Ever wonder why there’s never enough time in the day? Meetings, calls, emails, more meetings. For many business owners, it’s hard to figure out how you’re going to squeeze it all in.
That’s where time tracking software comes to the rescue. In this blog post, we’ll explore the best options for time tracking software, and share a template that you can use to gain insight into how you’re spending your time.
What is time tracking software, and why do teams need it?
Time tracking software lets you track your time, both for your own tasks and for all the tasks that your team needs to work on. It provides visibility on how teams are spending their time, and improves the accuracy of work estimates.
It also helps you gain insights into your work habits, manage your schedule more efficiently, and improve the overall productivity of every member of the team.
Features a time tracking software must have
When you’re choosing a time tracking software, you should look for the following key features:
- Timer: The core feature of time tracking software, a timer lets you capture work hours in real-time, right down to the second.
- Multiple time entry methods: You should be able to enter time manually, or automatically track your time. This lets each user set things up the way that works best for them.
- Project management: The best time trackers can be embedded into your project management platform, so you can create project-specific task lists, set due dates for project milestones, and keep on top of your team’s time as you collaborate on your projects.
- Reporting: Time tracking software lets you create detailed reports, allowing you to see a full breakdown of time by tasks and projects.
- Customization: You should be able to add categories, tags and fields to your timer entries, so you know exactly where the time is going.
- Reminders and notifications: In-app reminders can help you remember to turn on the timer, so you never forget to track a work session.
monday work management comes with a built-in time tracking option — our visual time management software helps you manage your work, so you can get more done and save time and money.
Get startedWhat are the benefits of time tracking software?
Time tracking software goes beyond simply logging hours. The insights it provides can significantly increase efficiency and performance.
1. Promotes transparency
A challenge for any project manager is to monitor progress without micromanaging. Time tracking software promotes transparency. An employee can track their working hours automatically, and project managers can see how they’re progressing with their work, without peering over any shoulders.
Here’s an example of a time log that we use here at monday.com:
The Timesheet Template is particularly useful for remote employees. They can provide status updates and keep track of their billable working hours for payroll. Click here to learn more about this board and to get started with this template.
2. Boosts productivity
A time tracking app offers a useful way to measure productivity. Just by being aware of how much time you’re spending on things like social media — which users spend 144 minutes on per day, by the way — and meetings, you can take steps to plug productivity leaks.
3. Improves resource management
Using a time tracker is also beneficial in terms of resource management. It gives you a more accurate overview of your team’s capacity and how much they can take on.
A time tracking tool can even indicate potential bottlenecks or training needs. For example, if one employee spends 10 hours on a task and another spends 30 hours on a similar task, you’ll want to investigate further to figure out why.
4. Improves time estimates
Time tracking software provides a complete breakdown of time spent on projects and individual tasks, so you can make better estimates and budgets for future tasks and projects.
5. Provides accurate reports
If you’re a service provider, you need a way to invoice clients accurately. Time tracking software lets you view and export a timesheet that shows a full breakdown of work hours.
On monday.com, you can easily export time tracking data into an Excel spreadsheet:
6. Automates repetitive tasks
Time tracking software can be used to automate repetitive tasks. For example, instead of manually calculating expenses, you can have the software perform and display those calculations.
In monday.com, you can use the Formula Column to automatically calculate hourly rates multiplied by time spent for billing purposes:
Once you decide to use employee time tracking software, the next step is to figure out which solution is right for your business.
10 best time tracking software options for 2023
We’ve dived into all the options for this year’s outstanding time tracking software platforms, and our research suggests these are the 10 best:
1. monday.com
Well, we would say that, wouldn’t we? So, let’s have a reviewer from Capterra say it for us: “The UI design is visually pleasing and makes the program easy to use. The software can be easily customized for different types of projects. Time tracking is great and helps us account for time spent on any given project.”
Best for: Teams of any size that need visual, easy-to-use time management software as part of a comprehensive work management system, so you can manage your work better and get more done.
