We use activeCollab as our project collaboration tool. Whole team uses this tool to collaborate. We wrote a blog about 5 Reasons Why Your Team Does Not Use Your Project Management System

Now, question comes up:

“Why should we track our time?”

We feel that tracking time spent on tasks is almost as important as the ability to manage tasks in the first place. Knowing how long it takes to complete a task or a project aids in the overall planning of a project and ultimately, the success of that project.

Here are 5 reasons why should we track time.

1. Accurate Estimates

Good historical data on actual time spent will allow you to greatly improve your ability to estimate tasks and projects, and gain credibility on those estimates you provide to management and prospective customers.

2. Accurate Delivery Dates

With accurate estimates, your chances of delivering projects on time increase greatly.

3. Easy Re-estimation Of Open Tasks

As you track your time, effort remaining will automatically decrease, thus keeping your schedule accurate and up to date.  (That being said, we recommend that you review estimates and correct them  for accuracy if necessary.)

4. Projects Start Dates

Based on how your current project(s) are tracking, you not only have much better insight on when you can start something new, but also if you need to re-prioritize or reassign work.

5.Manage Costs

If you know where your employees are spending the most time, you will find it easier to make decisions about how to make savings or deliver the solution faster. For example, if support time  is consistently high on a project, it might be appropriate to look at what other options are available instead of having valuable, highly-paid people on the support instead of focusing on completing the requirements of their day job.

Time tracking might be an awkward subject to bring up with the team, but in next blog we will share how you can make time tracking easy in activeCollab using Timesheet feature of a Chronograph module…

Stay tuned!

(Update: Tracking time by filling weekly timesheet is now available in Chronograph module)