March 1, 2024 at 10:03 AM
Scott Pietroski
5 Questions: How to Choose Time Tracking Software
So you've grown out Excel
spreadsheets and decided its time for some time tracking software. Now
What?
You've searched Google and up comes
50 different vendors, all offering variations of function and form. How do you choose? Where do you even start?
The software industry has evolved so
much over the past eight years that now you can get software that no longer fit
into a nice little box. There are packages that are focused on time and
billing (for use by attorneys, simple service firms), there are some built for
enterprise customers that require tight security and screens that support 500+
users, and there some that are simple and built for 5 to 10 users. Time
tracking software now comes in 50 different flavors and it all comes with
varying types of functionality.
Below are 5 questions you should ask
yourself when trying to choose time tracking software:
1.
What
are your needs now?
This
question is fairly straight forward. Keep in mind that most packages are
going to have far more functionality that you need.
-
Why you're buying the software? Is it for
payroll, customer billing, project tracking, cost collection etc.
-
What basic functionality does it need to meet your needs?
-
Write it down before you test drive anything.
2.
What
features might you need later on?
-
An example of this: how complex do you need the
software's security features to be?
-
How
many people do you see yourself adding to the system in the next 2-3 years?
-
Are there any features that you might want from the
application that don't overlap with software that you already own?
-
Do any of you customers require minimum standards when
tracking time for their work?
(this
is more of an issue with government contracts, compliance etc.)
3.
Do
you prefer an online service or one thats installed in your off
ice?
-
Software
is now either cloud based or locally installed on your own hardware
-
Do
you have a preference or a requirement for how it's delivered
-
Do
you have any contractual agreements (with your own customers) that dictate minimum
requirements?
4.
Do
you have a time framefor your purchase?
-
The longer you have to
choose a software package the better. Most of the cloud based packages
will let you test drive the application without a commitment, so you'll want to
look at as many packages as possible
-
Its not a "Free Test Drive" if you need to supply a credit
card and cancel within a specified number of days. It might be free if you remember to cancel,
but free goes right out the window once you pass the deadline. If youre like me and never remember to
cancel, that type of Free
isn't
really free!
5
.
Whats your budget?
-
Everyone
has some number in mind when it comes to how much there willing to pay for a service.
-
Remember
to be consistent when comparing packages.
What is the price for the minimum that you need? how much is it per
user/per month?
-
Dont
get caught up in all the options, bells and whistles. If your budget is realistic and you know your
requirements keep shopping until you find what you need.
Time tracking software is pretty mature at this point and the shift to cloud based services made it so
people can offer all sorts of features that help you use the data.
Keeping the above tips in mind will be sure to help you find just what you need and not more than you want.