Time tracking blog

The Global Launch for TSheets is Tuesday (tomorrow). If you’re asking yourself, “Didn’t TSheets already launch their product?” The answer is yes, our online timesheet is launched and we have had rapid viral growth.  However, we have been waiting for the right time to officially announce to 50 – 100 million people that TSheets is the best time tracking tool and that our goal is to become the most used time tracking tool in the world. Literally.

With that said, we have been waiting for this date to come for almost two years! For those of you who are married . . . It almost feels like the same type of anticipation you get the night before your wedding. The thoughts that go through your mind are somewhat similar . . . “Will the market say – Yes, I will embrace TSheets?” “We’ve thought through every detail – Twice! Will all of the logistics come together?” “Will the market rain with other information and distract from the launch?” Or for those that thrive on competition . . . The feeling is similar to the few moments before the competition is ignited. A football game’s first huddle or the kick-off of a soccer game. As the first blow of the whistle draws near, the anticipation gets thicker by the second. Get the picture?

Now that the time for TSheets has arrived, as the CEO, I sent an email to the Team giving them my “Vince Lombardi speech” before the big game. Someone recommended that I post the email in my blog . . . So, you get an insider’s view of what it would be like to be on the TSheets Team:

Development Team / Marketing Team,

I think this is a good time to communicate my thoughts about the team and the potential that lies within our reach . . . In life, it isn’t often that one has the opportunity to be on a team that is building something great. Many people and many businesses try and pose themselves as great but few ever truly become great. It’s one thing to have a group of people with extraordinary talent, or a group of people that work together as a team, or a group of people with a deep commitment, or a group of people willing to sacrifice, or a group of people with deep rooted work ethics, or a group of people that believe in a mission of an organization . . .  It’s a COMPLETELY different and remarkable juncture when you get all of those characteristics wrapped up into one team. I present to you – The Dream Team.

Given the resources we have, and the knowledge that our greatest enemy is to be satisfied with attaining ‘Good’, our goal should never be short of achieving ‘Great’. Regardless of the outcome over the next few days, Make no mistake – We will become the most used time tracking tool in the world.

I am very thankful to be a part of something this exceptional.

With Great Expectation,

Matt

TSheets’ First Customer

Matt Rissell was frustrated. With 3 locations and about 20 employees, time and attendance tracking was becoming a bigger head-ache every day. His employees were using traditional paper timesheets. “It came to the point where my bookkeeper and I were dreading payroll prep”, says Rissell. “The whole process was distracting me from working on the business”. In addition to issues like consolidation, poor handwriting, and missing paperwork, Rissell knew there was a bigger problem. “I knew people were fudging on their timesheets” says Rissell. “And I knew it was costing me. Not just the dollars, but the productivity”. To Rissell, it just came to common sense and control. “I learned a long time ago, if you don’t control the little things, they can kill you. It can be compared to person being mortally wounded from a 1000 paper cuts ”, he says.

As the owner of a printer supply company and a background in business mobile devices, Rissell knew about business technology. He knew that almost every business issue had a technology solution: inventory control, bookkeeping, e-mail, order processing, etc. So Matt set out to find some technology to solve this particular business problem. In his search for a time and attendance solution, Rissell was disappointed to find a lot of expensive options with a lot of features he didn’t need. “I found a lot of software solutions, but they were just way too expensive”, Rissell says. “I also didn’t want to use the traditional punch-card system” he says. “It was too expensive and didn’t solve all of my issues”.

Matt then turned to an old friend, Brandon Zehm. Zehm was a rock star in the programming world, with a client list that included the Department of Energy and Merrill Lynch. Matt explained his problem and asked Brandon if this was something he could create a custom application for. With a “no problem” response, Zehm built a simple application that allowed Rissell and his employees to clock-in and out from any PC. “I realized that there were two major problems with existing time-tracking software”, said Zehm. “Most required you to download software”, which he saw leading to problems for support and consistency. “An ASP model means that everyone is always on the same version”, says Zehm. The second issue was the actual clock-in/out function. “This was the key”, he said. “It had to be super simple to use”. After several months of programming and testing, Brandon had a time and attendance package ready for Matt to use in his business.

