How to Eliminate Paper Timesheet Confusion

If you’re reading this blog, chances are you’ve experienced that moment of panic when you realize your employees have no idea how to track their time.

And if that sounds like a familiar problem, then we have good news for you: It’s totally fixable with the right tools and processes in place.

In this post, I’m going to tackle the issue head on by outlining some best practices for simplifying paper timesheet confusion.

Simplify administrative processes.

While paper timesheets are an effective way to track employee hours, they can be a pain to manage.

Paper timesheets include the following problems:

· They’re error-prone.
Typing in data by hand is difficult and prone to mistakes, especially if you have several people entering information at once or working on spreadsheets simultaneously.

· They’re time-consuming and tedious.
The process of gathering all that paperwork, filling out each form by hand, and submitting it for review can be very time consuming for every employee involved—and it’s even worse if there are multiple forms or repeat entries that need updating regularly!

· They’re difficult to audit.
Audits require access not only to update but also read permissions on a shared spreadsheet which means everyone has access but no one really knows what else may happen between updates (or when an update isn’t made). This makes auditing impossible without additional security measures added into place first such as password protection using biometrics.

Automate repetitive tasks.

Avoid manual data entry by using a time tracking system.

Time tracking software can be integrated with payroll systems, allowing you to automate the entire process from start to finish.

Automating this process prevents mistakes and greatly reduces the risk of human error when entering timesheet data into your system.

Empower employees to take control of their hours.

When you empower employees, they’re more likely to take ownership of their time sheets and submit them in a timely manner.

If it’s all up to them, they will be more motivated (and less stressed) about doing it right.

To start, create a simple online portal that allows your employees access to the timesheets from anywhere—from home or on their phone while traveling for business trips.

The portal can also serve as an extension of the emailing system you use today so that each employee has an easy way of submitting new entries into your payroll system without having to do anything outside of their daily routine.

Ensure data accuracy and improve employee compliance.

Make sure employees are aware of the company’s time tracking policy, how to use the time tracking software, and their responsibility to submit accurate timesheets.

Increase visibility into employee time tracking.

The best way to increase visibility into employee time tracking is by using a timesheet app.

This allows you to manage your team’s time in real time, track their hours from anywhere and get insight into where you can improve productivity.

With a timesheet software, you can use it as a tool for measuring employee performance as well.

Collect and connect employee data in real time.

The first step is to collect and connect employee data in real time. To do this, you need to be able to access:

· Employee timecard data via a mobile app or web portal for both employees and managers

· Employee information from multiple sources like payroll systems, HRIS and ERP systems, or third-party applications via APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to your payroll system

· Analytics on how much money is being spent per employee: total compensation costs by the department; the average number of hours worked per month by employee type; etc.

Transform your business with a cloud-based approach to time tracking

You can eliminate paper timesheet confusion with a cloud-based approach to time tracking.
Cloud-based time tracking is the future of time tracking, and it comes with a number of benefits.

· It makes it easier for employees to track their hours.
A cloud-based solution allows you to easily create and monitor projects, assign tasks and track employee hours in real time from anywhere on any device.
This means that there’s no need for employees or managers to worry about printing out paper timesheets; they simply log in using their user names and passwords at the end of every day or week, enter all their hours into an electronic timesheet form, then submit it electronically back into the system if necessary.
This not only saves everyone involved from having to spend extra minutes filling out physical forms each day but also saves companies money since they don’t have to purchase more printers or paper!

· It’s cost effective: Cloud based solutions offer many cost saving features such as unlimited storage so you won’t run out of space while storing large amounts of data such as documents.

Educate your team in time tracking process

When you first start using a time tracking tool, it’s important to explain the benefits of tracking your time to your team.

Everyone will have different reasons for wanting a better sense of how they’re spending their day, but whatever those reasons are, it’s likely your employees will have questions and concerns about the process.

You should also make sure that everyone is aware of how and why they should use the tool.

It’s not just about telling them what it does—it’s about showing them how to use it and answering any questions along the way.

Here are some ideas for talking through this process with your employees:

· How do I use this? What am I supposed to track? How often? Can I track anything else? Is there anything else I need to know or do before starting? If so, where can I find out more information?

· Once you’ve started using the tool (or if someone else has), where do you go in order to see all my tracked time and projects across all my devices? How do I filter by dates, clients/companies, etc.? What if there are too many things listed in one column or section—how do I make filtering easier on myself by organizing things into sub-categories like “Business” versus “Personal.”