Everything You Need to Know About Automated Time Tracking

Technology, it seems, is advancing at the speed of light. Something that’s great today will be replaced by something better next week. Your brand new phone is going to be useless in two years’ time. And the same goes for software.

No matter how amazing you think a regular work time tracker app is, there’s now a younger, more attractive version of it that you’ll soon be running after. It’s time we introduce you to automated time tracking - a special functionality within a work time tracker such as Insightful.

So, what exactly is an automated time tracker? Before we answer this question, let’s go through what other types of PC time tracking software can and can’t do, so that we can see how automated time tracking is different.

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How Does Time Tracking Software Work?

A regular work time tracking app is installed on each computer that you want to monitor in two different ways. You can either send an installation file to all your employees so they can install the tool themselves, or you can go and install it yourself in the same manner. If you have an infrastructure that includes an active directory, then you can install the time tracking tool on everyone’s computer in a heartbeat.

Once the software is installed it starts detecting things like when employees turn on their computer, their last activity, which apps and websites they use, how much time they spend in them, and some project and time tracking software allows you to categorize employees’ activities into ‘productive’, ‘unproductive’ and ‘neutral’.

If implemented right, such software gives you a very clean overview of what everyone is doing, but it can’t tell you which projects they’re working on. For example, if a designer opens up Photoshop, you only know that they’re running Photoshop, but not which project they’re working on and for which client.

For this, each individual employee needs to click the ‘Start’ button in their employee work time tracker when they start a particular project and then click ‘Stop’ when they finish working on that task, then click ‘Start’ again to tell you they’re now doing something else, and so on and so forth.

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How Is Automated Time Tracking Software Different?

Auto time tracking software can do everything a regular time and attendance software can, but it can also assign time to specific projects automatically.

This is done by detecting not only the apps that are being used by employees, but also the names of the files they open and work on. Let’s take our example from above. Now, when your designer opens Photoshop, the time tracker registers what the name of the opened file is, which allows it to associate this information directly to a specific project and client.

So, no need for employees to click any buttons; everything is completely automated and the software does all the work, including assigning time to each particular project. All you have to do is make sure all the files are named properly for easier association.

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Benefits of Automated Time Tracking

There are a number of advantages that automated tracking of time has over regular time tracking solutions. Now, every company will use this software in different ways and therefore will profit in different ways, but some of the basic benefits that every business can expect to get are:

• Automation: The process of task and project tracking is easier and hands-free. There’s no need for you or your employees to constantly keep those ‘Start’ and ‘Stop’ buttons in the back of your mind. You can forget about that and focus on the actual work.
• No threat of human error: There’s no worry that an employee will forget to click the button when they start working or that they’ll leave the project open, thus giving you inaccurate results.
• Accurate metrics: Because there’s no chance of error, you can be sure that all your data is accurate and objective. You’ll get precise measurements on which you can base your future estimates.
• Better client reports: Providing your clients with detailed reports from your time logging app will ensure you always get paid for the work you do and not a dollar less.

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Who Is Automated Time Tracking For?

As we have just seen, any company can benefit greatly from implementing a time tracking app with automated time tracking functionality. It’s especially useful for big companies with large number of employees and projects.

Some industries that this technology is particularly valuable for include BIM companies, whose projects are mostly done in software like AutoCAD and Revit. AutoCAD time tracking software can track projects automatically and give you accurate reports on project progress.

Similarly, designers can also benefit from using this automated solution because it will eliminate the necessity to think about time tracking and leave their creative flow intact.

These are just two examples, but really any business who’s working with clients and is being paid by project or hourly can use these precise reports as valid and fair proof of work.

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Conclusion

Armed with this knowledge about the latest automated time tracking technology, you can make a better decision when you think about what the best time tracking and billing software is for your company. Leaving all the mundane tasks like time tracking to the computer program and letting your employees focus on their job is bound to make your business more efficient and better organized.

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