In this case study, we spoke with Philippe Linder, owner and Managing Director of Linder Management GmbH, about how they connect timeBuzzer with Asana, Outlook, and bexio via the open API to create an end-to-end digital workflow, and what tips he has for others on time tracking and automation.
What do you do and why do you track your time?
I am the owner and Managing Director of Linder Management GmbH in Switzerland. We advise and support companies and corporate groups, particularly in the sports, bike, footwear, and fashion industries, in the areas of digitalization, data & reporting, process optimization, automation, and AI.
Our work is strongly project- and client-based. We support both individual companies and corporate groups and often work on different projects and tasks in parallel. A typical workday therefore doesn’t consist of just a few large blocks of time, but many different activities: from consulting and project management to data analysis and software design, as well as the development and management of automated processes and interfaces.
Precise time tracking is therefore essential for us. We don’t just want to know how much time we work, but more importantly, which client, engagement, and specific task that time was spent on.
This information forms the basis for accurate billing, provides transparency into the actual effort involved in our engagements, and also helps us with planning, prioritization, and profitability analysis.
For us, it is essential that time tracking can be integrated into our daily workflow as easily as possible. The less administrative effort required to record and correctly assign a service, the more reliable and valuable the resulting data becomes.
What has improved since using timeBuzzer?
timeBuzzer has significantly improved our time tracking in two main areas: tracking itself is very quick and easy, while timeBuzzer also integrates extremely well into our existing system landscape.
In our daily work, the ease of use is a major advantage. We can switch between different clients, engagements, and activities and immediately record the time actually spent. This reduces the risk of smaller tasks, short phone calls, quick clarifications, or work between larger tasks going unrecorded.
What has become particularly valuable to us is the timeBuzzer API. We have started to view time tracking not as an isolated system, but as something connected to our other business processes.
Our client and engagement structures are managed centrally and connected with Asana, Outlook, bexio, and timeBuzzer. Tasks from Asana can therefore be assigned to the correct client and service structure, while the time actually recorded in timeBuzzer is available for billing, controlling, and planning. Through our own automations and Azure Functions, we are increasingly reducing manual maintenance and redundant data entry.
As a result, timeBuzzer is evolving for us from a pure time tracking tool into an important part of an end-to-end digital process, from the initial task to the time actually worked and billed.
I don’t want to give a general figure for the amount of time saved at this stage. For us, the benefits are more evident in the combination of less administration, higher data quality, and more complete tracking of our services. Smaller tasks in particular, which could previously be forgotten more easily, can now be recorded much more consistently and assigned to the correct client or engagement.
What I particularly like about timeBuzzer is the combination of extremely simple time tracking in everyday work and an open, easy-to-use API in the background. This allows us to maintain the user-friendly experience of timeBuzzer while building highly customized and increasingly AI-supported processes around it.
What tips do you have for others getting started with timeBuzzer?
1. Make time tracking as simple as possible: In my view, time tracking only works in the long term if it creates virtually no additional barrier in everyday work. This is one of timeBuzzer’s major strengths. My advice is therefore not to start with too much complexity, but to first establish a simple and intuitive tracking process.
2. Build your structure from the beginning with future use in mind: Before setting up clients, projects, and activities, think about what you ultimately want to do with the data you collect. For us, it’s not just about working hours, but also about clearly assigning time to clients, engagements, tasks, and billable services. A good structure pays off later in billing, controlling, reporting, and automation. At the same time, it should only be as detailed as you can realistically maintain in everyday use.
3. Use the API and connect timeBuzzer with your existing processes: If you already work with systems such as Asana, Outlook, an ERP, or other business applications, I strongly recommend exploring the API. We now connect timeBuzzer with Asana, Outlook, and bexio and automate parts of these processes using our own Azure Functions. This means information no longer has to be maintained separately in every system, and the time actually worked can be connected with the corresponding tasks, clients, and engagements.
My most important tip: Don’t view time tracking as an isolated administrative task. See it as part of your overall digital workflow. That’s when the time you track becomes a truly valuable source of data.