is crucial to the success and accuracy of your project management. Here’s how to do it:
- Recognition: set up a recognition system for team members who enter their time correctly and regularly. This can take the form of public congratulations, rewards or priority access to certain benefits.
- Training and coaching: make sure every team member knows how and why it's important to capture their time. Organize training sessions and make resources available to guide them.
- Simplifying the process: make the time entry process as quick and easy as possible. The easier it is, the more inclined your teams will be to do it.
- Positive feedback: show your teams how capturing their time correctly contributes to the success of projects and the financial health of the company.
What measures can be taken to ensure the completeness and accuracy of timesheets?
Ensuring the completeness and accuracy of timesheets is essential for effective time and resource management. Here’s what you need to do:
- Regular checks: set up regular checks of timesheets to ensure they are complete and accurate. This can be done by managers or a dedicated team.
- Automatic reminders: use automatic reminders to encourage regular time entry.
- Transparency and communication: be transparent about the importance of timesheet completeness and accuracy, and communicate regularly about it.
- Ongoing training: offer ongoing training to remind people of good practices and common mistakes to avoid.
Gamifying time tracking: an effective strategy?
Gamifying time tracking can be an innovative and motivating strategy to encourage accurate time recording. Here’s how to implement it:
- Points and rewards system: set up a points and rewards system to reward team members who regularly and accurately enter their time.
- Friendly competitions: organize friendly competitions within the team to encourage time capture.
- Dashboards and leaderboards: use dashboards and leaderboards to make everyone's performance visible and create a spirit of healthy competition.
- immediate feedback: make sure the system offers immediate feedback so employees can see the positive consequences of their action in real time.
By implementing these strategies, you’ll create an environment where capturing time is not only valued, but also encouraged and rewarded, contributing to a positive and productive corporate culture.
Strategies and tools for effective time management
Effective time tracking is essential to ensure the profitability and success of your projects. Here are some strategies and tools that can help:
- Use time tracking tools: adopt specialized tools that allow your teams to track their working time accurately and in real time.
- Integration with other tools: make sure your time tracking tool can be integrated with other tools you use, such as project management systems and invoicing software.
- Training and awareness: train your teams in the correct use of the tools and make them aware of the importance of accurate time tracking.
- Data analysis: use the data collected by your time tracking tool to analyze trends, identify areas for improvement and optimize your processes.
Comparing and choosing between fixed-price projects and other models
The choice between a fixed-price project and other contractual models depends on many factors, including the nature of the project, the customer’s needs and your in-house capabilities.
Fixed-price project or project management: how to make the right choice?
- Evaluate project scope: a fixed-price project is often more suitable when scope and deliverables are clearly defined. On a time-and-materials basis, the customer pays for the time spent, which can be more flexible if needs change.
- Consider the risks: a fixed-price contract means you assume more risk, as you commit to a fixed price. With a fixed-price contract, the risks are more shared with the customer.
- Weigh up the financial benefits: a fixed price can offer a better margin if you manage the project well, but it can also lead to losses if you estimate incorrectly.
What are the specific advantages of fixed-price projects?
- Financial predictability: both customer and supplier know in advance how much the project will cost.
- Administrative simplicity: once the price has been set, financial management of the project is simplified.
- Incentive for efficiency: The provider is encouraged to work efficiently to maximize their margin.
What are the major differences between fixed-price and time-and-material contracts?
- Billing model: in a fixed-price contract, the price is fixed in advance, whereas in a time and materials contract, the customer pays according to the time spent.
- Risk allocation: risks are more on the provider's side in a fixed-price contract, and more shared in a time and materials operation.
- Flexibility: a time and materials contract offers greater flexibility to adjust scope and resources during the course of a project.
By taking these factors into account, you’ll be better equipped to choose the contractual model best suited to your project and your needs.
In short, since time tracking is an essential prerequisite for the profitable management of your projects, it’s essential not only to equip yourself with tools that enable your teams to track their time simply and efficiently, but also to think in terms of internal communications that are rewarding and motivating!
