We’ve all heard the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
It’s easy to lean on this as an excuse for sticking with the old way of doing business. Paper timesheets and tickets work. After all, your business got to where it is today by using them. So why should you consider making the jump to gathering this information electronically? Here are the 5 best reasons you should consider using electronic timesheets and tickets.
1. Stop Missing Billable Time and Tickets:
How many paper tickets fall between the seats of a truck only to be submitted well after they can be billed? Even when employee pay is tied to this paperwork, there are still countless examples where paperwork isn’t submitted or submitted too late to be billed to a customer. Electronic timesheets allow you to fully close this gap, ensuring that you can bill ALL the work that your company does.
2. Spend Back-Office Time Making Your Company Better, Not on Data Entry:
Back-office teams are the heart of your company. They know the ins and outs of your operation and keep your business running. So why not take extensive data entry activities off their plates? Instead of employees wasting time on transcribing data, they could be adding value to your company by focusing on more important work like customer services, sales, safety, process improvement.
3. Increase the Accuracy of Company Payroll and Billing:
Coffee stains on crumpled paper, errors in calculating time (7:00AM to 4:00PM is not 7 hours!), and handwriting that would put a preschooler to shame. These are all everyday problems with paper timesheets that make processing payroll and billing unnecessarily difficult – if not impossible – to manage without errors.
When you factor in that even data entry specialists make errors, paper timesheets can cause your organization problems from the start. Shifting to electronic timesheets minimizes repeated data entry into your systems, cutting down on errors, allowing your payroll and billing teams to focus on the core of their jobs rather than interpreting field data.
4. Speed Up the Billing Process and Improve Cashflow:
Electronic timesheets provide accountability for all “unsubmitted” timesheets from the start. No need to wait for field users to take a picture and text you, drop it off at the office at the end of the week, or after they run some errands. Having clear accountability for all open timesheets and tickets means that your billing team will get their job done earlier. Having data that is already in a usable format means that they can complete their processes faster. Cash is king, and customers can’t pay you until they receive your invoice. Shifting to electronic tickets and timesheets can dramatically improve your organization’s cashflow.
5. Gain Insight into Operations with Easily Accessed/Reportable Data.
Having a finger on the pulse of your organization is critical for any executive or manager. Having quick access to operational, billing, and payroll data can be invaluable to any management team. With paper timesheets, your data is decentralized, requires labor-intensive processes to compile in a usable format, and is typically delayed to the point that it may not be usable by the time you get your hands on it. Electronic timesheets position your company to be as close to real-time as possible. This will help you make decisions that drive your organization to success.
If you would like to learn more about how Field Works 365 can empower your organization to reap the benefits of electronic timesheets, please contact us today!