Project management time-tracking tools are becoming increasingly popular in organizations working in all manner of industries. In fact, the project management software market is set to reach $9.81 billion by 2026.
But why is project management time tracking so important and how can Factorial help?
In today’s product spotlight post, we are going to discuss why accurate project time tracking is essential and how using the right time-tracking tools can have a huge impact on the profitability of your projects.
We are also going to take a deep dive into Factorial’s new project management-specific features. We will explain what they are and why we are so excited about them. More importantly, we will explain how these features can help you better manage your projects and drive business growth.
Whether you’re an existing user of Factorial’s comprehensive HRIS, or you’re still shopping around, this post will help you understand what you should be looking for when you invest in technology for project management time tracking.
Table of Contents
What is project time tracking?
Project managers have to keep track of a lot of information. They need to make sure that business processes are running smoothly, activities are synchronized, deadlines are being met, and team members are hitting performing expectations and being paid correctly. All this takes a great deal of skill, especially in terms of attention to detail and the ability to multitask. And it can be incredibly challenging without the right tools.
So, what is project time tracking and how does it tie in with all this?
Project management time tracking is the practice of monitoring the time spent on a project. Essentially, it’s about keeping track of how long project team members take to complete their assigned tasks. That way, you can make sure that time is being used productively, expense budgets aren’t being exceeded, employees are being paid the right amount, and your project is generating anticipated levels of profitability. Project time tracking also helps you allocate resources effectively and avoid scope creep, which can be costly and negatively impact your company’s reputation.
Ultimately, project time-tracking helps you keep your finances under control and gain better insights into the way you are using your most important resources: your people. And this is crucial for your ongoing projects. It’s also vital for the success of any projects you might launch in the future.
Why use project management time-tracking tools?
Project management is an important element of running a business. So much so that 89% of organizations now have at least one project management office. However, effective project management can be tricky. For one thing, you need good project management time tracking skills. You also need to be able to evaluate performance and make adjustments where necessary. Plus, you need financial experience so that you can effectively manage expenses and calculate profitability. The slightest mistake can have a big impact on the success of your projects.
Most businesses find that the best way to ensure that their projects run smoothly is by investing in project management time-tracking tools. The right solution can help you keep on top of project time tracking and improve your business processes. As a result, you can maximize productivity, profitability, and growth.
Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of using project management time-tracking tools in a bit more detail.
Compensate hourly employees correctly
Employee time tracking makes it much easier to keep track of how many hours each employee is dedicating to each project that they are involved in. You can create detailed timesheets for each employee and monitor how many hours they have worked in any given time period. You can also keep track of any time and a half that you might owe if an employee dedicates more time to a project than their contracted hours.
All this makes it much easier to process payroll and ensure that all employees are compensated as they should be. Moreover, using project management time tracking tools is much faster and more accurate than maintaining manual timesheets that are at risk of human error. This saves time for your managers and cuts your payroll costs considerably. You also get more insights into how your resources are being allocated.
Calculate profitability per project
Project management time tracking makes it much easier for you to calculate the profitability of all your projects. You can generate reports detailing how many hours employees have spent on different activities so that you can compare time and cost with billed revenue. You can then determine which projects are making you the most money and which might not be so profitable.
Ultimately, time tracking for project management helps you make better business decisions, both for your company and your employees. You can find out if you are charging your clients enough and if you have the right profit margins relative to your business costs. For example, multiplying your time tracking data by your hourly expenses can help you calculate how much each project is costing you. You can also identify how much time your workforce is investing in each project and then use this data to adjust future project estimates.
Better manage expenses
Underestimating the time required to finish a project causes you to miss client deadlines. However, it also has an impact on your project expenses. For one thing, you have to pay employees for the extra time compared to your original budget. Plus, you might incur late fees from your clients for failing to deliver on time. Not to mention the negative impact delivering late can have on your company’s reputation.
That’s why time and expense tracking is so important.
In order to calculate realistic deadlines, you need access to accurate project time tracking data. You need to understand how long each activity takes so that you can provide your clients with deadlines that you can stick to. After all, you take your expenses into account when you define your prices. Therefore, if you consistently go over budget, then you will be eating into your revenue.
Evaluate performance accurately
Finally, project management time tracking tools can help you evaluate individual and team performance for each project that your business takes on.
Why is this so important?
For one thing, access to project time tracking data can help you identify high performers. You can see who is going the extra mile and exceeding performance expectations. This can be valuable information that you can use in performance appraisals, salary reviews, and succession planning.
Secondly, and arguably most importantly, the data you collect from your project management time tracking tools can help you uncover valuable patterns and insights relating to your projects and your teams.
This includes:
- How much time teams devote to specific project activities.
- Patterns that help you identify strengths and weaknesses so that you can help low performers work more efficiently.
- Real-time insights into team schedules to help you better plan your project workflows.
- Behavior trends, including how long it takes certain employees to complete tasks, and whether there is an issue with procrastination.
How Factorial’s project time tracking tools work
Although Factorial already offers project management and time tracking tools as part of its HRIS, there have been some recent updates and new features. In fact, these project management time-tracking features are being launched today!
Our new and improved time-tracking project management software features, available through all new Enterprise plans, will help you:
- Manage your projects more efficiently and accurately.
- Improve the project management experience by adding more flexibility to the creation process.
- Assign specific employees to specific projects.
- Create reports with project total hours.
- Create new permissions for different user groups.
Let’s take a look at these new features in a bit more detail. That way, you can see how they can help you better manage your projects.
Streamlined project management process
With our new features, time tracking for project management has never been easier. You can now create, edit and change project statuses directly from the main Projects page. Plus, you can also easily access and filter a list of all projects created within the company from this page. You can see project names, employees assigned to each project, inputted hours (per employee and per project), and project statuses (active or closed). And if you need to make any changes, you can also edit and delete projects at the click of a button.
All this makes it much easier to streamline the entire project management process.
Employee assignment tools
You can now assign employees to specific projects. Simply click “Assign Employees” when you create a new project, and you can easily add whoever you want from the pop-up list that appears. Moreover, employees are only able to track the projects that you or your managers assign to them, so there is no risk of confusion.
Hourly time-tracking
Every project created through Factorial’s features for project management time tracking is clearly listed on the Projects page. You can also see how many hours employees have dedicated to assigned projects. You can easily track how many hours each employee has inputted, and clearly see who is (or isn’t) achieving their performance objectives.
Not only that, but employees can keep track of their own hours through the employee portal, helping them stay on schedule. They can record the hours they work every day, and the platform then generates accurate timesheets and sends them to their managers for approval.
All this makes it much easier to process payroll data and calculate project expenses and profitability.
Exported reports
Factorial’s project management time tracking tools now also include a feature for exporting detailed reports for all your projects. Simply export the project and select the file format and data range that you want. You will receive an email once the report is ready. You can then download your report straight from the Documents section. Reports include project names, statuses, and inputted hours for each employee working on a project.
Project management permissions
Finally, our new features for project management time tracking enable you to assign project management permissions. Managers can edit and create their own projects, configure separate permissions for each project, and create new permissions for different user groups. They can also add projects to shifts without needing shift edit permissions. Just activate permissions for the group of users that you want.
Time and people management made simple
Ultimately, a successful project meets its objectives within the established timeframe and budget. The closer you are able to stick to project deadlines and expense forecasts, the happier your clients will be and the more profit you will generate for your business.
The key to all this is maintaining control over your time and expenses. With the right tools for project management time tracking such as the new and improved features that we have launched today, you can create streamlined and efficient project management workflows that help your business grow and develop.
