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Accurate Project Time Tracking?

Posted by Cliff on from the timeclock-on-your-desktop dept.

Uhh-I-think-I'll-stay-anonymous-this-once asks: "I'm really rubbish at tracking the time I spend on things. That's bad for me, because I bill clients by the hour and almost always have to under-bill. I've tried a few bits of software for tracking, but none of them have suited me. What do you use? And why do you like it? If you've got suggestions, I'd love to hear them. I can't give a spec of what I want, but I can describe my habits and hardware. I use several computers, sometimes I don't use my own. I've got a short attention span when I'm not programming, and hop from task to task like an insane jack-rabbit. I'm not always on my network. I've got a couple of servers that could be used to run a web-based system. Mining my e-mail is often a good way of finding out what I've been working on. I'm rubbish at adhering to routines. I like OSS, but it's not an absolute-must-have. I'm comfortable with both Linux and Windows, but spend most my client life in Windows."

2 of 64 comments (clear)

  1. Overcharge by n1ywb · · Score: 5, Funny

    The simple solution is to estimate how much you're undercharging using standard estimation techniques and then overcharge for that amount.

    --
    -73, de n1ywb
    www.n1ywb.com
  2. Spherical Timesheet by mikeburke · · Score: 5, Interesting

    A couple of mates of mine wrote a software product that addresses this problem. So feel free to take this post with a grain of NaCl.

    http://www.spherical.com.au/timesheet-software.asp

    It's a Windows app that runs in your system tray, watching what you do (browsing, email, word processing) and tracks the application and document name. You can then review the log of what you've been doing and assign applications + individual documents to projects and clients - obviously it learns as it goes so you only have to tell it about each thing once. You then set up hourly rates and stuff so that can come up with the numbers for your invoices.

    If you're constantly on other machines it may be a problem, but I would note that it can sync with a Pocket PC Outlook calendar - you log time spent in meetings, etc in the calendar and sync up when you're at your 'master' PC.

    Undoubtedly not a 100% fit for what you ask for, but it sounds like it could be a reasonable fit.