“The results were almost immediate” said Rissell. The biggest impact was on accurately paying for time worked. By accurately capturing clock-ins and clock-outs it saved the company about ½ hour per day per employee. For a $10/hour employee, this added up to $5/day. “The math was obvious”, said Rissell. There were other benefits to accurately logging time. “My employees knew that their time was being tracked” so they began to be more punctual. This also increased productivity – a number that was hard to calculate but that was immediately felt. “-simply put, the team got more accomplished” said Rissell.

Not long afterward, Rissell sold his business. When looking at other business opportunities, he went back to the application that Zehm had created. “My bookkeeper suggested it first” said Rissell. Knowing the impact it had on his business, Rissell was intrigued. “It had everything I wanted in a business opportunity. It was web-based, simple, and truly helped small business owners”. For Rissell, starting a new company was a matter of principle. “I just felt like making small business owners more profitable was something I had to do.”

In April of 2007, Rissell and Zehm launched TSheets. “The original clock-in/out feature is pretty much the same as the custom app I created”, said Zehm. From that point, many additional features were added such as reporting, job codes, Quickbooks interface, and mobile access. “It was critical that we kept the original simplicity” says Rissell. “I didn’t want TSheets to turn into something that I wouldn’t have used”. As customers were added, so were features. “the new features we have added in the past year have been the direct result of customer requests”, say Zehm. This was in keeping with Zehm’s development philosophy of being customer-driven, not feature-driven. “A lot of products have features just because the developer can make them” says Zehm. “We felt that it was critical to keep TSheets very clean and usable”. Pricing was another critical area. “We used a simple formula – what would I have paid for it”, says Rissell. This lead to a scalable pricing model based on the number of employees a company has using TSheets. “This puts our starting price at $9.95/month with no set up fee or contracts”, say Rissell. “That makes TSheets accessible to pretty much anyone!”

Rissell and Zehm were pleased to discover that TSheets’ customers were having the same return-on-investment results as Rissell originally had. “We had one customer tell us that TSheets saved them about $2500 in a single week” said Rissell. This reflected the trend over the past fifteen years of small business becoming more efficient and profitable through technology. “That was a big reason for selecting the ASP model”, said Rissell. By using a subscriber revenue model, the costs of development were split over 1000s of customers,

The Future

In January of 2008, TSheets began an effort to go global. Armed with a strong management and investor team, TSheets began investing in marketing, staffing, and infrastructure. A big part of this effort was to partner with like-minded companies. “They had to empower small business owners, be web-based, and be affordable”, said Rissell. This lead to partnerships with companies like Yugma, a web conferencing application. In addition, dozens of features were fast-tracked for release. “It was just time to take this to the next level” said Rissell. “I was confident that we had a provable business model – and we knew our initial customers loved the product”.

In April of 2008, TSheets announced “Timeclock 2.0”, an initiative to create a standard for developing time keeping software for small business owners. At the same time, TSheets also released a free single user version, an upgrade to their time sheet editor called “Time Slider”, and improvements with Paid Time Off (PTO) tracking and reporting.

Slated for release later in ’08 is a mobile device widget, multiple languages version, an API for the developer community to add TSheets functionality to other applications. Rissell’s enthusiasm is obvious. “I have been telling everyone that this is big. Now the proof is in the pudding!”

For more information, visit TSheets’ media page here.

About TSheets

TSheets (www.tsheets.com) is an online time and attendance program that turns any PC or mobile device into a time clock. Currently, TSheets’ customers have over 3000 employees using TSheets. Founded in 2006, TSheets is based in Boise, ID and currently has a staff of nine. For more information, please contact Justin Foster at Tricycle Consulting –justin@thetricycle.com or 208-841-3497.

