Here at RealEyes Media, we’ve been using StandardTime for almost two years.

We selected it after a lengthy evaluation process because it was an application that we could install on our own servers so that we could own our own data and extend the application however we liked to accomplish goals such as the ones above. I’ve written a pretty robust custom graphical reporting tool for it, in fact.

But, there are some significant issues with StandardTime that are starting to outweigh its benefits.

• Cannot use dropdown menus in secondary monitor
• Users must be connected to internal network to use desktop application (can use web tool though)
• No off-line time entry possibilities
• Application can randomly freeze, sometimes causing sustained loud system beep
• Complex set-up process for desktop application
• And more …

So, we’re currently evaluating alternate time tracking solutions to see if StandardTime is still the best choice for us. This has spurred quite a bit of thought about what we need in a time tracking application. In my opinion, if we’re going to go through the pains of adopting a new system, it should be one that really fits our needs.

What Are Our Time Tracking Goals?

On the surface, time tracking seems simple enough: record the time spent on a project. However, since each company has myriad uses and goals for this data, time tracking is rarely a simple operation.

Here’s a list of the things that RealEyes would like to do with time data once we have it.

• Bill for it
• Give clients/managers status reports
• Use it for future estimations
• Use it for resource allocation
• See how much time was spent doing X or X-type tasks
• See what percentage of time is billable
• See revenue brought in by particular projects/employees/clients/project types
• See time spent on particular projects/employees/clients/project types
• Write notes about what was done

What Reports Do We Need To Run?

Getting time information out of the time tracking application is a big deal. It’s the reason that we’re tracking time to begin with! It’s the parsing of this information that is important, to us, and to our clients.

These are common reports that we run:

• Hours by Project by Task by Custom Time Period
• Billable Amount by Project by Task by Custom Time Period
• Hours by Project by Task Group by Custom Time Period
• Billable Amount by Project by Task Group by Custom Time Period
• Total Hours by Resource by Custom Time Period
• Total Billable Amount by Resource by Custom Time Period
• Total Hours by Client by Custom Time Period
• Total Billable Amount by Client by Custom Time Period
• Total Hours by Custom Time Period
• Total Billable Amount by Custom Time Period
• Total Hours vs. Estimated Hours by Task
• Total Hours vs. Estimated Hours by Project

How Should Time Be Entered?

One of the biggest limitations of our current system is that when employees are outside of our network, they have to change how they’re entering time. Additionally, we need more mobile solutions and flexible ways that will fit into each employee’s work flow so that time tracking doesn’t become a headache.

Employees should be able to log time:

• Using a desktop widget. No accidental browser closings.
• Using a timer. For those who like to be precise.
• Using a form. For those who like to summarize their day/week.
• While outside the network. Because we travel quite a bit or work from home.
• From a mobile device. Primarily the iPhone, but from any web-enabled device would be most desirable
• While off line. Hey, the internet isn’t on my airplane (yet).

What Other Systems Should Integrate With Time Tracking?

Having people enter project information in lots of different tools multiple times is a huge resource drain, plus it just makes people grumpy. So, being able to integrate with other project information systems would be great. Here are a few that we use:

• Project milestone application (Trac)
• Issue and defect tracking (Trac/Bugzilla/Lighthouse)
• SVN (Trac/TortiseSVN)
• Project documentation (Trac/OneNote)
• Billing (QuickBooks)
• Reporting (Custom Tool/StandardTime)
• Resource allocation (Custom Tool)

So, really, we need to find a time tracking application that will integrate with Trac, or something to replace Trac with that integrates with the time tracking. QuickBooks seems to be a pretty standard integration requirement.

Other Considerations?

There are a few more things that my ideal time tracking solution would do… and here they are:

• Use our servers for database hosting or allow for easy export of all time tracking information.
• Allow for import of past project time tracking data.
• Allow for unlimited number of users
• Allow for unlimited number of open projects
• Allow for project templates - saved sets of tasks, etc.
• Allow for different billing rates per project, client, task, and/or resource
• Simple, elegant interface
• Reasonable cost (per month or one-time)
• If hosted service, security for and backup of logged data
• If hosted service, agreement for pricing for a set time period
• If hosted service, API to extend time tracking application or integrate with other applications
• If hosted service, company stability and longevity (and good references)

Next Steps

Now that I’ve organized my thoughts about what we need, it will be all the easier to evaluate time tracking solutions that will fit with RealEyes’ needs - every company will be different, of course. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be doing just that and posting my thoughts here. If you have any that you think I should consider, please comment.