Time tracking blog

As TSheets customers (present, past or future), you’ve probably at one point or another worked as a freelancer.  Ah, the joys of working when you want, where you want, and for as long as you want.  Sorta.  When you first went solo, you probably had dreams of working from a beach somewhere in the South Pacific, or mountaintop in the Austrian Alps.  But one thing leads to another, and you find yourself having to ‘check in’ with the boss man on a regular basis, and probably attending a staff meeting at least once a month – i.e. seriously putting a cramp in your newfound nomadic workstyle.  Any of this sound familiar?  Fast-forward to today’s economic climate, and now it’s YOU, dear freelancer, that has the opportunity to sit in the driver’s seat.  Here’s how.

First and foremost, as a freelancer, you’re probably supplying your own technology.  My MacBook Pro and I have been having a love affair for the past year, and I love her dearly.  However, in tough economic times, one of the first things that retailers notice is a dramatic shift in spending patterns.  This ultimately leads to a price drop war in favor of the consumer.   A recent report now confirms what we’ve been thinking for a long time: notebooks outsell desktops on a global scale for the first time ever, and who doesn’t already own (or want) a low priced netbook?  These two factors combined have led to cutthroat competition resulting in notebooks as low as $600 and netbooks at the silly low low price of around $300.  If you’re not already mobile or need an upgrade, now might be the time to get on board.

Along the same lines, the pipes are getting bigger – and cheaper!  If you’re like me, you’re probably piping as much bandwidth into your home or workspace as fiscally possible.  I currently pay around $100/month and get got around 1.3 mbs down and 800 kbs up, along with cable and VoiP (which I’ve never used).  One of the first things that people start to consider during a recession is ‘Why exactly am I forking over $100/month for all of this?’.  This ultimately leads to ISP competition, as they want your dollar just as much as the next guy.  Case in point, I recently called my provider and told them that I wanted to switch ISPs, as a competitor was offering me more bandwidth for a lesser cost.  One ‘please hold’ and a conversation with the supervisor later, I’m not clocking close to 3mbs down and 1.5 mbs up – and not paying a dime more for it.

Online meetings.  Here’s a no brainer.  As more and more budgets get smaller and smaller, those ‘non essentials’ are generally the first to get cut.  Bringing in the East Coast sales manager to sit at the same table as Bob from the Mid West and Sarah from the West Coast simply isn’t an option for lots of companies at the moment.  This has already led to a number of online meetings where you as the freelancer are no longer the only person in the room on speakerphone.  There are a number of online meeting solutions out there, but if the client is hesitant on any additional spend, there’s always the relatively low tech/no cost skype solution (I’ve personally been going this route for years).

The world is your oyster.  Factoring into the online meetings, more and more companies are looking for freelancers from all over the world, not just all over the area code.  Some refer to this as ‘extreme telecommuting’ – the process of working and collaborating with a team from around the world.  I’m a perfect case in point.  One of the things I work on is film production.  I regularly receive gianormous raw video files from filmmakers from around the world (hence the need for mawr bandwidths); I cut them on my mac, and collaborate with a sound engineer that lives in Oslo, Norway.  If you’re working in any of the creative or tech industries you probably already know teams of folks that work in this manner.  If not, now might be the right time to take the concept to the boss, because doesn’t living in Tahiti for a few months (while keeping up your regular work) sound a heckuva lot better than Fargo, North Dakota (sorry readers from Fargo)?

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.  There are services popping up on a daily basis that help bring the business world closer together, while physically being miles apart.  If there was ever a time to start suggesting not only cost savings, but personal fulfillment to the upper management, it’s NOW!

One of TSheets partners, Jott.com will no longer offer a free option as of February 2nd.  This will not effect current TSheets customers using Jott, as the integration services are only available to paying Jott.com customers.

The popular voice to text service moved out of Beta (does that make it gamma?) last August, and added a premium account for a low $4/month fee.  According to Jott, about 30 percent of active users have bought in to premium, no ads version of the service.