Boise, Idaho – April 1, 2008 – Today, TSheets.com (www.tsheets.com) announced the launch of a new standard for web-based timekeeping called “Timeclock 2.0″. This standard was developed to create a benchmark for emulating the simple clock-in/out functionality of traditional time clocks, while still providing a web-based application. “We created this standard because most of the time keeping software is just too expensive and not practical for small business owners”, says Matt Rissell, CEO of TSheets. The standard focuses on the most critical point of time tracking, clocking in and clocking out. “If you can’t make it easy to clock in and out, business owners will just revert to paper timesheets”, says Rissell. Other elements of the standard include mobile clocking in/out, managing multiple locations, and payroll reporting.

Founded in 2006, TSheets is part of a growing web segment called “Software-as-a-Service” (SaaS) that uses a subscription-based business model to spread the costs of software over thousands of users, making it affordable for small business owners to use modern technology. Examples include Google’s Gmail, Salesforce.com, Yugma.com and dozens of other web-based business tools. Part of the popularity of SaaS applications is that they typically have a low monthly fee based on the number of users, with support and upgrades often included in the subscription fee. “Timeclock 2.0 is really made possible by the SaaS business model” says Rissell.

A typical small business owner still uses paper time sheets or analog punch clocks for managing employee time. Most PC based time keeping applications are bundled with expensive HR or payroll packages. Other web-based software is available, but cater primarily to single-users such as freelancers or contractors. TSheets’ customers are small business owners with 5 to 20 employees. “Our focus is the small business owner and his or her employees” says Rissell. Thus, the focus on emulating an environment that a small business owner is most used to. The key to making it easier to use for small business owners was simplicity. “We are constantly reminding ourselves who our core audience is” says Rissell.

Rissell has plenty of first-hand experience with the issues of time-keeping. As the owner of a chain of printing supply stores, Rissell experienced first-hand the frustrations of dealing with time sheets, payroll preparation, and consolidating multiple locations. “I just thought this was part of running a business”, says Rissell. What bothered him the most was the actual process of tracking time. “I knew that the numbers weren’t accurate, and it was driving me crazy” says Rissell. Most of this was not dishonest employees, but just the inherent nature of using paper time tracking methods. After not being able to find an application that would work for his business, Rissell contracted with a top developer named Brandon Zehm to build a web-based application. After using the application for a month, the results were obvious. “We figured we saved about $2000 in the first month” says Rissell. Not long after, Rissell sold his business and partnered with Zehm to start TSheets. “After my last company having the headache of over 30 employees and four locations, I was passionate about my next business being web based” said Rissell.

Since then, they have focused on keeping that original simplicity while still adding robustness and functionality. In addition to the announcement of the Timeclock 2.0 initiative, TSheets also announced the release of several new features of their web-based time tracking software, including the release of a free single-user version. One of the most unique new features is a time sheet editor that uses Rich Internet technology to allow managers to edit time sheets through a graphical interface called a “Time Slider”. Additional enhancements in this version include Paid Time Off (PTO) tracking, Quickbooks integration, and additional reporting functionality.

To learn more, visit TSheet’s media page at http://media.tsheets.com

About TSheets

TSheets (www.tsheets.com) is a web-based time and attendance program that allows you and your employees to clock in and out from a computer or cell phone. Currently, TSheets’ customers have several thousand employees using TSheets throughout the world and is multiplying daily. Founded in 2006, TSheets is based in Meridian, ID and currently has a staff of nine. For more information, please contact Justin Foster at Tricycle Consulting –justin@thetricycle.com or 208-841-3497.

Matt Rissell shares the story about how TSheets, the online timesheet and time tracking service, began. In this short video Matt also shares what TSheets can do for small and medium sized companies.

The story of how a small business owner became his own first customer.

Matt Rissell was frustrated. Or maybe a better way to say it … he was irritated! As the owner of a printer supply company and a background in business mobile devices, Rissell knew about technology. And he knew how to grow a business. While business growth was great, it meant adding employees. And adding employees meant more paperwork. And more errors. And more chances for employees to fudge on their time cards. Time and attendance tracking was becoming a bigger head-ache everyday. So Matt did what he always did. He set out to find some technology to solve this business problem. He knew that almost every business problem out there had a technology solution to solve it. Inventory control. Accounting. E-Mail. Order Processing. But where was the Time and attendance package? In his world of automation, the idea that someone had not created a computerized method for tracking employee Time and attendance was ludicrous. So Matt fixed it.

