Segmented Time Tracking: A Guide to Accurate Billing and Client Trust
Natasa Djalovic
Last update on:
December 10, 2024 6:55 AM
Published on:
Accurate billing is important for any business. But billing processes can be incredibly challenging if you’re managing a mobile workforce.
This is where we’ve found segmented time tracking comes in handy.
This article will explore how using segmented time tracking will help your business bill clients accurately, improve client relationships, and boost overall workplace efficiency.
Ready to simplify your billing process and improve client relationships?
To understand what segmented time tracking is, we first need to understand what it is not.
Most businesses use traditional time tracking methods where employees are required to manually log their hours. This can either be done through a web portal or time clock. But what these companies are running into are fraudulent time entries and payroll errors.
Segmented time tracking reduces and often eliminates billing inaccuracies by automating time and attendance tracking. Segmented time tracking technology uses GPS to track employees’ locations throughout the day, and divides their multi-stop driving routes into individual segments based on the stops taken.
The segmented tracking timeline shows a detailed breakdown of employees’ daily activities and whereabouts, providing verifiable evidence which can be used to settle client disputes and issue accurate billing.
How does segmented time tracking work?
Employees clock in. Employees simply clock in once at the start of their shift through a mobile app on their smartphone or tablet.
Automatic tracking. Employees’ locations are tracked through GPS technology once driving speeds reach a predefined threshold. Tracking apps that use segmented tracking technology will then divide driving routes into segments as workers make stops.
Detailed timeline. A detailed timeline of employee activity is generated from the GPS data, showing the time spent at each location as well as arrival and departure times.
Accurate billing. Together, the timeline and GPS driving history can be used to generate invoices for your clients, reflecting the actual time employees worked on projects.
Why should you use segmented time tracking?
There are many reasons we could list for why you should adopt segmented time tracking. But, we thought for the sake of time, we would highlight the key benefits that segmented time tracking provides.
Accurate billing
Segmented time tracking allows you to bill clients for the time your employees actually spent working on company projects. Using segmented tracking as a time tracking solution for billing helps prevent disputes over potentially inflated hours.
Improved transparency
Segmented time tracking provides your clients with clear and detailed invoices that outline exactly how their money was spent. With this level of transparency, you can continue to build trust and strengthen your client relationships.
Enhanced efficiency
Segmented time tracking streamlines your workflow and optimizes productivity, freeing up your time to focus on more important tasks.
Better project management
Segmented tracking technology provides valuable insights into how your employees are spending their time. The segmented tracking timeline can be used to evaluate how much time your workers are spending with individual clients or completing company projects. You can use this data to identify potential bottlenecks, streamline business processes, and improve project management.
Increased accountability
By automatically tracking employee time and location, you encourage responsible time management and reduce the likelihood of your employees engaging in unproductive activities. Your business will benefit from a more engaged and productive workforce.
Increase profitability
Segmented time tracking helps you identify and eliminate non-billable tasks that drain resources. This data-driven approach allows you to optimize operations, improve efficiency, and increase profitability.
How does segmented time tracking reduce billing disputes?
Billing disputes can cause a lot of friction in client relationships. When it comes to matters of billing clients for work performed, clients may have expected workers to deliver more than what was agreed upon.
This can lead to delayed client payments and reputational damage. Luckily, segmented time tracking helps mitigate these issues.
Let’s take a look at how segmented time tracking resolved a recent billing dispute.
A large hotel corporation hired Michael’s company to wire the electricity in their new building addition. The hotel administration claims that the crew was only on site for 4 hours each day instead of 8, as they were billed.
Although they were initially frustrated, the electric company was able to confidently address this dispute by referring to the data collected through segmented time tracking. As the project manager, Michael was able to show the hotel corporation Timeero’s segmented tracking timeline, pointing out the time the electric crew arrived at and departed the work site each day.
Segmented tracking helped Michael resolve this client billing dispute by providing clear, verifiable time tracking evidence.
With the level of transparency and accountability available in a segmented time tracking app, there is no reason why your billing should be inaccurate, or why billing disputes go unresolved.
Which industries benefit the most from segmented time tracking?
Segmented time tracking can benefit a wide range of industries. As we already mentioned, it's particularly valuable for businesses with mobile workforces who need to accurately track employee time and location for billing, payroll, and project management purposes.
Here are a few examples of how different industries can use this technology to their advantage.
Construction. For construction companies juggling multiple projects, segmented time tracking offers a straightforward solution for logging hours spent at each job site. Segmented tracking technology ensures accurate payroll for workers moving between locations and provides precise data for client billing.
Sales. Sales representatives who travel to meet clients or attend conferences can use segmented time tracking to record the amount of time they spent completing sales-related tasks and analyze sales performance.
Legal services. Lawyers are always on the move, meeting with clients, attending court hearings, and conducting site visits. Segmented time tracking helps law firms track billable hours for each case, ensuring accurate record-keeping and providing justification for legal fees.
IT services. When IT technicians travel to client sites for installations, repairs, or maintenance, segmented time tracking provides a reliable way to record the time technicians spend at each location.
Healthcare. Healthcare providers who make house calls or visit patients at multiple facilities can use segmented time tracking to accurately record the time spent with each patient. This ensures accurate billing for services, optimizes patient scheduling, and improves overall workplace efficiency. Additionally, using segmented tracking for home care will help agencies comply with EVV requirements.
Delivery services. Segmented time tracking can help delivery companies monitor driving routes, track delivery times, and optimize logistics, improving efficiency and reducing delivery costs.
Timeero: Your segmented time tracking solution
Timeero’s segmented time tracking technology is loaded with features that simplify time tracking and improve billing accuracy.
Natasa is a writer specializing in the IT and software industry with 6+ years of experience in content writing and online marketing. During that period, she wrote more than 1,000 articles and several ebooks. She majored in English language and literature and loves cats, sneakers, and candy. When she's not working, she's probably binge-watching Netflix.