Web Based Time Tracking: Harvest and 14Dayz

In my experience, time tracking can be a real pain. Typically, time tracking "software" (which often amounts to a spreadsheet) is developed and maintained in-house. The maintenance side of things can be a job in and of itself. But it usually falls under one of the many projects the "tech guys" are managing, meaning that it doesn't get the attention it deserves. That's especially true for smaller businesses.

For those reasons, I'm particularly excited about two new services I've come across recently: Harvest and 14Dayz. Both are web based time tracking systems. Both save you time and money when it comes to the all important task of time tracking.

14Dayz is a project of Brains4All, a Netherlands based Web consultancy that focuses on design and usability. I mention that because overall 14dayz seemed easier and more intuitive to use, even though I found both services comparable in terms of features.

So what can you expect to see with these tools? Both provide the ability to track Projects and Tasks (14Dayz prefers the term "Categories") for different members of your organization. Each come with powerful reporting too, so that you can track time over certain Projects, Tasks, and time periods. In Harvest, reports can be exported in CSV using the free version. But you need to have the paid "Personal" version of 14dayz to do so (in that version, you also get PDF Reports, which GetHarvest appears not to have).

Another feature I find particularly helpful is the timer. At the end of the day, trying to remember what exactly you did is sometimes troublesome. By keeping the browser window open, you can start a timer for any of the Project/Task combinations on your timesheet. When finished with a particular item, just click the timer again and you can see how much time was dedicated to that effort.

Pricing for each of these tools is quite competitive, although 14Dayz does offer a bit more options. Overall, I find them equally useful. Although I lean towards 14Dayz, I'd highly encourage you to decide for yourself, in consideration of your needs and comfortability.

One final note to independent professionals in particular. You probably don't have any managers hounding you about keeping track of your time. But I'd challenge you to start doing so. You'll get a much better picture about where you are devoting most of your efforts and then can decide if you need to prioritize your days better.

Happy Web Based Time Tracking!

What is the New Internet?

The web is swarming with new buzz words. Words like blogs, podcasts, RSS, wikis, mash-ups - just to name a few. Generally speaking, people refer to these new technologies as belonging to "Web 2.0" or the "New Internet". But what exactly do these terms mean?

Considerable effort has gone into defining the phrase 'Web 2.0'. More recently, there was somewhat of a legal dust-up over the Web 2.0 service mark. Most of these 'problems' exist only in the world of geek-dom though - they have little impact on real world uses of these technologies.

So, what should you know about Web 2.0 and the New Internet? For one thing, the phrase itself isn't important and neither are the "features" of these new technologies. Instead, its the impact they are having in redefining the way people use the Internet.

Over the past year, I've been analyzing Web 2.0 and the New Internet on my blog. Here at the Duct Tape Blog Channel, I'll be providing specific insight into how your business can leverage these tools, as well as keep you abreast of new developments. Stay tuned.