TimeLog News

New Release - TimeLog Project 5.2

Thomas S. Gudmandsen — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The newest version of TimeLog Project has been released.

This is a minor release, which focuses on improvements in functionality and performance, rather than new features.

In addition to the listed improvements, we have been working on performance to make version 5.2 faster than previous versions. This is a high priority for us, and we will continue to improve the speed in upcoming releases.

New features and improvements in TimeLog Project 5.2

TimeLog Tracker:

We’ve made some changes to the design of TimeLog Tracker -- the list of allocated projects is clearer and more compact, and the buttons have a more streamlined design.

In the near future, we will be working to add support cases and absences to TimeLog Tracker, so that TimeLog Tracker can be used for all time registration.

New report – Contribution Analysis:

We have created a new report, “Contribution Analysis”, which can be found in Management Reports (F9), under the heading “Analysis Reports”. The report makes it possible to analyse the contribution analysis and contribution ratio across customers, projects, and employees. It is also possible to choose between the contribution ratio calculation for Actual, Estimated, or Booked As Revenue (BAR) values.

In contrast to the existing Contribution Margin report, the report also includes expenses and travel expenses in the contribution ratio analysis.

The old Contribution Margin report will be active until manually disabled in System Administration: Menu and Report Configuration – Management Reports. The new report can also be activated here, under the heading "Analysis Reports".

Billable / Non-billable in Debtor list - Invoices:

Under “Debtor list – Invoices” you can immediately choose whether items are billable or not. Click the registration number in the Item column, and select the registrations in the pop-up window to change billable status. Select the new billable action in the option list.

Billable / Non-billable Support Contact:

Version 5.2 re-introduces the option to make support contracts billable or non-billable in TimeLog Help Desk.

Start date for Extranet access:

If your customers have the ability to see their support cases in TimeLog Extranet, it is now possible to set a specific date for permitted access. The date can be entered in the TimeLog Help Desk, which opens in System Administration.

MS Project import:

The MS Project import has undergone some small adjustments that increase usability.

64-bit version:

Installed customers can now run TimeLog Project on a 64-bit web-server.

SuperOffice Caesar CRM chooses TimeLog Project

Sascha Skydsgaard — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

We are pleased to welcome SuperOffice Caesar CRM as a new TimeLog customer. After researching the market, they selected TimeLog Project as their new time tracking and project management tool.

Magnus Gadd, Chief Consultant, gives the following explanation of why the choice fell to TimeLog Project:

"We investigated the market for an application that could support our consultants‘need for a common way of handling time reporting and invoice specifications.

With TimeLog, we got a functional and user-friendly application that is easy to implement and maintain, and that supports us in a lot more ways than we were looking for. Functionality supporting, resource planning, and different approaches to analyze our business and internal usage gives us an extended possibility of really getting control of our operations."

SuperOffice Caesar CRM is a web-based CRM system for major international companies.

Integration with Microsoft SharePoint

Jakob Mikkelsen — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

TimeLog, together with Kring IT, has developed a standard integration between TimeLog Project and Microsoft SharePoint.

With this integration, any project work and customer management in TimeLog Project is linked to document management in SharePoint. From TimeLog Project, folders can be created in SharePoint for each customer or project, giving access to every document in SharePoint that is connected to these specific customers and projects.

In addition to all the features available in the SharePoint standard configuration, you also get a classification of customer and project documents, downloaded directly from TimeLog Project.

The integration configuration does not require a technician, but will prompt for a SharePoint address in TimeLog Project.

For employees, the integration means that the customer and project work are streamlined so that both the financial project management, planning, and time tracking from TimeLog Project is connected to the document management in SharePoint. In day-to-day business, it creates better oversight and better correlation for the individual employee, especially for project staff.

If you would like to hear more about Microsoft Sharepoint integration, you can contact Kring IT, who have extensive experience with Microsoft Sharepoint solutions.

TimeLog recruits Swedish and English translators

Thomas S. Gudmandsen — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

We are pleased to welcome two new powerful forces to the team. With the recruitment of both a Swedish and English translator to our localization team, we are again supported in all five languages with which we conduct our marketing and product development efforts.

