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Best Employee Time-Tracking Software Solutions
![Time tracking](https://projectmanagementtools.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Time-tracking.png)
Finances, property, investments, and raw products are all things that spring to mind when pondering typical business assets. But there is one asset that gets overlooked and under-considered when it comes to most businesses, often at a detriment to the company in question. That asset is Time.
Time might be the most important, invaluable, almost prized asset that your business has. Waste too much of it, and your business will suffer as a result. Fail to utilize it properly, and the growth your company deserves might slow to a crawl.
You might imagine your staff as the most valuable asset, and for the most part, that is indeed quite accurate, but without managing employee time efficiently, you are failing to fine-tune the workforce in a way that benefits your company.
Time Strategy
The strategy of good time management will benefit employee assessment while helping to understand your most efficient and inefficient staff and subsequently helps in enhancing their potential. Managing your employee’s time also has a trickle-down effect, with happy customers as the end result by virtue of more efficient employees.
In terms of team management and the general day-to-day of a successful business, time is one of the most crucial assets you have at your disposal. Those with the best employee time-tracking procedures will have a huge advantage over those who don’t. Track time efficiently, and you will reap the benefits of optimized employee efficiency.
Time Management Solutions
The first step toward efficient time management is a diligent, precise, and straightforward procedure that helps you track hours effortlessly. That is the underlying goal here – track time with just a few clicks without the ironic misfortune of wasting too much time while doing so.
Fortunately, as with most problems that need solving in the modern age, there are numerous software options available to help you manage and track hours efficiently in the form of a wide range of free or premium mobile time-tracking software.
I have tested various products available on a trial basis and have arrived at my own conclusions for the best time-tracking solutions on the market right now (at least in my opinion) while also feeding off user reviews through reliable sources.
I haven’t ranked each product in numerical order because the fact is, most of them come with different features, price points, and capabilities that serve different use cases, depending on your requirements. Rating any particular service as the general ‘best’ wouldn’t be especially fair for that reason.
To that end, I have compiled a list of software options across the board that should slot in quite nicely for all types of companies; large, small, remote, office-based, sales or service based, etc. All products have been tested with different company circumstances and requirements in mind. In other words, this is not a numerical list of the best time-tracking software in order, but rather by use case.
In no particular order, let’s start with one of the more popular platforms available currently before moving on to a wider range of solutions.
![Teamwork Time tracking](https://projectmanagementtools.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Teamwork-Time-tracking.png)
Teamwork provides a combination of time-tracking software and project management with a focus on team cooperation and collaboration. You might describe the core features as promoting work transparency by enabling users to see what each employee or department is working on at any one moment.
Teamwork, when used as a desktop or mobile time-tracking tool, provides simple time-monitoring features, including a timer that can be downloaded and installed on a Mac, Windows device, or app. The timer keeps track of your online activities and shuts off whenever you are not using the computer.
The features provided for project management feel very well put together, with an excellent look, feel, and user experience, enabling ease of use for project managers and employees alike. Using a Gantt chart, task list view, and Kanban board, you can evaluate and navigate all project planning seamlessly.
Furthermore, Teamwork is one of the few time management software programs that enable task delegation to multiple workers in synchronization.
Pros
- Nice user experience
- Multiple employee time-tracking
- Wide range of features
- Unlimited users (on premium plan)
Cons
- Tricky to setup
- Occasionally slightly buggy
- Mobile app lacking in features
![MeisterTask time tracking](https://projectmanagementtools.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/MeisterTask.png)
MeisterTask is a time-tracking software designed to record working time with a built-in timer. Further to the basic premise of tracking, it comes with a nice range of task and project management tools.
The basics, including the time-tracking software, are covered very well, such as the obligatory Kanban board, a well-designed timeline view, individual and team to-do lists, task parameters, and dashboards.
It also has a useful feature described as a ‘personal agenda board’ for both individual and multiple users, where you can organize your daily, weekly, or monthly tasks, collaborations and projects to suit your goals and general preferences.
Where MeisterTask might lack in all-encompassing features, it makes up for in user experience as a user-friendly tool with quite specific features.
