As a consultant, you must accurately track and manage your working hours to ensure that your consulting hours are paid correctly. Modern time tracking tools provide you with effective support. In this guide, we explain the importance of time recording for consulting companies and show you proven methods and important criteria for choosing a suitable tool.
Digital time tracking for consultants: Why is it important?
Die digital time tracking Is crucial for you as a consultant to successfully complete the numerous parallel projects and to bill them promptly. It provides you with accurate data instead of incomplete reminders, enables you to review and manage productivity, ensures transparency with your customers and speeds up billing for timely cash flow. Project and customer-oriented time tracking tools, such as ZEP, i.e. help you save valuable time on administrative tasks.
4 + 1: The typical consultant week
“4 + 1" as a typical characteristic of a consultant week means that the consultant usually stays on site with the customer for four days and works in his office for one day — usually on Friday. On this day, everything organizational must be settled before it goes “on the road” to the customer again on Monday. The meticulous tracking of the working hours of the past week and the collection and submission of supporting documents for travel expenses It is really not one of the “favorite jobs” of a management consultant and is therefore often put on the back burner. However, as long working hours are not tracked, they cannot be billed either.
Main characteristic of a modern Time tracking for Management Consultancies Does it therefore have to be possible to track working hours and travel expenses on the go — via the Internet or via a mobile app — to enable. Usability is an important selection criterion. The fewer clicks the consultant needs to track their times, the better.
Working hours at Tier 1, Tier 2 & Tier 3: These are the differences
Working hours in management consulting vary significantly depending on who belongs to tier 1, tier 2 or tier 3 consultancies. Tier 1 and Tier 2 consultations Search as McKinsey, BCG, Bain & Company as well as Kearney, Oliver Wyman, Strategy & Roland Berger generally expect longer working hours, often Until late in the evening In on some days. In contrast, offer Tier 3 consultations Like Simon-Kucher, ZEB or Horvath as a rule Slightly more balanced working hours, which are often comparable to regular office hours.
Time tracking in consulting: What else should you consider?
Time tracking in consulting is crucial for productivity and billing accuracy. But what else should you consider to get the most out of this tool?
Project time recording beats time log
Digitale Project time tracking Surpasses a manual hour log in several aspects. It allows you to track working hours more precisely, directly link to projects to avoid errors, and provides a real-time overview of the work performed by consultants. This significantly improves project controlling and facilitates well-founded decisions on resource planning — also for future projects. It also speeds up the billing process through automated data processing and minimizes errors, resulting in faster billing and improved cash flow.
Time tracking and Project Controlling in Management Consulting: The Basis for Entrepreneurial Success
In order to benefit from the ongoing industry boom, time tracking and project controlling play a central role for management consultancies. The company's success is only ensured if the working hours worked for the various customer projects can be tracked and billed promptly and precisely. In addition, it is important for project and management not to lose track of the “jungle” of different, usually parallel consulting projects.
Prompt billing and project controlling: These are the benefits of ZEP!
In business consulting, timely billing of project working hours is crucial. ZEP offers the additional module for this Invoicing, which not only automates the tracking and combination of working hours with hourly and daily rates, but also offers clear added value thanks to its functionalities:
🕒 Automated billing: Tracking times are automatically combined with the stored rates.
📅 Reminder function: Notifications about pending statements and incoming payments.
📊 Comprehensive evaluations: Overview of invoices issued, open item list, sales forecasts and more.
🔄 Interfaces: Integration with other systems for seamless processes.
This module not only supports consultants in the efficient processing of project invoices, but also provides management with valuable tools for project and Business Controlling.
Conclusion
Accurate, accurate time tracking and accounting of project working hours is crucial for entrepreneurial success in management consulting. Modern time recording tools such as ZEP offer consultants crucial functions for efficiently managing their working hours. The additional module for invoicing optimizes the combination of working hours with hourly and daily rates, increases accuracy and speeds up the billing process.
Consultants benefit from reliable, automated billing that minimizes errors and improves cash flow through timely payments. The reminder function ensures that no statements are forgotten, while comprehensive evaluations such as an open item list and sales forecasts offer additional control and planning options. With ZEP, Consultants and Management have a clear overview of all ongoing projects and can plan resources efficiently to ensure sustainable business success.
