Why Switch to Mobile Timesheets: A Proven Optimization for Your Business

Software solutions are eclipsing these limited, cumbersome entry methods. In turn, many software-based time systems are themselves becoming obsolete. With an estimated 48% of the globe accessing the Internet through a mobile device, mobile, cloud-based (“mobile-first”) systems are rapidly becoming the standard for employee time reporting.

Mobile-first applications clearly are more convenient for much of today’s workforce, but they have other major benefits. Timesheets are a great illustration of the impact they can have.

Mobile timesheets can offer a single solution that works for all types of employees, improves accuracy, provides greater accessibility and control, and promotes more timely, effective communication. In short, mobile timesheets can save a lot of money and enhance organizational performance.

Mobile timesheets are accessible anywhere through a hand-held, smart device such as a phone or tablet. If your employees can get to the internet, they can enter their time. That means they can capture their hours as they move from task to task. As a result, the numbers contain fewer omissions, misallocations, and “estimates” than if they waited till the end of the day (or later) to record their activities.

Better data means more accurate payroll for hourly workers. It means better leave tracking. For project management, it provides actionable transparency. And for customer billing (see “More Accessibility”), it results in invoices that go out faster and get paid faster.

Mobile technology also can leverage GPS location data to increase data accuracy. When employees submit or modify their timesheets, their GPS coordinates can be captured. This data can tell companies where an employee was when they submitted or modified their timesheet.

Because travel is a regular part of many jobs, the ability to capture employee GPS data is ever more relevant. Location verification makes employees responsible for not only when they clock in, but also where they clock in. Employers can use location verification as a safeguard against claims that employees failed to show up or were not present when and where required.

Geo-fencing, an application of GPS technology, takes location verification further. It creates a digital perimeter around a particular set of geographic coordinates. Employees can be restricted to clock in within that perimeter. Then, when they leave the perimeter, they can be automatically clocked out.

Of course, personal privacy must be respected in any labor management application of GPS technology. It is important for an organization to understand exactly how its timesheet vendor tracks employee mobility. Look for a software solution that restricts location capture to the data necessary for the specific business purpose. For example, the vendor should never save location data when an employee is officially off the company clock.

Mobile access has an especially significant impact upon field operations. A worker’s timesheet can be specific to the tasks with which the worker is engaged. This enables all the information required for billing to be captured at point of performance. Greater accuracy radically reduces back-and-forth between foremen and the accounting department and reduces rejection of invoices by customers for incomplete or erroneous information.

Mobile access also means that foremen can record crew time with the accuracy of a time-clock (but with far more information) using a general purpose mobile tablet.

In addition, mobile time tracking empowers employees with access to their timesheet and leave data wherever they are. They can check on their overtime, review how they have allocated their time to various jobs and be more accountable for their utilization.

Fundamentally, mobile devices are about communication. With mobile time collection, an employee can attach emails, documents and even voice messages to their timesheet. Such documentation can provide valuable context when it comes to approving timesheets or explaining an invoice.

Push notifications also keep employees and approvers informed of when they have to move timesheets along in the approval process. An employee can be automatically notified if their timesheet needs to be re-submitted or when it gets approved. Approvers can receive notifications when a timesheet arrives for approval, avoiding the inevitable delays of batch-based approval. The result: reduction of bottlenecks and a reliably on-time timesheet process.

Geo-fences can also act as a method of communication. When employees are within the perimeter of the geo-fence, they can be reminded to clock in. Keeping in communication with employees improves accuracy and relieves managers from having to remind their people to clock in. The same is true of clock outs. When employees leave the geo-fence, they can be automatically clocked out. Then, managers do not have to go back into the system to make manual corrections to an employee’s time.

DATABASICS provides an unsurpassed time tracking solution, as well as, the experience and help you need to succeed. With a focus on mobile and time tracking technology, we ensure that all the possible benefits of mobile timesheets are realized in your organization. We can provide you with increased accuracy, more accessibility, and better communication—all in a single solution that integrates with your payroll and HR systems.