[doodlebugging]

Thanks for TimeSnapper Pro. I started using it in 2010 I think after cross-testing the field of options available. I especially like that I was able to purchase a permanent license as opposed to being locked in to a SaaS model where my time data ended up in someone else's control. Everything right on my machine where if it is lost I get all the blame so I never have to stand up from my desk and shake my fist at the cloud.

Excellent product for a consultant like myself to have on hand to document everything happening on their machine. The ability to change the screenshot interval and add notes along the timeline are real power tools for someone involved in multiple projects every day. You can secure your time record snapshots with a password. Playback at multiple speeds so you can jog your memory by browsing the timeline to the exact time when you flipped to something else. Classify by project, client, etc.

Really a great bit of software.

I once found one of my invoiced time periods being challenged during a regular audit of one of my client's operations. I frequently billed long hours since I worked long hours on 24-hour call (remote oil and gas data processing and support of international operations). The auditor called and requested anything I had that could support a particular time period where I billed "excessive" hours (>20 consecutive). I told them I would get them everything that I had and asked whether they were interested in any other dates or time periods or work for specific projects. They narrowed it to one single invoice entry so that made it simple for me.

Thanks to TimeSnapper I was able to produce a GIF movie of the screenshots (I always used a 1 minute snap interval to allow fine-grained operations review) during the requested interval that documented everything happening on screen and I provided a PDF of the notes dumped from that interval documenting phone calls taken, etc. I also sent copies of my handwritten notes I always maintain as primary memory-jogging tool. In the return note to the auditor I asked if they were interested in any other dates or time periods and offered to send an archive on their request.

The auditor called me up and we talked for a while and they thanked me for the detailed records and told me they wouldn't need anything else.

It really helps that my wife is a CPA/Auditor/Fraud Examiner. Tools like TimeSnapper Pro helped me in my business to maintain excellent records about day-to-day operations that made it simple for me to invoice clients for all the time that I spent on their behalf.

Thanks /u/LeonB

[LeonB]

Wow! Thanks for sharing this!

[doodlebugging]

No, thank you!

Your hard work and thoughtful programming not only made it possible for me to document my efforts no matter what I was doing on my machines, but it made it easy.

That is the true measure of success with any programming effort.

You created a product that 1) I could install on my machines, read through the documentation and understand how to make it work for me without any friction since it is well-documented, 2) I could parameterize my record-keeping (even allowing changing things on the fly) to fit my own unique situation so that I could get compensated fairly for all of my time that I spent dealing with my client's problems, 3) I could archive and export in common formats to form the basis for reports that I needed to satisfy client requirements and help them determine how much value as a consultant I added to their projects.

Bravo! It's a great piece of work.

Before choosing it I ran side by side comparisons with other similar apps including some that stored all my usage data in a cloud or in a proprietary format with hoops to jump through to be able to prepare invoices and reports. The pure simplicity of using TimeSnapper Pro and the fact that I had all the usage data locally stored where I didn't have to depend on someone else's cloud availability when an invoice was due and all the other well-designed features including the ability to lock it all behind a password made my choice simple.

For most of the shitty projects I worked on I billed by the minute hoping that some asshole would challenge that, knowing that I had everything I needed to support that granularity. I really wanted them to come back and challenge some of the other invoiced time. Those ducks are still in a row if I ever need them thanks to my usage of your software.

I frequently worked really stupid hours, sometimes billing more than 40 hours in a 48 hour period when they hit me with a time-sensitive task that had to be completed now. I remember too many times getting a call late on Friday telling me about new data that needed to be processed for a meeting on Monday morning. I got it done and documented all my time and got paid.

You're the bestest!

[LeonB]

Thanks again. Btw, I certainly didn't code it and maintain it single-handed -- my co-founder Atli Björgvin Oddsson deserves the credit for all the good bits.

I have to say -- I'd rather you worked sane hours, and pushed back a bit. You only get one life, and giving too much of your time to (for example -- as I've spent years in that industry too) the oil and gas industry isn't everything in life.

"You work sixteen hours and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt" --some old blues legend probably

[earleybird]

Perhaps not a blues but folk legend Merle Travis :-)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixteen_Tons

[LeonB]

Cheers — Merle Travis after whom “Travis picking” is named!

If you’ve ever attempted Travis picking, and you haven’t spent a heck of a lot of time practicing it, you may recoil in horror at the name.

Looking deeper into it - “Travis” picking really goes back to Arnold Schultz (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Shultz) — who is practically lost to history, having never been recorded.