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Customer Story: How Petra Timesheets & Project Management Work Together

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Use Cases

The Challenge

A growing software development company, BrightCore Solutions, was struggling with two main issues:

  • They couldn't easily see how staff were spending time on different tasks.
  • Project managers could assign work, but they had no way of knowing whether the estimated hours matched the actual work done.

The company knew they needed more than just a “to-do list” system or a simple clock-in/clock-out tool. They needed something that could tie time to projects.

Stage 1: Using Timesheets Alone

At first, BrightCore introduced Petra Timesheets.

  • Every developer logged their hours daily, choosing whether the time was billable or non-billable.
  • The HR team used the timesheets to run accurate payroll.
  • The finance manager pulled monthly timesheet data to generate client invoices—no more guessing hours or underbilling.
On its own, Timesheets solved payroll headaches and improved billing accuracy
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Stage 2: Using Project Management Alone

Meanwhile, the project management team tested Petra Project Management.

  • They set up a project for each client engagement: e.g., “E-commerce Platform for Client A.”
  • Each project was broken into milestones like Design, Development, and Testing.
  • Tasks were assigned to team members with clear deadlines.
  • Project managers tracked progress through milestone completion and status updates.

👉 On its own, Project Management gave them better organization and visibility into deliverables.

Stage 3: The Real Breakthrough — Combining Both

The real transformation happened when BrightCore linked Timesheets to Project Management.
Here's how it worked in practice:

  • The project manager created a milestone: “Backend Development - 100 Hours Estimated.”
  • A developer, Anita, was assigned to the task and logged her daily hours in Timesheets.
  • Those logged hours automatically updated the project's progress dashboard.
  • The system compared estimated vs. actual hours in real time.

When the project finished:

  • The client invoice reflected the exact hours logged against each deliverable.
  • The project manager saw which tasks went over or under budgeted time, helping improve future planning and quoting.
  • Leadership could view reports showing project profitability, staff utilization, and workload balance..

👉 Together, Timesheets + Project Management created a complete cycle: plan → assign → work → log → bill → analyze.

The Result

BrightCore Solutions moved from guesswork to data-driven management.

  • Payroll was faster and fairer.
  • Clients trusted their invoices because they were backed by transparent timesheet data.
  • Project managers learned how to estimate better and control costs.
  • Staff became more accountable, knowing their time connected directly to project outcomes.

👉 In short: Timesheets gave them the truth about time. Project Management gave them the truth about tasks. Together, Petra Business Suites gave them the truth about performance.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Timesheets alone is perfect for businesses that just need to track staff hours, manage payroll, and generate invoices without setting up full projects.
Absolutely. If your focus is only on assigning tasks, tracking milestones, and monitoring project progress, Project Management works on its own.
That's where Petra shines. Every task and milestone links to logged hours, so you can track time, cost, and progress in one place. This helps with accurate billing, better forecasting, and true performance visibility.
Yes, staff log their work directly in Petra Timesheets. However, the system makes it easy with task-based logging, reminders, and client/category tagging to reduce admin overhead.
Billable hours from Timesheets flow directly into client invoices. If tied to a project, invoices can even be broken down by milestone or task for transparent reporting.
Yes. When using both modules, project managers see planned hours vs. actual logged hours in real time, helping to spot overruns early and improve future project estimates.
Reports cover staff utilization, project profitability, workload balance, time spent on billable vs. non-billable activities, and milestone progress.
Not at all. Petra Timesheets & Project Management are used by consulting firms, marketing agencies, construction teams, NGOs, and more—anyone who needs to track work and deliver projects efficiently.