At first, the signs of a failed software project are hard to see. But they're there. Intensity drops. Interest wanes. Each week new problems bog things down. User adoption is slow. Phased rollouts stall.  

That Sinking Feeling

This article is about how to avoid failed software implementations. You're nearing the end of the project. You evaluated why you should automate manual paper or Excel-based time and expense tracking system. You did all the right things. You did your business analysis. Worked hard to develop a consensus with your team on requirements. You searched for solutions. Narrowed vendors to a shortlist. Held demo meetings. Found a solution. Made the purchase.

You'd like to feel great about your choice. But in your bones, concerns remain:

1. Did you select the right solution?
2. Will your employees embrace it?
3. Do you have the right resources to implement it?
4. What if it fails?

Consulting billing and time and expense sheets

For any consulting firm, billing clients — that little-understood, underappreciated life blood of cash flow needed for any company to survive — is directly enhanced or badly harmed by how employee time and expenses are tracked and processed.

The reality is: good invoicing depends on the quality of time and expense sheet data flowing into an invoice. Improving your project time and expense sheets for billing is where you need to focus.

"Follow" the features you want and get notified on what you're interested in

We think our customer knowledge base is great!

But for you, the busy system system administrator, staying up-to-date on features and fixes is not easy.

Welcome to the Holy Grail, the Shangri-La of staying updated:

By using a "Follow" feautre you can automatically get notified on what matters to you in our knowledge base!

Pacific Time — when you're on the go

Pacific Time is a time and expense app for employees who need to track their time and expenses on the go.

Altogether, there are at least six ways Pacific Time can be used:

1. Project and task time tracking
2. Payroll time and attendance tracking
3. Leave management including leave requests
4. Expense reports
5. Asset tracking
6. Activity and log tracking

Pacific Timesheet has been used by hundreds of thousands of users for years on laptops and desktops. But Pacific Timesheet Mobile is becoming more important every day. According to Mobile Business Insights in 2016:

1. 80% of email users are forecasted to check email by their mobile devices in 2018 (emailmonday).
2. Average users check their mobile devices 46 times a day (App Annie).
3. Half of all people pick up their smartphones when they wake up (ExpressPigeon).

Our customer research tells us that their users, particularly those in the field or traveling, are using Pacific Timesheet Mobile a majority of the time. 

We thought it was high time for a definitive primer on Pacific Timesheet Mobile features:

Still Tracking Time Manually?

Believe it or not, hundreds of companies around the world still track employee time manually, relying on cumbersome paper and Excel records to track their time worked and assets. So if this is true of your enterprise, don’t be embarrassed. You’re not alone.

The fact of the matter is that using manual time tracking methods may be costing your enterprise more than you know. They make payroll and leave calculation unnecessarily complicated, place a massive administrative burden on your payroll and HR staff, and leave your enterprise open to inaccuracies and compliance issues. As if that’s not already enough, these manual timesheets are probably unpopular with your own employees!

So what should you do? Upgrade your time tracking system with automated timesheet software.

At Pacific Timesheet, it's true that we like timesheets a lot because, well, that's what we do. But we also know that there are a lot of employees out there who hate timesheets. I mean, really really hate them.

When we studied what employees have to say about timesheets in social media, we found some notable harsh truths. Below we've gathered tweets that represent how workers feel about timesheets. Just a warning: some of these are really "mean tweets." 

As an employer, one of your most important responsibilities is properly classifying workers as either employees or independent contractors. Properly classified independent contractors can save your enterprise money, especially in the form of saved payroll taxes and employee benefits. On the other hand, misclassifying workers as independent contractors can be extremely costly. Later, we'll talk a little about how to protect yourself from misclassification lawsuits.

Consider the case of home improvement leader Lowe’s Home Centers. Last January, Lowes agreed to pay out $10 million in a settlement agreement of a class action suit brought by home improvement and installation workers who were improperly classified as independent contractors. The court found that the workers should have been classified as employees due to the fact that “Lowes had the right to control, and did control, all aspects of installation jobs.”

Before getting started on that new project, pause for bit. At least two thirds of IT projects do not to live up to expectations. It's much more than simply running over budget. There are a few root problems that consistently arise in failed projects.

You see, it turns out that two thirds of all projects fail to meet original expectations. What are the biggest culprits?

Requirements phase problems:
86% of project participants in one survey said they have had major requirements phase problems, like:
Requiremnts are too vague.
Stakeholders are not on same page.
Requirements definition often gets short shrift.
Goals are too often overambitious  or unrealistic.
There might be a mismatch between requirements and decided solution or project goals.

Project scope creep:
67% surveyed believed that scope creep leads to failure. Scope creep is the problem of project teams adding, or being forced to add by others, more and more problems to be addressed by the project. As things pile on, the project gets bogged down and starts to fall short of accomplishing its original goals.

Project Team and Management problems:
Poor project managers.
Lack of senior executive support.
Chosen vendors are not fully qualified.
Specific task setting is poor.
Key technical skills are missing.

You might already be aware of the risks of excessive overtime on employee health and overall productivity. Then there's employee overtime that seems unreasonable. On its face, these are overtime hours that should not pass any smell test and they usually result from a combination of timesheet fraud, poor time tracking and monitoring systems.

LADOT Audit Uncovers Millions in Overtime

In May 2015, the office of Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin released the shocking findings of its audit of the L.A. Department of Transportation (LADOT). The audit was triggered by an anonymous tip alleging overtime abuse.

Focusing on the LADOT’s paint and sign division, the audit found “staggering” amounts of overtime that ultimately cost the city $3.3 million in a single fiscal year. The LADOT paid out more over time in 2013-2014 than any other city department, with the exception of the Fire Department.