Summary:
Frequently-asked questions about time cards vs time sheets.
Q. What is the differences between
time cards and time sheets? When should one or the other be used?
The Time Card is essentially a form for creating time sheets. They can
be used together, but usually aren't. Time cards are used by people
who run C&P all day, and want C&P to track their hours while
they work. Time sheets are used by people who track their hours on paper,
then enter them into C&P at the end of the day or the week.
These are the differences:
- The time card keeps a daily record of someone's
time while they work.
- The time card has a stopwatch that tracks elapsed
time on a job; the time sheet doesn't.
- The time card will compare someone's planned
hours vs. actual hours, then tell them if they need to account for
more hours.
- The time card needs to be posted, at which point
the job totals are updated.
- The time card can account for overtime (using
a special overtime rate for each staff member); the time sheet can't,
but you can enter your own overtime rate.
- A user can't add new job tasks from Time Cards
as a security measure, but can from Time Sheets.
Once a time card is posted (which can happen at
the end of each day, or at the end of the week), it becomes a time
sheet. Someone can see their posted time in the Time Sheets window.
Posting the week's time cards sets up blank time cards for the next
week.
- Time sheets let users see cost and billing rates
(which is an option); time cards never show rates.
- Time sheets let users enter time for any time
period, not just one day at a time. This makes it easier for someone
to enter several week's worth of time at once, or enter next week's
time in advance (vacation time, for example).
- Time sheets are posted automatically as they
are saved, updating job totals in real-time.
Both time cards and time sheets let you update
the job's traffic and schedule information interactive.
A user would use time cards if:
- A user has access to Clients & Profits all
day (that is, you purchase enough user licenses to support them).
- A user wants to see and track their hours throughout
the day, while they work
- A user wants C&P's stopwatch to time their
work as they work.
A user would use time sheets, not time cards, if:
- A user can't use Clients & Profits constantly
throughout the day (i.e., there's not enough licenses go to around).
- A user doesn't have enough RAM in their computer
to run C&P concurrently with other programs (e.g., Photoshop).
A user doesn't work close enough to the computer
to easily record their time (i.e., they're never at the desk). 
Q. What is more commonly used, time cards or time
sheets?
About half the sites using Clients & Profits Pro use time cards,
while the rest use time sheets. Most use a combination of both, depending
on the needs and capabilities of each department.
Q. What is the period on time sheets indicate?
This is the accounting period in which the time was used. It is used
by the cost, work in progress, and job profitability reports (which
don't apply too much to Job Tracker). You can create a custom report
to print time by period if you wanted, although most people want it
by date.
