Android Time Tracker Released

We’re thrilled to announce the release of our Android time tracking application! The Android Time Tracker was released in the marketplace a few days ago.  It’s in “beta” and it’s waiting for you!

TSheets already provides you (or your business) online time tracking, invoicing and payroll reports. Now you have more. You can find out where you were when you punched the clock, even if you’re out of cell service. Our android time tracker is still in Beta but it already includes:

• Time tracking with GPS
• Timesheet notes
• Day/week totals
• History (with map)
• Works offline
• Syncs to your TSheets account

How do I get it?

Just open the Android Market and search for “TSheets”. Want more? Follow this link for details, screen-shots, and other download options. (Note, this will not work unless you’re an admin on an account or an employee with the “Mobile Time Tracking” permission.)

We Would Love to Hear Your Feedback!

We are looking forward to hearing all the feedback you have for us, so please tell us what you think.  If you have questions or suggestions stop by our suport forum and chat with us.

Does your business operate with mobile crews? If so, this new feature is sure to please. You can now clock in other users via a text message (if you are an admin or manager of those people).

All you have to do is send your text message as usual, but add @username for each user that you want to perform the clock-in/out for. Let’s view a few examples. If you’re new to text messaging with TSheets, be sure to check out our wiki page on Time Entry Using Text Messages.

• You want to clock in user1, user2, and user3 to the ‘construction’ job code – easy:
  • t in construction @user1 @user2 @user3

• You want to switch user2 and user3 to the ‘cleaning’ job code:
  • t in cleaning @user2 @user3

• You want to add a note to all three users’ timesheets (make sure you don’t put the usernames after the ‘notes’ keyword, else we’ll just include them as part of the note and only put it on your own timesheet):
  • t @user1 @user2 @user3 notes Everyone worked hard today

• You want to clock user1, user2, and user3 out:
  • t out @user1 @user2 @user3

• What if you want to include yourself in the list of people you’re clocking in or out? Just use @me to indicate yourself:
  • t in construction @user1 @user2 @user3 @me

This is a really powerful feature and we believe you’ll agree that it is a real time saver. Have a crack at it and let us know what you think!

If you’re a manager and would like to be able to clock employees in and out from your iPhone, then listen up, because this feature is for you.

We now have the ability to clock employees in/out from our iPhone interface via the Who’s Working list.  This is great news for those that manage crews as it makes it simple to clock in/out members of your crew, all from a simple to use interface.

Here’s how it works:

• Visit your TSheets account in your iPhone
• Log in as an admin or a user with permission to manage timesheets
• From the Who’s Working list you’ll be able to “click” (touch actually) users from the list
• Once you’ve selected a user, you’ll be taken to that user’s time card view (you’ll notice a green box at the top stating that you’re currently working as that user).
• Perform the desired function for that user (clock in/out, switch job codes, add notes)
• When complete simply tap the “exit” link next to the user’s name in the green box at the top

We hope this new feature helps save time (and money) for your business.  If you have any comments/suggestions please don’t hesitate to post them below.

We wanted to take a moment and introduce you to a feature of ours that has surprised us in its popularity.  Sending a text message is something that nearly every cell phone owner on this planet has done at least once in their lifetime.  And if you haven’t, I’ll bet that you’ve at least received a text message at some point.

Did you know that you can use a text message to clock in and out of TSheets?  Check out this video to see how easy it is.

Something you should know – when you install the Texting Addon in your TSheets account, you gain the ability to assign short codes, or aliases, to all of your job codes.  This means that instead of texting “T start Project WannaPayMe”, your life is simplified by being able to text “T start pw”.  And we even make it easy to print out a nice little SMS Cheat Sheet that contains a list of your job codes and their corresponding aliases, so that you can stick it in your wallet for easy reference when you’re traveling about.

Of course, we need to mention that you’re responsible for any charges on your phone plan related to text messages, but most plans include it nowadays.  Also, right now our texting addon is only available to customers who are able to send texts to a US short code.  However, we have plans for a way to accommodate all of our international customers out there.  Stay tuned!