Jott.com CEO John Pollard confirmed that the free version will be history as of February 2nd, citing that the current global economic downturn, which in turn has lead to horrible conditions for online advertisers, just isn’t footing the bills anymore, and each Jott.com customer will have to pay their own way to use the service.  Pollard also notes that to meet the bottom line, Jott would have to be plastered with advertising, and that it would simply ruin the experience (and for this, I stand and salute you sir!).  This will also apply to Jott iPhone application users.  However, those of you out there using TSheets integrated with your Jott.com account are already on the $3.95/month plan, so there should be no service interruptions.

Although Jott is now asking users to pay up, that doesn’t mean they’re holding back on adding some new features.  Similar to competitors Spinvox, PhoneTag, and GotVoice, Jott will now be offering a voicemail-to-text feature.  This new feature will do just as it says, convert your incoming voicemails to texts that can be sent to you in a matter of minutes.  At the $4/month rate, you won’t get this functionality, but priced at the same amount as Jott’s competitors: $10/month.

Current Jott.com users can upgrade from their free plan before February 2nd, including a tasty 10% discount, by accessing their Jott.com account page, typing in JOTT and their phone number as the promo code for the annual plan, or PRO and their phone number for the annual Pro plan.

It’s no secret – 2008 has not been the highpoint of the American economy.  With record numbers of layoffs and downsizing, chances are that some of you out there might be in need of a job.  After reading a bit more about Jen’s appointment to TSheets via conversations with Matt on and off Twitter, I thought it might be a good time to take the temperature and see just what other web2.0 technologies are out there making the dreaded job search just a bit easier.

While I found a bunch that can help you network and increase your chances of making a connection which eventually leads to a job, outside of grinding through Craigslist, there wasn’t a whole lot o’ tech that actually puts job ads in your hand.  Until I found JobCompass.

JobCompass is a new app for the iPhone that allows for location based job searches and plots them on a map for you based on your location.  JobCompass will then allow you to search by geographic range (5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 mile radius) and specific jobs based on keyword search.  Once you’ve found a position you’re interested in, it’s relatively simple to email yourself with a link to the job ad, or you can open the listing in Safari, and apply for the job directly (warning: Bluetooth keyboard recommended).

Currently, JobCompass utilizes Indeed.com’s API to pull job data, but plans are already in the works to include Monster, HotJobs, Dice and others to create the most extensive mobile job search application available.

Creator Titus Blair explains,

Current website solutions are not ideal since they do not pinpoint your location to provide you with job listings in relation to where you are at the moment. I was also traveling regularly and thought it would be interesting to see what jobs were available in my field in the cities and places I was visiting.

Currently, JobCompass will only list jobs based on your current location.  Great if you have no plans of moving, but if Seattle has been calling your name for ages, JobCompass won’t do you any good unless you’re within 100 miles of the Emerald City.  Fear not though, Blair and company are already working on developing a version that will allow the user to select the area that they’d like to search in.

While JobCompass is probably not going to replace your main resources for the job search, at the nominal iTunes store price of $3.99, it very well might make a great addition to any job seekers arsenal, and an indispensible tool for recruiters.

New Years Resolutions.  Made any yet?  Me neither.  I always find the annual process as a bit of a set up for a let down.  You’ll always find excuses or ways not to stick to them, so I prefer to cut on the fall, and simply not make any.

However, not making New Years resolutions is not to say that the beginning of a new year is not the perfect time to start fresh.  While according to the Chinese calendar, 2009 will be the year of the Ox, characterizing those that are steady, plain and quiet.  Steady, plain and quiet?  This doesn’t sound like any SME owner that I know, so let’s toss the Ox out and replace it with the Ant.  I’ll save the lesson of Ant productivity for another post, but the point is, 2009 can and should be your year of increased productivity.  Here are a few points to consider for a more productive 2009.

