Make Time & Expense Reporting Suck Less with Automation

Accurate reporting on time and expenses is critical to smooth operations for business of all sizes. Why? 

Time and expense reporting, in theory, should enable you to:

1. Understand where the client budget is going. 
2. Stay on top of overtime and expense approvals.  
3. Maintain accurate billing.
4. Get paid correctly. And on time!

Pretty important facets of day-to-day business, no matter how menial it is.

"Time & expense reporting can so often be a tedious manual process if you’re not using proper software."  

Ironically, reporting on time takes up insane amounts of valuable time. If there’s no cohesive system in place — and even sometimes when there is one — it’s just another tedious group of tasks that drain the creative energy so many of us desperately need on the daily.

Of course, manual entry inevitably leads to duplicates or inaccurate data. A mess.

That’s why we’re making the case for using automated systems or tools when it comes to managing time and expenses. 

Why should you automate time and expense reporting? 

It makes sense on all fronts.

You can optimize your team’s time (and free up more of it) by leveraging automation for your time and expense reporting. Plus, these software and automation tools can increase resource allocation, lead to better margins on projects, boost client satisfaction, and keep your business operating smoothly. 

The more comprehensive your automation tools are, the more they can help you with bigger pain points, like saving time and getting paid correctly every time. Getting paid faster doesn’t hurt, either. 

For small organizations using HubSpot, this is an easy way to implement game-changing efficiency. We’ll explain the process of choosing the best automated time and expense reporting solution for your business. We’ll also tell you what to look for by way of features and characteristics.

How to choose an automation tool for time & expense reporting

1. Evaluate your current setup. What are your pain points? Where are inaccuracies popping up?
2. Calculate the ROI for your prospective automated software. Having visibility into real-time data is key! How to figure it all out? Here’s a great step-by-step process to help you calculate the value of your prospective reporting software and the ROI you can expect. 
3. Does it fit? How well will time & expense reporting software fit into your current operations and systems? What integrations are available? Information from time and expense tracking (likely within your project management tool) needs to freely flow into your accounting system, and that information in turn should populate a reporting dashboard.
4. Get social proof. You can search sites like Capterra or GetApp for software reviews and rankings, or you can also look to peers within your industry for recommendations. For example, architects may look at architecture-specific resources like this. For legal services specifically, you can check out this helpful article.

PSA software for time & expense reporting

Other service-based professional teams should begin researching PSA software. The most successful and efficient HubSpot agencies implement some kind of integrated PSA solution that brings together time and expense reporting, projects, invoicing, billing, budget tracking, and more. All under one hopefully intelligent roof.

What to look for in PSA software to support your time & expense reporting

• First off, be sure it integrates with HubSpot.

• The more comprehensive, the more visibility you’ll have. 

• Look for features that excel at automation, i.e. self-driving time-tracking.

• Make sure it’s smart and intuitive, easy to implement for your team.

Make time and expense reporting suck less. Automate it for crying out loud!

When it comes to such a vital part of your business that has historically been a manual process, embracing automation can be scary at the beginning. But honestly, you have way more to gain than to lose. As we covered above, make sure an automated solution fits your budget and will provide you with ROI through intuitive automation that should make sense and make your life a whole lot easier.

Learn more: Time & Expense Tracking with PSOhub