Key features:
- Exact time frames — easily switch the timer on and off, or enter time spent manually
- On-the-go tracking — track time anywhere with our mobile app
- Automations — manage and track your project time in a single tool
- Flexible reports — see a breakdown of time by projects, clients, and tasks
Pricing options:
monday.com Time Tracking Column & Widget is included in our work management platform, with five different price plans:
- Free: $0/seat/month, max 2 users
- Basic: $8/seat/mo, unlimited users
- Standard: $10/seat/mo, additional features
- Pro: $16/seat/mo, additional features
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Learn more about monday.com pricing at our pricing page.
2. Timely
Best for: Teams looking for AI-powered, automated time tracking.
Key features:
- Automated time tracking — track time across web and desktop apps automatically
- Team time tracking — to get an overview of your team’s time
- Check your time estimates — real-time feedback on how your plans actually turn out
Pricing options:
- Starter: $9/seat/mo, max. 5 users
- Premium: $16/seat/mo, max. 50 users
- Unlimited: $22/seat/mo, 50+ users
3. Wrike
Best for: Larger teams that want a basic time tracking feature in their project management software (Wrike’s time tracker is not included in their Free, Professional or Team pricing).
Key features:
- All-in-one project management platform — so you can track time and manage projects in the same place
- Automatic detailed reports — to make invoicing easier
- Timesheet locking — to keep full control of timesheets for accounting purposes
Pricing options:
- Business: $24.80/seat/month
- Enterprise: Contact for pricing
Here’s a detailed guide to Wrike pricing.
4. Paymo
Best for: Small businesses that want to accurately invoice clients by tracking time spent on projects
Key features:
- Web timer — to track time directly in your browser
- Tracking for active timers — to see who’s working on what at any given moment
- Live reports — to cut down on manual data entry
Pricing:
- Free, $0/seat/mo, max. 1 user
- Starter, $4.95/seat/mo, max. 1 user
- Small Office, $9.95/seat/mo, for small teams
- Business, $20.70/seat/mo, for medium and large teams
5. Timecamp
Best for: When price is a big issue — TimeCamp is free for unlimited users.
Key features:
- Free for unlimited users — so the whole team can start time tracking
- Log employee working hours — manual or automatic options
- Track project time and budget — with reports to analyze project data
Pricing:
- Free: $0/seat/mo (limited tasks, no Excel report export, no overtime tracking)
- Starter: $2.99/seat/month, additional features
- Basic: $5.99/seat/month
- Pro: $7.99/seat/month
- Enterprise: Pricing on request
6. Insightful
Best for: When you want a lot of data analytics to go with your time tracking.
Key features:
- In-depth productivity insights — to measure your team’s productivity throughout the day
- Location insights — to track the impact of remote and hybrid work
- Workflow optimization — to identify bottlenecks and better manage resources
Pricing:
- Employee Monitoring: $8/seat/month
- Time Tracking: $10/seat/month
- Automatic Time Mapping: $15/seat/month
- Enterprise: Price on request
7. Justworks
Best for: HR teams who need an HR platform with integrated time tracking
Key features:
- Mobile app — to make it easier for employees to log time wherever they are
- Integrations with accounting software — so all your time tracking and payments are handled in the same place
- Automated alerts — to increase employee accountability
Pricing:
- Basic: $59/seat/mo
- Plus: $99/seat/mo
8. Time Doctor
Best for: Remote and hybrid teams and enterprises that need to manage their employee schedules.
Key Features:
- Online and offline tracking — with both manual and automatic time tracking options
- Shift and work scheduling — for every employee
- Silent tracking — track time without interfering with an employee’s daily routines
Pricing:
- Basic: $5.90/seat/month, for unlimited users
- Standard: $8.40/seat/month, with additional features
- Premium: $16.70/seat/month, with additional features
9. Toggl track
Best for: Small teams and freelancers who want intuitive time tracking software without all the bells and whistles.
