TimeControl and The MS Project timesheet

Adding Value to MS Project by integrating Enterprise Timekeeping

Table of Contents

Introduction
Timesheet types
Time and Attendance
Time and Billing
Manufacturing time and motion
Project-update timesheets
Enterprise timesheet systems
Summary
The Microsoft Project timesheet
TimeControl
TimeControl's "Value Added"
Auditable timesheet data
Use TimeControl for Finance as well as project management
Track costs with multiple actual rates
Reduce redundant timesheet systems
Ensure that all timesheets are entered
Matrix organization approvals
Automated business rule approvals
Integrate with Finance/ERP systems
Historical data for Project & non-project time
Integrate into the MS Project Server Web Access Client
When should you use the Microsoft Project timesheet?
When should you use TimeControl to MS Project?
About TimeControl
TimeControl Features
TimeControl Sample Client List
Who is HMS Software?

Timesheet types

No, not all timesheets are created equal. There are many types of timesheets on the market today which fit into several categories of timesheets, each with their own purpose. We've outlined some of the most common categories here.

Time and Attendance

Time and Attendance timesheets are the most common types of timesheets on the market. They are typically delivered as part of the corporate human resources (HR) system or the corporate financial or ERP system. Time and Attendance systems are interested only in how much time you have spent working for the company during a particular period and whether or not you should be paid for this time. Often, these systems are intimately linked with the organization's payroll system. They usually allow for the entry of whether or not an employee worked, whether special pay is required for example for overtime, exception days such as holidays, vacation or, sick leave.

Time and Attendance timesheets are divided into two types of entry: positive or by-exception. A Positive-entry system requires each employee to complete his or her timesheet for a given period. A By-Exception-entry system requires a timesheet only for recording absences with the reason for the absence.

Time and Billing

Time and Billing systems are the next most common type of timesheet to find in place in an organization. These systems are designed for professionals such as lawyers, accountants and consultants. The primary purpose of a time and billing system is to qualify any billable hours per client. The key element of each detail item is the client identifier. Most time and billing systems allow for a descriptive element. This is to ensure that there is enough information to justify an invoice for each period. Terms such as "project" and "task" are common in such systems but they are usually best thought of as qualifiers for an invoice rather than a pre-determined set of tasks each with a schedule, budget and scope.

Time and Billing systems are often driven by per-client rates rather than per-employee, or per project rate schemes.

Manufacturing time and motion

Time and motion studies date back to the earliest days of the assembly line. Time and motion studies were developed out of a desire to increase the throughput of work through a particular manufacturing process. Timesheet systems based in the manufacturing world are often driven by hardware such as laser bar-code scanners, magnetic card readers or other mechanical devices. In such a system, an employee at on the shop floor might swipe their employee magnetic card across a reader when arriving at a workstation to begin work on a large unmovable module (e.g. an aircraft plane engine). Once they had completed work on this task, they would swipe their card again to indicate the work was complete. Hours in assembly would be tabulated and allow Finance to determine a true total cost of assembly. Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP) systems often include such functionality. What is usually missing from these paradigms is linking the data back to a project management system where a plan for the work was established. The link between project systems and manufacturing systems is a subject that warrants a white paper of its own and won't be discussed in any detail here but it is sufficient to say that mixing these two paradigms requires an involved process.

Project-update timesheets

These days, almost every project scheduling system includes some kind of timesheet entry. These interfaces are designed to allow end-users to enter time against any activity. The data, once entered, is used to update the activity's resource progress. There is often some level of project-manager approval commonly referred to as line-item approval.

For many project management environments, this type of timesheet is all that is required. The timesheet view in Project Server's Web Access Client is such a system.

