| Today across the globe, millions of people use | | | | even being digital, timesheets were still, and stall |
| timesheets, the ubiquitous time tracking tool that | | | | are manual-entry, be that into an Excel |
| hasn’t changed much over the last 100 | | | | spreadsheet or an online web timesheet product. |
| years. Not only are timesheets expensive to | | | | Given the nature of timesheets, given that staff |
| administrate, riddle with errors and inaccuracies, | | | | are often encouraged to enter what |
| they are also costing both the users and their | | | | they’ve been doing every 15 minutes, we |
| clients billions of dollars each year in | | | | get to see how the whole unit billing façade |
| miss-appropriated billing. | | | | came into being, and how accountants and |
| Let’s take a real case example, that of a | | | | lawyers were the first to snap up this new way |
| partnership of lawyers who bill using 15 minute | | | | of printing money. |
| interval units, each lawyer with a charge-out rate | | | | However, in early 2001, all of this began to |
| of $500/hour. As a consumer who needs to use | | | | change as the Window’s operating system |
| the services of a lawyer, this type of unit charge | | | | became more sophisticated, and the desktop |
| rate is astronomical, as each contact point with | | | | computer gained more power, allowing software |
| the lawyer, be he writing you a letter, advising | | | | developers to enter a new era of automated |
| you in person or on the phone, will cost you $125 | | | | timesheets, or hands-free time tracking as |
| dollars for every 15 minute unit of time (or less) | | | | it’s now more often called. Timesheet |
| consumed. If for example you call your lawyer | | | | costs can in terms of administration can quickly |
| because you’re suing your employer for | | | | be calculated here. |
| lack of good faith, and you want to know if there | | | | Hands-free time tracking was a term first coined |
| has been any response to a letter sent a couple | | | | by an innovative company called MetriQ, now |
| of weeks ago, then there is a strong possibility | | | | recognized as the market leader in fully |
| your lawyer will charge you one whole unit ($125) | | | | automated time tracking solutions. The first to |
| for your two minute phone call. Remember this | | | | recognize the inherent costs of timesheets (a 2 |
| phone call which contains no IP, and is just an | | | | minute entry every 15 minutes costs 1 hour/day |
| update on the status of the current process. In | | | | to administrate), and set about creating a |
| fact if you stop to work out the theoretical | | | | software solution that would allow the computer |
| maximum this individual can charge out in a given | | | | to manage the time staff spent working on a |
| year, you’ll be staggered it comes to a | | | | specific job. Their hugely successful Professional |
| whopping $864,000,000 per lawyer (48 weeks | | | | time tracking software finally allowed businesses |
| *5*60*60*125) – that’s almost a | | | | to accurately time to the nearest second just |
| billion dollars for each employee within this legal | | | | how long a staff member spent completing a job, |
| practice (theoretical max. assumes 1 unit will be | | | | speaking on the phone or attending meetings. |
| charged for each second of work). | | | | Today a number of other vendors have joined |
| Now of course nothing like these fees are actually | | | | the throng in a race to dominated this bloated |
| charged out to the client, but the dollar value | | | | market and to help businesses manage their |
| should give you a clear indication of how | | | | costsings and billings to a level of accuracy never |
| consumers are being duped and grossly | | | | before dreamed of. |
| overcharged by the legal and accounting | | | | So what of our greedy lawyers and accountants. |
| profession who insist unit billing is the only way for | | | | Certainly while timesheets dominate the market, |
| them to charge out for the time. While that may | | | | keeping to fixed billable units is certainly not |
| have been the case using timesheets or time | | | | something that’s going to go out of |
| sheet technology, today in the 21st Century, | | | | fashion too soon, not given the mega bucks |
| there is no need for such obvious greed, nor is | | | | these organizations can make without too much |
| there a need to bill by the unit, as both hardware | | | | effort. However, with the inevitable decline of the |
| and software currently allows timing to be done in | | | | timesheet, at some point, as now happens in |
| real-time, accurate to the nearest second. | | | | Auckland, New Zealand, some of the more |
| Almost 120 years ago Ford and Taylor worked | | | | wealthy clients of lawyers are saying – we |
| extensively on time and motion studies to bring | | | | want you to represent us, but we want to pay |
| the model T Ford into production line reality. Their | | | | you only for the time you consume – and |
| work spawned the first pen and paper | | | | as such we’d like you to use an |
| timesheets, which acted as journals that could be | | | | automated time tracking solution rather than |
| forward to accounts at the end of the month, | | | | timesheets. With modern locks and security |
| consolidated and billed out to the client. In the late | | | | access, this is now possible, without the lawyer |
| 60’s with Honeywell and IBM battling for | | | | being able to give false accounting or to double |
| command of the mainframe market, timesheets | | | | dip, another unlawful trick that again works for |
| were digitized and centralized, giving managers an | | | | the consumer. |
| instant snapshot of staffing resources. However, | | | | |