Amanda Paciorek has been hired as the Swedish translator. She has a Bachelor's degree in International Business Administration and Economics, and is currently studying for her Masters in Financial and Strategic Management at CBS. Amanda will be responsible for carrying out a review of the Swedish version of TimeLog, and strengthening our marketing efforts in the Swedish market.

American Mary Liebowitz has been hired as our English translator. She has an extensive background in marketing and support, most recently translating Danish web content and marketing material into English. We look forward to raising our English-language marketing and product information to the highest possible level in the next few years.

Welcome to them both.

TimeLog integrates with the Swedish payroll system, Hogia

Sascha Skydsgaard — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

TimeLog can now integrate with the Swedish payroll system, Hogia, the most common payroll system in the Swedish market, with respectable marketshare in Norway.

The integration is performed by a user exporting a data file from TimeLog, which is pre-structured in accordance with Hogia’s comprehensive data requirements. The file can then be imported directly into Hogia, where the wage information can be recorded without further data processing or review.

TimeLog currently has more than thirty major customers in Sweden who use TimeLog Project for time tracking, project management, invoicing, and time records. The latter represents a significant administrative cost for most Swedish companies, as the Swedish rules for the handling of holidays, leave, illness and overtime are relatively extensive.

The majority of TimeLog’s Swedish customers currently use Hogia as a payroll system. We look forward to supporting these businesses’ need for a simple, administratively-efficient solution for payroll management.

Hogia is headquartered in Sweden, and is a 100% family-owned company. After SPCS (Visma), Hogia is the largest provider of administrative solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises. In 2008, Hogia generated 387 million SEK in sales.

Print TimeLog Project reports in color

Thomas S. Gudmandsen — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Many reports in TimeLog Project use shaded cells to give a better overview of tables.

To see shaded cells’ colors when using a color printer, your browser should be configured to support background colors.

Open Page Setup under the browser menu File
Tick Print background colors and images
Click OK, and the shaded cells will print in their respective colors.

This setup will improve the printed version of reports such as:

Project administration -> Workload
Project administration -> Payment plans – overview

You can also modify the Header and Footer to include information such as page number and date when printing.

Exact configuration options depend on the browser used, and may vary.

Invitation to a TimeLog Meetup

Sascha Skydsgaard — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

We would like to invite you and your colleagues to a great summer evening at Belis Bar near Frediksberg Rådhus on Monday, June 21, 2010, starting 16:30.

Come and meet representatives from TimeLog, and say hello to other TimeLog customers. Have a chat about your experiences with TimeLog Project, and get some good advice to take with you. Let the dialogue flow – the only item on the agenda is to enjoy a nice evening together.

Please feel free to forward this invitation to your colleagues. As TimeLog will also be offering light refreshment, we would like to know how many guests will be attending.

To register, send an e-mail with your contact information to Sascha Skydsgaard at ses@timelog.dk, no later than Monday, June 14, 2010.

This event is free. Failure to appear without cancelling will be billed at 65 €.

We look forward to seeing you!

“Companies that track time are idiots!”

Sascha Skydsgaard — Fri, 28 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

“Companies that track time are idiots!” It was the final round of questions at the selection meeting for the government-sponsored growth potential program, GazelleGrowth, and the man behind that controversial statement was Dan Meiland, the long-time CEO of Egon Zehnder International, one of the world’s largest executive search firms.

I was representing TimeLog’s GazelleGrowth application, and after Meiland’s statement, my first thought was that our challenge would begin NOW, if we managed to be among the top five out of fifty Danish companies selected twice yearly to participate in the program.

But Dan Meiland’s statement was not really about whether consulting firms should actually track time, but if they should settle accounts based on time spent, or by a fixed price. Here he gets to the heart of the debate that I believe affects management at many other companies: How much risk will you take to maximize profit on the company’s projects and services?

As a consulting firm, it can be a plain choice between delivering services on a time-spent basis, where possible budget overruns are partially transferred to the customer, but where a typical contribution margin is €50-70 per hour. Or, you can choose to deliver services at a fixed price, where the supplier bears the budgetary risk - but a well-run, fair-priced project can deliver a gross margin of well over €100 per hour, if the project is managed effectively.

