Use Timesheet Management System to Scale Your Business
Published: 06/03/2023
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We aim for this article to reach business owners and project managers. Our objective is to introduce you to a variety of benefits a timesheet management system can provide if your goal is to expand. The topics covered will include increasing your project capacity, employee onboarding, and expense management.
Living in the era of technological advancement, businesses are overwhelmed with solutions promising to bring them incredible success at every turn. These solutions vary in purpose, specifications, areas they target, features they include, and more. In other words, with a constant flow of information—each delivering the same message but under different conditions—it becomes very easy to become confused.
In this article, we won’t make promises about how a single solution will transform your entire business. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s simply not possible. Instead, we want to focus specifically on our chosen topic. Namely, we will discuss business scalability and how timesheet management software can support it. Keep in mind, this will be a lengthy read; however, we will attempt to divide it into sections.
First of all, we will provide a general overview of how a timesheet solution can support scalability. We will then explore the impact it has on project management specifically. This is the area where this particular tool plays the most significant role. Finally, we will examine other aspects of your business that can be improved by a digital timesheet solution. Prepare to encounter some surprises along the way. As usual, to help you navigate and locate the sections that interest you most, please use the table of contents below.
The timesheet management system enables quick yet sustainable growth by handling a range of manual and time-consuming tasks. It allows users to automate various processes. This way, as the software takes over repetitive tasks that don’t need human involvement, your teams can focus on high-impact challenges.
To elaborate further, allowing the tool to handle tasks means you can take on more projects without expanding your team. Especially if this is not something you are interested in or able to do at the moment. In other words, you will be scaling up without making major changes to your existing processes.
Additionally, you will also reduce the chance of human error. As you begin delivering higher quality in less time, your reputation will grow accordingly. Never underestimate word of mouth. Even if your overall online presence stays the same, improved performance will always lead to increased demand for your services. In other words, the final outcome remains the same—your business will be expanding.
It may seem like an unrealistic number of benefits from adopting just one tool. But we assure you, there are even more. Although the timesheet management system is relatively budget-friendly, it covers a broad area of your business. Below, we will discuss several of them in depth. Keep in mind, we are focusing on scalability. Beyond this niche, there is much more it can offer.
As already highlighted in the opening paragraphs, the primary contribution of the timesheet management system to scalability comes from the project management aspect. Although automation features account for most of it, there is also the benefit of creating centralised visibility. Ultimately, the tool not only relies on the data you input but also records information independently. It then consolidates all this data into a visual, easy-to-understand format that can be analysed moving forward. What’s best is that it’s an ongoing process, unlocking unlimited opportunities for continued growth.
The main advantage of automation is that it allows you to take on more projects without expanding the workforce. It is quite common for companies experiencing a phase of rapid growth to suddenly stagnate. The reason is straightforward. The company's initial setup was optimised for steady growth, possibly with the expectation of changing as progress was made. While quick results are very beneficial, they can catch companies unprepared for an increase in demand. Essentially, the business is generating enough interest to continue scaling, but it is no longer capable of handling the volume of work required.
The obvious solution here would be to grow the team, but it’s a short-term fix. Eventually, you will encounter the same obstacle. A much wiser, more efficient, and cost-effective approach would be to improve work allocation. This is where automation provided by a timesheet management system becomes valuable. Many project management tasks are repetitive, tedious, and time-consuming. This makes them ideal for automation. Even something as simple as approving logged work hours can lead to significant productivity losses. So why take the risk?
Moving forward with the topic of maximising efficiency, let’s discuss resource allocation. Using a digital timesheet system means all timesheets from your workers will be accessible at the same location. It may not seem like a significant difference, but hear us out. When you review timesheets individually, you don’t compare them to one another. This means you are only estimating the time and deliverables ratio of each worker separately. When they are visible side by side, you get to see the full picture. Analysing submitted timesheets against one another and against your overall project progress will help you identify potential problems.
From there, you can then delve into more detailed analysis. Being able to compare the progress of different workers, as well as their overall contributions, will quickly highlight the source of the problem. This will then enable you to address it before it causes further issues. Similarly, you may find yourself recognising opportunities. For example, if one worker is delivering excellent results in fewer hours than expected, you can easily reallocate them to support those who are struggling. Overall, having clear visibility of your team’s time expenditure and results helps you to adjust them accordingly, maximising outcomes.
Of course, manually comparing and analysing timesheets is also a time-consuming task. It would therefore defeat the purpose, right? While we have discussed extensively about automating processes that consume your time, here we are insisting you need to add another one into the mix. As the title of this section indicates, it’s not like that at all. In fact, when you start using a timesheet management system, the automation of that process comes as part of the package. Almost every platform comes with a visual dashboard that displays the numbers and tables immediately upon login. The level of detail and customisation available in the dashboard varies from one software to another. This tool is useful for a quick assessment of your current position since it offers an overall overview. But what if you need to investigate further?
Most modern solutions are designed to generate on-demand reports within minutes. Although this isn't true for all, you are usually able to control what exactly goes into the report. At Timesheet Portal, we offer over 40 prebuilt report templates that you can customise. Alternatively, you can create your own from scratch using a simple, intuitive drag-and-drop builder. There is no limit to how many templates you can have, which is very useful if you need to produce several reports at once — for internal analysis, for the client, or for stakeholders. Additionally, automation features allow you to programme the platform to generate and distribute reports at specified times each month or period, meaning you don’t need to log into the platform more than once.
