Why we use time tracking software

Tracking project time is crucial to project quoting and costing, productivity analysis, deadline management, and controling internal resources.

It’s important for us to understand how much time individual developers and designers are spending on each project. Breaking down the work required into key tasks and allocating the hours between them helps keep on top of the time spent. These tasks can include planning, research, development, and design. When the project is complete, we expect hours spent to align with the estimated cost.

Internal Analysis.

Projects sometimes absorb more time and resources due to client feedback, issues in development, or changes in scope. By using time tracking software we can locate any problem areas and introduce better practices – reducing the risks of it happening again in the future.

Time tracking adds organizational transparency, making it easy to see where things are running smoothly, and highlight any processes that could be holding up a project. Are team members dedicating and spending more time with a particular client? Are there missing resources in an area of the organisation? We can gain insight into how much time is spent on non-billable work – such as meetings, admin, breaks, etc. We can also see which clients are more time heavy and which are the most profitable.

Client Transparency.

All clients expect transparency and evidence of time and resources allocated to their project. We use the time tracking software to send a detailed hours breakdown along with the invoice for any ad-hoc billable hours work. If there are any questions in relation to time allocated to a project, a time sheet can provide the data on time spent per task. It also shows how much value the client is receiving.

After trialing several time tracking tools, we decided to use Toggl. Time tracking with Toggl has allowed us to monitor project profitability seamlessly and quickly, allowing us to easily see problems in the project lifecycle.  By analyzing each project individually we can make the appropriate adjustments in our pricing and processes to further improve our service to clients and manage sustainable profitability.