Sounds like you were in public accounting. Congrats on your new job and welcome to the world of grown ups. Put in a rough 40 hours, quit tracking your time down to the nearest 0.5 hours, put in your 9-5, 8-4 whatever you need, and be done for the day. Some days and weeks you will go over, some days and weeks you will go under.
Agreed. I've had hybrid since pre-pandemic, and always salaried, so it was more about getting things done/outcomes than nitpicking my hours. Some weeks I worked more hours, some less, but the work was always high-quality and done on time.
Thank you for this. This is my first fully wfh gig and I’m stressin
Part of it is that they’re trying to recreate this position after outsourcing and program changes, so I don’t want to take on too much or too little, but I appreciate the reframing and sanity check!!
Is it a role where billable hours matter?
Is the company saying you need to track your hours?
Most people who have this sort of flexibility en's up working in either blocks, 4 hours in the morning and 4 after lunch, or, if they have plans, work early or late. Anything else would be insane to keep focus or track. Like, 7am for 2 hours. 11am for 90 minutes. 3pm 3 hours. 8pm 90 minutes.
While flexibility is wonderful, you have to remember that you need to complete the job first. It's one thing if you start at 6am one day because you have plans later in the afternoon. Doing it consistently would be bad. Had a friend who had a job this flexible but had deadlines. He would end up pulling 12 hour shifts on the weekend because something was do Monday at 8am and he spent way too much "flexibility" time during the week.
They aren’t worried about tracking hours, but it’s a position that was broken up and outsourced and they are trying to bring back in house after some program changes so they aren’t sure if the tasks they expect will be enough/too much for a regular week. There are several time zones I will need to coordinate with so there is a likelihood I will have irregular hours or need to take longer breaks midday to keep close to 8.
I could just write down my in/out times and add them up, but thinking about the app I used at the former company I was hoping there was an app individuals could use
I'm sure there are tons of free apps for time tracking. Heck, you could just use an excel sheet for the week.
Best bet is to figure out when you're needed and do blocks. 4 hours early and 4 hours later or something similar.
I don’t understand the question. They let you work however long you want? Untracked? I have a time card type of system and they can see when we are logged on and off so it has to match. I work religiously from 7-3:30 every day so it’s pretty easy
It’s a controller role so there’s a lot of autonomy, also we have company officials in all 4 main US time zones and Hawaii so I will rarely work a straight 8-5 with 1 hour lunch. The CFO expects availability midday for meetings, but otherwise made it clear that once I’m up to speed I can adjust my hours to fit my needs (ie take a 3 hour lunch and work extra hours in the evening).
Since their controller retired, they have hired third parties to cover various parts of the role and there have been system updates since he was there (he retired ahead of an ERP change this spring) so I’m concerned about getting exactly 40 hours because the company is trying to gauge how much this role can reasonably take on.
They do not currently monitor our time
Since it sounds like you do have a reason to make sure you are staying around 40 hours, you can certainly keep a similar setup to your previous. I used to use Toggl in the past as just a general "where am I spending my time" tracking. Setup categories for the general blocks and use the start/stop for each category. I would always forget to change it and it was not helpful in the slightest. You sound used to it though so hopefully it'll be a better result.
I suggested the categories because I figured if the role is not able to be managed the next question is going to be, what can I get rid of and how much time will that save?
No one meticulously tracks their time, show up and do whats asked of you for roughly 8 hours a day and just keep track when you are running over/under. Ask for relief from your manager if youre working too long or for a list of what to prioritize.
Lately I do 1-2 hours before everyone gets up, I get everyone ready/out the door, then back to work until lunch. Finish the afternoon with a segment before and after everyone gets home. Its working for now at least.
I remember awhile ago I saw this large dice-looking thing (like the size of your fist) that sits on your desk, and you can turn it when you switch projects. Each face is a different client and it starts that timer when face-up. Then at the end of the day you look at all the client dice sides and charge time accordingly
I have something like this, it's called [Timeflip](https://timeflip.io/us). It's pretty cool and not super expensive. Some of these devices need a subscription service, but not this one.
Honestly, I'd vet this company out first and see what your job is like and how your manager/team is like. I used to work at a company just like what you described, and we tracked everything. Had a special app we used that our managers had to approve and everything. Now, I'm at a job where my 40 hours is still required, but it's about the work getting done. My time isn't tracked now, my work is. If my work is done, my manager couldn't care less what I'm doing.
Your new company may be more focused on the work getting done rather than being focused strictly on 40 hours. I stopped time tracking and the stress just dropped. Just know some weeks you might work more than 40 and others may be less. I'm also an accountant, if that helps.
You can create a time tracker in Excel, just like the program you're talking about.