Those looking for time-tracking software along with extensive features might be a little disappointed, But this is a pleasantly designed software that will satisfy those of you who are looking for the basic, fundamental features of time-tracking alongside a well-established project management tool.
While other time-tracking software services and project management tools featured on this list deliver more advanced time-tracking tools, there is a compromise relating to a quite tricky interface learning curve – even for seasoned IT professionals. MeisterTask, however, provides a platform that most people will grasp quickly without the complication of clutter.
This is probably better suited to smaller teams and businesses with simple employee time-tracking structures working similar hours without too much in the way of advanced employee structure. Time-tracking software designed for less complicated employee systems, in other words.
Pros
- User-friendly
- Good for smaller teams
- Personal agenda board
- Real-time project tracking
Cons
- Individual time-tracking is not hidden per-user
- Integration abilities lacking
- Mobile app lacking in features
![When I Work Time tracking](https://projectmanagementtools.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/When-I-Work-Time-tracking.png)
When I Work is an easy-to-use employee time-tracking and scheduling software for businesses of all sizes. This quite clutter-free time-tracking software allows you to manage schedules and track time on a range of mobile devices using native and browser-based apps.
Useful features include notifications about schedule changes or, for example, requesting employee shift changes or requested time off in real-time through the mobile app.
Employees can use When I Work time-tracking software to log in and out, request time off, define preferred schedules, and even swap open shifts. Due to the fact that employees often establish their availability and vacation time in the same app, the software also aids managers in preventing further schedule modifications. Managers are notified whenever a time-off request is submitted and have online control over it.
Regular users can access other software benefits available. For example, each time an employee clocks out, the time-tracking software reminds the employee of their next scheduled shift, informs them of how many hours they have worked that day, and lets them track time on the go. Other tools relating to time-tracking include, for example, recording lunch breaks directly from the home screen while reminding them about being late for a scheduled shift.
This time-tracking software has been designed so that both employees and employers can use it easily, allowing employees to take a more hands-on approach to personal time-tracking.
Pros
- User-friendly time-tracking
- Nice mobile app
- Basics well-covered
- Feature rich
Cons
- Third-party integrations lacking
- Limited time-tracking personalization
![Jibble Time-Tracking Software](https://projectmanagementtools.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Jibble-Time-Tracking-Software.png)
This is a fantastic time-tracking product for companies with a large percentage of field staff, which incorporates time-tracking software into GPS tracking and geofence tracking. Jibble is designed for businesses that want to monitor better employee time for field-based employees in tandem with in-house-based employees.
Jibble is a cost-effective time-tracking choice for both large and small teams, offering basic and improved versions of the product with below-average price tags.
The updated time-tracking and GPS-tracking packages allow users to pick and choose their advanced capabilities, making it very adaptable for businesses with atypical demands for time-tracking.
You might describe Jibble as a modern alternative to the traditional punch clocks, which are becoming increasingly rare in most work environments.
The time-tracking software allows users to turn a smartphone or a shared tablet into a GPS tracking time tracker or create a geofence for location-based time-tracking attendance.
Jibble records how many hours worked and billable hours through activities, photos (enabled for facial recognition), notes, and the GPS location (if turned on). This is an ideal time-tracking app for industries that traditionally employ a wide range of field workers, such as field-based IT professionals, construction workers and trade professionals, retail, food and beverage representatives, manufacturing servicing, or healthcare, to name a few.
Pros
- Customizable time-tracking features
- Seamless third-party integration
- Below average pricing
Cons
- No time-off feature
- Limited time-tracking personalization
- Scheduling unavailable with free plan
- No payroll integration
![Hubstaff employee Time-Tracking](https://projectmanagementtools.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Hubstaff-employee-Time-Tracking.png)
Since a distributed workforce company developed Hubstaff, its primary objective is distributed teams of all sizes. Hubstaff offers tools to handle all of that if you’re a business trying to connect employee schedules across time zones, give team members and contractors tools through an employee hours tracker, billable hours for contractors, manage timesheets, and track time.
Hubstaff provides a ton of great features in addition to time-tracking that address a wide range of corporate needs such as scheduling, client and customer management, project management, and payroll, making this a useful time-tracking app and software for project managers, especially; although the majority of the great features are not included in the basic package.
Hubstaff has a premium time-tracking tool called scheduling that may be used to manage time-off requests and vacations, as well as weekly shift schedules (although, again, this is included in the premium features).
You can enable employees to schedule time off through Hubstaff, and you can quickly approve their requests without any complication. You can also create holidays or non-working days that are available to your entire employees as well as set PTO guidelines and restrictions.
Instead of being a standard time-tracking clock, Hubstaff’s product is more of a time-tracking app. However, you can configure geofencing rules so that workers are prompted to begin recording their time spent at a job as soon as they get there. You get a sense that Hubstaff is aiming to deliver a more conventional time-tracking procedure alternative that would, for example, let workers sign in from a desk or kiosk.
Project budget management, teamwork collaboration, and task management are all rich features available in addition to the standard time-tracking software.
Pros
- Project and time-tracking nicely integrated
- Wide range of time-tracking apps
- Suitable for any company size
- Feature rich
Cons
- No ‘traditional’ time-tracking features
- Limited time-tracking personalization
- Basic plan lacks features
- Slightly confusing setup
![TimeDoctor Time tracking](https://projectmanagementtools.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TimeDoctor-Time-tracking-1.png)
The aspect I like the most about Time Doctor, a cloud-based employee time-tracking app and management service, is the easy grasping way to track employee productivity. It provides features for reporting, payroll management, web activity monitoring, and time-tracking.
Users can enter the amount of time spent on each project in Time Doctor and see how many billable hours and nonbillable hours they have worked. In addition to time-tracking, screenshots can be taken during employee sessions that will generate reports on employee activity.
Users who utilize this user-friendly employee time-tracking app can also keep track of the time spent on calls, meetings, chats, and other activities. Businesses can also track employee working hours, third-party billable hours and produce weekly and monthly payslips using the payroll capability.
While this is essentially a time-tracking app, you can see the focus has been put on activity tracking. Some might consider the notion of real-time video employee monitoring controversial in nature, but in this age of remote working, this is an essential tool for keeping track of your employee’s work rate.
TimeDoctor also records employee and team computer activity, in addition to monitoring employee keyboard activity and mouse movement and time spent on websites. Applications away from the employee’s computer can also be set up and monitored in some cases.
Again, the whole notion of employee monitoring is quite controversial, with human rights and privacy rights often called into question among those who use it. I like to see this from a different angle, however. In an age where remote working is becoming more widespread, software such as this allows even the most distrusting of employers to allow employees to work remotely.
When you look at it that way, it is a simple question of compromise, really. Employees might find live, screen-captured staff time-tracking intrusive, but it could be viewed as an acceptable compromise, given the freedom associated with remote working.
Pros
- Intuitive interface
- Automated timesheets
- Detailed stats and reporting
- Nice project management features
Cons
- Issues with Linux and Mac OS
- Interface slightly outdated
- No free plan
![Quickbooks Time tracking](https://projectmanagementtools.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Quickbooks-Time-tracking.png)
QuickBooks Time is a team time-tracking software with optional GPS, geofencing, and other useful time-tracking features such as time kiosk support.
While most time-tracking apps and software are designed mostly for the actual employer or manager who is monitoring employee productivity, we shouldn’t forget that employees themselves also benefit from the tool.
Sales agents, field technicians, and other remote workers require flexible time and attendance solutions to assist them in managing their time and schedules. Additionally, managers must use mobile devices to alter schedules, view where employees are, or run reports.
QuickBooks Time fulfills all of these obligations, making it the best time-tracking software at both ends of the workforce. It offers simple-to-use mobile applications for iOS and Android devices, with useful features that are easy to follow, such as the on-site kiosk, enabling users to clock in and out.
This is the perfect time and attendance solution for managers supervising mobile or field workers because of its main features, including GPS tracking and geofencing.
