Gmail as a Time Tracking/Invoicing Tool
I do a bit of consulting work on the side. One of my biggest administrative headaches has always been tracking time and invoicing accurately. It never failed, the end of the month would roll around, and I would spend hours figuring out how much to bill to whom. Not a great way to run a business.
I tried several systems to track my time, but they all failed me in one particular aspect - portability. I needed to be able to enter time, as I worked it, from wherever I was at that moment. Timely (no pun intended) entry of data was the only way that I found I was ever accurate in my record keeping. I tried several online systems, and while very full featured, they still required a working browser and web connection. I tried an Excel document that I kept synced to my Treo using DocumentsToGo, and while that was very, very close, the entry interface on a tiny 320x320 screen left a lot to be desired.
Last month, I stumbled across an idea that I think is perfect: Gmail. I'm a huge Gmail fan, and was a pretty early adopter. I sent myself an invite (I still have 97 left) and created a new Gmail account called 'youwishiputmyaddresshere.time@gmail.com'. Now when I finish a billable item, I send an email to that address with the pertinent info in the subject line, such as, "My Client - 1.25 hours - Email Troubleshooting". If I feel the need, I can expand on that in the body of the email, but that's pretty much all I need. The message automatically has a date and timestamp, so no need to record that. At the end of the month, I go into my 'time' Gmail account, and there are all my entries. I can search for a specific client since I use consistent abbreviations for them all, and once I've transferred the time to an invoice, I can archive the messages.
Personally, it's perfect. And free. I no longer have any excuse for not tracking my time, since I can send email from just about anywhere, thanks to my Treo. If you have need of something like this, I strongly suggest you try it before spending time and money on solutions that you may not need.
I tried several systems to track my time, but they all failed me in one particular aspect - portability. I needed to be able to enter time, as I worked it, from wherever I was at that moment. Timely (no pun intended) entry of data was the only way that I found I was ever accurate in my record keeping. I tried several online systems, and while very full featured, they still required a working browser and web connection. I tried an Excel document that I kept synced to my Treo using DocumentsToGo, and while that was very, very close, the entry interface on a tiny 320x320 screen left a lot to be desired.
Last month, I stumbled across an idea that I think is perfect: Gmail. I'm a huge Gmail fan, and was a pretty early adopter. I sent myself an invite (I still have 97 left) and created a new Gmail account called 'youwishiputmyaddresshere.time@gmail.com'. Now when I finish a billable item, I send an email to that address with the pertinent info in the subject line, such as, "My Client - 1.25 hours - Email Troubleshooting". If I feel the need, I can expand on that in the body of the email, but that's pretty much all I need. The message automatically has a date and timestamp, so no need to record that. At the end of the month, I go into my 'time' Gmail account, and there are all my entries. I can search for a specific client since I use consistent abbreviations for them all, and once I've transferred the time to an invoice, I can archive the messages.
Personally, it's perfect. And free. I no longer have any excuse for not tracking my time, since I can send email from just about anywhere, thanks to my Treo. If you have need of something like this, I strongly suggest you try it before spending time and money on solutions that you may not need.
posted by DFMerrick at 13:23
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