Running a business in today’s ultra-competitive market can be challenging. Thankfully, there is a simple solution that will ensure that you keep up and even outpace your competitors in today’s business environment. That tool, that simple solution is time-tracking software.
Consider the information below, which will highlight why utilizing time-tracking software can give you the competitive edge you desire:
What is Time Tracking Software?
Before looking deeper into the subject of using time-tracking software to create a competitive edge within your business arena, it’s important to understand what this tool does or can do for your business. To put it most simply, time tracking software is a type of computer software that helps you oversee a variety of time-related tasks, helping you better manage your employees and ensure that you are billing, paying, and being paid fairly.
It can be designed to operate either manually or passively, depending on your preferences. Time tracking will also help you see areas where your business is efficient and those that need improvement.
Advantages of Time Tracking Software
Now that we have considered the definition of time tracking software, it’s time to look at the benefits of time tracking in a real practical way within your company:
Increased Productivity
Time-tracking software will give you the information you need to identify areas within your company where employees or your management team are wasting time. Discovering these areas and then making changes in how these tasks are accomplished or who is assigned them can increase your productivity. Consequently, this can help you gain that competitive edge you want over other businesses within your industry.
Better Project Management
Time-tracking software also enables you as a business owner to keep track of all your projects, set more feasible deadlines, and be better able to assign tasks to valued team members. In other words, it keeps you and/or your project managers in control and gives you a more complete understanding of your company’s projects overall. This also can help your business stay competitive.
Improved Billing and Invoicing
Another way that time-tracking software can give you a competitive edge over other businesses is by helping you generate detailed invoices and reports that will make it much easier for you to bill clients and then get paid.
It can be tempting at the moment to just assume you will remember to bill for a service, time spent, or an employee’s time spent on a project. However, days will pass, and then you will forget exactly how much time you spent working on said project.
This software will ensure that you bill for every hour of labor you are owed and that all that time is clearly defined and itemized for customers or clients. It also gives you backing or proof if clients claim that you haven’t completed the hours or tasks for which you are billing them.
A Stronger Sense of Teamwork
With time-tracking software, your team will be able to stay on top of tasks more than before and can even begin collaborating more effectively. Since this software provides a broad all-encompassing look at each and every project, every team member will know where the project is at any given time and can then identify what still needs to be done.
This will naturally produce a great sense of teamwork among employees. When employees don’t know who has done what on a project, they will naturally feel less than confident when stepping in and helping to complete any given task. Thankfully, with this software, all the important information will be in one location, where all employees can see the progress.
More Effective Communication With Clients
In addition to helping employees know what other team members are doing on any given project, time-tracking software also gives you the ability to produce a detailed breakdown of how much time is spent with each client.
This enables you to clearly see where your time is being spent and allows you to make changes in some cases to put more effort towards a client that is perhaps not getting enough attention. The end result is that you and your team build better relationships with your clients overall, relationships that are managed more effectively.
Manage More Efficiently
Time tracking software can help you manage your time personally and as a business more efficiently. This gives your business an edge over your competitors who may not have the same level of insight when it comes to their team’s activities.
Contact us at The Payroll Company, where we do more than payroll, to learn more about implementing time-tracking software. We are a leading Midwest company in the areas of HR, Payroll, and Employee Management, so we are well-versed on how to seamlessly add this type of software to your daily schedule and to get results you can use. If your goal is to elevate your brand above other businesses, this can be the competitive edge you are seeking. 
