Today’s employees face many challenges in the workplace. Tough economic conditions mean that many employees are taking on extra tasks and working overtime. While employers are mandated by federal law to record your time worked and attendance, you may wish to use timesheet management software to track your hours as well. Almost any employee can benefit from using innovative apps and programs that assist with managing and tracking work tasks.

Track Your Own Hours and Earnings

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) provides an app for smartphones that allows employees to track their own hours worked. This unique app can help you to calculate your pay. It includes special tools to track holiday pay and commission earnings. Keeping track of your own time never hurts, especially if you are concerned about your employer’s record-keeping practices. Tracking your hours and earnings can also be helpful when creating a budget.

Plan and Record Your Work Activities

If you juggle a variety of tasks during the workday, you may need more than timesheet management software to keep you on track. An easy-to-use app called Sorted serves as a high-tech daily planner for your smartphone. Sorted allows you to record tasks and meetings. You can set reminders to ensure that you don’t forget that big get-together in the conference room. This unique app also lets you check off items as you have completed them. Sorted is the perfect application if you need a little extra help staying organized and meeting your project due dates promptly.

Employees who are concerned about potential discrepancies at work may wish to use the free Dropbox app to sync their smartphones with their personal computers or laptops. This app will allow you to keep track of emails and important documents. Dropbox is particularly helpful if you’re out of the office and need to answer a question about a document. Many employees prefer to use this app to sync their personal devices with laptops and computers prior to heading out for vacation.

A variety of smartphone apps and programs are available for today’s busy employee. Individuals who want to add a boost to their budgeting efforts can track hours worked and earnings with the DOL app. Sorted and Dropbox provide extra schedule and back-up power for any employee. Using smartphone apps can both streamline your work life and protect you in case of any disagreements with your employer.

Mercedes Potter is a part of an elite team of writers and in this blog, she focuses on the importance of timesheet management for both employees and employers. To see what else she’s writing about, follow her @CedesPotter.