Programs like TimeSheet are designed for users who spend most of their work day on the computer. TimeSheet records the activities on the computer automatically with an option to add activities manually as well.

All activities are recorded into the default project which is created on first startup. One of the advantages of TimeSheet is the ability to create and assign projects and tasks to application windows and titles which are automatically recognized once they have been configured.

time tracking software

The ability to recognize application titles allows the creation of specific rule sets. This option allows it for instance to assign specific Excel spreadsheets to different projects. This principle applies to all programs that display different titles.

A project can consist of multiple tasks which can be defined in the rules. Tasks define specific activities of a project. A basic example would be project A with the two tasks phone calls when a Skype call is made and web development when Photoshop is the active window.

timesheet

Rules can be modified at anytime in the application’s settings. The reporting can be configured to display activities of a specific time frame or a weekly overview.

An export option is available to export reports into Excel. TimeSheet displays a system tray notification whenever the active program window changes. The notification displays the active program name and project / task it is recorded in. Users who do not need that option can turn if off in the program’s settings.

Time spend on projects or tasks can be added manually as well. This way non-computer related activities or activities on other computer systems can be added to the time tracking app.

The program runs in a learning mode by default which will recognize new program windows automatically. The option to create rules for new applications is provided directly in that mode.

TimeSheet is an automatic time tracking software with an interesting feature set. The developer could improve on the export, import and syncing features though.

The rest of the program leaves little to desire. TimeSheet can be downloaded from the developer’s website. The software is compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system. It requires the Microsoft .net Framework 2.0.

The project creator can then pick one of the freelancers who responded with an offer. It is possible to use a private messaging system to communicate on site to get the details right before a deal is closed. The website offers an Escrow service that will withhold the money until the project has been finished.

Adding a new project costs $5 which are subtracted from the money that is being paid to the freelancer if one is selected to finish the project. I think that this website offers some nice opportunities for freelancers as well. Just take a look at the average bid amount for certain categories to know what I mean. The price range for most projects lies between $100 and $1000.

While the website concentrates on brokering IT deals it does have several other categories that are related in a way or another. You can find and post offers for Accounting, Translations, Photography, Legal Advice or Copywriting on the website as well.

I like to post projects there because I know that my money is safe until the freelancer completes the product to my satisfaction. A rating system that has been implemented makes it easy to analyse a freelancer by previous works that he has done on the site.

I’m not using the website as a tool to earn money but I guess you could be highly successful if you are an expert in any of the categories that are offered on the website.

Before you can start tracking the time you need to create some project names so that you can distinguish between them. A good way would be to use client names for example or project names instead. You activate the counter from the system tray for a specific project. That’s the manual way of tracking the time but it is also possible to let the program track the time automatically.

That feature is called auto move. It assigns the time to certain projects depending on the page title of certain applications. Let’s assume that you use Photoshop for one client only. Simply add the Photoshop title to the auto move feature and it will track and assign the time spend in Photoshop to the right project.

The software is a little bit confusing at the beginning and it takes some time to get used to it. You can automatically assign hourly rates to each project so that your earnings are calculated automatically as well.

The homepage of the program mentions hotkeys as well which can be used to switch between projects but I was not able to find reference about them in the program or on the homepage of the author. Hotkeys would make it even easier to switch between projects.

Another nice feature is the export feature. You can export data as csv or xml files providing clients with a detailed listing of the time that you have spend on their project.

PC Fare Meter [via Pimp my work] is an excellent Freelancer Software. The author needs to provide a documentation though and probably some tutorials to make it appeal to a broader audience. A better help file and tooltips in the application would also be helpful for the user.