allows you to monitor where time is spent within your business. This helps tourism operators understand operational costs, the profitability of different services, and identify areas for increased efficiency, leading to better decisions about pricing and staffing.
Accessing this feature
From your main Dashboard, look for the navigation menu on the left side of your screen. Click on 'Time Tracking'. You can also access it quickly by going directly to: https://launchpad.tourismaccelerator.com.au/timetracking (just replace launchpad.tourismaccelerator.com.au with your specific organisation's URL if it's different).
How to use it
There are a couple of ways to track time: using a real-time timer as you work, or adding time manually after the fact. We'll cover both!
Using the Timer (for real-time tracking)
This is fantastic if you want to track your time as you're working on a specific task.
Find Your Task: On the Time Tracking page, you'll see a section where you can select a Project (e.g., 'New Outback Adventure Tour') and then a specific Task within that project (e.g., 'Research Accommodation', 'Develop Marketing Copy'). If you don't have a specific task yet, you can often just select the project.
Add a Note (Optional but Recommended!): In the 'What are you working on?' field, type a quick description of what you're doing right now. This helps you remember later! For example, "Calling local suppliers" or "Designing social media ads."
Click the Play Button: You'll see a green Start Timer button (it might look like a play icon ▶️). Click this, and your timer will begin counting up!
Work Away! Now you can focus on your task. The timer will keep running in the background.
Click the Stop Button: When you've finished that specific task, return to the Time Tracking page and click the red Stop Timer button (it might look like a square ⏹️).
Review and Save: The system will automatically create a time entry with the start and end times. You'll have a chance to review it. If everything looks good, click Save Entry and you're done!
Adding Time Manually (for recording time after you've worked)
Sometimes you forget to start the timer, or you're recording hours for work done offline. No worries, manual entry is here to save the day!
Click Add Manual Entry: On the Time Tracking page, you'll see a button that says Add Manual Entry (or something similar, like Log Time). Click this.
Fill in the Details: A form will pop up. Here's what you'll need to fill in:
Date: Choose the day you worked.
Start Time: Enter when you started the work.
End Time: Enter when you finished the work.
Project: Select the relevant project from the dropdown list.
Task (Optional): If applicable, select a specific task.
Description: Briefly explain what you were doing. This is super helpful for remembering later!
Click Save Entry: Once you've filled everything out, click the Save Entry button, and your time will be recorded!
Editing or Deleting a Time Entry
Made a mistake? That's okay – it happens!
Find the Entry: On your main Time Tracking page, you'll see a list of all your recorded time entries. Find the one you need to change.
Click Edit or Delete: Next to each entry, you'll usually see an Edit (pencil icon ✏️) and a Delete (bin icon 🗑️) option.
Make Your Changes: If editing, adjust the times, project, task, or description, then click Save Changes. If deleting, confirm you want to remove the entry.
What You Can Do With the time tracking feature, you can:
Record your hours for specific projects and tasks, either in real-time or manually.
Categorise your time to understand where effort is being directed within your tourism business.
View your daily, weekly, or monthly time logs to get an overview of your work.
Edit or delete any entry if you've made a mistake or need to adjust details.
Generate reports (usually found in a Reports section of the platform) to analyse time spent across your team or on different aspects of your business. This is where the magic really happens for business insights!
Tips
Here are some friendly tips to help you make time tracking a real asset for your tourism business:
Track Immediately: Try to track time as you go, or record it at the end of each day. It's much easier to remember details when they're fresh in your mind!
Be Specific with Descriptions: Instead of just "Admin," try "Responding to booking enquiries" or "Updating website tour descriptions." The more detail, the better your insights will be.
Create Clear Projects and Tasks: Work with your team to set up clear project categories (e.g., "Tour X Development," "Marketing Campaign Y," "Customer Service") and specific tasks under them. This makes recording much more consistent and useful.
Review Regularly: Make it a habit to check your time logs weekly. This helps you spot trends, identify areas where you might be overspending time, and ensure you're focusing on high-impact activities.
Use It for Quoting: If you offer custom tours or services, tracking your time can give you a much clearer idea of the actual effort involved, helping you create more accurate and profitable quotes for future clients.
Empower Your Team: Encourage your team members to track their time too! It helps them understand their own productivity and contributes to a comprehensive view of your entire organisation's efforts.
Need help?
For further assistance, contact us at [email protected]