In service type industries, the title of this piece is literal. A service-based enterprise sells time like inventory-based businesses sell goods. As such, it is critically important to record it, manage it, track it, and invoice it.
While QuickBooks has basic capabilities to do those things, most companies that rely heavily on time tracking prefer something more robust. There are a number of solutions available and TSheets has made a strong entry into the field over the last couple of years.
The TSheets site sports a very simple layout. It is intuitive and easy to use. The few setup tasks required are easily found and executed from a few options available in a left-hand panel.
Users, customers, and tasks (service items) come directly from QuickBooks. Once the data is imported, which takes only minutes, users can start tracking time.
The above screenshot shows that employee Gregg Schneider is clocked in and currently working. He is working on the Kristy Abercrombie:Remodel Bathroom job and he is doing Installation at the moment.
On the right side is an ingenious little panel that shows everyone who is currently clocked in. This panel always shows in the Administrator’s view. Whether or not it shows to other users is an option set once by the Administrator.
A manual timesheet can be created. This is used for after-the-fact entry. An entire week, or more, can be entered at one time. This is optional and subject to the Administrator’s control.
Most companies would want to use the clock in/out feature, just like a time clock. It’s easy to log in from any computer.
TSheets can be a useful time tracking device in many different scenarios. Workers that are not in the office have a number of options.
Clock in and out from a smart phone like an iPhone or Android. No smart phone? Text your punch-ins/outs with a special code from an older style phone. It still works.
Prefer voice? Call in on your phone to alert the TSheets system your in/out status has changed.
When everything else fails, you and your employees can even log in and out using Twitter.
Also available is an app that allows one user to record the start and end times of an entire crew, either one at a time, or the entire crew all in one motion.
Other settings, determined by the administrator, can allow only logins from certain phone numbers. GPS abilities will track each login and logout if desired.
Once a user has completed their week, they can submit their time with the touch of a button. That time then becomes available to the Administrator for approval.
Once approved, the time can automatically by imported into QuickBooks. From the TSheets’ QuickBooks menu, click “Export All Approved Time.”
The sync to QuickBooks works with Inuit’s Sync Manager. Simply “Start Sync Now” from the File dropdown menu.
Once the sync is complete, the weekly timesheet in QuickBooks has been populated.
At this point, TSheets has done its work. Time does not need to be entered into QuickBooks, TSheets has already done that.
There are other time tracking solutions available. Many QuickBooks users will benefit from any one of them to some degree or another.
Hector Garcia, CPA
Certified Advanced QuickBooks ProAdvisor
12401 Orange Drive #136
Davie, FL 33330
954-414-1524
hector@garciacpa.com
