ConnectWise Time Tracking: Accurate Entries, Approvals, and Audits

Tracking time accurately doesn’t simply mean recording hours. It also provides insights into where your team's effort goes, how they can be more efficient, and ensures that every minute spent on billable work is accounted for. For MSPs, IT departments, and service-based companies, such visibility is necessary. 

This is where ConnectWise time tracking comes in.

ConnectWise's time tracking feature can share more than just hours. This guide is to help you get the fullest potential of ConnectWise's time tracking feature. 

ConnectWise PSA helps organizations track resource use and manage billable and non-billable time effectively. Plus, it helps you track and monitor all of your service-level agreement (SLA) obligations.

Together with the time tracking module and possibly guidance from a ConnectWise consultant, you can manage time, workflow, and billing more effectively, and gather critical information on resource utilization effortlessly.

Common Time Tracking Challenges

Even with the best solutions available, tracking time can easily go off course if you skip or enter incorrect data. Though seemingly small oversights, these can quickly accumulate into huge miscalculations in productivity and profitability.

Let's examine a few common time tracking blunders and their potential remedies:

1. Inconsistent data and tracking

Your employees may forget to clock in and out, misreport hours, or track time inconsistently, leading to inaccurate billing, reporting errors, and reduced productivity.

Solution:

Set reminders or use automated tracking features to encourage real-time logging. Avoid backdating entries, and promote a culture of regular, honest time tracking to maintain data accuracy.

2. Choosing the wrong time tracker

Using a time tracking tool that doesn't align with your team’s workflow or company needs can be more of a burden than a benefit.

Solution:

Select a tool that’s tailored to your business, especially one designed for MSPs or service-based teams. Ensure it integrates seamlessly with your existing systems and offers the flexibility your team requires.

3. Incorrect usage of the tool

Many teams struggle with underutilized features, a lack of training, or failing to customize the system to fit their operations.

Solution:

Provide regular training on how to personalize dashboards or workflows and offer dedicated support. This will ensure that your team is confident using the tool and making the most of it.

4. Lack of insight from data

Simply collecting time data isn’t enough. You have to analyze and use it effectively. Without proper analysis, you can overlook valuable insights.

Solution:

Review tracked time regularly to spot patterns, identify inefficiencies, and make informed, data-driven decisions that improve overall performance.

Benefits of ConnectWise Time Tracking

Effective time tracking isn’t just about hitting “start” and “stop”—it’s about having the right features in place to capture, manage, and analyze time efficiently. ConnectWise PSA offers a range of benefits to streamline the entire process, including:

1. Accurate time entries

Missing time entries and incomplete notes can lead to unnecessary cost, incorrect reports/records, and thus the same pitfalls.

Accurate time entries integrated in ConnectWise PSA's user-friendly interface allow for easy and accurate record-keeping. This simplifies the process of recording total time spent on specific tasks and optimizes resource allocation.

2. Streamlined approvals

Approvals within the ConnectWise time tracking feature ensure that all time entries are accurate and complete before billing. These approvals help to hold individuals accountable for their time entries.

Managers can access a list of all pending approvals and missing time sheets. Based on that, they review and approve the timesheets if they meet all the requirements, or reject them if any adjustments are needed. This helps reduce delays and streamline billing workflows. 

3. Audit-ready logs

ConnectWise provides detailed audit trails, session histories, and a single database structure to maintain data integrity to support regulatory compliance, improve transparency, and simplify internal reviews.

4. Process consistency

You should establish clear rules for logging billable vs. non-billable time, rounding practices, and handling time discrepancies. Remember, a consistent process enhances team alignment and ensures cleaner data across the board.

5. Improved project visibility

Track time spent on individual tasks to assess project progress and performance. This way, you can identify inefficiencies and keep projects on schedule and budget.

Key Takeaways

• ConnectWise PSA time tracking ensures accurate time entries, streamlined approvals, and reliable audits. This helps to boost billing accuracy and team accountability
• You can resolve common tracking issues. This includes inconsistent entries, poor tool fit, or underused features with real-time logging, proper training, and insightful data review
• With intuitive interfaces, automated workflows, and audit-ready logs, ConnectWise empowers IT teams to optimize time management and meet compliance standards

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