Minimizing the budgetary risk of fixed-price projects is a well-known, troublesome exercise that includes effective budgeting, effective feedback from project participants, continuous progress evaluation, economic and temporal overview, and early warnings when a project gets into trouble. It’s a heavy administrative task to manage larger projects effectively, causing many businesses to drop ongoing economic monitoring and instead rely on post calculations that are first implemented at project’s end.

In recent years, TimeLog has intensively invested in developing tools and methods for the effective financial management of complex contracts and projects - in real time. Based on a unique linking of budgets, recorded time, and estimated value creation, we can automatically calculate how a project is progressing in comparison to the project plan. We’re still striving towards the end goal, and are continually driven by the vision to offer solutions that allow our customers to deliver projects with the highest possible returns and the lowest possible financial risk.

We'd love to have our clients and others interested in a close dialogue regarding how we develop a solution that combines good usability and advanced financial management. As part of this strategy, we will be conducting individual interviews in the upcoming weeks with a number of our customers and representatives of the consulting industry, to work together to identify how the future TimeLog Project should look, if we are to achieve this ambitious goal.

Who knows, perhaps one day Egon Zehnder will be part of the TimeLog clientele – one of many passionate users of TimeLog Project for daily project management.

Let the debate continue on LinkedIn where this post will be published, so we can hear everyone’s ideas and opinions.

Join the TimeLog User Group on LinkedIn

Read a white paper regarding payment plans in TimeLog Project

TimeLog Tracker for iPhone is ready to download

Sascha Skydsgaard — Thu, 20 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Great news for all iPhone owners – and anyone considering acquiring one: TimeLog Tracker for iPhone is now Apple-approved and available for download in the App Store. This application is available free to all TimeLog Project account holders.

TimeLog Tracker for iPhone offers a convenient way of tracking time on-the-go, directly from your iPhone. It’s the perfect companion to TimeLog Project, helping you to keep your timesheets in sync and consistently up-to-date.

The new iPhone app was developed by Greener Pastures, on top of our new API for time tracking. It's based on a similar design to TimeLog Tracker, the desktop companion application for PC or Mac.

Free download and screenshot available at the iTunes App Store.

TimeLog is participating in GazelleGrowth

Søren Lund — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Together with four other Danish companies, TimeLog has been chosen to participate in the growth programme GazelleGrowth which is the leading business development programme for Danish innovative growth companies that have shown a positive growth on the domestic market and wishes to realise their full international potential.

GazelleGrowth is supported by the Danish Agency for Science, Tecnology and Innovation and is targeted rapidly growing Danish companies that employs between 5-100 people and has a turnover of more than 2 million DKK. The participating companies have been chosen from a field of more than 50 candidates based on the assessment of the potential of internationalisation and the strength of the company’s business idea.

Each of the participating companies will be affiliated with an international growth centre and will be awarded with business development and services worth more than approx. 1.5 million DKK. The companies will receive consultancy from international customers, partners and opinion formers in order to choose the right product and market strategy. Among the consultants in the programme you will find international experts such as Dan Meiland, former CEO in Egon Zehnder, and Lesa Mitchell, President in Kauffman Foundation, US.

TimeLog will use the participation in the GazelleGrowth to develop and execute an ambitious international venture over the next few years. By servicing 130 international customers today, we already know the difference between selling software in Denmark and abroad – a knowledge that together with support from the GazelleGrowth will result in a substantial growth in the Northern European markets and help us reach our target which is a turnover of 30-50 million DKK in 2013.

We will regularly update our news section on the website and other social medias about our progress in the GazelleGrowth programme.

Video of the new TimeLog Tracker

Sascha Skydsgaard — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

TimeLog Tracker 2.0 was released with TimeLog Project 5.1.

As TimeLog Tracker is one of the most used applications for time tracking in TimeLog Project, we have created a short video that guides you through the setup and use of the new TimeLog Tracker.

The video is without sound, but soon we will make one speaked.

