Top 10 SaaS Timekeeping Software

Introduction

Timekeeping systems make it easier to track time spent on different tasks, projects and deliverables. These systems are designed keeping the needs of a variety of businesses in mind. Some businesses prefer auto-pilot or automatic time tracking, while others are more comfortable doing things manually.

Time trackers help the management learn where employees are spending their time and how productive they have been during work hours. This makes it easier to pin-point issues and manages human resources, billing and payments effectively.

Some major benefits of using a time tracking system include:

• Better organization
• Clear visibility into performance
• Makes it easier to create invoices
• Helps in billing and accounting
• All data is accessible from one place
• Payroll automation
• Integration with existing accounting and other business systems

Things to consider when choosing between different time tracking solutions

There is no one-size-fits-all kind of solution that works perfectly for all industries. Although most tracking solutions accomplish the same basic tasks, user friendliness, easier tracking and support are also important factors to consider. That’s why businesses and teams need to consider certain factors before deciding on any system including:

Price and Features

Time tracking systems can be a part of a Project Management suite or available as a standalone product. Choosing between these two flavors depends on the budget and organizational requirements. Pure Play solutions such as Hubstaff and Tsheets work well for SMBs and freelancers who want to keep track of work hours, while large businesses need a more comprehensive solution such as a Project Management solution. Pure Play solutions are also cheaper than PM systems, making the decision a little easier. Businesses can choose between different SaaS pricing models, giving them more freedom and flexibility.

Integration Options

The ability to integrate a time tracking solution with other apps is important if you have already invested in different solutions and want to minimize manual intervention. With everything else being equal, choose a solution that has better integration capabilities and ideally comes with an API.

Custom Fields

Some time tracking systems allow production-focused businesses such as construction, manufacturing and transportation companies to factor in additional data sets. Customizable fields can pe pulled into performance reports and provide a more holistic view of the work.

Employee Monitoring

Many solutions such as Hubstaff offer employee monitoring features, including screen shots which are sent to supervisors before payment. Some tools can also track using the webcam, location, keyboard/mouse and more, but that’s not something most businesses tend to use. That’s the reason only a few time tracking systems include these features, while most PM software do not offer this level of tracking at all.

Reporting

A tracking software should be able to channel information into actionable data. A good time keeping solution should provide clear and easily digestible information, including which employees have been the most productive, which tasks/projects use the most time and average times.

Task/Project Breakup

Projects become easier to manage when broken into smaller pieces and specific tasks. A good time tracking system ensures effective time tracking by dividing projects into sub projects, which can further be broken down into smaller tasks. This allows the management to measure each task linked to the project while also having a bird-eye view of the whole project, saving them from guesstimates and missed deadlines.

Top 10 Time Tracking Solutions

1. Hubstaff

The easy-to-use time keeping solution also offers some employee monitoring capabilities and works well for businesses that have remote teams. Its time tracking apps are available for all major platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS, Android and iOS.

Many features work online such as online timesheets and scheduling, while the software also provides the option to work offline. Hubstaff can integrate with over 30 different apps, including Asana, Trello, Basecamo, PayPal and Github.

The Free forever plan (only one user) includes time tracking, activity levels and limited payment options. Paid pricing plans include:

Basic: $7/user/month

Premium: $10/user/month

Enterprise: $20/user/month

Key features and capabilities

• Time tracking
• Online timesheets
• Productivity monitoring
• GPS tracking and geofencing
• Time tracking automation
• Payroll management
• Team scheduling
• Reporting
• Invoicing
• Project budgeting
• Task management
• Offline and web time tracking

2. Homebase

Homebase stands out as a comprehensive solution for businesses of all sizes looking for an efficient and user-friendly timekeeping system. With its primary focus on employee management, Homebase offers a holistic approach to time tracking.

Employee Time Clock Feature: Homebase’s standout feature is its employee time clock, ensuring accurate time tracking and minimizing payroll discrepancies.

Ease of Use: With an intuitive interface, Homebase ensures that both managers and employees can seamlessly log hours, request time off, and manage schedules.

Integration Capabilities: Homebase can be easily integrated with other business software, providing a unified approach to business management.

Enhanced Productivity: The software is designed to boost employee productivity with features like shift reminders, overtime alerts, and detailed reporting.

Key features and capabilities:

• Accurate time tracking with the employee time clock feature.
• User-friendly interface for easy navigation.
• Advanced reporting tools for in-depth insights.
• Integration with other business software for a seamless experience.
• Shift reminders and overtime alerts for efficient employee management.

Pricing:

• Basic Plan: Free for single location businesses with essential time tracking features.
• Essentials Plan: $14 per month per location, includes advanced scheduling and messaging.
• Plus Plan: $35 per month per location, offers advanced compliance tools and reporting.

3. ezClocker

ezClocker is a highly rated time tracking and scheduling app for small businesses. Ideal for small teams who need a simple to use app that works within their budget. One of the reason’s ezClocker is highly rated on the AppStore is it’s simple design where even a non-tech person can figure out how to use it.

For time tracking, employees can use ezClocker iOS or Android apps to clock in or out. The app also has support for GPS location where you can verify employees clocked in at the correct location.

Key features and capabilities

• Clock in/out GPS location.
• Online scheduling.
• Prevent employees from clocking in early.
• Support for labor job costing.
• Overtime calculations.
• Employee clock in/out notifications.
• Block employees from clocking in without GPS turned on.
• Kiosk app that will turn your tablet into a portable time clock.

4. Monday.com

The work management solution allows users to plan things visually through its intuitive and simple interface. The fully customizable and highly scalable solution helps employees stay focused on what really matters and centralizes all communication for better collaboration. Easily digestible overview of progress makes it easier to plan and keeps everyone updated without requiring them to did deep into menus for relevant information.

Automated workflows, integration and data import options enable teams to plan, organize and track using a single tool. Integration support includes Zapier, Trello, Slack, Dropbox, Microsoft Excel, Google Calendar and Drive and Integromat. Different pricing plans include (annual billing):

Basic: $25/month

Standard: $49/month

Pro: $59/month

Enterprise: By quote

Key features and capabilities

• Customizable workflows and processes
• Customizable dashboards
• Easily digestible overview
• Visual planning
• Timeline/Kanban/Map/Files/Chart/Calendar view
• Embedded forms
• Advanced search
• Team collaboration
• API

5. Toggl

The freemium time tracking solution offers all the essentials at no cost, while businesses and teams looking for advanced features can opt for the premium/paid plans. It gives teams the flexibility they need to track and keep everything organized.

The simple to use and intuitive interface makes onboarding easier and quicker and allows users to effortlessly assign tasks and keep track of progress. Users also have the flexibility of using the solution on almost any device, including mobile apps, desktop app, browser extensions and a web interface.

Toggl can be integrated with different apps, including iCal feed, Basecamp, Asana, Freshbooks, Teamweek and Github. The free plan includes the essentials such as time tracking, autotracker and offline mode. Paid options include (annual billing):

Starter:  $9/user/month

Premium: $18/user/month

Enterprise: By quote

Key features and capabilities

• Tracking reminders
• Idle detection
• Breakdown by projects, tasks and clients
• Bulk edit
• Manual time addition
• Offline mode
• Time audits
• Project time estimates
• Unlimited projects and clients (including free plan)
• Mobile and desktop apps, web interface, Chrome extension

6. TSheets

Tsheets is a robust time-keeping system that offers strong configuration options. The purpose-built software is designed to make it easier for users to clock in/out. The API for integration with other systems such as project management, employee monitoring, expense management and invoicing extends functionality. The list of Integration options includes QuickBooks, Sage, Xero, Asana, Gusto and Expensify.

Tsheets is free for self-employed individuals without any compromise on features.  Paid plans include:

2-99 users plan: for small and medium businesses, $4/active user/month ($16/month base fee)

Enterprise plan: for more than 100 users, $4/active user/month ($80/month base fee)

Key features and capabilities

• Time tracking and scheduling
• Overtime rules automation
• Overtime alerts
• Interactive reports
• Detailed reporting
• Payroll and invoicing
• GPS-enabled mobile app
• Customizable pay rates

7. VeriClock

The highly configurable time-tracking solution comes with an affordable price tag and no-frills design. The software can seamlessly integrate with different account, payroll and bookkeeping software, including QuickBooks, Peachtree and Sage Simply Accounting, allowing users to easily import/export data in a compatible format.

