In the past, the word ‘Harvest’ always reminded me of Thanksgiving. Food, family, good friends and company!  Ahhhhh.

Unfortunately, now, when I hear the word Harvest, I think of our new time tracking system.  What a downer!

Ok, everyone who likes keeping track of their time yell, “I do!”

Did you hear that?  Deaf silence.  Let’s face it, nobody likes keeping track of their time.  So, why is it so important?

In any business that produces something, whether that be a house, a widget, a piece of software, or in our case, interactive media products; it is critical to know how much it costs to make. In accounting terms, this is called Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). This cost is particularly important to consider when you have multiple projects and various phases of each product.

In determining the true cost of a product or COGS, you may want to ask yourself these questions: Is this product really profitable?  Should we continue to make it?  Should the individual making this product be working on it, or is their skill set better at something else?  Is this product, or portion of this product, something we should continue to make in-house, or outsource? The list goes on and on.

In fact, my best evaluation tool for the financial performance of our company is detailed time tracking. This tool provides more accurate estimates of how long a product will take to produce, and accordingly, how much profit can be gained. Underestimations will lead to less profitability, and overestimations may alienate clients. Additionally, we use time tracking to categorize the products we make into the most and least profitable per hour spent. This is a tool is essential to track how we are doing now, and how to plan for the future. Without it, I simply cannot do my job.

My job is to make this company more profitable, and to do that, I need the compliance of my staff. So, what is the incentive for the one who has to deal with the egregious daily task of detailed time tracking?  Their incentive: Profit.

  • Profit allows us to put a retirement plan into place and match 3% of your contribution.
  • Profit allows us to add other benefits for you and your family.
  • Profit allows us to say, “Hey, it’s Friday!  Let’s cut out early and go grab a beer.”
  • Profit allows us to purchase new chairs and desks and perhaps a nicer office space.
  • Profit pays for the party at Christmas time.
  • Profit allows us to increase your salary, or pay bonuses.

Need I say more?