A Guide to Mastering Timesheets in Microsoft 365 with Timeneye

Can you create timesheets effortlessly, without switching multiple apps? Are you tired of chasing down tasks a projects and never knowing what you've worked on?

Discover how you can simplify timesheets while working on your favorite Microsoft 365 product, by using the Timeneye time tracking software. This guide will show you how to add Timeneye to Microsoft 365, and how to track time for projects, tasks, and meetings, so you'll never be late for submitting your timesheets again.

Let's dive in!

Why use Timeneye for timesheets in Microsoft 365?

Timeneye is the easiest way to track time in Microsoft 365 products without having to switch multiple apps.

Spreadsheets, like Excel, can also be used to create timesheets, but as more and more rows of time tracked are added, they can quickly become messy, overwhelming, and difficult to read. In addition to that, they lack the ability to visualize your time clearly.

With a time tracking tool, you can register time and visualize that time against the projects and clients you work with.

One of the major advantages of Timeneye (compared to other time tracking software) is its seamless integration, specifically designed for Microsoft, making it way easier to use.

Getting started with Timeneye in Microsoft 365

To get started you will both need a Microsoft 365 account (obviously!) and a Timeneye account. Just sign up to Timeneye (if you're not convinced, you can test it for 30 days, for free).

Trying to onboard your entire team? Use the feature to import all their Microsoft accounts. You can select your colleagues' accounts when you set up Timeneye so that they can receive their invitation link. You can do it for 2, 20, or 200 people, it doesn't matter: they'll be imported automatically and receive their invitation link.

As you set up Timeneye you'll be asked to create your projects too. We recommend doing it, however, there are easier ways to import all your projects and clients from Microsoft 365, which we'll see in a later paragraph.

Maximizing productivity with Timeneye in Microsoft 365

Once you've set up your Timeneye workspace, you can track time and create your timesheets. Every minute you track will be associated with a project (and a client if you need it), so you won't risk having half empty, or unclear timesheets. 

What you have to do is make sure that:

- you're connected to the software you use daily. By staying connected, you can seamlessly integrate Timeneye with your favorite Microsoft 365 products and track your time there. This eliminates the need for switching between multiple apps and ensures that every minute of your work is accurately recorded;

- you have set up all the aspects of work so that you can accurately categorize your time, to eliminate any ambiguity or confusion. This includes setting up projects, clients, and tags clearly in Timeneye, to reflect every aspect of your daily work;

- constantly keep an eye on AND review your timesheets, to be ready to share them with management and the rest of the team. You wouldn't want to rush and fill your timesheets last minute, or make mistakes that would be long and cumbersome to fix.

Connecting  time tracking with Timeneye and Microsoft 365 products

To reduce tab switching and improve accuracy, you can connect Timeneye to the Microsoft 365 tools you're already using.

You can seamlessly integrate Timeneye with the following Microsoft 365 tools:

• Microsoft Teams
• Microsoft Planner
• Microsoft To Do
• Outlook Calendar
• Azure DevOps

We won't go into the detailed steps you need to do to set the integrations - check out this detailed guide instead.

What you have to know is that, thanks to these integrations, you can include in your timesheets all the tasks, to-dos, meetings, and events that you have scheduled in your Microsoft 365 tools. 

1. By adding Timeneye to Microsoft Teams, you can track time and add entries to your timesheets directly from the Teams desktop app;
2. With the integration of Timeneye and Microsoft Planner, you can include all your assigned tasks and projects in your timesheets;
3. The Microsoft To Do integration allows you to include all your work-related to-dos;
4. By linking Timeneye with Outlook Calendar, you can include all your meetings and events in your timesheets. This integration ensures that you accurately track the time spent in meetings, whether it's a client meeting, a team briefing, or a project presentation.
5. Lastly, the integration with Azure DevOps enables you to include all your development tasks and activities in your timesheets. 

Setting up projects, phases, and tags to categorize your time

Every minute in Timeneye must be assigned to a project and a phase. You can automatically import your Microsoft Planner projects for example, and you'll be ready to start tracking time right away.

Or you can create brand new projects, it doesn't matter. You'll also have to create what Timeneye calls Phases to break down projects into smaller steps. 

Examples: a project called “Marketing” can have phases like “Social Media” or “Email Marketing”, or “Market Research”; if you build an app, the phases can be “App 1.0”, “2.0”, and so on.

Tags, on the other hand, allow you to assign labels to your time entries, making it easier to identify and categorize the activities in your timesheets. By using tags, your timesheets will be accurate and tidy, with no gaps or inaccurate logs in the hours recorded.

Sharing, exporting timesheets and data

As you continue to track time, and weeks pass, you'll start gathering a lot of hours in your Timeneye timesheets. Make sure to keep an eye on the time you track regularly, which will be easy with Timeneye's visual and colorful dashboard.

In the Timesheets section, you can see every single entry you create. There's also a specific filter (the Notes and Integration info filter) that will let you sort out entries by the integrations you've utilized to create them. This means you can quickly see how many events from Outlook Calendar, or To Do for Microsoft To Do you have tracked.

You can edit and fix any mistakes in your timesheets, and if you need to, you can export them to PDF or CSV.

Best practices for deploying Timeneye for timesheet management

1. Start by signing up for a free, 34-day trial;
2. Take full advantage of the trial period: use the software daily, set it up with your team, and see how it works;
3. Integrate Timeneye with your Microsoft 365 tools;
4. Start testing Timeneye as a small pilot for a few people, and then scale it to a bigger time (or to the whole company;
5. Monitor the team's usage and gather feedback throughout the trial: don't be afraid to test, get feedback, and repeat.

Conclusions

To sum it up, Timeneye's seamless solution for time tracking in Microsoft 365, makes it easier to create timesheets, eliminating the need to switch between multiple apps. 

By connecting Timeneye to various Microsoft 365 tools such as Microsoft Teams, Planner, To Do, Outlook Calendar, and Azure DevOps, you can track time for tasks, meetings, and projects directly from these platforms.

Whether you're an individual or managing a team, Timeneye provides the necessary features to categorize and organize your time effectively. 

Sign up for a free 14-day trial of Timeneye and experience the benefits for yourself!