In this case study, we asked Alexander Dort from Alexander Dort GmbH about his experience with timeBuzzer – and what tips he has for you.
Why do you track your time?
I have been working in the graphic industry for over 35 years as a designer, production manager, marketing consultant, author, and programmer. In 2022, my son Robin Dort and I founded Alexander Dort GmbH, through which we provide medium-sized companies with complete solutions in marketing, PR, design, photography and video, as well as communication consulting. Our portfolio also includes web development, app programming, and AR and VR projects.
We offer our services on a subscription basis with monthly bookable hourly retainers. This allows us to support our clients continuously in all matters of communication, design, content, and technology – fairly, transparently, and flexibly. For this, precise time tracking is essential.
What has improved since using timeBuzzer?
We’ve been using timeBuzzer for some time now – in our opinion, it’s a fantastic tool for time tracking. We don’t think it’s possible to document your working hours better, more intuitively, or more accurately than with timeBuzzer.
Of course, we also ordered the optional timeBuzzer hardware for each team member and made the use of both software and hardware a permanent part of our daily workflow at every workstation. In other words, every single working minute is recorded by every employee, assigned to a specific client and project, and used for our monthly retainer billing.
We were especially impressed by the visual feedback from the LED color ring and the easy switching between projects using the hardware buzzer. But since we also often work mobile on our MacBooks, we even 3D-printed our own mount for the buzzer so we can track efficiently on the go as well. Our clients know our tech affinity – and by now, they celebrate our “gadgets” just as much as we do.
What tips do you have for others?
Setup and onboarding went smoothly – everything was ready to use on the very first day. Since we’re a small team, no major convincing was necessary. The need for and the benefits of a fully integrated time tracking system were immediately clear.
Since then, we’ve been tracking all working hours consistently by client and project. Our project structure reflects our full range of services. We simply add new services as needed.
The hardware is configured so that the LED color ring reflects each client’s assigned color – making it easy for everyone on the team to see at a glance who’s currently working for which client. And because the buzzers are mounted directly to our workstations using custom 3D-printed holders, they’re always with us – even during external meetings.
