For years, I have asked the question to business owners, friends and party goers (you heard me, I asked it at parties) “What accounting software do you use?” Of course, I always followed it up with “Who does your accounting?” It just came out naturally as I am a curious person. Alright, so I also asked: “How is your family? What are the kids doing these days? Do you believe this economy?” This always led to our business conversations and the ever-so-popular “What do you do again, Christine?”
With so many online solutions that could serve so many business gaps, it’s a wonder how I can ever have a simple conversation again. EXCEPT for when I hear the business owner tell me about their landscaping employees and their paper timesheets. Of course, the bookkeeper had to exert some mild form of coercion to get the employees to submit them on time. The timesheets also had to have some hint of legibility. (picky picky) Substitute landscaping business with the following: IT contractor, remodeler, builder, lawyer, consultant, engineer, home-care worker…. And the list goes on. What do they all have in common? Tracking time!
I could relate to this scenario. I have a mobile workforce. I invoice my clients using the time and materials method. So, it wasn’t hard for me to launch a quest to get my business online and meet my needs for mobile time tracking. This is not unique to me, nor is it hard to understand how this could apply to so many businesses that I service. I just needed the right time tracking solution and for Intuit to buck up their QuickBooks Online product.
Fast forward to 2013 when I attended a Virtual Conference that sang the praises of TSheets Time Tracking Software and my curiosity went into full gear. I attended webinars, I went through the website www.help.tsheets.com, I fell in love with the people and then adopted the product in my own business. I knew I found a solution that was just right for me and, as the song goes, “You’re Gonna Love To Track Your Time!”, TSheets enables mobility through an IPhone and Android app, a mobile web app, Tweet and Dial In your time, all with GPS tracking. I finally did move my QuickBooks to the cloud and TSheets and QBO are my favorite couple.
Did the risk outweigh the benefit? Did I experience some issues? Did I have support from the TSheets team that took care of me every step of the way? Yes, Yes and YES! Life changes and we have the choice to hop on to the wave now or wait another five years and be behind in our business practices. More importantly, be kind to your clients and remove the obstacles that hold THEM back. Be brave, be bold, be amazing and your clients, your friends and your party goers will thank you!