Being a cloud-based solution VeriClock is accessible from any device from anywhere and allows users to clock in using different methods, including by text message, through website, by phone or through the app.

Pricing starts from $5/user with an additional account fee of $10/month. Businesses can also extend capabilities by opting for multi-city phone nos., text message alerts, toll-free clocking and by-voice clocking.

Key features and capabilities

• Real-time clock in/out data
• Job costing
• Cloud-based management
• Signature capturing (in-app)
• Multiple overtime rules
• Group clock-in
• Per-user settings
• GPS-enabled tracking
• Geofencing
• Multi-city phone nos.
• By text or voice clocking
• Toll-free clocking option

8. Timely

Timely suits users who are specifically looking for an automatic time tracking solution that records all activities and groups them together based on the type of activity. The time-keeping system auto-suggests labels for different activities and gives users the option to accept, edit or reject the suggestion. With each manual entry the software learns and provides more appropriate suggestions in the future. Timely records what employees worked on and uses AI to categorize and track work activity.

It automatically creates timesheets and helps employees focus more on what’s important. However, not all businesses (especially medium and large) like automatic time-keeping and they’d might be better off with a manual time-keeping solution if they want more customization capabilities and advanced features.

The solution integrates with a variety of other apps and platforms, including JIRA, Google Forms and Sheets, Adobe Photoshop, Evernote, Basecamp, Xero, Microsoft Teams, Zendesk, QuickBooks, Slack, Salesforce and SAP. Timely (TimelyApp.com) offers different pricing plans for individuals and teams as following:

For Individuals

Moonlight: $7/month (suitable for part-time workers), 5 active projects

Freelancer: $14/month, 25 active projects

Professional: $23/month (suitable for consultants etc.), unlimited active projects, in-app support

For teams

Growth: $99/month, small teams, no management and control tools

Business: $299/month, for larger teams, provides complete control over time-sheet compliance

Key features and capabilities

• Automatic time tracking
• Automatic grouping of activities
• Automatic labeling
• AI-enabled learning
• Project health dashboard
• Reporting
• Workload distribution

9. BQE Core

Designed keeping needs of small and medium businesses in mind, BQE Core also offer invoicing and billing features. The modular system provides businesses the choice for selecting the features they need. It populates timesheets automatically with projects/activities of the last week and allows users to track time using simple timers and timecards. Integration options include Xero, QuickBooks, Google Drive and MYOB Account Right Live.

Core modules require the Manager/Primary User account, while pricing depends on the number of modules. Pricing for the Primary User starts from $16/user/month, while pricing for other modules start from:

Time & Expense: $8/user/month

Billing: $16/user/month

Accounting: $20/user/month

HR: $34/user/month

Key features and capabilities

• Project management tools
• BI and reporting
• Dashboards
• Security permissions
• Simplified time tracking
• Expense tracking
• Location-based entries

10. Time Doctor

Time Doctor is a well-rounded time tracking package that also includes some employee monitoring and project management features. In addition to detailed analytics of time spent the managers can also see how employees spent their time on different clients, projects and tasks. Automatic pop-up alerts help keep employees from straying into websites that waste time such as the social media sites.

The solution can be seamlessly integrated with over 20 apps, including Asana, Freshdesk, Trello, Salesforce, JIRA, Github, Slack, Podio, G Apps, Basecamp, Zapier and teamwork. The pricing is straight forward i.e. $9.99/user/month, which includes all the features. Users can cancel anytime they want and there are no complicated and lengthy contracts involved.

Key features and capabilities

• Time and task tracking
• Keyboard/mouse activity
• Automated screenshots
• Chat monitoring
• Manual time approval
• Detailed reports
• Web and app usage details
• Auto payroll and billing
• Time use alerts
• GPS tracking
• Off-track reminders
• White labeled portal
• Web can shots
• Attendance tracking
• Break tracking

11. Kronos Workforce Central Suite

The solution is suitable for businesses that need an integrated workforce management solution that includes time & attendance, absence management, scheduling, payroll, HR, labor analytics and hiring. The automated system is designed to improve productivity and helps employees achieve better results. The solution comes with integration utilities that make it easier to sync data with other applications and platforms.

