Time tracking always has its challenges, but those challenges tend to pile up at the end of the year when employees take a lot of PTO and annual reports are due. The right time tracking system and a strategic approach to policy can help you keep end-of-year difficulties to a minimum.
1. Use-It-or-Lose-It Vacation Time
No matter what your company vacation policy is, you’re likely to have a lot of employees hoping to take PTO around the holidays. If employees are at risk of losing unused vacation time, you’re likely to see even more leave requests. That pressure can easily interfere with time-sensitive projects or maintaining a minimum level of staff availability.
The solution: PTO policy flexibility.
If you need more people in the office at the end of December, give them an incentive to stay. Move the expiration date for PTO out to February. Offer to give employees who work during the holidays extra vacation time the following year.
In DATABASICS, it’s easy for admins to manually override configured policies, such as PTO expiration — all while maintaining a complete audit trail. You can adjust PTO amounts and rollovers for individual employees and add notes about why you’re doing so.
2. Inaccurate Project Tracking
The more details employees have to add to their timesheets or expense reporting, the more errors you’re likely to see. Government contractors in particular often need to closely track how time is spent. It’s often all too easy to submit a charge to the wrong project, especially when projects have similar names.
The solution: Enforced time limits on projects.
Use your time and expense software to set start and end dates on projects. With a tool like DATABASICS, you can configure the system to keep employees from adding to projects before or after specific dates. You can also set start and end dates on an employee’s assignment to a project.
3. Timesheet Bottlenecks
Getting employees to submit their timesheets on time is often a challenge on a good day. With many employees out for the holidays, you’re likely to see more missing timesheets and manager approval bottlenecks.
The solution: Automated reminders and mobile access.
Set up a validation system that checks whether timesheets are completed by the due date. You can use automated reminders to contact employees about filling in the needed information. DATABASICS can help with both of those tasks.
DATABASICS also has an “out of office” functionality that lets approvers assign their responsibility to someone else for a set time period. Our notification engine will automate reminders for approvals, too.
Having mobile access to the time and expense software makes it that much easier to get missing information. With the DATABASICS mobile app, employees who are out of the office can fill in all of the necessary information straight from their smartphones, whether they’re at home or traveling on business.
4. Other Correction Bottlenecks
As last-minute time and expense data come in, many other reports and metrics need to be updated. It’s easy to end up with correction bottlenecks in end-of-year budget reconciliation, unbilled hours, invoices, and accrual adjustments.
The solution: Integrating time and expense software with your other systems.
If you’re using DATABASICS, we can integrate your time and expense tracking with accounting, payroll, and other relevant systems. Our tools can share data with Sage Intacct, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, QuickBooks, Acumatica, ADP, Workday, APS, and so many other tools so you always have up-to-date data. Even if you’re using a new-to-us system, we can figure out a way to import your data.
Make Time Tracking a Breeze Throughout the Year
DATABASICS can help you avoid time tracking and reporting difficulties at the end of the year. With automated reminders, integration, and an easy submission process for employees, our system helps you get more data in on time and cut down on manual labor.
To see how DATABASICS can help you with time tracking year-round, request a demo today.
