“My favorite things in life don't cost any money. It's really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.” - Steve Jobs
Time is the most precious resource we have. As a consultant or hourly worker, this is even more so the case. Don't lose another minute of forgotten billable time with StopWatchez.
We are StopWatchez
Because stopwatches.com was already taken.
StopWatchez is an app designed for individuals or teams track time in a frictionless manner. Time tracking is essential and very necessary, but often very expensive and inconvenient.
Traditionally, time tracking has always required a substantial amount of diligence and always seems to be in the way of your task at hand. You typically have to take note of the time you started, the time you stopped, and then account for any interruptions that popped up along the way: that phone call, errand you needed to run, or issue that came up. Then, at the end of the day, you would actually need to remember to add up your hours and log them into some sort of manual or proprietary system. This process requires discipline, making it difficult to keep up with, especially in fast-paced and highly productive environments.
What a HASSLE! There has to be a better way.
Now there is.
Why Use StopWatchez?
#TimeTrackingProblems – #StopWatchezAnswers
Time-Tracking Problems
Problem: Manual Processing
In this of age of information, a shocking number of teams and people still track their time on primitive or generic mediums such as spreadsheets, email or even paper. This process is usually extremely inefficient, breaks up workflow, and decreases productivity. These problems and stressors exponentially accumulate for teams as they grow. In order for this manual model to succeed, users must constantly stop doing whatever it is that they are working on, take mind of the time, and manually update their log. If their log is in another room or otherwise inaccessible, they have to take a mental-note and remember to do it later, which can easily be forgotten. Once all that data is entered, the user then needs to somehow get that information to a manager or administrative personnel for even more manual processing and billing. What a hassle.
Our Solution
StopWatchez makes it easy to for your users to track time wherever they are, in a centralized location, without the process continually getting in the way of their creative and productive workdays. They can use it from their desk, phone or multiple computers at the same time without worrying about multiple sessions conflicting with one another. They can start and stop timers as they move around using either the free mobile app or another web browser on a different computer. Managers and admins can then access that data in real-time and as needed using flexible reporting without having to wait for users to manually send updates.
Problem: Nagging
Traditional time tracking is something that users always have to remain very mindful of. This mindfulness usually comes in the form of nagging, which is very interruptive, decreases overall productivity, and increases stress on professional relationships.
Our Solution
StopWatchez is made by and for forgetful people. We make it easy for users to remember to keep their timers up to date by subtly reminding users that timers are running or if they haven't updated their logs in a while. These notifications can come in the form of e-mail, text message or desktop notifications instead of a nasty-gram from "the boss". We also have a native Windows app that can run in the system notification tray to make it even easier for users to stay mindful of their running timers while they work. With StopWatchez, managers additionally have the ability to check-in on their users to see what they are working on without having to continually interrupt them to ask for updates.
Problem: Interruptions
Interruptions are everywhere; that phone call, support ticket, quick email, or whatever else may come through the shop. Most interruptions are small but they quickly add up and are often forgetten soon after the interruption is over and the user returns to their original train of thought. That time often gets lost in an abyss of unaccountability and the client never gets billed or recognized for any of that lost time.
Our Solution
When an interruption comes in for a user, StopWatchez makes it easy for the user to add a quick stopwatch on-the-fly in order to log and start tracking an interruption. After the interruption is over, they can easily switch back to the task they were working on without skipping a beat. Whether or not you choose to bill for the interruption is up to you, but at least there is a way of logging and accounting for that interruption. This new information can either be converted into billable time and if not, can at least be provide management with more information about which clients are costing your organization in the form of human resources and support.
Problem: Lack of Detail
Traditional time tracking usually doesn't provide a way to easily record many details about whatever a user is working on. If users are working with paper, details are usually bulleted in shorthand and difficult for them to recollect. If they're using something like excel, typing anything longer than a single line of text can be cumbersome while they are trying to provide details.
Our Solution
StopWatchez provides a free-text field for comments for each stopwatch where users can type details about whatever it is they are working on or experiencing. These comments can be edited as needed throughout the day by the user, which can be useful for both general accountability and putting together things like documentation. Administrators can also print out attractive reports to attach with invoices to clients. Your clients will be amazed with your team's effeciency and attention to detail!
Problem: Lack of Precision
With manual time tracking, users tend to guesstimate their time by entering their time in 15 minute increments. While this can work for some, this method is far from precise, especially as you add up the potential margin of error over many days or weeks.
Our Solution
With StopWatchez, you can be accurate to-the-second! Used correctly, users can start/stop/add/edit timers throughout the day and get a very accurate sense of how their time is spent. Some teams use StopWatches to obtain a full account of their day while others it to account for their most valuable hours (e.g. logging billable time). No matter what use-case your team fits into, your account for their time will be precise, allowing you to make better decisions in the future. If you send clients reports attached to invoices, they will get an increased sense of your team's effeciency and integrity when they receive and pay invoices.
Problem: Lack of Vision
Many people don't have any vision as to what they need or want to work on in a day.
Our Solution
StopWatchez makes it easy for users to track their time throughout the day by allowing them to setup their stopwatches at the beginning of their day to use as a to-do list and help them stay focused. Once their stopwatches are setup, the users simply start and stop timers as they move throughout the day. If an interruption comes in, they can simply setup a new stopwatches for unexpected interruption and get back to work effortlessly once the interruption is over.
Problem: Disorganization
How do you keep your team's time organized? Do you have a different folder or spreadsheet for each project? For each user? The taxonomy is prone to being scattered and disorganized. In addition to this, any lost sheet or piece of paper can result in a significant amount of lost billable time!
Our Solution
With StopWatchez, each stopwatch has a project name or general purpose associated with it and is stored in a centralized location. Users can also categorize or classify their stopwatches by using tags. You can then search or report for those project or tag names while gathering customized reports. #heythatsaprettygoodidea
Problem: Backtracking
In most shops, time sheets are usually due by the end of the day, usually once or twice a week, typically on a Friday. What often happens is that people forget to log their time for many days or even weeks. The result is unpleasant and stressful. When the time comes to report on the amount of time spent on any given project or task, your users' recollection likely gets lost in a blur of memories. They spend combined hours of time sifting through old notes, to-do lists and emails trying to complete their timesheets with the end-result being much less accurate than desired or intended.
Our Solution
Since StopWatchez is designed to work WITH your users throughout the days and weeks, this entire headache can be averted. Reduce stress and re-claim time to be used for something else more productive... or even dismiss everyone 1/2 hour early!
Problem: Generating Reports
If you're just one person, compiling sums of hours in Excel is alright, but try doing that with 5 people. How about 10? The process can quickly become quite cumbersome for a manager or the poor administraive assistant who is stuck with this task of gathering and combining that data.
Our Solution
StopWatchez provides both users and managers with attractive reports. These reports can be detailed, showing each entry one-by-one, or they can be aggregated and summarized to a more meaningful big-picture of what's going on. No more consolidating spreadsheets and crunching meaningful statistics. Save useful reports for future use or export those results to a PDF or Excel Spreadsheet for further processing in something like a third party billing system.
Let's Have a Closer Look
Have a look at some of our more popular features.
{{slide.title}}
{{slide.text}}
{{$index + 1}}. {{slide.title}}
{{slide.text}}
Who uses this?
StopWatchez can be used in ways we probably haven't even though of just yet.
Coders
Now with AGILE Integration!
Lawyers
Track your billable time.
Mechanics
Log your service time.
Students
Track required curriculum hours.
Individuals
Use it to track anything!
Teams
Track and report time for multiple users.
Contact us
Questions? Comments? Complaints? Requests? We'd love to hear from you!