Track it

We all know and love the multiple job codes that TSheets lets you create so that you can have a clearer picture at weeks/months end of where the time went, and what you’ve billed for and not, but what about all those ‘others’?  I recently started tracking a multitude of ‘others’ and simply attached notes to them.  By reviewing this ‘other’ time and reading the notes, I managed to weed out about 20% of ‘wasted time’.  With this ‘wasted time’ cut out of my daily routine, I’ve noticed decreased working hours, thereby giving me time to focus on new projects.  Rinse and repeat at least once a month to maintain optimal productivity.

Spread it

Once you’ve whittled away this excess, start spreading the good news.  Introduce your line managers and/or staff to the process and ask for a small report at the end of January.  These reports don’t need to be a massive undertaking, but rather help to pinpoint areas of weakness, and where productivity can be increased.  Review these reports, and include opinions and suggestions.  This is also perfect exercise in eliminating redundant job functions.

Get Up, Stand Up

Company Meetings.  While necessary, they can sometimes lead to a productivity drain if each and every single staff member is not involved.  Make sure that a meeting is 100% necessary and make sure that each and every participant is there for a valid reason, to contribute, listen, and actively participate.  To optimize the productivity of the meeting remove all the chairs.  Nothing says, “Get to the point, and keep it on topic, short and sweet” like nowhere to sit.

Chill

Studies show that the average human being shows a decrease in productivity after prolonged output.  So give those models of productivity, including yourself, much needed breaks throughout the day.  Already have a dedicated ‘break’ room?  Congrats, you’re already a step ahead.  If not, have a look at that empty office at the end of the hall, or perhaps that underused conference room (not the one you’ve already removed the chairs from).  Would this make a suitable location?  Try to carve one out, and take a page from Google’s playbook – install a gaming console (or two or three).  Giving employees a chance to take a break mid-day and frag a few opponents in Halo, or come in three under par in wii golf, might be just the sort of frustration release or bragging rights they need to return to that desk, and not have to come in on Saturday just to finish those TPS reports.  A great resource for employee incentive based gaming solutions can be found at snowfly.com.

While not all of these solutions are right for every business situation, they can all be modded and customized to suit your needs.  Remember, it’s not about following the plan, but following the plan that’s right for you.  Hopefully a few of these suggestions will get you off on the right foot to make 2009 the year of Ant.

So, I have been told that I am very forward, upfront & sometimes take too much ownership in projects that I dive into.  I think it actually worked out to my benefit this time.

When Matt & I started our “off-Twitter” conversation, our very first phone call we agreed that we would be totally honest with each other…brutally honest that is.  It worked.  Matt saw and understood the vision for a Social Media Sales & Marketing position and I saw the vision of TSheets & where we could take it by engaging in current online conversations.  Beautiful!

Matt is a forward thinking CEO with a background in traditional sales yet sees and completely understands that social media is sales and is part of the overarching marketing and sales goals…it is not just “the girl that blogs & talks online” (old job title I overheard someone give me at the last gig).  He gets “it”.

My first week consisted of:

• Getting my feet wet on how TSheets works as the customer
• Listening to what the customers & potential customers are saying “out there”
• Putting together a PR plan for the release of the TSheets integration with FreshBooks
• Move to new office – (sweet digs by the way!)
• Map out my social media metrics for December (& start planning on how/where to hit those)
• Learn how to get up at 5:30am (and not 7am) in order to make it to an 8:03 daily meeting

My second week is taking care of the tasks that I give myself every day.  I literally have 5-10 pages of notes/to do’s that I need to get done/look up/research/participate in etc.  (Must-get-organized)

I am absolutely thrilled to be here at TSheets.  I can’t wait to make a difference and have a proven social media model that can be repeated every month.

So we have a bug that may affect you if you use SMS to track your time.  If you have been strictly tracking your time via SMS (text) messages from your cell phone, you may have noticed that on your reports, your clock in/out times may be off by an hour since Daylight Savings Time changes occurred.

Don’t worry, it doesn’t change the amount of time you’ve recorded, it just affects how it shows up when editing or reporting.  Read on for details of why this is, and for what to do to fix it.

