| Time billing software has become more and more abundant because businesses, whether big or small, have increased in number and are adding time and billing management software to their small business management software.
If you have a business that needs time tracking system software for just time and expense billing, what is the best way to select time accounting software for your business? How can you know if the attorney billing software or time billing software you are going to buy is worth your money?
This article discusses how to pick the time and attendance software for your small business. First, you must know your needs. What are you looking for in a time billing software? What are the functions, abilities or features that you are looking for? Second, do you need a desktop application or a web-based program? Third, is the time tracking program software user-friendly? Fourth, how affordable is the small business invoice software?
Common features that we can find in time billing software are:
Activity Timer that accurately tracks time spent on tasks or activities for any number of clients or projects throughout your day.
A way to keep track of billable expenses that are to be reimbursed by the client.
The best billing software allows you to view an editable timer log that shows when you started and stopped the timer during the day.
Record the estimated time for a project or task and see how close you came to that estimate.
Generate invoices and reports for any or all clients, projects or activities, for any range of dates. The ability to round off times and print an invoice with a custom header would be important for many people looking for complete billing or invoicing software.
Ability to enter start and stop times or even the total time directly.
Record an estimated time for a task or activity and see how close you came to your estimate.
Activity and expense notes wherein you could add unlimited amount of text describing your activities and billable expenses.
Notes on the activities or tasks performed.
Create reports with totals for each expense category with easy income tax preparation software.
Keep track of all invoices and know who has paid and who has not with time and expense invoicing software.
View all records for a single client or project or task and get totals.
The ability to collapse the timer into a very small window and run multiple timers.
Flexible rates that can be based on a client, project or hourly basis.
Other features you might consider are:
Keep track of travel miles (or kilometers) that you can add to your invoices or tax reports.
One major thing to consider is, should it be a desktop application or a web-based application? Here are some differences between the two:
A desktop application is an application that runs without the need of an internet connection. A web-based application, which includes any software you log on to a web site to access, requires a fast, reliable internet connection.
If you do not have a very fast internet connection, it could take you several times longer to get the same amount of work done. Desktop software is generally much faster and easier to use than web-based software.
A desktop application, if backed-up regularly, is more secure and reliable than a web-based application. If your web connection goes down, or the company's website were to go down, or the company went out of business, you will no longer have access to your data if using web-based applications.
With web-based applications you rent the software, paying monthly fees and often get only email support. With desktop applications, you generally pay just once, and technical support is often included.
The next thing to consider is how easy is the software to use? Is it easy to understand? Are you comfortable using the software? Can you get technical support easily and quickly, both by phone and by email? Does that support cost extra?
The final question is, how much are you willing to spend for this software? Would you rather pay less on a monthly basis for web-based software, which will add up to much more over time, or pay one reasonable amount up front and get the features, speed and reliability of a desktop application?
As a solopreneur, I'm sure you would rather find ways to save money and at the same time have the features and capabilities you are looking for in time management software?
With these things in mind, you can now determine what would be the project management time tracking software for your needs. One of the best time billing software in my opinion is Activity & Expense Tracker. It is a reasonably priced desktop application that is easy to use and is available for most Mac and Windows computers. |
Article Details