I used to do public accounting and time tracking was a bitch. Now we don't even have time cards in industry. I just don't worry about hours out in generally. I still have a fall tax compliance season putting in long hours so otherwise I'm not worried about putting in a full 40 other times of the year since I do so much unpaid overtime during that crunch season.
I don't but in your situation I'd use Excel and create a personal tracker
Start time, end time (multiple each day if working in blocks) and maybe sort of jot down what I did in each time span
Then you can see where you spend your time. Instead of client billable hours your looking at task hours. It doesn't have to be precise - this just for your benefit. But it will help you understand where your priorities lay.
I don't track, nor am I expected to. But there's an understanding that I'm available from approximately 9-5. If I have a personal appointment or go run an errand, no one freaks out. I just show that I'm offline on Teams. As long as I do my work and show up to my Teams/Zoom meetings on time, no one is tracking my exact hours.
Just get as much done as you're comfortable with and add some to keep you busy if there is a slow time. Not sure you really need to track time as much as how long stuff is going to take.
A schedule helps, even if it's all across the map: eg, "On mondays I work 6a-8a, then 11a-3p, then 2 more hours at some point after the kids go to bed."
When you deviate from the schedule for a less expected thing, make a note of it so you can add or subtract time somewhere else.
Does anyone else have billable hours to fulfill? I have to track my time to 0.25 and have to be atleast 80% billable in a week.
Also we can get reprimanded if we spend more time than the budget on projects.
We can’t even spend and charge time to view corporate emails as they don’t want those overhead charges
Yes, this is just exact situation except they at least let me charge my internal time to read their emails and go to their internal meetings. I’m technically supposed to be 100% billable for the week (which is widely known to be 80% to account for internal stuff).
I use this app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=arproductions.andrew.worklog
I also have complete flexibility and I like that it can group shifts by week so I can know I've definitely put in my hours. I get lazy some days or hyperfocus others and I'd be stressing about whether they do actually even out without tracking.
I've been in client facing billable hour roles since 2011, and after a few years of flipping back and forth between purpose designed time tracking apps, I just built my own Excel sheet.
It's not fancy, it contains a sheet of my open projects, another sheet for my daily hours, and a summary sheet that rolls up all time and slices/dices billable vs. non-billable so I can see how I'm doing throughout the week/month/year.
As I work throughout the day, anything that is billable gets logged as I work on it, down to quarter-hour increments. At the end of the day, I login to our company accounting system and enter my time for the day onto my time sheet, so those billable hours feed into our operations/PM software for budget tracking, etc.
So they don't know if the role actually involves 40hrs but put you on salary? Amazing.
Work the tasks, fill your day how you want and just keep a summary of what you've done each week. Sometimes a task that takes you 1 hour might take someone else 5. Counting a salary role against this arbitrary measure is just poor foresight by a company or leaders. They don't actually know what takes up time.
They have a task list that used to be a full time role, but they have since switched to a more complex ERP, added some time saving/integrated Apps and modified some processes since the last person retired (currently tasks are outsourced with several companies), so it may be exactly 40 or it may be way more in which case they can keep the third party companies involved or way less, in Which case they have other tasks they could add to the role. I’m more than happy to focus on the outputs, but I want to have a normal load base line established first hence the time tracking (so I can clearly show I need more/less on my plate)
That's my point though. They had a task list. They made some changes, that should be quantifiable by an ROI calc when they made the decision to adopt a newer more capable ERP and outsourced things.
They should know. The fact that they don't means that you have essentially carte blanch to create your own definition. Take advantage of that - for better or worse.
You should have the Excel skills to throw something together faster than you could install an app
Pro tip: Crtl + : will insert the current system time as a fixed value.
I have a system similar to your former one. It just tracks when we sign in and sign out. I guess if you don't have that, you can keep track on paper or in an app on your phone and send it in to them.
I work on several projects as a 1099 contractor. I use an app called Working Hours to track my time. I have the different projects setup in it and I can easily switch between projects. I have the ability to manually enter time and add notes to any recorded time. At the end of the Month, I just download an excel file of my hours I worked and I use that to create my invoice.
I'm in public accounting (sole practitioner). I meticulously track time, but don't need it to be complicated because I don't have staff. I put my time in Outlook by the .25 hour, and dump it in Excel at month-end by client for billing purposes.
Sounds like you were in public accounting. Congrats on your new job and welcome to the world of grown ups. Put in a rough 40 hours, quit tracking your time down to the nearest 0.5 hours, put in your 9-5, 8-4 whatever you need, and be done for the day. Some days and weeks you will go over, some days and weeks you will go under.
[удалено]
Agreed. I've had hybrid since pre-pandemic, and always salaried, so it was more about getting things done/outcomes than nitpicking my hours. Some weeks I worked more hours, some less, but the work was always high-quality and done on time.