Project managers will get the task-to-date hours against the original plan and a close approximation of actual labor costs - certainly enough to produce budget vs. actual variance reports. However, these timesheets and the architecture used to produce them are rarely sufficient for financial purposes. It would be unfair to characterize this as a deficiency of these systems. The first thing to remember is that most project management systems are, by their very nature, forward-looking analytical tools. For a planner, the actual-hours per task is only interesting to the degree it reveals the future. A planner, for example, might elect to delete a task from a project. Perhaps future plans have changed and no additional work will be done on that task. Or, perhaps the task will be replaced by two or three other tasks which have been now defined in more detail. No problem for the planner, they are only interested in what will happen in the future. For anyone interested in historical data, however, there may be more of a problem. In many project-update systems, the loss or change of an activity means the automatic removal of any data linked to that task. Even if data is not deleted, the financial controls such as post-period adjustments, financial approvals, and business rules compliance are rarely managed within such systems. Even simple functions such as determining if all timesheets have been entered are often not supported in such a system.

This makes project-update timesheets best suited when only the project data must be updated.

Enterprise timesheet systems

For some organizations, there is an interest in collecting time for both financial and project purposes. For this market there are small number of timesheet systems designed to fill multiple purposes. TimeControl is such a system.

These timesheet systems are usually based on a project model, allowing data to be collected at the task level with an intent that the data will ultimately be returned to the project system as task progress. However, these systems also include the financial controls which allow their data to be accepted by the finance department usually as an import. Enterprise wide timesheets can be implemented for individual departments, for small to medium sized business or in a large-scale organization. These timesheet systems are appropriate for project-oriented businesses where there is a need to determine not only how much time has been spent but what that time was spent on. Because these enterprise systems include both the ability to link to a project-management system such as Microsoft Project and the financial controls which allow Finance to accept their data, they can be used to fulfill the needs of time and attendance, time and billing and project-update requirements at the same time.

Summary

For organizations who require only a total quantity of time spent, and an indication of why any absences occurred, time and attendance systems are the most appropriate. They will already be integrated into the ERP, HR and/or Finance systems and will be a natural extension of that functionality to all users.

For organizations who are professional in nature and must bill their work but who have no requirement to link that data back to a project management system such as Microsoft Project, a time and billing system is most appropriate. It will provide the invoicing and invoice tracking tools required in the most effective manner possible.

For organizations who are using Microsoft Project and wish only to update the resource progress data with actual hours but will have no requirement to use that data for financial purposes such as payroll, billing, identifying leave, project costing or any other auditable purpose, the timesheet view in Project Server's Web Access Client. This view will allow task data to be updated directly and provides a project-owner approval line-by-line.

For organizations who must capture time in order to update both the project management system and a financial, HR or ERP system, then an enterprise timesheet system may be most appropriate. For Microsoft Project environments, TimeControl replaces the timesheet view and provides added value in that data can now be used for financial purposes as well as updating the project data in Project Server.

The Microsoft Project timesheet

Microsoft Project Server 2003 timesheet

The Microsoft Project Server timesheet is designed as part of Project Server and is accessed through the Web Access Client. The system provides a place for direct input of hours accomplished into the project database on a task by task level.

Once entered, the hours are queued for approval by a project manager on a line-by-line basis. A project manager can accept or reject the timesheet hours for any line item.

Once it is accepted, the timesheet hours are rolled directly into the resource progress for the respective activity. Any additional hours posted for the same time period will be added to the total for that task.

The great advantage of the Project Server timesheet is its complete integration with the Project Server web environment. Hours, once accepted are posted instantly into the activity database. Timesheet can be entered multiple times per week or even per day, if required. While in the Web client interface, there is instant access to all the other functions that may be relevant including Issue management, Document management, task statusing etc.

Of course, from a technology and cost basis, the Microsoft Project timesheet is already included with every Client Access License of Project Server, making it a cost-effective solution.

The disadvantage of this timesheet comes from the very level of integration which makes it so great for a project-only environment. Since it is not a financially-driven system, the Microsoft timesheet is an inappropriate entry point for financial data. The system does not employ the type of formal data controls that would be part of a financial timesheet such as might have been included with an ERP implementation. Project schedule data is, by its very nature, forward looking. As a timesheet designed to feed the project schedule, the Microsoft Project timesheet delivers labor actuals in order to assist the analysis algorithm in looking forward. A financial system is by its own nature, historical in perspective. The timesheet's controls over the historical aspect of the data are less stringent. If tasks are deleted, or restructured, or if historical changes must be made to the timesheet data or if any type of audit trail must be maintained for finance or HR, then the Microsoft Project timesheet will be insufficient.