Soon it will also be possible to get the same functionality for your iPhone, when we release TimeLog Tracker as an iPhone App this spring.

See video with the Tracker

Release: TimeLog Project 5.1

Sascha Skydsgaard — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

TimeLog Project 5.1 is now released to all of TimeLog's SaaS customers. The new version includes:

New version of TimeLog Tracker
Five new management reports
New date picker and other general usage improvements
Adjustments in several of the add-on modules to TimeLog Project

TimeLog Will Present Exciting New Products During Spring

Sascha Skydsgaard — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Soon the new TimeLog Project version 5.1 will be ready for release. Here, the biggest development is the new and improved TimeLog Tracker.

TimeLog Tracker 2

Compared to the old TimeLog Tracker, the new version incorporates significant improvements in design, functionality and usability – and as something new TimeLog Tracker 2 can be used on both Macs and PCs. We have built the tracker on a new technology (Silverlight) so we can continuously improve it.

Iphone application

In addition, we are in collaboration with Greener Pastures working on developing an IPhone application for tracking time. This builds on our new API for tracking time, like the TimeLog Tracker and will make it easy to track time on the road.

In addition to the current initiatives we will continuously present more news here on our webpage.

We are pleased to present the new features and hope you will enjoy them!

Climate Friendly IT

Jakob Mikkelsen — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

TimeLog has in recent years initiated various actions to reduce our CO2 consumption.

Like many other companies TimeLog uses a set of values as a management tool and to communicate our profile. In 2008 we added the value "Environmentally friendly" to this set of values.

The value is slightly off in relation to the other values we work with, but we also believe that the IT industry has an important responsibility to not pass on a big climate bill to future generations. Everything included, the IT industry today produces about 2% of the total CO2 consumption which is the same as the aviation industry.

Therefore TimeLog A / S has launched a series of initiatives to reduce our energy consumption - and we figure that by writing about them here, they could perhaps inspire other companies to do the same, or we could get input on how we can do more:

We have put energy-reductions on the agenda and made it a goal in itself to reduce energy consumption.

Since 2005 we have used online meetings. We have to date held more than 1,000 meetings over the Internet. A large proportion of these meetings we would have flown to, if the possibility of an online meeting had not existed. We can see from our records that after we really started using online meetings, our travel activity has fallen dramatically.

TimeLog Project has in the course of time been sold both as a SaaS solution - on our servers in our data centre - and as an installed solution - on the customer's server(s). The SaaS solution is far more energy efficient because the load of many clients is spread over fewer, more powerful and dedicated servers. Today we primarily sell TimeLog Project as a SaaS solution.

We have adjusted our organization – using AutoPowerOff plug banks with USB sockets, to ensure even the most forgetful programmer turns off all equipment. We use energy saving bulbs, and have implemented a policy of turning off all equipment after work. Furthermore, we consider the energy load when considering whether to purchase new equipment, etc.

Our test and development server’s setup has been changed, so they go to sleep at night when there is no activity.

We are working on replacing the last parts of 32-bit code in TimeLog Project. This technical limitation prevents us from fully exploiting virtualization and creating a more efficient Cloud solution. Once this is ready, TimeLog Project can be hosted locally in the various markets we are in using services like Microsoft Azure or Amazon S3/EC2. This is a more energy-friendly solution than dedicated servers. Initially only our Team customers will be hosted by the cloud.

We use virtualization on our own development-and test-, and document servers.

These are examples of actions on our part. This is certainly not enough - and this post should not be seen as an excuse for not doing more. But unlike the airline industry the IT industry can easily go from being part of the problem to being part of the solution.

Do you have suggestions to further improve our practices then please send an email to info@timelog.dk.

If you want further information about the IT industry's challenges and proposed solutions, we recommend looking at the project Greening IT and following The National IT and Telecom Agency's recommendations.

How strong is your password?

Sascha Skydsgaard — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

We have previous emphasized the importance of using strong passwords for TimeLog Project. Now, a recent analysis of 32 million passwords conducted by security company Imperva, revealed that the most common password is 123456, while the 2nd most popular is the equally inventive 12345.