The benefits of a good timesheet management system extend beyond just project management. In fact, it can be used to improve other processes across the business. The right solution will not discard them or change them beyond recognition. Instead, it will enhance their efficiency, ultimately making these processes more scalable. Without further delay, let’s explore key areas you can improve.
Onboarding new workers, whether salaried, hourly, or temporary, is one of the most vital processes for any business. It demands speed, accuracy, and excellent communication not only to get them up to speed but also to stay compliant and scale easily. You might then ask, where do timesheets fit into this? Let’s begin with something as basic as training your staff on how your time-tracking software operates. If it’s a complicated, lengthy process with multiple steps, you'll naturally need more time for training. Even then, it may take a while before they become sufficiently familiar with the tool to avoid errors confidently. A manual or asking another employee for support could help shorten this period. Ultimately, however, the best solution is to use software that is straightforward to operate.
Now, to delve a bit deeper. When you use a truly advanced timesheet management system, it can either be integrated into your onboarding process or hosted entirely on its own. For example, you can restrict access to timesheets for staff who have not submitted all the necessary documentation. This means they won’t be able to log time and, consequently, won’t be able to work. At Timesheet Portal, we have developed a comprehensive onboarding module to streamline the process. You can customise it to suit your needs by selecting the types of documentation required. New starters will then be responsible for uploading everything directly onto the platform, avoiding the need for back-and-forth emails and manual uploads on your part. Once approved, all documents will be easily accessible and centralised. Our integration with an e-signing system also enables you to sign, process, and store contracts directly on the platform.
Expenses do fall under the scope of project management, but not always. However, in either case, a time management system can positively contribute to the process. The main issue with business expenses is that employees often find the submission process too complicated, time-consuming, or confusing. Some skip it altogether, while others make mistakes. The approving party can sometimes be uncertain about the process too, which leads to errors being overlooked. These may not be large amounts individually, so they are easily missed. However, over time, they accumulate and can cost millions annually. Naturally, better control of expenses will help your company grow more quickly.
Since timesheet solutions are primarily classified as pay and bill software rather than project management tools, they naturally handle expense claims. Most make it simple to log expenses within the platform and automatically attach them to the relevant projects or workers. At Timesheet Portal, we go the extra mile. Our expense module can calculate mileage and various expense types (e.g., parking and public transport) in different currencies. Not to mention, it offers expense submission on the go, bulk receipt uploads, and many other useful features. The module also includes optimisation of the approval process, which will be discussed in our next section.
An easy, intuitive, and quick approval process is essential for every company. It doesn't matter if it’s for timesheets, expenses, holidays, or anything else. As we keep emphasising throughout this article, improving the speed of your processes is absolutely vital if you want to continue scaling. This is because, as volumes increase, you cannot afford to waste time carrying out tasks manually. When there is so much to do, it is pointless to engage in emailing back and forth or sifting through email threads in an attempt to find approval-related information you no longer have on hand. Introducing automation into this process solves the problem, especially if it comes from a timesheet management system.
Many solutions on the market offer much more than just timesheets. Depending on the vendor, they can manage various processes, from holiday accruals to time booking. You can usually recognise a good tool when it allows you to shorten the approval process to a simple click. In the case of Timesheet Portal - directly from your email inbox, without needing to log into the platform. However, this might seem very tricky if your organisation uses a multi-level approval process. But here’s the catch - it only seems that way. In truth, you can easily programme the software to pass approval from one person to another as the process moves forward. For example, the second approver would only need to act if the first one has approved or rejected the submission. The options are wide-ranging and ultimately depend on your needs.
If all of the above sounds too good to be true, we are happy to tell you it is indeed true. This is mainly because all these aspects were considered when we built and continue to upgrade Timesheet Portal. Our platform is designed to help you grow and scales with you. It doesn’t matter where your starting point is - we will meet you right there. And even if you need to downgrade, we will be there to support you.
As a small business ourselves, we understand the challenges because we have faced them firsthand. This enables us to be empathetic and quickly identify the kind of solution you need. We also handle the implementation and training as you join us, so you can start using the software immediately. However, this doesn’t mean that only small businesses benefit from Timesheet Portal. We also collaborate with a few enterprise-level companies, and these partnerships have lasted for years. In other words, Timesheet Portal is designed for everyone. We want to see you succeed and are happy to assist you on your journey.
Most businesses are not optimised for scalability. Often, this only becomes clear when they start to succeed and then hit a plateau. While the common quick fix is expanding the workforce, it ultimately traps companies in a vicious cycle of repeating the same situation. The long-term solution is to keep the number of workers close to the original but to use their time more effectively.
The best solution for this is timesheet management systems. They provide detailed and easily accessible insights into which tasks your workers spend the most time on, highlighting areas that need improvement. Additionally, they offer tools such as automation to help you create these solutions. In simple terms, you can identify processes that hinder your team and automate them, enabling your team to focus on more important tasks.
When you choose a timesheet management system that suits your business well, you will soon discover there is more than project management it can support you with. There are many processes within the business that aid scalability, and the right tool will address the majority of them. Additionally, it’s important to remember that optimisation for growth isn’t a one-off task. It is an ongoing process in itself.
Are you prepared to start this process? Use Timesheet Portal to do so.