Also, since the system is entirely project-oriented in its design, the Microsoft Project timesheet works better at updating project data and personnel than it would non-project data and non-project personnel.

It would be inappropriate, therefore, to use this type of system for tracking payroll, job costing, invoicing or HR exception reports; anything, in fact, which might be used to generate core financial data or timesheet data which would carry legal implications.

TimeControl

TimeControl Web interface

HMS Software designed TimeControl after over 10 years of providing customized timesheet solutions to the project management departments of numerous mid- to large-sized firms. TimeControl is designed as a financial tool with all the controls that finance managers require to use the timesheet data for auditable purposes.

TimeControl is ideally designed for those situations where timesheet data will be used for both project and financial purposes. In this scenario, the project managers require a system which will return actual hours task-by-task to the project systems or at a minimum, in project reports and finance managers require data to be integrated into the finance systems such as payroll, HR, job costing and/or billing.

TimeControl is a project-oriented timesheet system and because of its multiple-role nature, is very flexible. An unlimited number of user-defined fields can be added to the project, charge, employee and rate tables, allowing the data to be grouped, summarized or sub-divided in an infinite number of ways.

This allows data to be sent back to Microsoft Project at the task level yet group the same data to the department level for reporting and summarize the same data to an accounting code level for integration with an ERP system.

Because TimeControl is designed around its own data structure, it can be linked to multiple project environments simultaneously. Users could, for example, enter timesheet that would link to some projects stored in Project Server, some in Project 2000, some in Excel and yet others tracked in TimeControl alone.

It includes a complete web-based interface and has a very secure architecture. TimeControl also includes a full Windows client interface (all versions except TimeControlExpress) and is designed to be integrated directly into the Microsoft Project Server Web Access Client interface

TimeControl as part of the MS Project Server Web interface

TimeControl also includes a Link module which allows end-users to create links to their own financial systems including all the major ERP systems such as SAP, PeopleSoft, Oracle Financials and, JD Edwards. Links can also be defined for other legacy systems such as home-grown HR systems and internal or external payroll services.

TimeControl's architecture supports several database formats including SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, Informix and InterBase.

TimeControl time sheets are collected weekly and functionality is included to track missing timesheets or timesheets which may be stuck in the approval process.

TimeControl's Validation Rules allows business rules to be created which defines what makes an acceptable time sheet prior to its release for approval.

TimeControl also supports a Matrix Approval process that allows both resource managers and project managers to approve time sheet data.

These controls make TimeControl data acceptable for financial purposes but it is fair to say that the implication is that this same functionality makes TimeControl data at arm's length from Microsoft Project data. Data must be collected by week and is not posted at will. The process is, by necessity, more formal yet this may make the timesheet less attractive for some purposes.

Over the next couple of pages we'll outline how to determine whether Microsoft Project's Web Access timesheet or TimeControl is more appropriate but in short, if the organization does not intends to use the timesheet data for financial purposes, but only to update the MS Project task information, it should be looking first at the Microsoft Project Web timesheet. If, conversely, it requires this data to not only update MS Project's task progress but also to use the same data for financial purposes such as payroll, job costing or human resources, then it should first look at TimeControl.

TimeControl's "Value Added"

Auditable timesheet data

TimeControl's timesheet data is stored in its own database and is managed in such a way that it is completely auditable. Once stored, timesheet data is locked just as financial data would be when a period is posted. Adjustments to the data are done just like a financial system through a "Debit/Credit" function and the user who enters any data is tracked at a line-by-line level.

Once TimeControl data is entered, it is stored. Even deleted items are stored in historical tables in order to maintain referential integrity. It is a basic tenet of the TimeControl environment that timesheet data must be able to be displayed exactly as it was originally entered by the end-user. Any adjustments to that data must also be able to be displayed with the identification and time of who and when that data was adjusted.

These controls are basic design requirements for any finance system and given that TimeControl's structure follows these requirements the system's data can now be used for multiple purposes.

