There’s an old adage that the cobbler’s children have no shoes. Here at PK, we realized we fit that description when it came to our timekeeping methods.
In our old system, our employees used two separate software tools for timekeeping and billing. Employees tracked their total hours in Deputy (a third-party scheduling software perfect for payroll) as well as in a timesheet app (a FileMaker application we developed in-house for client billing). Each week, we manually ran a script for each individual customer to generate an invoice for the previous week. However, it didn’t work well.
The Deputy process for logging time was easy and straight-forward, and employees were consistent about filling out Deputy hours, ensuring they got paid. But they struggled to keep up with the timesheet app for billing. Projects and tasks needed to be manually entered, frequently from handwritten notes kept all week long and loaded late in the week. When timesheets were reviewed prior to invoicing, it could be difficult to know the accurate number of billable hours worked each week; we erred on the side of reducing billing hours. Our inefficient billing process and inconsistent invoicing practices meant that we often underrepresented and underbilled our work, which made estimating future work difficult.
Aware we needed new shoes, we decided to revamp our timesheet app into a more robust software that could handle more of our needs, especially the need for a timekeeping system that was easy to use.
After researching and testing several software platforms, we decided on Clubhouse as our project management tool. It allowed us to categorize projects by clients, create tasks for each project, and then keep track of to-dos associated with the tasks. It has an API that allows it to automatically sync these down to our timesheet app, reducing work for employees. They can easily input information for what they’re working on using a search function, drop-down selectors, or a recent tasks list.
Deputy offers an API integration that we also incorporated into our app. At the end of the day, employees click two buttons on the timesheet to send the information to Deputy to keep track of their total hours worked. By simplifying the process for tracking employee time separately for billing vs. internal purposes, it’s much more efficient for everyone to stay on top of (and frees up more time that can be devoted to billable work).
Additionally, we’ve improved our invoice processing with automation. Every night, timesheet statuses are updated. Each Monday, Team Leads review the previous week’s timesheets to make sure they’re filled out correctly. They also approve time to be billed to the client or mark it as non-billable or to be reviewed with the developer. On Tuesdays, invoices are automatically generated based on the approved timesheets. We review them one final time, then use Sendgrid to email them to our clients. We’ve also used Sendgrid’s API with FileMaker to have the entire process completed within our application. SendGrid also includes receipt verification which is useful in making sure invoices were not accidentally marked as spam.
While we had to spend some non-billable hours to redevelop our app, it’s had a substantial return on investment. Not only do we not waste time trying to keep two sets of timesheets up-to-date, we also have more accurate invoices for our clients that are sent out on a regular basis. Looking forward, we’re able to expand and adapt the functionality of the app based on our needs. We currently adding contact tracing capabilities to help keep our employees safe and healthy.
PK Information is a FileMaker-certified development agency serving the Tampa Bay and Knoxville regions. We believe that great software can change everything. Would third-party API integration simplify and automate your processes? Contact us today!
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