We all know the saying, time is money.
So, if you’re running a business and you’re not doing timesheets, what the hell is wrong with you?
For me, not doing time sheets is like sticking your fingers in your ears and going ‘la la la, I can’t hear you!’
Because timesheets aren’t just about tracking time. They’re about tracking margins.
And margins are the lifeblood of your business.
Let me explain.
Revenue is not enough
Many businesses assume they’re making a healthy profit based on revenue alone. But revenue means 🤬all if your costs – including time – aren’t accounted for.
If your team is spending more hours than scoped, you’re eroding your margins without even realising it.
Without accurate time tracking, you risk:
❌ Undercharging clients by failing to bill for all hours worked
❌ Over-servicing projects, eating into profits
❌ Inaccurate forecasting, leading to poor decision-making
❌ Burnout and inefficiency, as untracked time often means overworked teams.
It really boils down to simple mathematics:
Say you have a designer and a developer working on a project.
Designer: “This should take 5 days”
Developer: “My bits should take 10 days”
You: ‘Great, I will tell the client that’s how much it will cost.
But the designer takes 10 days and the developer takes 20. But because you’re not tracking their time, the only thing you can go on is your initial SOW.
And even if the project was a fantastic piece of work and your client is delighted, your margins will have plummeted because you’re not charging for how much time it really took.
And more importantly, the next time a job comes up and you ask your team to estimate their time, you will have learned nothing. And round and round you go, eating away at your margins day by day.
I firmly believe timesheets alone can contribute to bumping up margins by a good 5-10%. Without them, you’re flying blind when it comes to profitability.
I firmly believe timesheets alone can contribute to
bumping up margins by a good 5-10%. Without them,
you’re flying blind when it comes to profitability.
How timesheets protect your profit
Tracking time isn’t just about knowing who worked when. It’s about understanding how much effort goes into each project or client.
It’s data. Juicy, meaningful data.
✅ Charge based on actual time spent, not finger in the air guesswork
✅ Spot scope creep early and renegotiate before profits disappear
✅ Optimise productivity by identifying where time is wasted
✅ Allocate resources effectively, ensuring teams aren’t overloaded
✅ Free up capacity for more work
✅ Make informed business decisions about hiring, scaling and pricing.
The key to making timesheets work
Yes, invest in a timesheet program that makes tracking time quick and easy (I recommend Harvest or Teamwork). Yes, integrate them into daily workflows.
But the most important thing you can do is to show your team how the data benefits them, not just the company. Help them see that the timesheets are there to protect them – not micromanage them.
