Mental health issues have been on the rise for two and a half years. People have been left on their own and without face-to-face communication. This has caused many of them to seek psychological help. Hence, psychologists have had to change in-person sessions to video calls in many cases.
This is a great decision, as remote work helps both you and your patients remain healthy. However, it isn’t perfect. Namely, it can make your work more difficult, as it creates the issues of payments and time tracking.
As you know, the patients make the most progress on their own. That is why there are numerous therapy-related applications you can recommend to your patients.
However, you deserve help as well. We are here to help you find the best applications you can use to manage your practice with ease.
Why Should Psychologists Use Time Tracking Apps?
If you are working for a hospital or another organization, you probably have a system that helps you manage your patients. On the other hand, if you have your own practice, you are a freelancer. You are offering your services to your patients remotely. However, there is no mediator between you and them. additionally, you’re probably conducting at least some of your services online.
Freelancing is notoriously difficult and known for certain types of issues. Clients, or in your case, patients, often don’t want to pay for services. Others will try to get a discount or create other issues.
Time tracking systems can help you avoid many different issues you’ll face, like
- Determining who your most problematic patients are when it comes to payments
- Allocating costs and invoicing all clients
- Getting reports regarding your practice, potential issues, and biggest strengths
- Measuring the time of your sessions and limiting them to the terms you’ve already agreed upon
Psychologists provide an important service to their patients. We believe their time and effort should be appreciated and compensated completely.
That is why we found the top 6 time tracking apps that can help psychologists not worry about the monetary aspect of their practices.
Time Analytics
Time Analytics is a rising star among time tracking software solutions. The application relies on timesheets, which can contain as much information as you need them to.
The time tracking process itself can be conducted in two ways. The first includes an automatic timer. If you choose this option, you can be sure you are tracking the time of your sessions absolutely accurately.
The second method allows you to make time entries and add all details manually. Both methods require you to create an entry that signifies a session. Each entry is connected to a patient. In other words, the time and costs of each session will be automatically allocated to a client.
Are you using different hourly fees for different patients? Time Analytics has taken care of this. That is to say, you can enter your default fee in a field, and it will be applied to all sessions. However, if you are offering a discount or have another reason to change the fee, you can do that on an individual basis.
The Most Important Options
As with any other profession, psychologists have some specific issues they face. The lack of time between sessions, for example, can prevent you from filling your timesheets.
That is why Time Analytics has an extremely simple interface. You can use the desktop or mobile version of the app on the go, as filling the timesheets takes only a few minutes.
You can set up a template with all necessary fields and use it for all clients. This means you won’t be able to submit the timesheet without entering this information. On the other hand, you will be able to enter additional details, like notes, when necessary.
The reports Time Analytics delivers are clear, highly visual, and show exactly how well your practice is doing. They can show both underlying issues and problems that need urgent attention. Even though the amount of data you enter into the program is minimal, the reports will give you a lot of accurate information.
Features
- Time tracking – create time entries manually or use a time clock to measure all your sessions. The data you enter will give you an accurate and tangible insight into your practice
- Notes – this optional feature allows you to mark your patients’ state and progress through commentary, ideas, and questions for future sessions.
- Ease of use – the app’s designers have dedicated a lot of time to make the platform as easy and quick to use as possible
- Fee editing – enter standard and custom fees into the application and let it calculate and allocate the costs to different patients
- Reporting – get high-quality reports on the state of your business, including the finances, most profitable or problematic patients, etc.
Pricing
TrackingTime
TrackingTime is a great time tracking app that strongly emphasizes time visualization. If you are a fan of time blocking, this is a great option. Namely, the time is shown through differently colored fields. This means you can easily differentiate between different sessions, administrative work, or any other work-related activity.
There are three available views – monthly, weekly, and daily. This means you will be able to make appointments and manage your time efficiently with a single glance. In other words, you will never have to move appointments around again.
The reports the app delivers can also be viewed per day, week, and month. Meanwhile, the billing options are very flexible. This means you’ll be able to determine the best plan for billing quickly and easily.
Features
- Time tracking – track each session easily, with a single click of a button
- Visualization – plan and add items to your daily to-do lists without rescheduling
- Productivity reports – understand the best and less effective business practices you’re using
Pricing
Hubstaff
Hubstaff is a time tracking platform that has the goal of reducing the time needed to track time. In other words, using the app is very simple.
This platform is ideal for practices with multiple psychologists, as it has many monitoring options. If you are managing a team, you will be able to understand employee utilization perfectly. Additionally, your team won’t face the discouragement brought on by micromanagement.
Hubstaff also delivers accurate and detailed reports. They concern both employee activity and the business’s general health. That is to say, you will be able to notice issues and come up with solutions before they become prominent.
Features
- Time tracking – easy automatic time tracking for all employees
- Productivity tracking – monitor whether your staff is wasting time during office hours
- Reports – receive highly accurate and tangible information on your practice
Pricing
Toggl Track
Toggl Track is a part of the Toggl software family. It is a very popular time tracking option for all industries. Partially, this is true due to its clean and polished look. We believe this is one of the most beautiful time tracking apps out there.
Don’t be fooled either! Toggl doesn’t sacrifice functionality for good design. The functions are simple, and the interface can be used by anyone.
The app relies on an on-screen timer you can start with a single click. The hours you track are assigned to patients. However, you can also add more information and edit the time entries that need some adjustment.
Features
- Time tracking – track your sessions automatically and accurately
- Ease of use – a simple and beautiful interface accessible to anyone
- Pomodoro timer – limit your sessions to previously arranged terms
Pricing
Harvest
Harvest is another good time tracking option for teams. It allows the business owners, managers, or other higher-ups to track time and expenses. The design of the app is fairly simple as well, which makes it easy to use for any busy individual.
You can create new projects and tasks (aka patients and sessions) and track time spent working on them. The tracking itself relies on clicking a button and switching to other tasks once you’re done with the first one.
You can use the platform to generate bills for all patients. Additionally, you can integrate the platform with the most popular work software platforms as well.
Features
- Time tracking – track employee time through a simple system
- Invoicing – generate invoices for your patients and know whether they’ve been paid
- Integrations – use Harvest along with your favorite business tools
Pricing
Everhour
Everhour prides itself on its powerful performances. The time tracking software offers time management features as well if you need them.
The time tracking process itself is fairly simple. You can choose between logging hours manually or using an automatic timer. You can also plan your vacations and other absences with a few clicks. This way you’ll make sure all your patients have their appointments when you’re able to work with them.
The billing process is also very simple, as you can either create a fixed fee or choose another billing method.
The system allows you to filter through entries by using different sections and tags. This is extremely useful if you need to check a specific patient or their case.
Features
- Time tracking – use an automatic tracker or create entries manually
- Vacation planning – make sure all appointments happen when you’re available
- Customizable billing – never worry about individual billing again
Pricing
Conclusion
Psychologists offer some of the most important services today. Helping people cope with their issues and offering different mechanisms are truly beneficial for patients, their families, and loved ones. However, the job, noble as it is, comes with a unique set of issues.
These issues have only increased with the pandemic. Namely, many psychologists have turned to online sessions. This can be difficult for the sessions themselves. Additionally, managing the financial side of your practice isn’t easy either.
These factors can lead to a lack of motivation or even burnout. Simply put, the people who help others sometimes need help themselves.
We wanted to help you find a way to manage your business as simple as possible. hopefully, you’ll find a perfect time tracking solution for your practice among our suggestions.
