How to select the right

project management software?

Finding and evaluating a new system can be daunting. 

We're happy to provide answers and advice as you consider investing in a change to Abtrac.

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Answers for all the team

This is the place to find information and advice as you consider investing in a change to Abtrac.

 

 

What exactly is Abtrac? Who uses it?

Abtrac is software used to track time, manage work and invoice projects.

Consulting professionals choose Abtrac when they need a better way to manage their business.
Everyone has a ‘system’ for timesheets and invoicing. Choosing a comprehensive, mature product comes with real rewards. Our clients freely tell us what a positive impact Abtrac makes to their ‘bottom line’.

Abtrac is used by time based billing professional service firms including:
Consulting Engineers IconConsulting Engineers Land Surveyors iconLand Surveyors Project Managers iconProject Managers
Town Planners iconTown Planners Cost Estimators IconCost Estimators Architects IconArchitects / Architectural Designers

Abtrac’s focus is on businesses like yours. We offer efficient platforms to manage clients and contacts, projects, stages, budgets, subconsultants, time and cost recording, and invoice generation. Abtrac includes detailed performance reports and analysis, and links to your accounts and other business software.

"Don’t give away your time, invest energy in cumbersome spreadsheets or persevere with a system that doesn’t quite deliver."

 

Abtrac has been designed to save your business hours of admin time, streamlining processes and increasing profit.

Abtrac shows how your projects are tracking in real time, and helps manage how you earn your revenue - before it hits your back office accounting system. Stop plugging leaks and start planning and reacting in real time with Abtrac.

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We’ve decided to proceed with Abtrac, what happens next?

Welcome, Congratulations!

Switching to Abtrac makes perfect sense.

The best thing you can do for your business is choosing a platform that streamlines systems and delivers directly to your bottom line.

We’re looking forward to working with you, you can give us a call to get underway.

Our ideas and advice for a successful launch are here

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How secure is my data in Abtrac?

Abtrac is a mature online platform - we’ve been cloud based since 2014.

The cloud changed the way businesses consume, share, and use digital information.

It makes access to information and computing power easier, faster, more affordable, and under the right circumstances - more secure.


Where is Abtrac hosted? Is my data safe?

When we moved Abtrac to an online platform we wanted the best database management, backup procedures, and disaster recovery policies to keep your data safe. That’s why we chose Microsoft Azure to develop and host Abtrac.

Security is foundational for Azure. With a 1B+ USD investment in security R&D and 3,500 cyber security experts, Abtrac is hosted with the best.

We take advantage of multi-layered security provided by Azure across physical datacentres, infrastructure, and operations. Azure has cyber security experts actively monitoring to protect your business assets and data.

Learn more about Azure security here

In addition to the protection provided with an Azure framework, Abtrac has been developed with our own standard security measures.


Login protection:

All network communications to and from Abtrac Online job management software are encrypted through the enforced use of the secure https (SSL) protocol.

User credentials are securely stored and validated using Microsoft's Membership 'module'. This is an industry standard development component that has been well tested and widely implemented.

No page nor report can be accessed other than by a user who has legitimately logged in.

Anyone trying any ‘back door’ entrance to any part of Abtrac will be diverted to the log in screen if they have not already had their credentials verified.

For added security our website strictly implements a design pattern to ensure that all publicly exposed database requests can only ever return a dataset for a single client. This is to limit the ability of a malicious user being able to retrieve data en-masse from the system.

We have also built protection into Abtrac to prevent malicious intrusion from web robots. We automatically lock out any login if it fails to correctly combine user name and password within five attempts. And of course passwords are compliant with industry standards requiring a minimum number of characters and character types.


Two factor authentication

As recommended by more and more industry leaders we also recommend that you turn on Two Factor Authentication (not only for Abtrac but anything where you store sensitive information).

Abtrac's Two Factor Authentication ensures your users not only have their own Abtrac secured password but they also have to have access to the email account assigned to their Abtrac login. Before they can gain access to Abtrac they will have to input a security code that is sent to their email.


Password requirements

Not only do your users have to have a secured password set with a minimum length with certain characters used, but you can also force users to change passwords every 31 days.