Ever been out in the field and received a phone call from an employee like this?
“Hey – I forgot to clock in!” exclaims hard-working Harry.
“Okay, I’ll go ahead and clock you in, then,” you reply. No sweat, that’s easy.
“No, I mean I forgot to clock in an hour ago…” Harry sheepishly replies.
(Sigh). Now you write down the details on a napkin or whatever else is handy.  Then you have to wait until you’re back in the office at a computer to take care of the change.

Well not any longer.  You may now do everything from your mobile device that you need to in regards to timesheet editing.  That’s right, you can add a new timesheet, modify start and stop times, change jobcodes, delete timesheets, all from that tiny web browser held in the palm of your hand (access the mobile version of your account by visiting your TSheets account from your mobile web browser).  It’s a little easier to show than explain, so check out this video.  This is all accessible from our mobile interface.

Hope you enjoyed it. Post any questions below.

The ability to send text messages to track your time has long been a staple in TSheets’ plethora of time keeping options.  However, if you have long job/task names you run the risk of developing something akin to ‘CrackBerry Thumb‘ with all of the typing involved!  I am extremely slow at typing text messages into my phone, so this latest feature comes with a huge sigh of relief.

Now you can assign aliases or ‘SMS Codes’ to your jobs/projects within TSheets.  This allows you to retain your long, descriptive job/project names and have an extremely short and simple label for use with your text messages.

First, make sure you have the SMS add-on installed.  Then, to assign SMS Codes to your jobs/projects, open up the Job Codes management window (in the left-hand menu in the main interface).  Edit a job code, and you’ll see an additional field available now called ‘SMS Code’.  You can type up to 10 letters or numbers in here, no spaces.

Key Point! If you are using a tiered job/project model (i.e. Clients -> Projects -> Tasks), the SMS Codes you assign at Level 1 automatically get prepended onto the codes at Level 2, and both are prepended on to those at Level 3, etc.  See the following example.

Here I have a job code named ‘Animal Training’ at the top with an SMS Code of ‘at’, and then a child job code underneath that named Cheetah with an SMS Code of ‘c’, and finally another child underneath that named Running with an SMS code of ‘run’.  You can see that the codes inherited from the parent job codes are reflected in the edit window for any given job code, so it makes it easy to see what you’ll end up with.  So, for this example, the SMS Code I would use to clock in to the ‘Animal Training / Cheetah / Running’ job code would be ‘atcrun’.

Once you get all of your SMS Codes set up, wouldn’t it be nice to have a cheat sheet to refer to while trying to remember them all?  We thought so too.  You can access a printable SMS Code Cheat Sheet by Clicking on the ‘SMS Integration’ link in your account and clicking on a link in the resulting window.  If you are an administrator who hasn’t set up their own phone for SMS within TSheets, you can access the printable Cheat Sheet by going to My Account -> Addons -> SMS -> Preferences, and clicking on a link from there.

Happy texting!

We’ve had mobile entry capabilities for a while now, making it easy to track time from any cell phone or PDA with Internet access.  Well hold on to your holsters because we’ve just made mobile time tracking even better!

Enter Notes

You can now use your mobile device to enter notes into your timesheets.  Enter your notes into the Notes text box, and then click on Save Notes.

View a Summary of Today’s Job Codes

Follow the ‘Today’s Job Codes’ link to get a breakdown of how much time you’ve spent on each of your job codes.  This is great for those wanting to keep on top of how they’re spending their time.

Switch Job Codes

Up until now you’ve had to clock out and then clock back in if you wanted to change to a different job code.  Now you can follow the ‘Switch’ link and do it all in one step.

What if workers could clock in and out via their cell phones with simple voice commands?

“Clock me in on the 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Paving project. Note that I’m meeting with the client at 9.”