In this age of accountability it is key that actual cost data be of the highest quality possible. Project managers are often given control over huge amounts of money and the ability of that project manager to identify how that money was spent and know that the Microsoft Project cost data will match the data collected by finance without discrepancy.

Using TimeControl ensures that timesheet and labor cost data is completely traceable to its source and that if need be, the data can be presented in its original format for auditing purposes.

Use TimeControl for Finance as well as project management

Given the auditable nature of TimeControl data, one of the most important values added by integrating TimeControl with Microsoft Project is that the same source data can feed both Project and the Finance system. TimeControl data is often used for payroll and/or HR purposes and has been integrated with a wide variety of finance systems including all the major ERP systems such as SAP, PeopleSoft and Oracle Financials.

When the same source data is used to feed both Finance and MS Project, redundant systems can be eliminated. In some organizations, multiple timesheet systems must be maintained in order to fulfill the requirements of both aspects of the organization. Eliminating multiple timesheet systems not only eliminates the possibility of some people double-entering their timesheet data but, more importantly, eliminates the likely possibility that these systems will not show the same amounts for costs. With disparate systems, the chances of double entry of timesheets in systems designed for different purposes adding up to the same amount is exactly zero.

Trying to reconcile the costs from different systems such as an ERP timesheet and Microsoft Project's timesheet is almost impossible and can result in tremendous effort being spent on an exercise, which brings little satisfaction.

If timesheet data must be used for both updating MS Project and for financial purposes, it is highly desirable to have that data come from the same source. TimeControl was designed to serve this situation.

Track costs with multiple actual rates

In most project management systems including MS Project, a limited number of rates per resource are supported. As flexible as Project is, it is still fundamentally a scheduling system and as such, the rates are most often used for projected costs rather than actual costs.

When we look at actual costs collected through a financial timesheet system, we must be able to identify costs as they will be paid in a payroll system and billed in our actual billing system. Multiple rates in a financial timesheet are the norm rather than the exception.

TimeControl supports as many as 1,300 rates per employee and each rate code supports two values. These values are most often used to track internal or actual costs and external or billing cost. This structure allows for tremendous flexibility in defining actual rate costs. Some examples of how this flexiblity can be used include:

• Creating rates for internal vs. external work
• Creating a virtually infinite variety of overtime conditions
• Creating multiple billing rates with a single internal cost.
• Creating rates to track flex or banked time

Reduce redundant timesheet systems

With TimeControl's ability to serve both Microsoft Project as a source of activity progress and the finance system for payroll or other financial purposes, redundant timesheets can be eliminated. Many organizations end up with multiple timesheet systems each designed to serve a different purpose. Eliminating multiple timesheets, when possible, can save enormous costs in technical support, in administration, in end-user effort to enter multiple timesheet and, most significantly, in the costs of reconciling the data from disparate timesheet systems.

Ensure that all timesheets are entered

A fundamental function in an HR-based timesheet is the ability to determine that all timesheets have been entered and approved and that there are no outstanding or missing timesheets. This type of functionality is very uncommon in a project-updating timesheet and is not present in the Microsoft Project timesheet. The ability to determine that all data has been entered means that project managers know that when they transfer data to MS Project they are looking at 100% of the actual hours. Also, implementing a process that ensures that all timesheets are entered each week ensures that project hours are never forgotten or lost. Since this is a fundamental requirement of a financial timesheet system, TimeControl includes this functionality and its benefits then become available by extension to the Microsoft Project environment.

Matrix organization approvals

One of the primary issues with implementing a timesheet to serve both project management and finance is with approvals. In this kind of environment, there are a number of people who will want to approve the timesheet data. The resource or line manager will need to see the timesheet in its entirety so they can see the employee's week in context. If there is overtime to approve or sick leave or vacation time, the entire timesheet must be seen together. A resource manager will be less concerned with what the employee did with their time and more interested in the time spent at work. It is the resource manager's responsibility to approve the total number of hours spent at work.

At the same time project managers will insist on approving the hours on a task-by-task basis. A project manager will not care about the entire timesheet, only those elements which apply to their projects.

