Full Sail Partners Blog

Okay, here goes…I actually love doing my timesheet on a daily basis.  There, I said it and I feel so much better. But hold on, let me back up a little.  Maybe “love” is too strong.  Let’s go with “like”.  I actually like doing my timesheet on a daily basis.

However this was not always the case.  Like most of you, the idea of filling out a timesheet was akin to having a root canal, but only worse.  In our firm, timesheets are due on a semi-monthly basis, but we have a policy that timesheets must to be completed daily.  I know, right?

This policy was easy to ignore until one day, much to my surprise, I received an e-mail alert that my timesheet had not been completed the day before.  AN ALERT!  It turns out that not only did I receive an alert, but a notation was made in my Employee Info Center record of my violation.  The powers that be had sunk to a new low and now I’m faced with two options; continue ignoring the policy and get an annoying alert on a daily basis, or start doing my timesheet every day.

Being the flexible guy that I am (this is sarcasm for those of you who don’t know me), I started doing my timesheet after each completed task.  And much to my chagrin (read surprise), it wasn’t that bad!  First of all my utilization went up.  Some of those short, billable items that fell through the cracks when I was doing my timesheet at the last minute were now being captured. 

Another plus to filling out my timesheet daily is that my comments are more descriptive.  No longer am I putting “call with so-and-so” in the comments field.  I am actually able to put what was discussed in the comment.  This has made reviewing my draft invoices so much easier because I am no longer second guessing the hours I billed to my projects or having to go back to e-mails hoping I find some clue about what was discussed. 

Also, my projects are easier to manage.  I know at any given time how many hours have been charged to my projects so there are no surprises when it comes time to review my draft invoices.

I am also amazed at how little time it takes.  What seemed like hours before, my timesheet now just takes a few minutes each day to complete.

And as if it couldn’t get any better, there is now a timesheet app for iPhone, iPad, Android and other smart devices.  Now I can do my timesheet on the go.  This has come in handy on many occasions when I’m out of the office but still conducting business.

I think the key here is that my timesheet is always up on my desktop.  Even if I open it up in another window, I always have access to it so that I can record my time as soon as I complete a task.

I challenge anyone to give this a shot!  You’ll save time and alerts popping up on your dashboard or in your e-mail box will become a thing of the past.

Interested in learning more about how firms are getting their employees to submit timesheets daily? Click here.

Are you a Deltek Vision user? Check out the newest custom solution from Full Sail Partners and start getting your staff to complete timesheets daily: