Employee time management software is a software application that functions as time tracking app for remote employees. Employee time management software can help track employee hours and billable time. Time tracking software for remote employees will have some of these features, such as automatic time tracking, integrations with project management and collaboration tools, and accurate reporting.
In this article, we review the aspects of Employee Time Management Software, time tracking software for remote employees, best time tracking app for small business, and what is the best employee time clock software.
Employee Time Management Software
You probably already know how valuable your employees are to your business. They’re the people who help keep things running smoothly and make sure customers are happy. However, what you might not realize is that they can also be incredibly expensive! Employee time management software can help you reduce costs by giving you better insight into how people spend their working hours, so let’s take a look at why this type of software is so effective:
How Employee Time Management Software Saves Money
Employee time management software can also help you save money by reducing the amount of time that employees spend on non-work related tasks. Time tracking software is an excellent way to ensure that your employees are spending their day on the right things, saving you money in two ways: First, it helps reduce your overall costs by keeping things streamlined and efficient; second, it helps keep workers focused on their work and prevents them from wasting time on unnecessary tasks like social media browsing or personal emails.
Employee time management software is also a great tool for managing administrative tasks. If you’re looking to reduce overhead costs while improving productivity at the same time, employee time tracking apps can help take care of everything from payroll processing to expense reporting—all without adding more bodies or extra hours into your workflow!
A Note On Data
We can’t speak to the efficacy of these programs for every industry, but we do know that if you’re using software to manage your employee time, this data is probably accurate. The data is based on a hypothetical company with 100 employees who work 40 hours per week and take four weeks of vacation. It’s also an average—which means that some employees will be less efficient than others while some will be more so. If you want more concrete results, we recommend contacting an HR professional or consultant at [email protected]’s services division.
Add Up The Savings
The first thing to consider is how much time your employees spend on tasks. Time tracking software can provide a breakdown of the amount of time spent on each task, allowing you to see where the bottlenecks are in your workday. Then, you can adjust your processes accordingly and make better use of their time.
This also allows you to optimize employee pay rates based on performance. If someone is working faster than someone else, they should be getting paid more or promoted faster as well.
time tracking software for remote employees
You can’t fix what you can’t measure. (You can’t bill for it very well, either.)
That’s the key principle behind employee time tracking. It helps managers and organizations understand how long it takes, on average, to complete various tasks, aiding in the baselining and project scheduling processes.
But doing this in a way that generates the data you need without feeling like micromanaging can be a challenge.
Time-tracking software is a compelling solution. The right software can deliver the data you need without becoming a burden and can even help prevent micromanaging within your business and teams.
If you need better data and metrics about task length, billable hours, or anything else related to how time gets spent, then this article is for you. We’ll show you the features that matter most in time tracking, then give you our unbiased, real-world reviews on eight of the top options.
While it’s possible to track time in an Excelspreadsheet (we can even show you exactly how to do it), spreadsheets are a frustratingly manual and not very scalable way to handle tracking. Time-tracking software solutions are a more elegant and powerful option.
Unlike manual time cards or employee time clocks, time-tracking software provides data in real time. Real-time data is one of the keys to unlocking the hidden benefits of tracking time and can make a major difference in project planning and decision-making.
Integrates with other project management tools
If you’re already using other project management tools or accounting software, find a time-tracking system that integrates well with your other tools. Before you decide on a tracking tool, check its integrations page. You may want to keep looking if you don’t see the other tools in your tech stack — otherwise, you may be stuck transferring information between tools manually, which defeats the purpose.
Makes time tracking easy and flexible
Time clock apps are only useful when people actually use them, so look for tools that are easy to use and flexible enough to accept after-the-fact changes. People will inevitably forget to start timers, and automatic trackers will get things wrong, too.
You don’t want your time-tracking software to disrupt workflows or interrupt focus, so look for systems that automate the process for your employees. On the back end, the less time managers and operations personnel spend sorting the data, the better.
Notifies team members when there is a tracking error
Mistakes happen, and sometimes they’re pretty obvious, like when a team member leaves a timer running overnight or allocates an illogical amount of time to a task. The best systems can automatically notify team members about tracking errors so that the user can investigate and resolve the issue.
Keep track of the time spent working on tasks and stay on schedule with the Teamwork Timer. Import tasks or log billable and non-billable hours directly to Teamwork.
We couldn’t kick off this list without giving ourselves a little hat tip. While Teamwork is a comprehensive project management software at its core, it has a time tracking element that lets you track, benchmark, and analyze employee productivity.
As well as seeing how much time employees are spending on their individual tasks, you can access valuable insights to understand how long it really takes to do something. That means your team will have the tools to plan projects more efficiently in the future.
The time tracker easily integrates with Teamwork’s suite of other features, including Kanban boards, templates, calendars, task lists, and reports. This makes it easy to stay in Teamwork without having to load a third-party app for time tracking.
Teamwork’s project time tracking features also give more visibility into projects, which is perfect for client services companies. We make it easy to generate invoices from your project timesheet so you present clients with the most accurate invoicing for your work.
best time tracking app for small business
In a remote work culture, holding employees accountable can be tricky. When the workforce is scattered, and there’s no central hub for work, you set your goals and intend on tracking progress with project milestones, but you can’t be sure just how much time each worker is spending on making that happen. However, the best time tracking app will provide you with a host of tools you can rely on when you need an update on your team’s progress on a task or project.