TimeControl supports an approval process designed to support this type of matrix organization. The Matrix Approval Process™ supported by TimeControl allows both resource managers and project manager to approve those elements of the timesheet data that apply to them. The resource managers approve the totals which are then frozen and the project managers can then redistribute any mis-categorized hours without changing the totals through a debit/credit process. Of course any changes made are completely tracked for auditing purposes.

Having an approval process which supports both of these types of approvals is critical to a timesheet which will work for both financial and project management purposes. This approval process ensures that a) the timesheet can be used for multiple purposes thus reducing redundancy; b) the data meets the approval standards for both parts of the organization making it acceptable for multiple use and eliminating the need for reconciliation of data from multiple sources; c) everyone who needs to be involved in verifying the data has an opportunity to do so.

Automated business rule approvals

TimeControl includes Automated Validation Rules. This functionality allows business rules to be applied to the timesheets automatically by the system at the moment the timesheet is released by the end user. Rules can apply to all timesheets or only some timesheets and an unlimited number of rules can be defined. If the rule is not following TimeControl can define either an error message or just a warning. Rules can be created to catch simple typographical errors such as "no more than 24 hours per day" or "no sick leave on weekends" or more complex business rules such as "no overtime unless you are both a wage employee and have done at least 40 hours of regular time this week. Automated validation rules effectively distributes a major element of the approval process to everyone who enters a timesheet, allowing it to be corrected by the people who can do so most effective; the person who did the hours. Implementing validation rules ensures that data that enters TimeControl and thus the corporate environment is immediately of very high quality and this serves to make the entire approval process much, much faster.

Integrate with Finance/ERP systems

Given TimeControl's ability to manage financial quality data, the timesheet data from the system is ideally suited to link to major ERP and other legacy financial systems. TimeControl includes a General Link function designed to create transaction files for any financial system including all the major ERPs such as SAP, Oracle Financials, PeopleSoft, Baan, JD Edwards etc. This link is also used to generate transfer files for payroll services such as ADP or most major banks. The Link function allows not only the order of data to be determined but can also be set to track what data was ever exported in a batch. This ensures that data is never accidentally transferred twice; a critical function when exporting for payroll, or billing purposes.

While almost all organizations do their accounting transfers this way, TimeControl's data structure is open allowing organization to link the databases of TimeControl and the ERP systems directly should that be desired. In this case, data is moved directly to the appropriate ERP table as timesheets are posted.

Historical data for Project & non-project time

When data is later audited or analyzed, it is often desirable to ensure that 100% of data is available. Looking at more than just a single project's data can often give a revealing view of the conditions at the time the project was produced. When both project and non-project data is included, analysis of the complete record can often reveal a great amount of detail.

For example, looking at a particular period of time might reveal excessive sick leave, perhaps showing the results of a flu bug which affected productivity or, showing all project data might show that more work was focused on one project vs. another perhaps due to a critical deadline or a problem with the project.

Often, analysis of non-project time shows trends that might be surprising. The amount of time spent on meetings, for example, is often an eye-opener for management. Using a system that is used as the corporate timesheet system for all time allows for all data to be analyzed together.

Integrate into the MS Project Server Web Access Client

The TimeControl timesheet is designed to be access directly from the Microsoft Project Server Web Access client. The flexibility of the Project Server design allows TimeControl's Web interface to be inserted directly into the Project menu allowing users a single place to access all project information yet still enjoy the benefits of TimeControl.

When should you use the Microsoft Project timesheet?

There are clear situations where the timesheet included with Microsoft Project is the most appropriate timesheet to use. There are obvious advantages to using this timesheet when possible. First of all the timesheet is already fully integrated into the Microsoft Project functionality and database. There is nothing else to purchase, install or configure. This alone makes it attractive. While all timesheet interfaces look somewhat the same, differences in their basic architecture make each type of timesheet appropriate to the organization's needs.

Here is how to determine if the Project timesheet is appropriate for the needs of your organization.

