According to a report by Market Research Future, the U.S. loses around 50 million hours in productivity each day due to unrecorded work activities. This becomes an even bigger problem when your business relies on billing clients.
While it’s a good idea for all organizations to see how their team members’ time is being spent, time-tracking software is especially important for accountants due to the unique challenges faced by the financial services industry.
Here are several reasons why time-tracking software has evolved from mere convenience for accountants to an essential business tool.
Benefits of Time Tracking for Accountants
Better Manage Flexible Work Hours & Environments
It can be hard to monitor your employees’ productivity levels without micromanaging when they’re working different schedules and outside of the office. Having employees track their time for billing reasons is one way to see how team members’ time is spent without being viewed as a “Big Brother.”
Maximize Resource Allocation & Efficiency
Time-tracking and scheduling tools can provide unparalleled insight into current and future resource allocation to help you forecast your accounting projects. These features allow you to see:
- What each team member is working on
- Progress and challenges of each team member and team
- The tasks each employee has planned for the day
- What work has already been completed
- Progress on specific projects
- Each team member’s ratio of billable vs. non-billable work
Minimize Wage & Hour Compliance Lawsuits
While Wage & Hour settlements vary, some data indicates that Wage and Hour lawsuits can settle for an average of $8.2 million, not including legal fees or the value of lost time. Time-tracking software makes it easy to ensure that all time worked is time paid by linking team member schedules directly with payroll.
Some time-tracking software for accountants will take this risk reduction a step further by barring employees from working unapproved overtime and reminding them to take their scheduled meal breaks. The software also maintains an accurate record of time spent on the clock that can be used as a reference if needed.
Speed Up the Accounts Receivable Process
Get paid faster for all time worked by automating much of your client billing process. Time-tracking software can connect timecards and billing together to populate a pre-bill that can simply be reviewed and corrected if needed before submission to the client.
Not only does this feature improve your accounts receivable turnover ratio, but it also reduces manual processes, reducing the risk of errors.
Accurately Predict Human Resource Needs for Future Projects
Access to historical time-tracking data can be a valuable tool for estimating new accounting projects. See exactly how much time was spent on similar projects in the past and how many team members were required to provide more accurate forecasting.
Based on this analytical data, you can also identify any potential areas that could be completed more efficiently to increase your profitability.
See Where the Most Time Is Being Spent
Aside from all the technical and legal benefits, time tracking for accountants is critical because business growth requires knowing how your organization’s time and money are spent.
Maybe your team is spending too much time in meetings or too much effort on manual tasks that they have the ability to automate. Identifying these inefficiencies can help your business thrive.
How Can Integrated Billing Software Help?
Integrating time-tracking tools with accountant billing software enables you to save time, reduce errors, and improve outcomes by automating time-consuming parts of the payroll and billing processes.
For example, your employees’ timecards can be linked directly to your payroll platform to confirm that payments are correct for hourly employees and that all paid time off is being tracked.
Additionally, linking time cards with your billing platform can give your clients an exact breakdown of how their money is being spent so they can better see the value of your work.
The Best Time-Tracking Software for Accountants
Tracking time is crucial for accountants, even if all of your team members are salaried. The best time-tracking tools are the ones designed specifically for those in the financial services industry to address your unique pain points.
coAmplifi for Professional Services is designed to increase your revenue, optimize efficiency, and maximize team resources. Schedule your demo now!
