The more information you exchange, the better prepared you\u2019ll be for when you actually need to put together a report. There will be little to no second-guessing, as you\u2019ll know which information they want to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Make sure to either record this meeting (with the client\u2019s permission, of course), or take extensive notes. It makes information categorization and reporting as easy as paint-by-numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to categorize your work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
When you categorize your work, it reflects your productivity and how you tackle tasks. However, when reporting, be prepared for client questions to explain those decisions. Most reports rely on several categorization methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Categorizing by priority<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Priority is one of the most frequent methods. It works for both clients and contractors because time is of the essence for every project. When everything is on time, you save the client money, help your own productivity, and keep the business relationship running smoothly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Determine what aspects of the project are most important. For example, as a writer, if a client gives me a set of topics to work with, I would discern whether they primarily need research, interviews, datasheets, or something else entirely. Because the type of text and its goals will determine what kind of preparation I need to do. An article based on interviews requires coordination with other people, so I would probably put that as my first objective and organize tasks around it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the same way, I would explain my plan and decisions to the client, and how my strategy helps the project in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Categorizing by task type or technology used<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The next method relies on the project breakdown. Once you have the larger goals dissected into smaller steps, you can begin to lump them together into different types. For example: research, design, review, feedback, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, task types can include different platforms or software. Social media managers can categorize their work by the platform they use to say, promote a campaign. And they can track time spent on each, to later present to the client. Backed with their own reasoning and strategy, the person can then better explain how the project is going, and what choices were made to best push it forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Categorizing by time estimates<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
When the project is broken down into tasks, you may already be making mental time estimates for most of them. So, another method of categorizing work is by time required to finish them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this method is most useful for your daily schedule, it can provide some useful insight for the client as well. There is some benefit to using this categorization, as time estimates are a great indicator of how resources and finances are spent (important for clients). For example, Clockify by CAKE.com<\/a> lets you set time estimates for each task you do:<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then later compare the estimated times and actual tracked times. From there, you can generate a client report with only the essential information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Source: Make precise work time estimates<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Clockify has a robust reporting system that can help make tracking project estimates<\/a> and their presentation much easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Time tracking software used by millions. Clockify is a time tracker and timesheet app that lets you track work hours across projects.<\/p>\n\n This last one may sound a little weird. How do you categorize work by energy levels?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, when you break down the work you\u2019ve accepted, odds are you will shift tasks on your schedule depending on your productivity during the day. For me, morning starts with easier tasks and e-mail checking for the first hour, and then I move onto more difficult ones until lunchtime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You will naturally shift tasks that require more focus, effort, or research to the most productive hours of your day. Whether it\u2019s in the morning, afternoon, or evening. While clients who will ask for this kind of breakdown are really rare, the insight can be useful when reporting:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that we\u2019ve covered different avenues of tackling the work itself, let\u2019s take a look at when you should report to clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luckily, overbearing clients are slowly becoming a thing of the past. With newer generations come more professional individuals willing to listen and negotiate. However, they also require full transparency and fairness in return. This is why the reporting process will almost always be a matter of negotiations between you and them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two types of clients – those who like having some (healthy) supervision over the project<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take the time to come up with a template schedule you can use in cases like these. Odds are, the client will be more willing to participate in scheduling when they have a base to start them off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here is an example of how that template could look:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, your report schedule and types of reporting would vary from this example. The calendar should be made according to the industry you work in, how your client works, and most importantly – how you tackle the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By this, we mean the meetings you have at the beginning, and at the end of the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you first meet, you and the client may discuss rates, expenses, deadlines, and goals in more detail. However, it\u2019s good to follow up that meeting after a few days or a week with a project report laying out all those details. It\u2019s a way to make sure you\u2019re on the same page, and to reassure the client that the work has already started. This \u201cinitial\u201d report can include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, keep the information general – don\u2019t go into individual tasks or your time assessments for each. The client will rather see these assessments for the overarching tasks and goals, rather than your hour-by-hour Monday plan. Those should be left for the more frequent check-ins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check-ins are your regular project updates. In the example table above, the Monday report and the one every other Friday would be considered check-ins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s important to note, that even if there\u2019s nothing special to report, you should do so. You should inform the client on how the project is progressing, even if the week was uneventful. We can compare it to feedback – while working at a company, I asked our department lead how I can know if I\u2019m doing a good job. All he said was:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you aren’t, someone’s going to point it out to you. So long as no one is saying anything, you\u2019re doing great\u201d.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n At first, I had no problem with that, as expecting feedback seemed self-centered of me. However, I soon found myself tense up every once in a while, wondering when the bad feedback would come. In much the same way, you should report, even with the most basic information during slow weeks. If you only report when there\u2019s deadline pushbacks or project issues, the client can end up dreading to see your email in their inbox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When should you schedule check-ins (depending on project type):<\/p>\n\n\n\n It goes without saying that your reports should be crafted according to the check-in frequency. Shorter, to the point information works best for weekly check-ins, to save you and the client the time and energy. Stick to emails and, if necessary, very short calls (up to 15 minutes).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alongside time tracking, we\u2019ve paid close attention to client billing reporting in Clockify<\/i>. Because digital time tracking has become the most reliable source of trust and transparency between clients and contractors, reports have been made easy, as detailed, and as versatile as you need them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Clockify, you can make hassle-free reports thanks to custom fields<\/b>. These are optional text boxes on each task, which allow you to specify what exactly you are tracking. Custom fields let you input: text, numbers, links, codes, locations,… They even give the option of entering expenses, in case that particular task has them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"categorize](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/categorize-by-time-estimates.png\")
<\/center>\n\n\n\n![\"Estimated](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Estimated-time-vs-Real-time-in-Clockify.png\")
<\/center>\n\n\n\n![\"Illustration\"](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/cake-blog\/theme\/images\/banners\/clockify\/landing-3@2x.png)
\n <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n\n\nCategorizing by difficulty\/energy levels<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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When to report to clients<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Negotiating the report schedule<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Report date<\/b><\/th> Report type<\/b><\/th> Medium<\/b><\/th> Additional notes<\/b><\/th><\/tr><\/thead> Project start<\/td> Goal setting, expectations, deadlines, preferred methods, etc.<\/td> Meeting\/call<\/td> Questions about my means of working and other details<\/td><\/tr> Every Monday<\/td> Weekly progress report, pointing out any specific tasks that were troublesome and reevaluating tasks if needed.<\/td> E-mail, bulleted points<\/td> Meeting\/call if there is too much information, or an issue, or if the client has additional questions<\/td><\/tr> Every other Friday<\/td> Two-week sprint, addressing larger goals and deadlines, shifting priorities, etc.<\/td> Meeting\/call<\/td> <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n \n
Initial and final presentations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Check-ins<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Categorization and presentation in easy steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Specify categories by using custom fields<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"custom](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/custom-field-clockify.png\")
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![\"tracking](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/tracking-project-estimates-min.png\"){kind=tracking}
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<\/a>![\"Clockify](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Clockify-pricing.jpg\")