1. First of all, the basic litmus test is this: "Does the organization plan to use timesheet data for financial purposes?" If the primary purpose of the timesheet is to update tasks in Microsoft Project Server, then the Microsoft Project Server timesheet should be considered before any other solution.
2. When the primary purpose of the timesheet is to feed actuals to the tasks in Microsoft Project Server.
3. When the organization has standardized on Microsoft Project, has already deployed Project Server for all projects and will not be using any other scheduling system or any other version of Project.
4. When integration of timesheet hours and costs with the ERP or Financial system is not required. If there is no need to integrate with functions such as payroll, HR, job costing or billing, the Project timesheet should be considered first. It should be noted that there are limitless ways to integrate Microsoft Project and an ERP system which are not centered around timesheet data.
5. When there is no requirement for the timesheet data to be audited
6. When all timesheet data will be approved only by project managers

When should you use TimeControl to MS Project?

The fundamental litmus test for whether TimeControl is appropriate to integrate with Project is this: "Does the organization plan to use timesheet data for financial purposes?" If the answer to this question is yes, the organization must consider a timesheet other than the Project Server timesheet as it will manage data to financial standards.

Here is how to determine if the Project timesheet is appropriate for the needs of your organization.

1. If you wish to track timesheet data for both project and non-project personnel
2. If you wish to track both project and non-project time (e.g. task time and vacation time)
3. If you require multiple labor rates. For example the hours for a particular employee may use one rate on one project and another rate on a separate project plus the hours must calculate the internal or actual costs for that employee
4. If you wish to support multiple project scheduling systems (e.g. Microsoft Project 2000 and Project Server 2003)
5. If the timesheet data will be used by both Microsoft Project and Finance (e.g. Payroll)
6. For complex overtime situations such as tracking banked time or flex time or different overtime rates
7. If you require Matrix Approvals (both Finance and Project Management) of the timesheet data
8. If the timesheet data must be compliant with a government agency such as the DCAA (US Defense Contract Audit Agency) or other government standards such as the EEC Work Rules, or the US's FMLA rules or any other auditable work rules.
9. If you require automated validation rules where business rules can be defined within the system and automatically applied.
10. If you require auditable timesheet data for any purpose including capitalization, R&D tax credits or just financial accountability.

About TimeControl

In today's challenging economy, tracking productivity is more important than ever. It is no longer enough to know only how much time has been spent. Now management demands that you know what was done with the time. Many organizations are turning to projectized as a way of being more effective. One of the most difficult aspects of implementing project control is the capture and approval of labor actuals. TimeControl provides an electronic timesheet system designed to server both Finance and Project Management

Open Architecture

TimeControl is an open architecture system which supports a variety of databases including MS SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, Informix, and InterBase. Customizable user profiles allow the TimeControl interface to be tailored to each user's requirements.

Timesheet Approvals

TimeControl supports HMS Software's unique Matrix Approval Process for Labor Actuals which allows for quick authorization of project data. This process resolves the inherent conflict that is found when both the financial and project management hierarchies must approve timesheet data simultaneously. Automated validation of timesheet data is handled by TimeControl's remarkable Validation Rules . Additional approvals can be done manually with a simple Approve/Reject or Approve Update process. The Project Manager Validation screen displays an easy-to-view hierarchical interface for managing project approvals.

E-mail Enabled

TimeControl allows email notification to be sent for various events such as timesheet rejection or missing timesheets, incomplete or non-approved timesheets.

Expense Reports

TimeControl includes extensive expense report functionality. Users can enter an unlimited number of expense report items for each timesheet line.

Total Flexibility with User Profiles

TimeControl's User Profiles allows the Administrator to determine which menu choices, reports and fields are accessible by each user. The entire interface can be tailored to the user's individual needs. No other system on the market today offers this much flexibility.

Field level security ensures that only the information which is important to each user, is displayed. Fields can be made read-only or invisible, removing them from view entirely. This makes TimeControl at once a secure, deployable system and an easy-to-use one as well.

