Accounting firms work on two things to stay at the top of the industry: profitability and client trust. Whether it is attracting new clients or retaining existing ones, building a strong clientele requires robust security protocols, clear workflows, and minimal internal conflict.
Accounting firms run multiple projects simultaneously, each of a different nature. Some are continuous, some have strict deadlines, some are subscription-based, and a few are hourly-based.
However, each of them cannot compromise on accuracy and compliance, as a slight slip could cause big damage to the company’s revenue. That’s why the accounting industry is increasingly turning to automated time-tracking tools.
Modern time tracking software for accounting firms have revolutionized the handling of the complex, multitasking nature of accounting work. They are no longer restricted to tracking hours but also provide visibility into productivity and simplify payment processing for clients and employees.
Why Accurate Time Tracking Matters in Accounting
Maintaining discipline and consistent working speed is essential for finance-related businesses. Most projects have monthly or yearly deadlines, so you cannot have a slacking team.
For example, if you are providing bookkeeping services to multiple companies, you must submit the books for each company by the end of every month. You cannot have loose ends within a team, as it can cost you valuable clients. And with time tracking, you can easily identify which team member is slacking off or pinpoint the cause of the delay.
Similarly, if your firm is providing hourly-based auditing services and you don’t have proof of how the work is spread across the hours, it becomes difficult to retain the client. A reliable time tracker can let clients track their projects themselves.
Moreover, during audits or client reporting, incomplete records can cause compliance risks and accountability concerns. Accurate time tracking provides a reliable record of every task and project, enabling the firm to understand issues and develop strategies to reduce risk and achieve operational efficiency.
How Time Tracking Software Helps Accounting Firms
Digital time-tracking software automates tedious manual processes. That starts with tracking clock-in and clock-out times. All employee time data is available in one place, and firms don’t have to keep separate tabs for departments, remote employees, or multiple branches. Instead of relying on spreadsheets, accountants can use automated timers and activity logs to capture attendance in real time.
This accuracy helps calculate payroll and billable hours. When the payment is accurate, employees and management are on the same page, and there are fewer chances of disputes. Time trackers today also help firms get insight into project profitability by comparing time spent with budgets and outcomes.
In short, time tracking also categorizes time utilization. You can view how each employee manages their time and prioritizes their tasks. The time and productivity data from the software can be used to:
- Define KPIs
- Support resource allocation
- Ensure compliance
- Keep the data secure
How to Choose the Right Time Tracking Software
When looking for niche-specific time-tracking software, one should follow certain criteria. The first step is always to understand the organization’s needs. Define the goals and expectations for your time-tracking software, and research it.
Check various software, compare their features and usability, and determine whether they fit your needs. Keep in mind a few pointers, such as whether the tracker offers scalability, ease of use, easy integration, and whether it can be helpful to clients.
Implementing Time Tracking Successfully in an Accounting Firm
Once you have selected a specialized time tracking software for accounting firms, you need to implement it carefully. Usually, it is difficult to onboard employees to such software, as they perceive it as intrusive and rather a tool for micromanagement.
To reduce such issues, you have to implement time tracking gradually. Firms should begin by communicating objectives to the team. Proper training should be conducted to ensure that every employee understands how to use the system efficiently. When everyone knows the “why” behind the system, adoption becomes smoother, and results improve.
A Smarter Approach to Time Tracking for Accounting Firms
If you are looking for a complete solution for managing your team, you should consider TimeBee software for accountants.
TimeBee offers accurate logged time and provides comprehensive productivity insights. It comes with a customizable dashboard that you can tailor to the organization’s requirements. With TimeBee, you will have real-time updates, automated reporting, detailed productivity insights, and many other added features that can simplify monitoring and management.
TimeBee can help minimize administrative effort and focus on maximizing productivity and client satisfaction. The app helps teams stay on top of projects and maintain compliance records effortlessly.
To provide you with accurate time tracking, TimeBee automatically records logged hours. From the moment the employee starts the clock, the app begins tracking time. It also tracks the breaks and idle time, so there is no room for error in calculating payroll and billable hours.
Moreover, TimeBee tracks time against projects and tasks. This helps with task prioritization and with understanding how accountants use their working hours in a day. With the crisp timeline, you can identify underlying bottlenecks and time wasters and make informed decisions to improve time on deliverables.
With the clock in, TimeBee automatically captures daily attendance. In the attendance report, you will see the total hours the employee spent working, early leaves, late arrivals, short leaves, and absences. These attendance reports are specifically helpful with remote employees. You can easily customize settings for departments and the entire organization.
Along with time tracking, TimeBee focuses on productivity. To track the output of each employee of your accounting firm, you can customize the settings. Productivity is tracked based on the tools, websites, and applications each employee uses during working hours. So you can use the same criteria for your admins and accountants.
Managers can easily set up TimeBee according to their needs. Once set up, they will track every website opened, even in private mode, and provide a clear activity summary defining the productive, non-productive, and neutral time.
TimeBee combines daily productivity metrics to generate quarterly reports. These reports provide an analytical view of each employee’s progress patterns. You can identify weak links and make further decisions based on concrete data rather than biases. These reports are also helpful in resource allocation.
To enhance tracking, TimeBee also offers screen monitoring. This feature takes periodic screenshots of the system so you don’t miss any detail. This feature also helps protect clients’ confidential data and build a credible reputation with them.
Based on the time tracked, TimeBee also calculates exact billable and non-billable hours. This feature provides the transparency needed to build healthy relationships with clients. When clients have evidence of work, you gain trust, which translates into long-term profits. Moreover, these billable hours can also reduce conflicts with employees.
In addition to billable hours, TimeBee also calculates payroll for each employee. There is an option to adjust overtime and missed time, ensuring accurate time and billable hours. You can customize settings for each employee to make sure there are no discrepancies and that workflows aren’t affected by admin differences.
TimeBee also helps track time for each project. You can create different projects for each client based on their requirements or your convenience. Once set up, you can easily check how many hours have been spent on each project and the cost incurred. You can then easily track the progress based on these stats and spot issues that are delaying the deliverables.
TimeBee also provides many added features that can help with other aspects of your accounting firm. In case your accountant has visited companies for a meeting or any other official business, you can track them from the GPS feature. Moreover, you can use the Kiosk feature to track attendance across all branches in one place.
TimeBee time tracking software for accounting firms is a complete tool that helps you avoid missed deadlines, build a transparent and trusting relationship with clients and employees, increase productivity, and ensure scalability.
Conclusion
Time is the most valuable asset for accounting professionals. Manual tracking or inaccurate reporting can lead to missed revenue and compliance challenges. A reliable automated solution like TimeBee gives firms complete visibility into their operations by ensuring every client is billed correctly and every project stays on track.