Time Tracking: How It Can Improve Your Business

Time Tracking: How It Can Improve Your Business

If you are a business owner, boss, or manager, you’ll know that running a company is no walk in the park. There are so many things to think about and keep track of, it’s often hard to know where to start. One important task that is often overlooked is time tracking.

a left hand holding a tiny white alarm clock for time tracking

Time tracking may seem like a mundane and pointless chore, but it can actually be a great way for businesses to improve performance and efficiency. Here are just a few of the ways that time tracking can benefit your company:

  1. Helps you stay on track and meet deadlines
  2. Motivates employees to be more productive
  3. Helps identify areas for improvement
  4. Assists with billing and invoicing

Not only that, but time tracking can help to improve the quality and quantity of your company’s output. It can also indirectly foster a strong and positive workplace culture.

If you’re interested in implementing time tracking within your business, you’ve come to the right place! Browse through this page for everything you need to know about the benefits of time tracking, or click the links below to skip ahead:

What Is Time Tracking?

Time tracking is a method of measuring productivity and progress within your business by keeping track of the time spent on specific tasks or projects. By recording when work begins and ends, time monitoring can help you to:

Time tracking can also be used to monitor employee productivity. By tracking the time employees spend on specific tasks, you can identify which employees are slacking off or need more training, and you can reward employees who work hard and meet deadlines.

a person looking at their smartwatch for time tracking

Many companies small and large are using time tracking tools to monitor their employees, projects, and progress. If you’re not currently using time tracking in your business, here are four reasons why you should start:

1. To improve project management

Project management is the process of organizing and managing a project from beginning to end. By tracking the time spent on each task, you can more accurately estimate how long a project will take and identify any issues you may encounter along the way.

2. To improve employee productivity

Timekeeping allows you to see which employees are slacking off or working too hard. This information can then be used to adjust their workload or give them a raise/bonus, incentives that will motivate them to be more productive at work.

3. To bill clients accurately

If you’re charging by the hour, it’s important to track the time spent on each task. This will help you to bill your clients accurately and avoid any disputes down the road.

4. To improve employee satisfaction

Employees like to know that their time is being used effectively and they appreciate it when they can see how their work contributes to the overall goal of the company. Time tracking can help to improve employee satisfaction by showing them how their time is being used and helping them to understand the big picture.

How Time Tracking Works

Timekeeping in the professional setting is usually achieved through apps and software, as well as manual tracking with paper or spreadsheets. Employees track the time they spend on each task and project, which is then reflected in invoices, reports, and other documents.

Time tracking apps are very simple to use. They usually require employees to input the start and end time of each task, as well as a short description. The app will then calculate the time spent on that task and generate reports for the business owner.

Some time monitoring apps are more advanced than others. For example, they may allow employees to track time spent on specific websites or in specific programs. This can be helpful for businesses that need to monitor how much time is being spent on specific tasks, such as online marketing or web development.

Other apps will use GPS tracking to monitor how much time is being spent on specific locations, a feature that is especially helpful for businesses with remote employees. Work From Home and hybrid companies also stand to benefit from time tracking, as they can’t see how their employees are working in person and must rely on timekeeping data.

a person using their tablet for time tracking

Choosing the right time tracker comes down to your business’s specific needs and the structure of your company. Most time recording apps offer a free trial, so it’s easy to test out different ones to see which one works best for your business.

The Benefits of Time Tracking

When it comes to tracking time, there are many ways in which your company can benefit. Whether you’re looking to improve project management, employee satisfaction, or something else, time tracking can be a valuable asset.

One of the most obvious benefits of timekeeping is that it can help you better understand how your team spends its time. This information can be used to improve your company’s workflow and ensure that projects are completed on time and within budget.

The ability to track time spent on different tasks allows you to improve your business as a whole. Continue reading for a more in-depth look at how time tracking can improve project management, company culture and employee satisfaction, fulfillment, and company output.

Time Tracking and Project Management

Managing projects within your company is no easy task, but tracking time can make things far simpler. By knowing how long a project takes, you can properly budget your time and resources for future projects. Additionally, if you know how long different tasks within a project take, you can better plan and manage those tasks.

Time tracking also allows you to measure the effectiveness of your team, as you can see which employees are taking the longest to complete tasks and adjust their workloads accordingly. If you have employees who are working on multiple projects at once, time monitoring can help you see which project they are spending the most time on.