Links to Project Management Systems

TimeControl includes direct links to project management systems such as Microsoft Project 98, 2000, Project Professional and Standard and Project Server as well as Primavera's P3, P3e and TeamPlay, Welcom Software Technology's Open Plan and Cobra

Integrating with a project management system drastically reduces timesheet errors as only valid tasks will be available in which to charge time. Hours entered in TimeControl are returned directly to the project management system as activity and resource progress.

TimeControl also supports customizable export formats for integration with virtually any financial system.

Reporting

TimeControl's reporting engine looks just like Microsoft's Excel. Reports can even be saved in Excel or HTML format. Imagine the potential time saved having actual labor hours displayed in a format already familiar to financial personnel.

TimeControl's Reporting Wizards make report generating easy. The system asks a series of simple questions, then creates the report instantly. Remember, TimeControl's field-level security is always active so only the fields which a user has permission for will be shown.

Predefined reports are available in a variety of formats which include posted timesheet data, table lists, printouts of the timesheets themselves and missing timesheet reports.

TimeControl Features

Interface

• Full browser-based interface and;
• a Windows interface (TCp and TCe only)
• Scaleable, multi-level interface facilitates use for data entry users yet provides full functionality for administrators
• Multilingual interface
• Unlimited charge codes displayed in simple, hierarchical, drop-down lists
• Project management system activity information viewable directly in TimeControl
• Unlimited free-form notes for each line item and each timesheet
• E-mail-enabled. E-mail messages sent for system notices such as rejected timesheets
• Predefined timesheets based on resource assignments from the project management system
• Interative Drill-down Analyzer
• XML Exports support movement of any posted timesheet data

Architecture

• Open database architecture; support for Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, Informix and InterBase databases (TCp and TCe only)
• True client/server design minimizes network traffic
• Application Server runs as a Windows service to reduce maintenance
• N-tier architecture makes system scaleable for 10 to 100,000 users
• Unlimited rates per system
• Unlimited different rates per employee
• Support for LDAP and Active Directory
• Support for Firewall and NAT security architectures
• Field-level security. Make any field value hidden, read-only, or invisible
• Complete redefinition of every field label in the system through a simple label editor (TCp and TCe only)
• Easy to use
• Complete auditability of timesheet data
• User-defined fields on every table (TCp and TCe only)
• Data Dictionary facilitates integration with any external system
• Allows charges to be linked to a specific project
• Allows charges which are project-independent
• Multiple overhead charge types
• Extensive activity data stored for each charge code
• Filter charge codes, projects and rates visible to any employee

Web Interface

• N-tier architecture allows a zero-configuration client station with unlimited capacity
• Multi-platform timesheet applet is a paper-thin 200KB (TCe only)
• Timesheet supports proxy server security (TCe only)
• Timesheet supports multiple environments including Windows, Sun, Linux and many more (TCe only)

Approval Process

• HMS's unique Matrix Approval Process for Labor Actuals™
• Unlimited automatic Validation Rules Validation Rules are database-based and completely flexible
• Unlimited manual validation levels in which each user can have a unique approval routing

Links to Project Management

• Direct integration with popular project management systems such as Microsoft Project and Project Server, Primavera's P3, P3e and TeamPlay, and Welcom's Open Plan and Cobra
• Supports multiple project management systems simultaneously
• Customizable import/export function to interface with virtually any finance or ERP system

Reporting

• Excel-like reporting format allows output to any Windows-compliant printer or reports can be saved as Excel or HTML files
• Reporting Wizards allow an unlimited number of reports to be created and saved for use later on
• Unlimited levels of data selection, filtering and sorting

Expense Reports

• Users can enter non-labor costs on their timesheets
• Unlimited number of expense items per timesheet line item
• Expenses can be tracked back to a project management or finance system

Government Compliance

• Complies with requirements for DCAA, European Time Directives, FMLA, SOP-98 and the California Wage Laws

TimeControl Sample Client List

IT

ACR SYSTEMS
GALLIUM SOFTWARE
CRIM
OASIS TECHNOLOGY
EXFO
INFORMIX
LAMA INTERNATIONAL
CSI PIEMONTE
UPS LOGISTICS
ADACEL
INTELLITACTICS
CUE DATA WEST

