Time Is (Lost) Money

So recently, when I came across a neat-looking new time-tracking concept called Tempo (free to start, with versions for 25 people running $49 a month), I was intrigued. So I started testing the software for a few months back. The code is made by Branchburg, N.J.-based software development firm Zetetic. The notion behind Tempo is to create an easy-to-use, cross-platform time-tracking tool that lets you and your employees enter hours anywhere on the Web or most cell phones. And then tag those hours with information - job codes, notes, whatever -- and stores the whole shebang where it can be studied and even used for some light accounting and invoicing.

And while Tempo is far from perfect -- this is still time-tracking software and you can expect a mighty battle getting your people to use it -- in general, the program provides a robust environment that can improve how you manage and track your company's time. It's not bad.

What makes Tempo fairly unique is that it both harnesses the collaborative power of the Web and works as a free-standing application. I could use Tempo anywhere I wanted: from my desktop, any Web browser, a PC, a Mac, an iPhone, a mobile browser and even Twitter. And I don't need a monster productivity suite to run it. Installation and setup of Tempo is the software's strong suit. Simply log on, create a free account, define your project and some basic definitions, hit the start clock and voila: not only are you logging hours, you can see when one of your people is logging theirs. And that is pretty darn slick.