Time Tracking for Consultants: Why It Is Important Why Time Tracking?

Time tracking has come a long way from clocking in with your timesheet when you come to work, and clocking out when you have finished your shift. With time tracking software, you can now keep a precise record of what you have done, when you have done it, and how long it has taken you. It will allow you to record exactly how long it takes you to complete a particular task. This information is important for several reasons, all of which are specific to the job you are completing. One of the most important jobs that absolutely needs to use time tracking, is law consulting.

Why is Time Tracking for Consultants so Important?

When you are a law consultant, you are paid to help with a particular aspect of a case. For example, if you can be considered an expert witness in something, you can be paid for your contribution to a case and the specialized information that you know that can help win a case. Essentially, you are getting paid for sharing what you know, and using that information to lead juries and judges to a particular judgment.

Time tracking becomes so important, because as a consultant, you are typically being paid by the hour. You cannot put a flat rate on your service, because you cannot determine who long it will take to complete a task at the beginning of a case. You may think it will take you ten hours to go through all of the information of a case and to present your information that you glean from it, but it may take twelve. And then of course you may need to testify to the information that you provide in a court of law, and that too becomes part of the hours that you must bill.

In order to maintain your productivity, and to ensure that you are getting paid the right amount for the amount of work that you are putting into something, time tracking for consultants is important. With time tracking software, you must be held accountable for your own actions and time, and your client must be accountable for paying you for that amount of time. You will record how long you work using the time tracker, and then share that with your clients in order to get a pay check.

But more importantly, you pace yourself on a case based on the time tracker. If you need to read through some paperwork, you can give yourself a set limit of time that you must have that reading completed by, and then work towards that. Time tracking software will allow you to create a time budget, a way to pace yourself during a long and busy work day, and ensure that you are completing all of the tasks that you need to in an efficient and effective way. Time tracking is the only way that consultants can truly be fairly compensated for the time and effort that they must put into a case.

About the Author

Gay Aida Dumaguing is a 27 years old Filipina from the Cebu, Philippines. A graduate of B.S. Information Technology from a well-known University, now a SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Expert who serves businesses, entrepreneurs and bloggers from around the globe. She's also the blogger of Exotic Philippines, a blog that promotes the Philippine tourism.

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