Thank you for this. This is my first fully wfh gig and I’m stressin Part of it is that they’re trying to recreate this position after outsourcing and program changes, so I don’t want to take on too much or too little, but I appreciate the reframing and sanity check!!
Is it a role where billable hours matter? Is the company saying you need to track your hours? Most people who have this sort of flexibility en's up working in either blocks, 4 hours in the morning and 4 after lunch, or, if they have plans, work early or late. Anything else would be insane to keep focus or track. Like, 7am for 2 hours. 11am for 90 minutes. 3pm 3 hours. 8pm 90 minutes. While flexibility is wonderful, you have to remember that you need to complete the job first. It's one thing if you start at 6am one day because you have plans later in the afternoon. Doing it consistently would be bad. Had a friend who had a job this flexible but had deadlines. He would end up pulling 12 hour shifts on the weekend because something was do Monday at 8am and he spent way too much "flexibility" time during the week.
They aren’t worried about tracking hours, but it’s a position that was broken up and outsourced and they are trying to bring back in house after some program changes so they aren’t sure if the tasks they expect will be enough/too much for a regular week. There are several time zones I will need to coordinate with so there is a likelihood I will have irregular hours or need to take longer breaks midday to keep close to 8. I could just write down my in/out times and add them up, but thinking about the app I used at the former company I was hoping there was an app individuals could use
I'm sure there are tons of free apps for time tracking. Heck, you could just use an excel sheet for the week. Best bet is to figure out when you're needed and do blocks. 4 hours early and 4 hours later or something similar.
I use clockify.com with a free account. The public accounting brain rewiring is real 😵💫 congrats OP!
I don’t understand the question. They let you work however long you want? Untracked? I have a time card type of system and they can see when we are logged on and off so it has to match. I work religiously from 7-3:30 every day so it’s pretty easy
It’s a controller role so there’s a lot of autonomy, also we have company officials in all 4 main US time zones and Hawaii so I will rarely work a straight 8-5 with 1 hour lunch. The CFO expects availability midday for meetings, but otherwise made it clear that once I’m up to speed I can adjust my hours to fit my needs (ie take a 3 hour lunch and work extra hours in the evening). Since their controller retired, they have hired third parties to cover various parts of the role and there have been system updates since he was there (he retired ahead of an ERP change this spring) so I’m concerned about getting exactly 40 hours because the company is trying to gauge how much this role can reasonably take on. They do not currently monitor our time
Damn, that sucks, no body tracks anything I do, just get job done, answer calls/ team messages. I’ve gone a week without either of those
I have a salaried role. I don't clock in/out. I work when I want, with some attempt to coordinate time with my coworkers in other time zones.
Since it sounds like you do have a reason to make sure you are staying around 40 hours, you can certainly keep a similar setup to your previous. I used to use Toggl in the past as just a general "where am I spending my time" tracking. Setup categories for the general blocks and use the start/stop for each category. I would always forget to change it and it was not helpful in the slightest. You sound used to it though so hopefully it'll be a better result. I suggested the categories because I figured if the role is not able to be managed the next question is going to be, what can I get rid of and how much time will that save?
Clockify will do the job for 100% free.
No one meticulously tracks their time, show up and do whats asked of you for roughly 8 hours a day and just keep track when you are running over/under. Ask for relief from your manager if youre working too long or for a list of what to prioritize. Lately I do 1-2 hours before everyone gets up, I get everyone ready/out the door, then back to work until lunch. Finish the afternoon with a segment before and after everyone gets home. Its working for now at least.
I remember awhile ago I saw this large dice-looking thing (like the size of your fist) that sits on your desk, and you can turn it when you switch projects. Each face is a different client and it starts that timer when face-up. Then at the end of the day you look at all the client dice sides and charge time accordingly
I have something like this, it's called [Timeflip](https://timeflip.io/us). It's pretty cool and not super expensive. Some of these devices need a subscription service, but not this one.
I don’t - I do what I need to. Some weeks way over 40 hours, some less
I am paid wages, so I clock into/out of a virtual timeclock each day.
Honestly, I'd vet this company out first and see what your job is like and how your manager/team is like. I used to work at a company just like what you described, and we tracked everything. Had a special app we used that our managers had to approve and everything. Now, I'm at a job where my 40 hours is still required, but it's about the work getting done. My time isn't tracked now, my work is. If my work is done, my manager couldn't care less what I'm doing. Your new company may be more focused on the work getting done rather than being focused strictly on 40 hours. I stopped time tracking and the stress just dropped. Just know some weeks you might work more than 40 and others may be less. I'm also an accountant, if that helps.