Login Groups and Access Restrictions:
In addition, the Abtrac system itself implements its own security layer to enable clients to control employee’s access to pages and data in ‘user groups’ which can have permissions established by your Abtrac administrator. All users who log into Abtrac have to belong to one such group. Access to each individual Abtrac report is similarly controlled by administrators in your office.


Database management and back ups

Abtrac Online uses the Microsoft SQL Server Azure database.

Full access to the database, required for our support, maintenance and development of the system, is restricted to Abtrac's own secure office network. We maintain updated anti-virus and firewall software and also limit the use of remote connections to our secure network.

The version of SQL Azure we use has built-in business continuity features including point-in-time recovery and geo-redundancy. The databases residencies for Abtraconline are spread throughout Microsoft’s Australia and Asia Pacific centres.

Furthermore, we independently have an hourly incremental backup and at least one full database backup daily which is stored in another regional data centre for data resiliency. We maintain a 30 day rolling backup.

Abtrac’s technology roadmap

As technology is continuously evolving, we routinely review our security measures to ensure we’re protecting your online data in a solid security foundation that spans across all platforms.

As you evaluate Abtrac if you (or any of your advisors and team members) have any further queries or concerns about security give us a call or drop us an email, we’d be happy to answer your technical questions.

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Can I get my data out?

As stated in our terms of use - You own your content. We do not represent any ownership or claim any intellectual property rights over the information that you provide or that is provided to us.

Details on the security of your data within Abtrac can be found the above section “How secure is my data in Abtac”.

But a question we're sometimes asked is, "Can I get my data out of Abtrac for any reason?"
This is a reasonable question. and we understand it's a big commitment to put your valuable business data into the hands of any third party. And it is especially so when committing to Abtrac, because you're still in the early stages of your relationship with us.

The answer is of course yes!
It's your data.

All client and job details, timesheet and disbursements, invoices and more can all be extracted at any time. In several pages within Abtrac, and in all reports, you can download a CSV of the data you see on screen. So for example if you want to extract all your clients data, that can be done from a Search page within Abtrac.

Similarly job details, timesheet and disbursement entries can also all be extracted from other Abtrac Online pages.
Finally any report you can see on screen can be exported as a CSV, XL file or other standard formats as you may want. So simply enter the parameters such as dates, after finding the report you want and download the data in it.


What happens to your data if you stop using Abtrac?

In the unlikely event you want to stop using Abtrac, as per our current terms of use, once you notify us we’ll suspend your access to Abtrac at an agreed date. Then after 3 months we will completely purge all your data from our system for your own protection and ours.

We will also do the purge sooner, at your request.

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Does Abtrac integrate with my accounting software?

Abtrac integrates easily with all popular accounting software packages such as:

MYOB, Xero, Quick Books, Reckon, Sage and many more.

Say goodbye to double entry and delays.

Synchronise clients, jobs, invoices, debtor payments, payroll and more between Abtrac and your accounting package.

Here’s how it works

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Do you have an API, what other business tools can I link to?

Yes, Abtrac works with the most popular tools used by professional services firms so you can streamline your management processes.
With Abtrac integrations you need never enter data twice again.

In fact Abtrac can be connected to countless systems in a number of different ways, and our list of connections is continually growing.

Examples of what Abtrac can connect to include:

Accounts
• MYOB, Xero, QuickBooks and other accounting packages…

Maps and Property Information
• LINZ, AusSearch, Dye & Durham Terrain…

Document Management and Expense tracking
• 12d Synergy, Papercut…

Data, Reports, Marketing and Analysis
• Microsoft Power BI, CRM, Zoho, Hubspot and more…

Contact us to find out how we can link your software with Abtrac.

Our support team would be glad to help you further eliminate any repetitive tasks by making a connection to your other business tools.

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Does Abtrac have a timesheet app?

Yes we do! The Abtrac mobile timesheet app is free for all existing Abtrac software subscriptions enabling subscribers to easily track time and disbursements on-the-go. Any updates made from the app will automatically appear in your main Abtrac online version.

