Being a business owner is always difficult. At all times, you are oriented towards improving and running a successful business. No matter how business savvy you are, managing a business is never easy. The same goes for small and large businesses. We said it was not easy, but not impossible. There are ways to track your progress and make the needed improvements. All successful companies depend on time tracking, planning and reporting to keep their business and employees on the right track. So, if you do not already use these techniques in managing your business and employees, it is time to start.
Time tracking, planning, and reporting improves your business results
From many different perspectives, time tracking, planning and reporting are important for your business. If you are a business owner or a manager and all of this sounds foreign to you, that is not good. Nevertheless, do not despair. This just means that it is time to learn how to use these practices to improve your business results.
Time tracking
Tracking time is important for every single working individual. Their position and occupation really don’t matter. Everybody from lower level employees to high level executives must know how to manage and track their time. After all, time is money, so you must know where your time goes.
Learn how to prioritize your time and tasks
Before you prioritize your tasks, you need to determine their importance. To do that, you must conclude the impact a task will have on your company and business. This way, you can also determine if a task is a part of your scope of work. If you have no benefits from a job or a task, why would you waste time on it in the first place? Once you have determined the importance and the impact of every single task, you can make a plan. Of course, you will start with the task that is the most important or that has the nearest deadline.
start with the task that is the most important or that has the nearest deadline
In case you have issues with time management, use a phone app to help you manage your time. Did you know 14Dayz is also available as a mobile app on Google Play and the iOS App Store?
The importance of time tracking
Those that have issues with tracking time can visit 14dayz.com. It is truly of great help in managing your time and tracking it.
Here are some benefits of time tracking:
- Understanding time consumption on a personal and team level
- Analyzing data related to time tracking and making positive changes based on the provided data
- Improving productivity
- Improving quality
- Transparency of time spent on each project or lack of time spent on a project
- Improving cost-efficiency
Planning
When you have a specific business plan to follow, it is much less likely that something will fall through the cracks. Hence, it makes people focus better and unites their efforts towards a common goal. Consequently, this increases productivity.
Panning and tracking time go hand in hand
When you have a set plan in place, it is much easier to facilitate all tasks. Planning and time tracking are very much interconnected. When you make a plan, you need to keep in mind how much time is needed to complete all planned activities and tasks. Also, you will waste less time or no time at all on insignificant tasks.
Planning is crucial for resource organization
Based on your business planning, you will be able to allocate your business resources in the most efficient manner. Therefore, you will have the perfect number of employees assigned to each task. Keep in mind that unforeseen things happen to every plan. Yet, when you have a plan it is much easier to overcome them.
Planning is important in every profession
Planning is equally important to freelancers as it would be to moving experts or CEOs. The importance of planning might vary from one occupation to another. However, it must be present in all.
For example, last year I decided to move from the Upper West Side to Brooklyn. I wasn’t really up for moving on my own, so I hired DA Moving NYC to help me with my relocation. Once they arrived at my address and started the moving process, I was highly impressed. Later on, when I spoke to the head person in charge of the move, he explained to me how important planning in advance was for their business.
Reporting
Let’s be honest, working on reports and analyzing them can be a pain in the neck. Also, it can be very boring. However, we all do it because it is priceless in many business situations.
Reports and funds go hand in hand
Reporting is important from many different business perspectives. Yet, it might be the most important for funding. If using reports correctly, you can outline the upcoming goals and finances. For those that depend on investors, this is a great way to present potential and future goals.
Support your decision making with reports
Nowadays, technology is so advanced that with a few clicks of a mouse you can access valuable data. This is only the beginning of the process. The next step would be to organize that data into a proper format within a report. When you are done with this, you can start validating data. If everything is done properly, you should be able to get an insight into how things are going and if anything needs to be improved. Reports can be beneficial to you, so you can present your good work to your superiors. In addition to that, you can use it to make good business decisions in the future.
Time tracking, planning, and reporting are enormous topics in the business world. We only scratched the surface when it comes to their use and importance. In case you use all these business techniques, you should try to take them to the next level. Do some research and use them in a different capacity to better your performance and business. Those that aren’t using them should start immediately. The sooner, the better. The business world never sleeps, so while you aren’t time tracking, planning, and reporting, your adversaries certainly are. Get back in the race and start being competitive.