How do I track work hours on my phone?
So you’ve planned a few client meetings this week. You’re prepared and ready to impress. But are you prepared to track your on-site meetings to measure and manage your time profitably?
In case you weren’t aware, Timely is also available for Android and iPhone. And we’ve just released a few shortcuts to make time tracking on mobile as easy as texting.
Because we’re in the business of empowering you with the accurate data you need to succeed. Making time tracking effortless is just one of the many benefits of Timely. Insights into time spent working and servicing clients are where you get bigger wins from.
Why tracking work on the go matters
Part of winning jobs is learning about your client’s needs and pitching a solution that matches their vision and budget. 25% of agencies absorb the cost of initial discovery and pitching work, while others include it in their fees.
These time and work commitments add up. We spoke to Gareth Haley, managing partner of Catcus and award-winning author, about the importance of time tracking for agencies.
“Imagine you are taking your client on a car journey. Whilst your clients pay for the journey, you pay for the fuel in the car. Cars run on petrol or electricity and, whether you like it or not, your agency runs on time. If you don’t know how much fuel your agency is using, you can’t possibly know whether you’re running a good business. Analyzing your fuel (time) consumption is a must.”
Any investment you make, at your office or on the road (literally), helping your clients reach their destination matters. It’s your fuel.
One of the new widgets you can add to your Android or iPhone screen helps monitor your investments. So you know if you’ve reached the limit of your agreed contract OR manage your upfront investments more efficiently.
How to use Timely’s widgets with different types of on-site client meetings
Consulting and proposal meetings
This is when you develop a clear understanding of your client’s needs and desired outcomes while positioning your services as a solution.
Your proposal is a winner (we know that already!), but your client asks a few questions about something you haven’t included. Such as – what is the cost for repeatable Video Content services? You know your packages, but want to be specific in your answer.
You check Timely on your phone and see that your Video Production team has logged 45 hours this week towards a similar project for just over $2000.
Now you have a data-backed answer to upsell and turn this meeting into a multi-disciplinary project.
Progress meetings
Proactive check-in meetings increase client satisfaction. We found that times and times again, our customers love generating quick reports and sending them to clients to discuss progress. It’s practical and honest.
During these meetings, you also could:
- Re-align expectations if work is taking longer than expected
- Advise your client on how to best make use of deliverables
- Deliver consulting, a 100% billable engagement
What do you do at the end of the meeting? Pop your meeting time into the Timely widget. Tap “New entry” and bill accordingly.
On-site delivery meetings
You can further impress clients with an exceptional post-project debrief or delivery meeting.
This may include:
- An overview of deliverables produced
- The KPIs influenced
- Training for in-house teams benefitting from your strategy and work
- How you manage extra requests moving forward, off-project
Whether your debrief and training time is included in your fees or not, you want to keep track of the time spent preparing and delivering it. Moving forward, use this data to operationalize each stage and build a repeatable and time-effective framework for client engagement.
Parting thoughts
The new Timely widgets are a must-have for employees and freelancers who spend a lot of time on-site with clients. Use them to log time faster, check progress on projects, and gain insights like your own capacity for additional work on the day or work estimates. All of it, with Timely for iOS and Android.