Here’s a few tip to secure your data by using strong passwords

Sort out passwords

Far too many users have unsecure passwords. Storage of passwords is often an equally big problem. Therefore, make sure your security policy includes rules on passwords.

In TimeLog Project it is possible to set up rules for which passwords can be used. Make sure the most simple passwords aren’t accepted (e.g. same password as user name, few characters) and that a certain password length is required. A strong password should contain letters, numbers and signs.

In addition to using too simple passwords, another common mistake is that people use the same passwords for both private and professional accounts. This can cause lapses in corporate security as most people either share their passwords with close friends, or their partner. Also, if a home computer is hacked and one single password used for everything, it is quite possible that this password will also enable the hacker to gain access to the victim’s work data/intranet.

Avoid “Master” passwords

Giving employees the same password when introducing a new IT system or having a generally applicable password is a bad idea. Even worse, is if passwords are constructed using a model (e.g. Delmar1, Delmar2, Delmar3 etc.)

If you want to read more about the analysis, as well as the security levels in TimeLog Project, read more here:

Can you guess what “123456” is?

Consumer Password Worst Practices

Security and access in TimeLog Project

New Release - Help Desk Extranet

Sascha Skydsgaard — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

In continuation of our Christmas present where we made TimeLog Extranet free for all customers, we have also released an extranet for our Help Desk module. This means that it is now possible for your customers to report support cases (tickets) directly in TimeLog Project.

As a user of TimeLog Project you will be able to see who has reported the support cases and your customers can view both old and new support cases via the extranet.

You can read more about TimeLog Help Desk on our website or contact TimeLog for further information.

If you already have TimeLog Help Desk connected to your TimeLog Project, you can use the new user guides to get started.

I03 - Creating Extranet Access

I04 - Extranet-Customer Access

M01 - Create a Support Case Using Extranet Access

2010 Will be a Year of Growth!

Søren Lund — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

After a year of recession - and zero growth in TimeLog, we found that from the summer of 2009 small and especially medium-sized businesses were back in the market to buy tools for efficiency and optimization.

In the years 2005 to 2008 TimeLog experienced an annual revenue growth of 40-50% in the business area of SaaS solutions, while the period from July 2008 to July 2009 was marked by zero growth, albeit with very limited loss of customers.

And the lost customers were primarily the very small Danish companies, who reached a critical size of less that 3 users where a TimeLog Business system does not deliver solid value. Hopefully we have resolved this issue by offering Team Edition.

Now however, we are back with growth rates higher than before the crisis, and we can even see that the market for SaaS solutions for the public sector is developing very positively.

Moreover, it is positive that the growth is felt both nationally and internationally - despite the significant global competition from especially U.S. products, which dominate the time tracking solutions market.

So we have switched off the crisis talk and look forward to 2010 with the expectation of a year with solid growth and solid black numbers on the bottom line - for us and hopefully also for our many dedicated customers and users.

Happy New Year!

TimeLog Project- Now in Three Different Versions

Sascha Skydsgaard — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Due to an increased demand for both a simpler and a more complex system than the current TimeLog Project, we have chosen to offer TimeLog Project in three different versions: Team, Business and Enterprise. It will therefore be possible for all businesses to find a version that suits their needs exactly.

All three versions are based on the same platform and user-friendliness, however, the number of features and services vary, but common to them all is that it is possible to grow from, for example, a Team edition to an Enterprise edition if the need arises. Although there are differences in the number of features, all three systems are based on time tracking, project management and invoicing.

TimeLog Project Team is aimed at smaller companies in growth, where it is possible to have up to 10 users. Here some features are sliced off to make the system as simple as possible. With this edition there is no support or implementation, however both a user guide and various videos introduce users to the system.

Get a 30 day trial version

TimeLog Project Business is our most popular version and the version the other two systems has been modelled after. This version is the most known today, which allows you to manage more complex projects than in the Team Edition.

Try an online demo

TimeLog Project Enterprise is aimed at larger companies and contains extended functionality in comparison to our Business edition. This edition is intended for companies that want all Business edition features and an integrated division structure, unlimited support, a sandbox to test major releases, and an attached key account manager.

