One of the biggest goals of any ERP is to provide real-time data. It’s what allows businesses to understand what’s happening as it happens — from tracking orders to planning production. But not all data is created equal.
Among all the types of data that flow through an ERP, actual time tracking — knowing how long tasks really take and who completed them — is one of the most valuable. It gives you insight into performance, helps calculate true costs, and makes your reports more accurate. But it’s also one of the areas where companies struggle the most.
Why is time tracking so hard to get right?
In many cases, the problem isn’t the process — it’s the pricing. Most ERPs charge based on the number of users. That means businesses have to choose: either pay more for everyone to have access, or limit the number of users and try to work around it.
What usually happens is operators end up sharing a single login at their workstations, or they don’t have access at all. Time gets tracked on paper, then passed to a supervisor, and later someone has to input all that information into the system. It’s slow, unreliable, and completely removes the benefit of real-time data.
Even when the system looks like it’s working, these kinds of workarounds make it hard to trust the data. You lose track of who did what, when it happened, and whether the numbers reflect reality.
Our approach at Nengatu
At Nengatu, we see time tracking as a basic part of running a business — not a premium feature. That’s why we don’t charge per employee. You can add as many users to the ERP as you want, and each employee can have their own login. Instead of charging by the number of users, we charge based on how many people are using the system at the same time.
For example, if your team has 20 people but only 8 or 10 need to use the ERP throughout the day, you don’t need 20 full licenses. You can choose a plan that fits your actual usage. And if someone finishes their task, they can log out so someone else can log in. This setup lets you give everyone proper access, without driving up your costs. It also means you can track actual time data with much more accuracy — each operator logs in with their own account, and all activities are recorded in real time.
This model also makes it easier to grow. Onboarding a new employee is simple: create a new account, set their permissions, and they’re ready to go. No need to manage licenses, upgrade user limits, or deal with extra fees for every hire. And because all employees can have access, you no longer need to rely on paper logs or secondhand data. Everything can be entered directly by the person doing the work, which improves accuracy and reduces the time spent cleaning up data later.
Better time tracking, better decisions
Real-time data only works if it’s coming from the right place, at the right time. And when you can’t track who’s doing what, or how long tasks are taking, it’s hard to make decisions based on the numbers in front of you. We designed Nengatu to solve that — to give every team member the access they need, without forcing businesses to choose between cost and control.