Time tracking accuracy is critical for consulting and professional services firms that bill by the hour. Clients deserve to know exactly how and where their money is being spent so they can make informed decisions about future services. Accurate time tracking also helps them verify that they’re getting what they paid for and that the rates being calculated are reasonable.
However, with everything consultants handle daily, accuracy and efficiency with tracking billable time can be a challenge without the right time tracking platform. Here, we cover common challenges that can impact time tracking accuracy and ways you can rectify them for better billing practices within your firm.
Challenges of Accurately Billing for Consultants
It’s not uncommon for consultants to work between 50 and 80 hours per week. These days are packed with responsibilities, from meeting with clients to analyzing project information and data to developing and presenting solutions.
At the speed consultants need to work to successfully perform these tasks, maintaining accurate time sheets can quickly fall by the wayside. A few factors that can influence billing accuracy include:
- Manual time entry: When time is entered at the end of the day for all of the day’s tasks, employees are relying on estimates and their memory about what they were doing at each moment in the day, which can lead to inaccuracies.
- Task categorization: Misclassifying non-billable tasks as billable can quickly lead to overcharging the client. On the other hand, failing to classify billable time as such can lead to undercharging and lost revenue.
- Context switching: Consultants are often switching between tasks, emails, chats, and other responsibilities for different clients, which can lead to inaccurate time tracking.
- Lack of training: If employees aren’t trained on how to log their time (or the importance of doing so), they may not be doing it accurately.
How to Improve Billing Accuracy in Consulting Firms
Implementing good billing and time tracking practices doesn’t have to add more work to anyone’s plate. In fact, using the right technology can actually reduce the time consultants spend tracking their tasks and maintaining accurate billing information. Here are a few actions your firm can take to improve your time tracking and billing procedures.
Use Dedicated Time Tracking Software
Time tracking software, such as those built into coAmplifi’s workforce management system, help modernize time tracking with a comprehensive timecard linked to each employee’s calendar. Hours that are marked as billable are transferred to your billing module within the software for review before being approved for client payment.
This helps automate the billing process while also reducing errors associated with manual processes, such as transferring these numbers to a different system. It also creates a paper trail that proves all time worked was time paid, which can help your firm avoid costly wage and hour lawsuits.
Create Company Time Tracking Policies
Make sure everyone is on the same page about how to properly categorize time and handle interruptions by establishing clear time-tracking policies for your firm. Make a review of these policies part of your new hire onboarding, and designate a point person employees can go to with questions when they’re unsure whether a certain task is billable. This will help prevent staff from simply guessing and can save time making corrections on the back end.
Encourage Timecard Usage at the Beginning of Each Task
The timing of a task should begin when the task begins, whether it’s a client phone call, a meeting with a fellow consultant, or even quick focus time to brainstorm a solution. Ask your consultants to get in the habit of starting their timer at the beginning of a task rather than entering the information later to achieve more accurate tracking.
Perform Regular Reviews
Workforce management software makes it easy to check on individual consultants’ time cards. By doing so regularly, you can ensure all projects are being properly tracked and correct any irregularities you find before they become a larger issue.
You can also dive deeper to see how much time they’re spending on billable versus non-billable work to get a better sense of how your employees are spending their days. Using time card analytics can help you identify opportunity gaps to improve efficiency and increase billable hours to take on more clients.
Build Better Billing and Time Management Practices for Your Consultants Today
Accurate billing is the backbone of a consulting firm’s reputation and success. Using technology like the time card and billing tools found within coAmplifi’s workforce management software can help you improve billing accuracy through better time management.
Reduce your firm’s administrative burden while adopting more compliant business practices. Schedule your demo now!