Want to hear more about TimeLog Project Enterprise? Please feel free to contact us for further information on tel 70 200 645 or write to us.

A Splendid End to 2009

Anders Brandstrup — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

With the addition of 7 new Business Edition customers in 4 countries during the last month TimeLog effectively ended an autumn marked by the morning air and solid growth both on both the national and international markets

We welcome:

Mærsk Maritime Technology, Denmark
RDC Environment, Belgium
XL Insurance, Switzerland
Accedo, Denmark
Daman IT, Denmark
Hict GmbH, Switzerland
IRM AB, Sweden

So the year’s last days were marked by frantic activity in the implementation of the new customers and servicing of all our existing customers, who are always more "active" up to the turn of the year.

Free Extranet is this year’s Christmas present

Anders Brandstrup — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

From today the expansion TimeLog Extranet has become part of TimeLog Project – and at the same time it becomes free to use. All TimeLog’s customers were told this in this year’s Christmas card. Also, all future customers will also benefit from the Christmas present.

TimeLog Extranet enables the company to give its customers access to project information, such as registered and invoiced time, the task plan, allocations, progress reports and invoices.

Datasheet for TimeLog Extranet

As a new feature businesses that also have TimeLog Help Desk can let their customers report support cases through the extranet.

Product sheet for TimeLog Help Desk

TimeLog Extranet is already available to TimeLog customers. However, customers who have TimeLog Project installed on their own server will have to wait until next update. Customers who already have TimeLog Extranet, will no longer have to pay for it in the future.

The Extranet is activated in the system administration under “General Settings”. Check the box next to “Extranet” and click on “Update”. To set up users with logins and rights go to “Extranet Administration”, which is under “Management Reports”.

We have written some user guides to help your company get started using TimeLog Extranet:

I03 - Creating Extranet Access

I04 - Extranet-Customer Access

M01 - Create a Support Case Using Extranet Access

Adjust Flex Accounts and Projects at The Turn of The Year

Thomas S. Gudmandsen — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

2009 is nearing its end, and it is time to make any needed adjustments to the flex accounts and projects in general.

Flex Accounts

Depending on local agreements only some flex hours may be transferred to the next quarter or year. The turn of the year is therefore a good time to adjust the flex account, so the year 2010 starts with a clean slate.

Projects in General

Many TimeLog Project customers use general projects to track time on internal processes. If these internal projects are meant to reflect the financial year, it would be a good idea, already now, to create the general projects for year 2010.

The easiest way of doing this is by creating a new project based on an existing project and including the allocations. By clicking on Save the project is created with project tasks, budgets and allocated employees. The task period (start to end date) begins on the date the project is created and lasts the same period as the copied tasks.

Another important issue at the end of the year is to enter the bank holiday calendar for 2010. This can be done under System Administration -> Bank Holidays.

Invoicing in the public sector

Søren Lund — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Just like the rest of the world TimeLog has been affected by the financial crisis triggered by the Lehmann Brothers’ crash in autumn 2008.In the autumn we saw a noticeable cooling of the demand for solutions aimed at the consulting industry, this was especially the case for solution for 20 users or more. However, in the midst of this development we have noticed a positive trend within supplying solutions to public or publicly funded organisations.

3 distinctive features characterise the development:

1. Organizations are increasingly being imposed to operate on commercial terms
2. Organisations increasingly demand web based solutions for invoicing and financial management of projects
3. Organisations increasingly demand SaaS solutions instead of licensed solutions.

Many public sector organisations, however, do not have access to the necessary facilities required for the current ERP- and journalisation solutions.

TimeLog Project offers a combined solution for salary management, time tracking, project management and invoicing. Thereby the attractive business model, SaaS, with low initial costs is combined with a coherent business system, without incurring costs for maintenance of servers, back-up and IT infrastructure.

TimeLog Has in recent years gained a range of new customers within the public sector, such as regions, Business Link Central Denmark, The Energy Service Denmark, The Danish Council of Ethics, and the trend is set to continue in coming months.