In any industry, time is your biggest asset! Optimize your business resources and your profitablity by using QuickBooks to track the types of tasks performed and the time it takes to get them done.
The time tracking feature is only available in QuickBooks Pro or higher. This feature allows you to track time spent on individual customer jobs, as well as pay employees and subcontractors, and bill customers based on this time.
There are three ways to get time data into a QuickBooks company file:
1. Use a Single Activity entry and the Stopwatch to time an activity while you are performing it. A single activity entry shows the time spent by one person doing a single activity for a single job on a single date.
2. Enter the time data on a weekly timesheet. A weekly timesheet shows the time spent by one person doing any number of activities for any number of jobs within a seven-day period.
Or, use the web-based QuickBooks Time Tracker that is built right into your QuickBooks software. This allows employees and contractors to collect and share timesheet information over the web. During the Time Tracker initial setup, employee, vendor, customer and job information is transferred from your QuickBooks file. Once users are selected from the vendor and employee lists, they receive an automated email containing login instructions, so they can begin entering their time data instantly. The Time Tracker administrator can view an employee's timesheet online before it has been submitted, allowing you to monitor project hours at any time. You can even notify employees when their timesheets are due by sending automatic email reminders!
3. Import time data tracked by the QuickBooks Pro Timer. The QuickBooks Pro Timer is a separate program that can run on its own without QuickBooks Pro. Give a copy of the Timer program to people whose work ultimately needs to be tracked in QuickBooks Pro. This allows employees, contractors, owners, etc., to track their time as they work. This information can then be transferred to your QuickBooks company file.
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QuickBooks, service items are used to enter time that you either charge your customers for, and/or purchase from others. Examples include specialized labor, consulting hours, and professional fees.
To track expenses correctly, be sure to create individual service items for subcontracted work vs. work performed by an employee, or an owner (or partner). For subcontractors, assign the cost of the service item to an expense account that tracks payments to 1099 vendors. If you pay owners (or partners) for time worked, you will need a service item that records the cost of the work as a draw against equity, rather than an expense.
By entering time in QuickBooks, you can create reports that summarize your time by person, job, and activity. Then you will have the tools you need to optimize your resources and your profitability!