Brandon Zehm was quickly becoming a rock star in the programming world with a client list that included a government laboratory, Albertsons, HP, and Merrill Lynch. Then he received a call from an old friend, Matt Rissell. Matt explained his problem and asked Brandon if this is something he could do. Somewhat insulted by the simplicity of the problem, Brandon said “sure”! After just one month of programming and testing, Brandon had a time and attendance package ready for Matt to use in his business. Problem solved. Clock-in and clock-out was automated. Reports were generated for payroll. Matt was happy. The bookkeeper was happy. End of story … until the bookkeeper suggested to Matt and Brandon that they could start selling the software (still unnamed at this point).

Both Matt and Brandon had entrepreneurism in their DNA, so it was no surprise that they started to look beyond just solving the time keeping needs of Matt’s business. Not long after, TSheets was born. Using the same thinking as when they created the software, Matt and Brandon set out to create a different kind of software company. They established several principles to guide the company and the evolution of the software:

• Time tracking should be simple.
• Time tracking should be necessary.
• Time tracking should be inexpensive.

The first principle was a reminder to never lose the simplicity of TSheets; to remember that the actual problem that was being solved was automating clocking-in and clocking-out. The second principle was a reminder of Matt’s initial frustration; that despite all of the advancements for small business automation, business owners were left to use paper time sheets or antiquated punch card systems. Finally, the third principle was a reminder that the audience for TSheets was small businesses so the monthly fee had to be affordable. Further, it had to have an immediate return-on-investment.

Although a simple solution to a complex problem, Matt and Brandon did want some depth to the product. However, instead of loading it up with a bunch of features based on their own whims, they did something unique. They asked their initial customers what features they wanted! This mission to be customer-driven, rather than feature-driven kept the simplicity of the software, but created depth and breadth to the product. From the feedback that was received, they added job codes, QuickBooks integration, mobile device access, and dozens of other customer-requested features. This practice of asking customers for feedback still continues today.

Another goal for TSheets was to use the company as a vehicle for greater good, not just a revenue stream. Matt and Brandon determined that their “cause” for TSheets was to empower business owners to become business leaders. One of the first steps was to start featuring their customers on the TSheets site. Not just testimonials of their use of TSheets, but giving their customers a platform to talk about their businesses. This was a mission beyond just time keeping to helping small business owners become successful. In addition, Matt and Brandon wanted TSheets to be a place to develop talent internally, so they created a culture of transparency and personal development for their employees.

Today, TSheets’ clients have thousands of employees using TSheets. There are plans in the works for some major alliances with national organizations. Programmers are being hired. A marketing company has been retained to help manage and grow the TSheets brand. All of this from one small business owner’s frustration … err, irritation.

For a video profile of Matt and Brandon, click here.

For more information or to interview Matt Rissell or Brandon Zehm, please contact Justin Foster at 208-342-2583 or justin@thetricycle.com

TSheets customer and owner of Cartridge World in Boise, Idaho, Bryan Warnock speaks with Justin Foster. Bryan shares with us about his business and some lessons learned from years of living the life of a small business owner. He also tells the world about TSheets.com and how it’s impacted his business.

“There’s that accountability aspect that really helps me run my business so rather than working in the business I can work on the business.”

Bryan Warnock (Cartridge World)

Brian Nunes, owner of International Minute Press and customer of TSheets.com, discusses with Justin Foster about his experiences in the the world of business. Brian also shares with us the importance of taking care of your customers and delivers a shameless plug for TSheets’ ease of use and affordability.

“TSheets is so easy to use with so little cost that it allows us to spend less time on our payroll and more time with our customers.”

Brian Nunes (International Minute Press)

Justin Foster interviews TSheets’ founders Matt Rissell & Brandon Zehm. TSheets was born in 2006 out of a need for simple and affordable employee time and attendance tracking. Since then TSheets has grown and adapted to customer requests, serving the time and attendance needs of thousands of people every day.

Inverview Part 1 (8:10):

Inverview Part 2 (8:20):

Inverview Part 3 (5:45):