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

GLOBAL CROSSING
MARCONI COMMUNICATIONS
SASKTEL
CABLE & WIRELESS BARTEL
POSITRON
ERICSSON
MOTOROLA

GOVERNMENT

US NAVY
STATE OF OREGON
GOV'T OF SASKATCHEWAN
UK MINISTRY OF HEALTH
CITY OF RICHMOND
MINISTER OF DEFENSE
CITY OF AMSTERDAM

PETRO/CHEMICAL

WESTCOAST ENERGY
KOCH INDUSTRIES
BAKER HUGHES
TECHINT
AIR LIQUIDE
CATALYTICA

HEALTH

MDS SCIEX
CANADIAN INSTUTITE FOR HEALTH

CONSTRUCTION/ENGINEERING

HARTFIELD DEV CORP (ATLANTA AIRPORT) SILVERLINE TECHNOLOGIES
PARKER HANNIFIN

MANUFACTURING

DOFASCO STEEL
ROLLS ROYCE-GTE
HONDA CANADA INC
HONEYWELL
MERCURY MARINE
FIAT
CAMMELL LAIRD
DELCO SYSTEMS
ALCAN
VALMET
C-MAC
SAAB

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

CBSI
BALANCE
CREDIT SUISSE/FIRST BOSTON
BANCA POPOLARE D'ITALIA
LONDON CLEARING HOUSE
FIRST TRUST CORPORATION
STANDARD LIFE

AEROSPACE/DEFENSE

BOMBARDIER-CANADAIR
EATON CORPORATION
GENERAL MOTORS
NAVAL WARFARE RESERVE

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

CRI ADVANTAGE
CGI
EDS
KELLY SERVICES
SAI (SOFTWARE ASS. INTL)

Who is HMS Software?

HMS Software, a division of Montreal, Canada-based Heuristic Management Systems Inc., is a leading provider of enterprise timekeeping systems for project environments.

Founded in 1984, HMS Software's expertise in implementing enterprise project-oriented and activity-based-costing systems is recognized worldwide by some of the world's largest organizations. Project oriented products and services from HMS have been used to plan some of Canada's most recognizable products including the Hibernia Oil Platform, Hydro Quebec's James Bay development, Ontario Hydro's nuclear station refurbishing and InterProvincial Pipeline's cross-country pipeline network.

HMS's signature product, TimeControl, an enterprise timekeeping system designed to serve the needs of both Finance and Project Management, is distributed worldwide through an extensive list of distributors and dealers located on every continent with representatives in the US, the UK, Australia, Mexico, Europe, Asia, South Africa and the Middle East.

TimeControl provides organizations with accurate financial reporting and timely project information. TimeControl operates across almost all hardware platforms, integrates seamlessly with many project management systems and with virtually all finance systems.

HMS Software's client list includes some of the world's leading corporations in the telecommunications, IT, finance, engineering, defence/aerospace and government sectors including such organizations as Bombardier, Canadair, EDS, Global Crossing, Credit Suisse/First Boston Bank, Ericsson, the US Navy, Hydro-Quebec and the London Clearing House.

HMS maintains offices in Montreal, Quebec and Toronto, Ontario.

TimeControl

First published by HMS in 1994, TimeControl has been adopted as an enterprise-wide timekeeping system by clients around the world. TimeControl is designed specifically as an activity-based-costing application and includes such features as hierarchical user structures to allow for multiple levels of timesheet authorisation and an open data architecture which makes the product ideally suited for integration with existing data systems in any organisation. TimeControl is a true client/server system supporting Oracle, Sybase, Microsoft SQL Server, InterBase and Informix. It includes both a Windows and a Web-based interface. For more information about TimeControl see us on the web at www.timecontrol.com.

Strategic Services

In addition to being a publisher of enterprise timekeeping software, HMS provides a full range of support services including technical support, training and consulting tailored to meet clients' specific needs. HMS Software consultants are skilled in activity-based-costing, timekeeping methodology, project management techniques, cost management as well, of course, in the HMS-supplied products.

For more information about HMS Software, please visit our website at www.hmssoftware.ca.