Most companies still treat time and cost as separate silos. Employees log hours in one system, finance teams track expenses in another, and reports are cobbled together weeks later. The result? Blind spots.
According to the PMI Pulse of the Profession 2020, organisations lose 11.4% of investment due to poor project performance—with inaccurate time and cost tracking a key contributor.
According to a Harvard Business Review study, companies lose an estimated £6 billion every single day because employees fail to record their time accurately. Inaccurate or incomplete timesheets don’t just waste productivity—they directly translate into missed billables and lost revenue opportunities.
This isn’t just inefficiency—it’s money slipping straight through the cracks.
Why Timesheets Alone Aren’t Enough
Traditional timesheets tell you what hours were worked, but not what those hours cost. Without connecting hours to costs:
• Budgets are based on estimates, not reality.
• Teams can’t detect overruns until it’s too late.
• Invoices are vague, leading to disputes with clients.
As ProofHub’s Project Management Report highlights, 57% of projects exceed their budget, often because teams fail to link labor and expense data.
From Hours to Insights: The Value of Linking to Costs
When timesheets are linked directly to cost tracking, organisations gain:
1.True Cost per Deliverable Know exactly how much each task, phase, or milestone costs. This helps refine estimates and pricing models.
2. Early Warning on Overruns If a phase is burning more hours than planned, managers see costs rising in real time and can course-correct.
3.Data-Driven Forecasting Past time-to-cost ratios provide a reliable baseline for future project estimates, improving accuracy and competitiveness.
4.Optimised Resource Allocation Managers can see whether high-cost staff are spending hours on low-value tasks—allowing smarter deployment of talent.
5.Client Transparency & Trust Invoices backed by clear timesheet-cost links build confidence. No disputes, no guesswork—just transparent data.
How Quantim Turns Hours into Insights
Unlike spreadsheets or fragmented tools, Quantim integrates timesheets and cost tracking in one platform:
•Unified Timesheet & Cost Logging Employees log hours with predefined cost rates—instantly converting time into real financial impact.
• Billable vs. Non-Billable Split Every entry can be tagged, giving managers a true picture of revenue-driving vs. overhead activity.
•Real-Time Dashboards Dynamic charts show cost burn-down against budgets—no waiting weeks for finance reports.
•Expense Integration Out-of-pocket costs, receipts, and vendor bills can be logged alongside time—providing a 360° view of project spend.
•Automate Approvals Manual approval chains slow down decisions. Automating expense and budget approvals keeps workflows moving and prevents idle time from inflating costs.
The Bigger Picture: Beyond Tracking to Profitability
Smarter cost tracking isn’t just an operational upgrade—it’s a strategic advantage.
• According to Capterra’s Time Tracking Report, businesses adopting automated time-cost systems save employees 2 hours per week, equal to 100+ hours annually.
• The PMI Pulse Report confirms that organisations with mature project reporting capabilities deliver 2.5× more projects on time and within budget.
By unifying timesheets and cost data, Quantim gives leaders the insight to protect margins, improve forecasting, and scale profitably.
Conclusion
Timesheets without cost data are just numbers. But when those hours are linked to real costs, they become insights—powerful tools for decision-making, forecasting, and client trust.
Quantim transforms timesheets from an admin burden into a profitability engine, helping businesses move from: Hours → Costs → Reports → Invoices → Insights.
Don’t just track time. Turn it into strategy.
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