TSheets has recently completed integration with Jott, a voice to text gateway, that allows users to make simple toll-free calls to track their time.  The sentence above would clock the user in under the “1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Paving” project code, and attach the notes “I’m meeting with the client at 9″ to their work log.  Once the clock is running, confirmation is sent to the user via email or SMS text.  When the user wants the clock to stop, he simply makes another call.

Listen to an example Jott phone call:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

“… a new time tracking standard for mobile workers.”

Getting Started:

1. If you don’t have one already, setup a TSheets account
2. Click “My Account” and enable Jott from the “Add-ons” list
3. Click “Jott” from the main menu for additional instructions

Once an account administrator has completed these steps, any worker with the “Mobile Time Entry” permission can then link their accounts to Jott and start tracking their time.  Jott will ask them who they want to jott, confirm their answer, and listen for commands that tell TSheets what kind of action to take.

For more integration information, check out the wiki.

Example

You : Call Jott (866.568.8123)
Jott : “Who do you want to Jott?”
You : “TSheets”
Jott : “TSheets, is that correct?”
You : “Yes”
Jott : Beep
You : “Hi TSheets, please clock me in under the project code, meeting external, and attach the notes: meeting with Jim Stevens about bathroom remodel and proposal. Thank you.”
Jott : “Got it”

How does it work?

Jott translates your voice messages and sends the text to TSheets.  TSheets then analyzes the message, determines actions based on personalized project codes and key-words,  and then takes action for you.  If you’re not a reader but want the inside scoop, here’s my brain dump on it:

The Future Is Here

“Being able to just call in, clock in and be done gives me the flexibility I need to fight crime all around the world.”

Tony Stark (Stark Industries)

Now anyone can use their voice to clock in and out. Just like in the Marvel movie, Iron Man, you say the words and we know what to do. The Future is here. 

In this age of technology, the paper time card is still the primary employee tracking method used by most small business owners. Why is this?

Small business owners (and their bookkeepers) know the issues with paper time cards – inaccurate entries, poor penmanship, the hours spent prepping payroll. Why do they tolerate it? They really don’t have a choice. Of course, they can get the old-fashioned punch clock. But they are expensive, only solve part of the problem and are well, old-fashioned! The next logical step is software. Time keeping software is typically bundled into a larger payroll or HR system, or available as a PC/network based application. Because of the price and complexity, they are typically used by larger enterprises. Online software is available, but misses the original simplicity of the clock-in/out function of analog punch clocks. In short, most software packages are too complicated or too expensive for most small business owners.

Enter “Timeclock 2.0″ – an initiative to create a standard for modern time keeping – to go beyond the Timeclock 1.0 world of analog punch clocks and truly make time keeping technology available to anyone by being simple and affordable.

Timeclock 2.0 made possible by a new technology called “Software as a Service” or “SaaS”. In essence, this is a web-based application that allows you to use software through your internet browser rather than download software to your PC. Examples of SaaS companies include Google’s Gmail, Salesforce.com, and Yugma.

The primary benefits to SaaS are:

• Cost savings – most SaaS models have a monthly subscription, rather than an upfront price.
• No upgrades – because the software is web-based, all users are on the same version.
• No network setup – because there is no download of software, any PC (or mobile device) with access can use the software.
• Pricing is typically scalable based on number of users.
• There are usually no contracts or hidden fees.
• Support is typically included in the monthly fees.
• Data is secured and backed-up off site.

“Timeclock 2.0″ follows these same rules, plus some specific time-keeping elements:

• Clock in/out from any authorized PC with web access.
• Clock in/out from a mobile device.
• Manage employees and timesheets for multiple locations.
• Integration to Quickbooks and other payroll packages.

In short, Timeclock 2.0 is the first real reason for small business owners to affordably and efficiently move away from paper timesheets or punch clocks. As such, Timeclock 2.0 should create the same mass adoption as seen with other SaaS applications.

The anonymous arm is back, explaining how your employees will interact with TSheets, and how our software changes any personal computer or web enabled mobile device into a time clock. More details about making our time and attendance software work for you.