WHAT THE BUG IS
When you clock in to TSheets, we automagically detect what time zone you are in and record it in your timesheet record.  The problem is, we don’t have a good way of detecting your time zone when you’re clocking in from an SMS text message.  So, we look at what your time zone was the last time you clocked in, and just use that one again for the new record.  The problem is, if you only use SMS text messages to clock in/out, then you’ll forever be stuck in the same time zone, since we always grab whatever your last timezone was and stick it in the new records.  This leads to the problem where Daylight Savings Time comes and goes and your timezone may shift an hour – but SMS clock-ins continue to use the ‘old’ timezone which existed in previous records.  So now reports look odd because everything could appear off by an hour.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO FIX IT
The fix is actually quite simple.  All you need to do is log on to TSheets.com from your computer, and clock-in, then clock-out.  When you do this from a computer, we’ll be able to correctly detect and record your timezone.  From that point on, any clock-ins via an SMS text message will use the newly recorded timezone and everything in the reports will be right again.

If you have questions or you don’t have the luxury of sitting down at a computer any time soon, call us. We will fix it for you and/or walk you through how to remedy the SMS bug from a desktop.

You can also call or Email us to let us know if you’d like your timesheet records since the DST change to be adjusted to reflect the correct timezone.  You’ll just need to let us know what your timezone is, so we’ll know what date DST occurred and can get your timesheets fixed up for you.

WHAT WE ARE DOING TO FIX IT
Programming like crazy!  It is a bigger issue than just a few tweaks to the program & “poof” problem solved. Because it is a complex problem, it’s going to require a complex solution – but rest assured that we’ll have it resolved before our next DST change, so you won’t be required to do anything next time.

SUGGESTIONS?
We are open to making this work for everyone, if you think you have a solution, let us know!
As soon as we have this resolved, we will post here so it is always available.

Thanks,
The TSheets Team

While sitting on my local equivalent to the LIRR the other day, I took a look at the amazing device in my hands and what I was doing with it.  My new shiny iPhone (or any current generation smartphone for that matter) allows me to read, create, and send/receive email, write documents and/or notes to myself, view and create spreadsheets, presentations, stay in touch with both family, friends, and clients, and administer my blogs and websites, all in the palm of my hand at 65 mph.

With the wide variety of applications now available for smartphones, there’s something for every type of user out there, and this really got me to thinking about mobile productivity.  Obviously at TSheets, we’re a bit biased on the ‘time is money’ and ‘being more productive’ opinion, but with costs of said phones falling everyday, isn’t it about time YOU started thinking about a mobile strategy for your business?

What does this all mean for you and your business?  How do you go about it?  Which plans?  Which phones?  How do I deploy all of this seemingly complex gadgetry?

Well, hold the phone partner (yes, pun intended).  Here’s a list of things to think about before you take your growing enterprise mobile.

1. Are your communications mobile friendly? While time might be money in the TWorld, size is often money in the mobile world.  Are you using a logo in your email footer?  This extra bit of transfer can add up to quite a bit of extra, unneeded cost at the end of the month.  Think about slimming everything down.
2. Are you working with the best Technology? While Palm and Apple (and quite possibly the T-Mobile/Google Android phone soon enough) have been making great headway into the mobile enterprise market, there’s a common misconception that Blackberry is the way to go.  Perhaps the pricing structure might work best for you, but don’t be too quick to rule other smartphones out simply because they’re not carrying the crackberry logo.
3. Are you in sync? If you’re using Microsoft Exchange, chances are you’re already covered, but a good thing to think about is ‘Is everyone on the same page?’  Can all mobile users synchronize email, contact lists, calendars, etc. to ensure that everyone is, literally, on the same page?  Would this help grease the productivity wheels within your team?
4. Do you have a mobile plan? If you’re already issuing company phones, check with your wireless carrier if they offer enterprise smartphone packages, what features they offer, and what the price difference would be.  It’s entirely possible that some of the features designated for smartphones are already covered in your package.  Try getting a test phone or two that you and another trusted member of the team can use for a month or so.  Keep track of the usage: emails, calendars, meeting planning times, how often you use it to increase productivity on the LIRR for example.
5. Is your website mobile compatible? Here’s one that often goes unsaid, but is your main website already mobile compatible?  Do you offer a .mobi version of the site, or perhaps a text only based version.  Again, these things might not seem like a big deal now, but once smartphone mobile deployment is issued, with your entire staff accessing the site on a regular basis, it IS something you’re going to have to think about.
6. What’s your 20? This may be your most important consideration when deciding on a mobile strategy for your business: Security.  Do you have a backup plan if/when a smartphone goes missing?  Not just the actual hardware, but the potential loss of data and thieves access to sensitive company data.