I really appreciate that QuickBooks Time delivers real-time project reports, allowing admins to monitor results by tasks, workers, or jobs while giving leaders and managers a glimpse of where each person is at throughout the day. Additionally, it provides tools for budget optimization, including mileage counters and the capacity to distinguish between billable and nonbillable time.
The time-tracking capabilities with Quickbooks Time are useful for both employee and employer and strikes a nice balance of functionality without being too complicated to use.
Pros
- Time kiosk feature
- Nice geofencing tools
- Activity feed
- Good connection between staff and leaders
Cons
- Issues with Linux and Mac OS
- Interface slightly outdated
- No free plan
- No 24/7 support available
![Clockshark Time tracking](https://projectmanagementtools.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Clockshark-Time-tracking.png)
ClockShark is a time-tracking software designed for both in house project management, field service, and construction employees. Employees that are frequently on the move, moving between job sites, or clocking in outside of a conventional office setting are notably catered for by features like mobile GPS tracking and bespoke geofencing.
Teams who perform routine maintenance, work at several sites, or need to report on project progress and equipment costs might also benefit from the job notes and job costing tools available with ClockShark.
Because it serves teams in the field very well, ClockShark strongly emphasizes features like a mobile clock-in app and geofencing. Its online tool is also equally useful for employees in the back office and provides features for creating schedules and extensive reporting.
Scheduling and project management features have been engineered with color-coded schedules, so you can quickly identify who is working where on your team. You can establish one-time events for quick tasks or recurring events for ongoing, lengthy projects, depending on your requirements.
Employees using ClockShark can clock in and out using a web or mobile app, a pin number, or a facial recognition tool through a kiosk, while information is added to employee timesheets, which you may review in time to export job cost and wage information to your payroll software.
ClockShark seamlessly interfaces with well-known payroll and accounting software like QuickBooks, ADP, and Sage, to make updates simpler.
By enabling regular contact between your field employees and your back office, ClockShark will aid time-tracking communication within your organization. You can make schedules and approve timesheets using both mobile and web apps before processing payroll.
The system has been created mostly with field service and construction employees in mind, but it may be used by any firm with teams who don’t always work in traditional offices or in physical locations.
Instead of waiting for end-of-day data to arrive, you can see real-time updates on your team and jobs using GPS tracking and a fully working mobile app. The thinking behind this is that you will be able to plan more efficiently for the future and make smarter labor and staffing decisions as you go along, thanks to this ongoing flow of helpful information.
Pros
- Excellent GPS and Geofencing
- Various employee time clock methods
- Detailed project management tracking options
- Feature rich on higher plan
Cons
- Tricky to pull reports in real-time
- Basic plan lacks useful features
- GPS only available with basic plan
![Actitime Time tracking](https://projectmanagementtools.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Actitime-Time-tracking.png)
While the majority of time-tracking and project management tools are relatively new to the market, ActiTIME is more established, having first created an employee time-tracking app, followed by more robust time-tracking software, over 15 years ago.
ActiTIME is made to be adaptable and adjustable, unlike the majority of other time trackers, to satisfy the demands of most businesses and industries instead of leaning towards particular sectors, such as construction or field workers. You can establish task statuses that suit you, customize workflows and work structures, configure even the smallest details, and disable functions that might clutter the platform if you have no use for them.
Managers can access insights into employee, team, and project performance as well as information about individual, team, and project costs using the software.
ActiTIME will also compute payroll amounts once you’ve set hourly pay rates. It will show project costs across activities, clients, and projects if you define work rates. Your team can use the absent request fields you create and set up, and you can view employee leave time and costs among users as well as other information.
ActiTIME’s task and project management features are robust and detailed while being easy to use and quick to set up. You can create your work structure and workflow, add tasks or upload existing ones, and add deadlines, estimations, statuses, and values for custom fields.
Furthermore, I like how you can assign tasks to different team members and determine the time, work, and user-based fees.
I also enjoyed using the real-time widgets, charts, and reports to view specific projects, labor costs, personnel that consistently perform at a high level, activity costs, performance relative to expected completion times, and more.
