Time accounting has lost its relevance

Time accounting tools used by different professional firms serve as the main source to monitor efficiency and performance of the company, project, team or single individual. Originally designed to reflect fair client bills and actual hours worked, over the past decade it has moved to internal control and employee exploitation zone and, therefore, lost its relevance in the rapidly changing and dynamic world.

1. Control kills creativity of the team; 2. Different context requires different amount of time to find a perfect solution; 3. Care is not measured in actual hours billed; 4. Fear to report hours due to management pressure as one can be unreasonably called inefficient; 5. Team salaries related to hours billed have a reverse incentive in the light of efficiency; 6. Clients do not pay more in case of poor project management. Quite an opposite.

There are two types of trending pricing models in the consulting environment: fixed fee (scope, complexity and timing of the project is clear), and fixed monthly fee (scope and complexity is not clear, however, there is a certain required level of efforts and competence estimated over the period of time). Time & material model, however, is no longer, and probably never has been, desired, by the clients. One may ask what is the purpose of bulky time accounting tools in the professional service firm. It is at most for the management of the firm to cover its poor management skills and bad sales decisions, and transfer the pressure of project economics on to the shoulders of the source of creativity – the team.

At Gooliver we neither advise our clients, nor do we engage ourselves, unless it is specifically requested by the client, in the time accounting exercise. We empower our teams with the full freedom to search and discover the best possible and most creative solution for our client.

Throw away time reporting garbage to the bin, unleash your creativity. Discover!