Abtrac app Login

Enjoy a range of features including:

 Quick time tracking with accurate time logging

 Easy switching between projects

 Recording time against project tasks

 Detailed timesheet comments

 See daily and weekly totals at a glance

With real-time integration with Abtrac, you no longer need to chase your staff for offsite hours, saving hours on payroll and invoicing administration time.

The Abtrac timesheets app is not a standalone system and you’ll need a current subscription to the Abtrac web application to use the app. If you don’t yet have a subscription please feel contact us or start a trial.

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What level of support is offered?

With Abtrac you get access to real people who will listen to your particular query and help you find a solution.
Not just online help files and videos. We have One-on-one training and a local support team with real world expertise and experience.
You can read more about the Abtrac team, our history and our company culture here

Whether you are on a trial or have a paid subscription Abtrac has free telephone and email support between the hours of 8.00 am – 4:00 pm AEST and AEDT, and 9:00am - 5:00pm NZST and NZDT.
Unscheduled calls are limited to 15 minutes each, but most involve a quick question and answer and you’re back on track.

You can send an email to our support team as and when required. Responses are guaranteed to be treated with priority. Most are actioned within an hour.

We have a knowledgebase where you can search for your questions and if you have an AbtracOnline account there is a help section in the menu with the most commonly asked questions which are answered in text or video formats.

For longer calls or training sessions, these can be scheduled and one of our team can spend more time with you answering more in-depth questions. Depending on the length required for these calls there may be a small training fee but this will be presented to you before we proceed to schedule a time.

I really feel valued as a customer whenever we interact and that’s so important in this day and age where the majority can treat you like you’re just a number or a sale. Whenever I need help, it’s available in an instant and the team really listen to any software suggestions I might have (no matter how ridiculous!) which is a constant reminder that they are here to give us the best they can offer.
Would highly recommend, not just from the customer support aspect but for how easy and intuitive the software is to use.

Client Reviews Logo-4-The Surveying Company
Emma from The Surveying Company | Wellington, New Zealand
The thing I love is the support. You ring up and there’s someone there who can help you.

Client Reviews Logo-14-EPS
Elise from Environmental Property Services | Nelson Bay, NSW, Australia

 

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Do we have to sign a fixed-term contract?

No, there is no fixed term contract.

You pay monthly, a valid credit card is required for you to continue using the Services on a month-to-month basis after the free trial period ends.

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Are there any set up fees?

Yes, there will be some set up fees.

The costs depend on how much you'd like the Abtrac support team to be involved, what you sign up for, and how you plan on launching Abtrac at your company.

Optional onboarding costs include: data migration, training , invoice set up, configuration to other systems, and project management to help establish Abtrac in your offices.

When you call us we can talk through the options together and provide a cost proposal.

This page outlines some of the steps to consider

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How does the free trial work?

You can sign up to try Abtrac here

The free trial offer gives new, registered users unlimited access to Abtrac for 30days.

There's no contracts and no credit card required.

You have access to all the features of the Abtrac software (including the option extras), with no limits to data or users.

The trial includes access to all our demonstration and training videos.

You also have access to free telephone and email support, as well as onboarding consulting to help you with your evaluation.

(Fair use rules apply to both data limits, user access, and trial support)

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What happens at the end of our free trial?

After your 30 day trial period you will either need to subscribe or talk with our sales team about extending your trial.

If we don't hear from you your trial will expire, your login(s) will become invalid and any data entered will be deleted within 1 month of the trial expiry date.

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Still have questions?

Complete this form and we’ll be in touch to answer your questions directly.

If you’d like more information you can talk with the Abtrac team for answers.

+6494129294

We’re available Monday - Friday between 09:00 – 17:00 UTC+12.

Headshot of support Team2

Our experienced sales and support teams would be happy to help.

Ask a question or arrange a time for a one-on-one demonstration.

All the information you need to evaluate Abtrac in once place

See if Abtrac is right for you with a free 30 day trial.
 

What you get with your trial

  Access to all our demonstration and training videos.

  Information on key features to share with the rest of your team.

  Access to our guides for evaluating Abtrac, and access to all our how-to answers.