Continue to Site

Eng-Tips is the largest engineering community on the Internet

Intelligent Work Forums for Engineering Professionals

  • Congratulations KootK on being selected by the Eng-Tips community for having the most helpful posts in the forums last week. Way to Go!

Time Tracking Solution 1

Status
Not open for further replies.

llon9

Mechanical
Apr 5, 2021
3
I just saw this thread thread784-426860 I bought it but the seller/developer doesn't send license anymore, it's a nice piece of software but it's very old and unfortunately it is now abandonware, does anybody have a solution to make it work? Or can anybody share a license or contact the OP of that thread? (maybe he can help/share)

thanks!!
 
Replies continue below

Recommended for you

Clockify
TrackingTime
Timely
PPM Express

Those are 4 time tracking applications that work pretty well, using the freemium model. (The free version is good, extra features for subscription.)

--Scott
www.aerornd.com
 
Appreciate the suggestions but I see they are all cloud/online based software. Frankly I find much more quick, convenient, personal and privacy respectful the good old-school offline software that don't require log-in.

Clockify looks good but is there a full off-line version or any way to use it completely offline? I downloaded both versions (standard and portable) on the website but they are both the same, require on-line login and don't work offline.

For the people who prefer off-line software I found TaskCoach (taskcoach.org) it's not bad but if anybody can reach out to the user Theophilus, help with the above Allnetic program or can suggest other offline time tracking software solutions is welcome!
 
If all you want is a time clock, I wrote a couple VBA scripts and linked them up to buttons in Excel. Press the start button, the next available line logs the current time. Hit the stop button, that time gets logged. At the end of the day, click the close out button and saves a PDF of the day's log.

It uses macros, so you'll have to trust me when I say I only know enough VBA to run a few functions - if there's malware in there somebody else hacked my computer, found that file, and put it in there.

 
 https://files.engineering.com/getfile.aspx?folder=ea34f156-c1f4-49b9-93a6-b60e7b495a75&file=Time_Tracker.xlsm
@phamENG I'll have a look at that excel file even though what I'm looking for is something more advanced that can give you a detailed view of your productivity.

@IRstuff would you believe me if I told you I went through all that sourceforge list months ago and found nothing really worth?
So far the best I found are Allnetic Working Time Tracker (abandoned) and Task Coach. If Clockify or something similar was offline that'd be great.
 
I stopped using that sheet for the same reason. I'm using harpoonapp.com because it has a time tracking app integral with the invoicing, financial tracking and forecasting, and project management features. I have zero qualms about it it being cloud based - unless your computer is air gapped I'm not sure there's a reasonable expectation of privacy for anything on it any more (I'm exaggerating a little, but not much).

I also have lots of work environments - at my desk, on a park bench, in my car, on a job site, etc. So being able to access it from anywhere on any of my machines (desktop workstation, laptop, phone) is a huge plus.
 
I use Harvest....it is a time billing system that has a lot of capability for productivity tracking and simple invoicing procedure.

 
I have heard good things about Harvest from other small firms.

llon9 said:
but I see they are all cloud/online based software.

One thing I like about Harvest is its relatively easy to import and export time data in spreadsheet format if you ever need it back. I also do not like the idea that a hot startup fueled by unstable VC money is the sole custodian of my critical business data. We also use Dropbox, which I love, but I'm ok with it because they are just simple file storage, and mostly have a local backup.
 
@glass99....same here. We use Harvest and have done so for 10 years. We also use Dropbox and we're pleased with that except that when you use the option to sync that data on your computer, it fills up your hard drive. I've added hard drives twice to cover it. Minor nuisance. We are also considering ShareFile, since of lot of our attorney clients use it. Most have no problem with our Dropbox sharing though

 
@Ron: With Dropbox we selectively sync - when a project is done I move it to the Archive folder which I do not sync my local hard drive.
 
@Glass99...good procedure. We are currently archiving about 100 project files. That helps a lot.

 
Hope you guys don't mind me resurrecting this one. I was going to start a new thread, but it fits pretty neatly in with this topic.

I came across another pair of apps that bill themselves as Business Management apps for A/E firms.

Factor A/E (factorapp.com)

BQE Core (www.bqe.com)

Anyone ever used either of these? As my operation is growing and I'm looking to scale, I'm finding that my current program isn't going to keep pace much longer.

BQE looks amazing and has been around for a long time. Designed by a licensed engineer who wanted a better way to run his business. It's also really expensive. About $2500/year. But it has native accounting (no linking to quickbooks), and you can tie in a DocuSign license and generate proposals and service agreements from within the program.

Factor looks like it has many of the same features, but not quite and falls short. Doesn't have as many integrations. It's also a fraction of the cost at $240/year.

Looking for any experiences - good or bad - with either. Thanks.



 
We are small structural consulting firm with 10 to 15 employees. We use Harvest and it is great. You can track each project and phase, and each employee can be set with a billable and costing rate to track each project. Project managers can then track projects and billings. We use Quickbooks for invoices and track and reconcile those with Harvest.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Part and Inventory Search

Sponsor