The main applications of time tracking in project management are:

  • Planning and budgeting: Knowing how long a project takes can help you better plan and budget for future projects.
  • Measuring efficiency: You can see which employees are taking the longest to complete tasks and adjust their workloads accordingly.
  • Tracking progress: Timekeeping allows you to track the progress of a project and see which tasks are taking the longest.
  • Analyzing results: By analyzing the results of time tracking, you can improve your project management processes.

Time Tracking and Fulfillment

It can be tricky to monitor your company’s fulfillment process. When you can see how long each step of the process takes, however, you can begin to optimize and improve it. This is especially important for businesses that need to meet specific deadlines.

six employees having a meeting while time tracking

With accurate timekeeping in place, your employees will be able to better estimate how much time a project will take, ensuring that they can meet deadlines and avoid overbooking.

The main ways that time tracking helps to monitor fulfillment are:

  • Determining the time it takes to complete a task or project
  • Seeing where there might be inefficiencies in the fulfillment process that can be corrected
  • Pinpointing which employees are good at what tasks and how long they take to complete them
  • Determining if specific deadlines are reasonable and achievable

With an optimized fulfillment process, your company is more likely to keep its customers happy and income rolling in!

Time Tracking: Company Culture and Employee Satisfaction

Any successful business owner will vouch for the fact that money isn’t everything when running a business. Company culture and employee satisfaction can greatly influence the quality of your output, so it’s important to prioritize your employees and the overall values your business runs by.

Company Culture

Time tracking can help improve and solidify your company culture by making employees feel more appreciated. When employees know that their time is being tracked and they are able to see how they are spending their time, they feel like their boss trusts them and values their work. This can lead to a more positive attitude towards the job and a general feeling of trust in the workplace.

When employees are able to see how they are spending their time, they may be more likely to think about how they can be more productive and even innovative. This contributes to a company culture of initiative and forward thinking which will benefit your business in the long run.

Timekeeping can also improve your company’s culture by creating stronger relationships and a better working environment. When employees know that their boss is interested in the way they are spending their time, they feel like their boss appreciates them as a person and not just as an employee.

three people laughing together

Employee Satisfaction

Believe it or not, time monitoring can positively influence employee satisfaction. Employees who understand how they are using their time are better able to identify areas where they can improve their productivity, leading to better output.

Keeping track of time can also help employees feel more in control of their work. By being able to see how they are spending their time, employees can better plan and organize their workday. This can lead to a sense of accomplishment and a feeling that they are in charge of their own destiny.

When employees are able to see how their work contributes to the overall vision of the company, they are more likely to be engaged and invested in their work. This can lead to a higher level of satisfaction with their role and an increased desire to do a good job.

Time Tracking and Company Output

Your output quality and quantity rely heavily on your ability to properly assign tasks and roles to the right people. When it comes to your company’s output, time tracking can help to improve the quality of the projects you deliver by highlighting how your employees should be utilized.

You can use timekeeping data to evaluate who is best suited to what task. For example:

  • Do you have an employee who always takes twice as long to finish a task as everyone else? Well, now you know that this person is not efficient at tasks that involve manual labor and might be better suited for a job where they can use their creativity.
  • Do you have an employee who always finishes their tasks early and has some free time? Well, now you can give them more tasks to keep them busy.

By assigning tasks to the employees who can do them most efficiently, your projects are more likely to be completed on time and under budget.

five people having a meeting about time tracking

Time tracking can also improve your company output by allotting time slots for different tasks. For example, if you have a design team, you can track how much time is spent on designing new products, redesigning old products, and meeting with clients.

Similarly, if you’re a small business, you can use time tracking to measure the amount of time spent on different tasks, such as customer service, marketing, and product development. This will help you understand where your business is making the most money and where it could be improved.

Bottom Line

It’s no secret that time tracking is the key to a successful and smooth-running business. After all, time monitoring in some form has been used by companies for many years now — it’s only with the emergence of apps and software that time tracking has properly come into the spotlight.

If you’re reading to improve your productivity, fulfillment, culture, and output, consider implementing an app like Day.io within your business. Day.io is a user-friendly and affordable tool that integrates seamlessly with payroll systems, management platforms, and other essentials. For all your time tracking needs, browse our features and begin your free trial today.