This all strikes me as quite a generous range of features, considering the subscription starts at just $5 per month. Admittedly, some of these features are only available on the higher tier plans, but they haven’t been too restrictive in holding back many features that other time-tracking app tools usually hold back.
Pros
- Extremely user friendly
- Generous features on the free plan
- Good reporting and tracking
- Unlimited users
Cons
- Sometimes a little awkward to use
- No integrated option for expense reports
![Clockify Time tracking](https://projectmanagementtools.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Clockify-Time-tracking.png)
This is, in my opinion, the best time-tracking software, which is entirely cloud-based and is also a monitoring program that has earned a solid reputation for being affordable and simple to use. Out of all of the products I have tested, this was definitely the quickest to grasp. You can monitor staff time, attendance, and billable hours with Clockify and get a comprehensive view of the status of your projects in real-time.
Basic timekeeping, reporting, and project and team management capabilities are all included in the free Clockify app. The cost of premium subscriptions, which include additional features like paid time off (PTO) requests, progress notifications, custom fields, invoicing, variable task rates, GPS tracking, expense tracking, and team schedules, range from $4.99 to $14.99 per person, per month.
You can make any internet-connected device become an employee punch clock using the Clockify Time Clock Kiosk.
Browsers supported with desktop apps include Edge, Chrome, and Firefox, while Clockify offers a web app in addition to desktop applications for Windows, Mac, and Linux. There are also mobile apps for iOS and Android. I tested the Android app and found it just as user-friendly as the desktop app, although, on this occasion, I didn’t get a chance to use the iOS app. Online reviews are mostly quite positive for iOS users, however.
Customers can contact customer service through phone, chat, or email. Your data is safeguarded by 256-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption, and Clockify promises a 99.99% uptime rate. By linking Clockify with more than 80 other applications, you can increase its functionality.
Pros
- Low cost plans
- User-friendly
- Over 80 apps and integrations
- Unlimited users
Cons
- Employee time-tracking app sometimes buggy
- No invoicing on the free plan
Further Employee time-tracking Apps Worth Mentioning
I have found a few other time-tracking apps and software services that are definitely worth considering, although I can’t vouch directly, as I didn’t get a chance to use them (for various reasons, but mostly owing to time). I have based the following employee time-tracking apps and tools based on user reviews, mostly from a broad range of sources.
Workstatus
Workstatus is a time-tracking software designed for developers that manage time and expenditures across projects.
This is one of few employee time-tracking apps that allow manual employee time entry as well as automatically tracking employee time and website/app usage. Its productivity reports provide information about the amount of time spent on tasks, user activity, idle time, and more. Additionally, the app records screenshots at random intervals.
I quite like the development features in place here, which include URL tracking, reports, mobile apps, and an API interface, making this possibly the best time-tracking software for the developers out there.
Workstatus offers a free plan, with prices starting at $4.99 monthly for premium features.
ExacTime
This time-tracking software has been designed more for construction workers and contractors and provides mobile apps to track employee time, GPS tracking, and more. All employee data is managed in the cloud. From there, you can check GPS time stats on a virtual map, manage time records, and set up employee policies and shift work hours.
Wrap-Up
Personally, I think all of the time-tracking solutions mentioned in this review do a pretty great job. That said, there is no single solution that applies to each and every company. Businesses obviously have a wide range of circumstances, and for that reason, you really need to select the software that ticks the main boxes in terms of features. The more unique features available might appear attractive at first glance, but for the most part, you should be focusing on a handful of key requirements and nothing more.
Clock-in and out tools, real-time employee tracking, time-tracking reminders, automated time-tracking alerts, idle time alerts, and employee time sheets are typically the most common features required, although certain features are less widely available, such as GPS tracking, for example, so keep an eye on that.
Either way, there should be something here for everyone, and with most services offering similar pricing, the budget shouldn’t be an issue.
With remote working on the increase, time-tracking software is probably going to become more widespread over the coming years, so if this concept is new to you as an employer, it might be something you might want to embrace, and get used to, as more companies adapt to this new way of managing employees.
We hope this review helps. Good luck with your selection!