FAQS

A. Getting Started

Can you please explain Workshots in a few words?: A small application, Workshots is started and stopped by employees to track time and take their computer screenshots during work. The administrator/Company manager can see employees' activities in the logged in time using this website.
Apart from PC, does this application work on Mac or Linux?: The current version of the Desktop App for employees works on PC only. We expect to come out with the Mac version by end of 2014 and the Linux version after that.
Is Workshots safe to use?: Our top-most priority is to keep our clients' information, private and secure.
Encrypted SSL connection is used to upload the screenshots. Only the Administrator/company manager or the employees themselves are able to see their screenshots. All the data is being stored and backed up in a secured manner. All credit card information is encrypted.
Would my employees find it very intrusive?: Well, it is not unfair for a company to know what its employees are doing in their work hours, for which they are getting paid. In any case, an honest employee needs not bother. And if they must attend to a personal matter - Pause/Resume buttons are just a click away!
Can I use this application to monitor my employees, who primarily work on phone?: Workshots is a tool to monitor only the jobs carried out on computer. If the most of it is done without computer, Workshots cannot monitor it.
I judge my employees by the results – Why would I still want to use it for them?: Even in goal-oriented jobs, where you judge your employees by the results, it helps to discipline them and make them more productive, if they realise that they can be monitored.

B. Features and how it works.

Do I need to install anything to have Workshots on my PC?: The employee using it needs to install a small desktop application, whereas the administrator or manager can see time and screenshots through the website without having to install anything.
What all information does this app gather? Does it collect anything when it is loaded, but not started?: The app collects the start and stop time of each job, screenshots (images), project name and notes and nothing else, apart from this information. The app collects nothing if it has been loaded, but time-tracking hasn't started yet. The tracking starts once the start button has been pressed or it can also start automatically, as soon as the user starts the computer, if Auto start option has been selected in its settings. In any case the application makes sure that the users are well-aware, when they are being tracked and when a screenshot is being taken. Workshots has been designed in such a way that it just cannot be run in spy mode or without users' knowledge.
When does the app take screenshots?: The app takes screenshots at random time intervals during an employee's work. However the frequency of these screenshots depends upon the plan a client has selected. For example:3 screenshots (every 20 minutes) per hour on a free plan, 6 screenshots (every 10 minutes ) per hour on Standard and 12 screenshots (every 5 minutes) per hour on Professional plan.
Can Workshots run in a spy mode?: Workshots has been designed in such a way that it just cannot be run in spy mode or without users' knowledge.
Does it auto update?: Yes, the application (the app is for workers. The managers need not install anything) will download and install the latest version by default – No action needs to be performed by the user.
Why does the program allow employees to delete the screen captures? What is the purpose of the Workshots if an employee is able to delete or hide his/her work?: There can be some private information on an employee's screenshots which they would not want to share. To defend employee's privacy we shall always allow them to delete their own screenshots. After a screenshot was deleted, an empty placeholder with the word "Deleted" will be displayed at its place on the timeline page on the website. Both the manager and the employee will be aware of this deletion. It does not need to necessarily mean that the employee was not working at that time. Moreover, the greater amount of flexibility given to employee, the larger is the number of deleted screenshots to be tolerated, as advised by us. Also, if productivity can be measured by other means, the screenshot monitoring can as well take a reconfirmatory role in measuring your employees' performance.
For how long does Workshots store the data and the screenshots? Can it all be downloaded?: The tracking data is kept for indefinite time period – for as long as your account is active. The screenshot images, however, are kept for different periods of time for different plans. For example: 1 year for Professional plan, 6 months for Standard and 2 weeks for Free plan. The data is always available to be downloaded from the Reports page in Excel format. The screenshots can only be downloaded individually using browser's standard "Save As" dialog box.

C. Plans, Pricing and Billing

What is the difference between the various available plans of Workshots?: The plans and pricing page explains this difference in a clear and elaborate manner. In short, the free plan of Workshots is allows the use for 1 employee with 3 screenshots per hour and these screenshot images are stored in the system for maximum 2 weeks. The Standard version allows 6 screenshots per hour, with the the screenshot images stored for 6 months. And the Professional version allows 12 screenshots per hour, with the screenshots stored forever in the system.
How are the payments calculated? Is it monthly?: We calculate the payments at the end of each month based on the number of employees that you had on your Manage employees' page for that month. If an employee record on that page existed only for the part of the month, the charge will be prorated. The payment charge is monthly at the end of your billing period.
What are the payment options available?: The payment can be made on a monthly basis at the end of the billing period by any major credit card.
For how many users do I have to pay on a paid plan? If I have 4 users (and your free plan allows 1 free user), after I switch to a paid plan, do I need to pay for 3 or 4 users?: Once you have entered the paid plan, you are required to pay for as many employees as you have – in your case. It is 4.