Obviously, there’s a lot of factors to consider in whether or not you should or even need to deploy a smartphone solution for your business.  I personally know some managers and execs that couldn’t live without their mobile devices, while others that I’ve spoken to enjoy simply leaving the phone at the office.  Interesting to note, these people often also have a corporate smartphone tucked in a briefcase or bag nearby.

Having access on the go certainly leads to increased productivity, as there’s never a moment lost.  This mobile productivity can even lead to increased creativity, as a changing landscape often leads to changing thoughts, ideas, and ways to tackle a project.

Howdy there partner, and welcome to the newly redesigned TSheets!  If you’re a first time visitor, welcome – if you’re a returning reader, welcome back.  You may have noticed that TSheets has a shiny new coat of paint, and a few extra goodies under the hood as well.  In celebration of our new look, I thought it might be a good time to hit the wayback machine and take a look at where TSheets has been design wise.  All images are taken from the great tool available at archive.org, the waybackmachine.

While the waybackmachine does give some listings for TSheets as early back as 2004, these are not found in the archive, and I can only wonder if the URL was held by a previous owner?  Let’s see if we can get a comment from Brandon or Matt on this one.

Either way, the first archived listing for TSheets.com shows up on June 16th, 2006 with a simple yet effective interface:

Note the savings calculator over on the left side?  Pretty nifty device.

On August 11th, 2006 the TNumber was added to the site providing a toll free number for business owners to get in touch with the TTeam at.

On September 29th, 2006 the monthly pricing box disappears to be replaced by a small text box at the top of the page.  Same overall design is still functioning well, and driving both traffic and customers to the TSheets time tracking system.



2007 was a great year both in product and website development here at TSheets.  On the 5th of January we started adding a news feature down the left column, keeping potential and current customers abreast of what was happening in the now developing TLabs.

February 12th – meh…let’s move that news over to the right side.

March 10th, 2007 – how about a little php, tables, and a nice pleasing blue background?



August 13th, 2007 – wha blamo!  The TSheets as we know and love today begins to take it’s first form.  While the graphics are missing from archive.org, you get the general gist of things here with clear and easy navigation begin to come to the forefront.



Here’s where things start to get a bit fuzzy on archive.org, but the August 13th version of TSheets.com served us well until making the switch to a highly modified Wordpress installation courtesy of Mr. Matt Newbill.



As our user base and media coverage begins/began to grow, CEO Matt Rissell thought it might be a good time to add a new coat of wax to the TMachine and include some new advancements in coding language.

In regard to building a new version of TSheets, our top dog of the code, Matt Newbill says, “Well as you can see the site (and blog) have been entirely rebuilt from the ground up.”

If you’re looking at that super slick rotating image staring you in the face, Newbill adds, “We’re utilizing JQuery to do our sliding effects and also some cool IE 6 transparent PNG trickery via CSS”

Newbill and design team made sure to give a nod to the old school and included a portion of the first TSheets logo.

Director of Marketing AJ Stallones adds, “I think looks sweet and I absolutely love the emotion that it brings to the table.  It’s sexy, slim, easy to use and truly screams the essence of our culture.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself.  I hope you’ll all join me in a tiny little bit of horn blowing and congratulations to Newbill and team when I say, “Job well done sir! Well done indeed!”