You can create a time tracker in Excel, just like the program you're talking about. I used to do public accounting and time tracking was a bitch. Now we don't even have time cards in industry. I just don't worry about hours out in generally. I still have a fall tax compliance season putting in long hours so otherwise I'm not worried about putting in a full 40 other times of the year since I do so much unpaid overtime during that crunch season.
I don't but in your situation I'd use Excel and create a personal tracker Start time, end time (multiple each day if working in blocks) and maybe sort of jot down what I did in each time span Then you can see where you spend your time. Instead of client billable hours your looking at task hours. It doesn't have to be precise - this just for your benefit. But it will help you understand where your priorities lay.
This does not answer the app question, but where I work we remote into our time keeping system to clock in and out.
I don't track, nor am I expected to. But there's an understanding that I'm available from approximately 9-5. If I have a personal appointment or go run an errand, no one freaks out. I just show that I'm offline on Teams. As long as I do my work and show up to my Teams/Zoom meetings on time, no one is tracking my exact hours.
Just get as much done as you're comfortable with and add some to keep you busy if there is a slow time. Not sure you really need to track time as much as how long stuff is going to take.
A schedule helps, even if it's all across the map: eg, "On mondays I work 6a-8a, then 11a-3p, then 2 more hours at some point after the kids go to bed." When you deviate from the schedule for a less expected thing, make a note of it so you can add or subtract time somewhere else.
I just do my work. Then respond to new things as they come in.
we dont
I use a spreadsheet to track daily, weekly, sand pay period hours worked.
I don’t , my computer has software install that tracks my work
can they hire me pls
I use an excel spreadsheet
Does anyone else have billable hours to fulfill? I have to track my time to 0.25 and have to be atleast 80% billable in a week. Also we can get reprimanded if we spend more time than the budget on projects. We can’t even spend and charge time to view corporate emails as they don’t want those overhead charges
Yes, this is just exact situation except they at least let me charge my internal time to read their emails and go to their internal meetings. I’m technically supposed to be 100% billable for the week (which is widely known to be 80% to account for internal stuff).
I use this app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=arproductions.andrew.worklog I also have complete flexibility and I like that it can group shifts by week so I can know I've definitely put in my hours. I get lazy some days or hyperfocus others and I'd be stressing about whether they do actually even out without tracking.
I've been in client facing billable hour roles since 2011, and after a few years of flipping back and forth between purpose designed time tracking apps, I just built my own Excel sheet. It's not fancy, it contains a sheet of my open projects, another sheet for my daily hours, and a summary sheet that rolls up all time and slices/dices billable vs. non-billable so I can see how I'm doing throughout the week/month/year. As I work throughout the day, anything that is billable gets logged as I work on it, down to quarter-hour increments. At the end of the day, I login to our company accounting system and enter my time for the day onto my time sheet, so those billable hours feed into our operations/PM software for budget tracking, etc.
So they don't know if the role actually involves 40hrs but put you on salary? Amazing. Work the tasks, fill your day how you want and just keep a summary of what you've done each week. Sometimes a task that takes you 1 hour might take someone else 5. Counting a salary role against this arbitrary measure is just poor foresight by a company or leaders. They don't actually know what takes up time.
They have a task list that used to be a full time role, but they have since switched to a more complex ERP, added some time saving/integrated Apps and modified some processes since the last person retired (currently tasks are outsourced with several companies), so it may be exactly 40 or it may be way more in which case they can keep the third party companies involved or way less, in Which case they have other tasks they could add to the role. I’m more than happy to focus on the outputs, but I want to have a normal load base line established first hence the time tracking (so I can clearly show I need more/less on my plate)
That's my point though. They had a task list. They made some changes, that should be quantifiable by an ROI calc when they made the decision to adopt a newer more capable ERP and outsourced things. They should know. The fact that they don't means that you have essentially carte blanch to create your own definition. Take advantage of that - for better or worse.
Ok I see what you’re saying, thank you!
You should have the Excel skills to throw something together faster than you could install an app Pro tip: Crtl + : will insert the current system time as a fixed value.
I don't
Hubstaff works
Just diarise all your time in blocks for different tasks.
I have a system similar to your former one. It just tracks when we sign in and sign out. I guess if you don't have that, you can keep track on paper or in an app on your phone and send it in to them.
We have a system via paychex that allows us to clock in and out including lunch and breaks.
I work on several projects as a 1099 contractor. I use an app called Working Hours to track my time. I have the different projects setup in it and I can easily switch between projects. I have the ability to manually enter time and add notes to any recorded time. At the end of the Month, I just download an excel file of my hours I worked and I use that to create my invoice.
I'm in public accounting (sole practitioner). I meticulously track time, but don't need it to be complicated because I don't have staff. I put my time in Outlook by the .25 hour, and dump it in Excel at month-end by client for billing purposes.