Key Features:
- One-click time tracker — that syncs across multiple platforms
- 100+ integrations — with Chrome and Firefox browser extensions
- Project dashboard — so you can forecast timelines and budgets
Pricing:
- Free: $0/seat/mo, max. 5 users
- Starter: $9/seat/mo, best for small teams
- Premium: $18/seat/mo, additional features
- Enterprise: Pricing upon request, unlimited users
10. Clockify
Best for: Teams that need a free basic time tracking software, but don’t want advanced project management features.
Key features:
- Calendar — to visually block out and manage your time
- Kiosk — so you can clock in from a shared device
- Desktop, web, and mobile apps — to make it easy to log time anywhere
Pricing:
- Free: $0/seat/mo, unlimited users
- Basic Administration: $3.99/seat/mo
- Standard Timesheeting and Billing: $5.49/seat/mo
- Pro Productivity and Profit: $7.99/seat/mo
- Enterprise: $11.99/seat/mo
Why monday.com is the leading choice for time tracking software
Choosing the right time tracking software is important for any business. Here’s why teams that use monday.com time tracking capabilities are increasing their productivity:
1. Easy to use
Any time tracking software you use should make it easy for you and your team to track their time. If users can’t figure out how to use the software, they’ll likely give up in frustration.
monday.com offers a highly visual and intuitive interface. Users can quickly add their tasks to the project board and click on the play button to start and stop the timer at any time.
Users can also manually edit a time entry if they forget to start the timer or accidentally leave it on. (Edited time entries turn red so you can easily see changed data.)
2. Mobile app
As more employees today are putting in time away from the office, monday.com’s mobile app makes it easy for your team to track time from anywhere. Whether you use an iPhone or Android device, you’ll be able to track your time on the go.
3. Flexible reporting
Software with robust reporting capabilities is a must. The time tracking solution you choose should provide detailed summaries of how your team is spending their time.
On monday.com, you can track time by tasks, projects, and individuals, enabling you to measure how your team is spending their time from one place.
If you’re looking for a robust time tracking software that helps you manage your time more effectively and see exactly where projects stand, we recommend giving monday.com a try.
Getting started with time tracking software from monday.com
Time tracking software provides valuable insights that you can use to keep teams on track.
Follow these 3 simple steps to set yourself up for success:
#1. Add tasks to your chosen template
Using a template lets you get started quickly, and monday.com offers a range of fully customizable templates for different use cases. Use these templates as is or customize them to fit your workflow. Then add your workflows to your project board. For projects with a larger scope, use a work breakdown structure — the process of breaking down a project into smaller and more manageable steps.
If we take the example of one part of a construction project like area preparation, here’s how that breakdown might look on monday.com:
You can access the construction schedule template here.
#2. Estimate task duration
Once you’ve added tasks to your project board, the next step is to estimate how long each will take to complete. Estimating task durations is important for project management as it helps you assess the time you’ll need to dedicate to a task
And when you define clear start and end dates for individual tasks, you can visualize your project schedule with Gantt charts — a bar chart that displays scheduled tasks over time.
Here’s an example of a Gantt chart in monday.com:
As you start tracking your time and completing tasks, you can export timesheets and analyze that data to provide more accurate estimates for similar tasks in the future.
#3. Add a time tracking column
With monday.com, you can add a time tracking column to any board. When users get started on a task, they can simply click on the time clock to start the timer. The time tracking log lets you view how long you’ve spent on a task.
With your tasks and time tracking column added to your board, all that’s left now is to get to work. Don’t forget to start and stop the timer as you complete your tasks.
For a more in-depth guide to using the time tracking column, see our knowledge base.
Get real value from time tracking software with monday work management
Time tracking software lets you see where your time is going, so you can find ways to increase employee productivity and improve overall efficiency.
With our time tracking features, monday work management helps monitor how long it takes to complete your tasks, so you are more likely to meet project deadlines. In the words of one of our reviewers on G2, “It is excellent for tracking my time in any project I am working on as well as those who I am collaborating with – it makes sharing the workload easier.”
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