I think it's going to depend on each individual VA. I use TraxTime and love it. It isn't free but it's very inexpensive. I used to use MyHours but it freezes up quite often and it drove me nuts. You mentioned having professional reports and I just wanted to comment on that.

I have been a VA for 4 years and have only provided time reports to a client one time. I don't believe in doing that. When you start providing time reports, it makes you seem more like an employee and that you are working hours for dollars. Instead, as a VA, you should be seen as a business owner who is providing assistance to another business owner and doing what you can to help their business grow. I provide assistance in forms of bookkeeping, marketing, and liaison to my clients' clients, in addition to the normal administrative assistance. There is no way I could provide time reports for many of those activities.

Just food for thought as you begin your business. Remember, you are a business owner, not an employee. If you can prove yourself in that way, you will draw those ideal clients to you.

Best of luck!

I use paymo as well - myhours just wasn't reliable enough for me.

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www.virtualsolution.com.au

Originally Posted by virtualsolution

I use paymo as well - myhours just wasn't reliable enough for me.

I was wondering if you could help me? I have downloaded Paymo but can't get the timer to work - is there some trick that I need to know?

Thanks

Well, I've tested Paymo & it seems to be quite intuitive. Now I'm ready for my first client to really test it out on.

Thanks to you all for all your great suggestions. Not only do you share which gadget, you all freely explain why. This really helps me make an informed decision.

Teri

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Teri Taylor
Allegro Business Solutions

Wow these are great suggestions. I am a newbie so I have to look into these.

Great information. Thanks, everyone. I just downloaded Paymo. I can't wait to try it.

Beth

Originally Posted by SupportMyOffice

Are you by chance using Timestamp with Vista? I was not sure if it was compatible and couldn't find documentation either way.

I have Vista and it works fine for me. Now that I use Freshbooks I'll give theirs a try.

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Edna

Thanks for all the info..I can now check out a few of these programs!!

Thanks for the heads up about Paymo. It's easy to use and has great features. Was able to set my client up in a few minutes.

I'm not a really new VA, but I am new to using actual time tracking s/w, so this thread is great. Right now I've just been keeping track on my calendar - which isn't horrible, but it's probably good to create better habits. Anyhow, I tried out the freebie/donationware TimeStamp, & it's pretty good... not as powerful/streamlined as I had hoped in terms of having to create separate timestamp files for ea project, but it still works fine.

Then I saw this re: OfficeTime & decided to try it out for free today... my response? Holy cats, OfficeTime is da bomb! I fully intend on purchasing it, & just wanted to say thanks for mentioning it here (& to anyone who has ever suggested it). LOL Yay!

Originally Posted by leedrozak

I used to use MyHours but with the downtime issues I switched to OfficeTime and love it. The best part if the created takes feedback and personally returns questions and answers and tries to incorporate suggestions into updated versions.

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shana
www.shanafore.com

Just gotta say, have you seen rescuetime.com? Reports on where you're actually spending your time. Amazing tool for getting better organized. Check it out here.

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Mary H. Ruth/Virtual Writing & Communications
http://www.writingVA.com

Originally Posted by vturley

I think it's going to depend on each individual VA. I use TraxTime and love it. It isn't free but it's very inexpensive. I used to use MyHours but it freezes up quite often and it drove me nuts. You mentioned having professional reports and I just wanted to comment on that. I have been a VA for 4 years and have only provided time reports to a client one time. I don't believe in doing that. When you start providing time reports, it makes you seem more like an employee and that you are working hours for dollars. Instead, as a VA, you should be seen as a business owner who is providing assistance to another business owner and doing what you can to help their business grow. I provide assistance in forms of bookkeeping, marketing, and liaison to my clients' clients, in addition to the normal administrative assistance. There is no way I could provide time reports for many of those activities. Just food for thought as you begin your business. Remember, you are a business owner, not an employee. If you can prove yourself in that way, you will draw those ideal clients to you. Best of luck!

Vturley, execellent comment on providing time to clients make it seems more like you are an employee. But I do have a question--what if a client wants a report of our time, how do you address that?

Thanks,
Tracy

Wow, the information I am getting from VAF is wonderful. I had no idea there was so much available to us for use in our practice. I can't thank everyone enough, those who ask the questions, as well as those who have the answers.

Barbara Cooper
Preferred Virtual Services
www.preferredvas.com

The amount of resources I find on this site is FANTASTIC! No matter what I have a question about, the answer is here

Thanks so much, all of you!

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Joy Wilder
Wilder Office Approach

I use a stop watch in my windows toolbar. It is simple for me as I have one for each client that I work for and can very simply start and stop it as I begin and end a tasks.

Regards,
Kasey P. Lian
Virtual Assistant
www.virtualassistingusa.com