KRONOS also offers individual solutions/modules, including time and attendance solutions that simplify processes and help automate workflows. More details about pricing and integration capabilities are available from the official support.

Key features and capabilities

• Central, integrated system
• Self-service capabilities
• Standardized data
• Workforce time keeper and scheduler
• Absence manager
• Analytics
• Payroll
• HR
• Workforce mobile and tablet
• Workforce activities
• Data collection
• Automated time keeping

12. Harvest

In addition to time tracking, Harvest also offers features related to managing expenses, billable hours and invoicing. Businesses based in the USA can opt for $0.50 flat-rate PayPal payments, which is a huge plus for businesses and individuals already using the service. The solution can be integrated with a variety of other apps and systems, including Asana, Basecamp, QuickBooks, Zapier, Xero, Trello, Slack and Google Calendar.

The Free plan works well for sole proprietorships and individuals and allows managing up to 2 projects. Paid plans include:

Solo: $12/month, one-person, unlimited projects

Team: $12/person/month, two or more persons, unlimited projects

Key features and capabilities

• Time and expense tracking
• Built-in invoicing
• Free-form invoices
• Online payment options
• Visual summaries and reports
• Professional invoices
• Time scheduling
• Billable/non-billable breakdown
• Automatic reminders
• Data export to Excel, G Drive and CSV format
• Project budget alerts
• Timesheet approval
• Integration with over 100 apps

TimeSolv (For Law and Consultancy Firms)

TimeSolv is designed keeping needs of consultancy firms in mind, including lawyers, accountants, freelancers, PR firms, MAC firms and PC users. The solution works particularly well for law firms and takes care of billing and invoicing. It also includes budgeting, project management and document management features, allowing law firms to focus more on their work instead of spending a lot of time on administrative tasks.

Integration options include QuickBooks, Xero, NetDocuments and drop box. The pricing plans include:

Legal: $34.95 (monthly) or $31.46 (annual basis) per user

Pro: $19.95 (monthly) or $17.95 (annual basis) per user

Outsourced legal billing: Depends on the number of users and service hours, starts from $109

Key features and capabilities

• Time tracking
• Invoicing
• Reporting
• Budgeting
• Expense tracking
• Trust accounting
• Document management
• Project management
• Profitability forecasting
• Customized, tax calculated invoices
• Cloud-based document automation
• Credit card processing
• Android and iPhone apps
• Automatic data backup
• Desktop widget
• Data conversion

The best time management module

When you are alone in a company, planning, and activity monitoring manager is not a great choice. Nonetheless, it comes in handy as soon as you start to have multiple employees. Indeed, according to statistics, it becomes complicated to manage employee schedules as soon as you exceed five employees, so it would be interesting to consider purchasing an employee time tracking module. The module produced by my-intranet allows your employees to declare working hours according to their schedule, so they can declare a full day, a half-day, the time spent with a client, etc. monitor the legal rest periods taken by employees and act accordingly if they do not comply with this period of time.

But then, what does that change for the employees?

When such a time manager for employees is made available in companies, he will be able to enter and at the same time control, the hours worked in the week and in the month. Once all this has been confirmed in higher places, he will be able to compare it with his payslip. This manager is particularly practical so that the employee is paid the right price so that nothing is expected in return.

What about the manager?

At the manager or director level, the latter will be able to validate in a few clicks the time realized by his employees, the tasks performed, and see the remaining tasks to be done on the schedules of the entire team.

A perfect time manager for the accountant

Although it is not mandatory, it is strongly recommended to hire an accountant to do the payslips, control the hours and check against the daily rates applied by the company.

A perfect planning manager as long as you have many employees. In the meantime, the latter is more and more used and appreciated by companies whether at the level of employees, directors, managers, and accountants. If there is something not to be overlooked when you have a business, it is the management of the planning and the monitoring of the activities of its employees in order to pay them according to their tasks, which is more beneficial. to build a zone of trust between each of the parties.