What software for Time Tracking and Billing?

Question

A friend of mine is running a consultancy company and she needs software to manage the people that go to their customers. I've been using Project Management Software before, but this case is slightly different. Basically, the workflow would be:

• Manager assigns a Consultant to a customer site, possibly on a calendar (e.g. John Smith has to go to Mr Customer on 3rd of April from 10AM to 6PM).
• Consultant goes to customer for an X amount of hours. At the end of the day, he/she writes in the software how many hours were spent (and, eventually, doing what).
• Manager generates a monthly report of billable hours and produces invoices to send to customers.

It should be relatively simple to manage, but I wouldn't be able to recommend a specific program for this. Funnily enough, I've been a consultant for 10 years, but, at the time, we did everything on paper...

Any suggestion is appreciated, thanks.

Answer 1

The tag "time-tracking" tag does not give many good answers/suggestions, but the project management sister site has a few good ones:

• http://pm.stackexchange.com/questions/3650/what-time-tracking-time-management-software-do-you-use
• http://pm.stackexchange.com/questions/3874/how-to-accurately-track-the-time-a-contractor-spends-on-a-project

A few years ago I have used toggl myself, for tracking my time spent at work relared projects. Toggl is webbased and has a desktop interface. It does time tracking pretty well, but does not support the appointment making.

Another idea is to use jira with the team calendars, but I am quiet an atlassian fanboy, and it maybe a bit oversized for what you are looking for.

Maybe do a search for timetracking over at pm.

Answer 2

Crisply can do this. I am the co-founder of a product called Crisply. Crisply integrates with your calendar and the other systems that you use. We have a video overview on the website: http://crisply.com. Crisply is a revolutionary time tracking system that builds a draft of your timesheet automatically to take the pain out of time tracking. Crisply is free for the first 5 users. Check it out and post your feedback here: http://support.crisply.com. Thank you!

Answer 3

I use the same software as tcrosley - TSheets time tracker. It does seem that this software would be fitting for this situation because it does allow for manual time entry and can produce the desired reports at months end. When I signed up for TSheets I integrated it into FreshBooks since I was already using that software for invoicing. I've been happy with using the two softwares together.

Answer 4

We had been testing out several time tracking software before to fit our needs (outsourcing) but they were all a flop. Most endorsements said they can help to make time tracking a bit easier but most of them have complexities on their app. Perhaps a time tracker or a project management software that integrates google apps is more efficient in organizing tasks. In this way, you can be more productive in your work and at the same time more efficient in giving reports to management.

Answer 5

Time Tracker 2 Go - www.timetracker2go.com - is an iPhone app that helps consultants keep track of time spent at a customer's location. It uses the location awareness of the phone to determine when the consultant arrives at the customer's location and when they leave. The consultant does not have to remember to record when they arrive or depart. Time Tracker 2 Go also lets the consultant keep track of time spent on specific tasks. Additionally, the consultant can keep track of expenses associated with that customer. This includes using the phone's camera to take pictures of receipts. All of this information can be emailed to the manager in a formmat that can be imported into a spreadsheet.

I am the author of Time Tracker 2 Go. If you have any questions or ideas about time tracking for mobile workers, I'd be happy to discuss them with you. I can be reached at dennis@ltstechnology.com

Answer 6

I have used TSheets for some time now. It will keep track of multiple job codes with subtasks within the job codes. Clocking in and out can be done via smartphone app, website, SMS text, or dial-in. You can also enter/edit time manually. It has integrated payroll and invoicing.

I have no connection with the company, just a happy user. I use their freelancer account, which is single-user at $10/month. They have a business account for $20/month which includes one user; additional users are $5/month more.

Answer 7

I would recommend looking into SpringAhead, it is a relatively inexpensive solution for what you're looking for. It also connects to other accounting software like Quickbooks and Microsoft GP so make the back end work even easier.

Answer 8

I use Mandy Time Assistant for iOS. Its a real simple time tracking tool. Its helped me to see the reality of my Day or Week. Mandyassistant.com

Answer 9

I would suggest looking at http://www.casefox.com.

In this scenarios, the manager can log into CaseFox account and create individual logins for his consultants/staff. Then create a client and case/project for the client. Grant privileges/access to the case to consultants who are working on the project, including their hourly rates. (Consultants can be restricted from viewing data of other users and client information by assigning a restrictive role). Each consultant can then enter his/her hours and description what he/she did. This data is then used directly to create invoices (just two clicks) for the client.

The manager can see in real time what his consultants have done and how much billable/non-billable hours they have logged. CaseFox can also record payments and provide summaries of unpaid invoices, unbilled hours, billed amounts, etc. Real easy to use and simple interface. Free basic account to test drive the software.

Disclaimer - I work for CaseFox, Inc.

Answer 10

There are several time and project tracking and management tools available online. To be precise on my earlier statement, either you can buy software's or use cloud based software tools called as SaaS. There are several advantages using a cloud based software and you can read it on various blogs. Please Google for more information.

To make the task easier for you, I would suggest some tools and my feedback on it:

Basecamp: Excellent project management tool with various features and it would completely take care of your projects and related statistics.

Replicon: Replicon offers hassle free cloud based time tracking, billing, expense tracking, invoice and other time and expense related features. Try cloud based time clock software.

Quickbooks: Quickbooks offer excellent expense tracking software, try it to see the magic. Replicon offers excellent time tracking integration with Quickbooks.

Answer 11

Consultancy company requires a lot of assistance, I mean, the one running a consultancy business needs to use a lot of tools. As you mentioned, very important tool would be project management or tracking tool, along with it comes the payroll management or resource management tool.

I would suggest several tools, as I had my own consultancy business once. Here goes my suggestions:

Basecamp for project management

Replicon time billing for payroll or resource management and employee attendance tracking

Remember the milk for task management

I do have a list of various best tools for running business successfully, if the about sounds interesting let me know so that I can share all.

Thanks...