When employees have access to the best productivity apps and a time tracker on their home desktop computers, they will almost feel as if their superior is there in the room with them periodically checking up on their progress. This accountability is crucial for keeping workers on task since distractions can be rife in the home working environment.
Join us as we take a look at some of the best time tracking apps for consultants, freelancers, and users of all the major operating systems.
Everhour – Best for Teams
💻 Platform: Cloud-based, iOS (beta)💰 Pricing: Free, Monthly – $6/10 per month (Lite/Team plan); Yearly – $5/8.50/month (Lite/Team plan)
Working in a team requires people and time management on a level that’s hard to reach without the right tools at your disposal. If you’re at the head of a team, you need to know exactly what your colleagues are working on every moment to ensure you’re all heading in the same direction. That’s why you need powerful software like Everhour to track time and hold your team accountable for the time they spend during work hours.
With Everhour, you’ll have access to real-time updates giving you key insights into how your team and the individuals within it are performing moment to moment. What’s more, Everhour becomes a digital Swiss army knife capable of taking care of all your project management needs with its third-party app integrations.
Each integration complements the software, contributing to an arsenal of tools that’ll see you through every important work project and task. Integrations include top project management tools such as Asana, Trello, Jira, Basecamp, and many more.
💻 Platform: Linux, macOS, Windows💰 Pricing: Monthly: Free – $0, Basic – $7/month, Pro – $10/month, Enterprise – customizable; Yearly: Free – $0, Basic – $5.25/month, Pro – $7.50/month, Enterprise – customizable
For freelancers, time is precious. Not only is there a mounting pile of work to get on top of, but there’s also the business side of things to tackle. As such, it’s important to streamline processes and automate wherever possible to lighten the load.
One way to go about this is to invest in time management software like TimeCamp, so as to free up time and simplify billing and invoicing. It’s tricky to keep track of how many hours you’ve worked on a project, which can make billing clients a nightmare and more of a guessing game than an accurate estimate.
With TimeCamp, the best time tracking app for freelancers, you can step up your professionalism by tracking your projects, using timesheets to monitor the time you spend on various tasks, and making the most of 3rd party integrations. Integrations range from project management tools such as Asana and ClickUp to organization apps like Google Calendar and utility software like Google Docs.
💻 Platform: iOS, Android💰 Pricing: Monthly: Free – $0, Starter – $4.99/month, Optimum – $6.99/month, Premium – $12.99/month; Yearly: Free – $0, Starter – $4.29/month, Optimum – $5.99/month, Premium – $10.99/month
As a consultant, it’s your job to go into a business and turn things around or improve productivity levels throughout the organization. It’s much easier to do this when you have data to draw upon such as the time employees spend working on projects.
Time Analytics provides just that, and much more beyond. As one of the best time tracking apps for consultants, the app goes the extra mile to provide the kind of data you need to have a positive impact on any company or team.
This is a software tool that allows you to monitor a company’s profitability by factoring in individual productivity and other KPIs. It allows you to see whether your clients are on track to hit their goals, whether they are operating within their budgetary constraints, and if every worker is on the same page.
Forest – Best for Personal Use
💻 Platform: Android, iOS, Chrome, and Firefox💰 Pricing: iOS: $1.99; Android: Free with $1.99 ‘Pro’ upgrade; Browsers: Free
If you want an interesting way to stay on top of your time, why not choose an app that allows you to create your own forest and fill it with all kinds of different trees?
Forest is a visually impressive app that achieves what few time tracking apps do, it makes the process of wrestling back control of your time a joy. Hands-down the best personal time tracking app for anyone who wants more for their money, the app rewards time spent productively with a visual feast, as you select the trees that you grow from a wide selection and watch as your own forest starts to take shape.
It’s the perfect solution for your personal time tracking needs since it incentivizes productivity with the satisfaction of creating something beautiful. Forest gamifies time tracking and is built on the foundations of the Pomodoro technique. That is to say, you select an amount of time to work for and to rest, and then get started. It’s useful for revision sessions for an upcoming exam, writing sessions on that unfinished novel, or any other task that requires your full attention.
💻 Platform: iOS💰 Pricing: Free; Business: $5/month
While there’s no doubt that software tools can add a lot of value to a lot of companies and working professionals, they can also eat into your finances. Sometimes the thought of paying yet another monthly or yearly fee is enough to make you dismiss the idea and potentially miss out on the benefits. Yet it doesn’t have to be that way.
Timetag is arguably the best free time tracking app, boasting plenty of features you can use to manage projects within your team or company. There is a premium option, too, for a minimal monthly cost of $5, but the free version is comprehensive for most time tracking needs. So what do you get for free with Timetag?
A simple yet effective time tracking solution that allows you to create detailed project reports and use data from any calendar on any of your devices. You can use the app to improve productivity and performance using KPIs and export your findings into a PDF or Excel file for easy digestion.
Timing – Best for Mac
💻 Platform: macOS (from El Capitan 2015 to Monterey 2021)💰 Pricing: Yearly: Professional – $6.40/month, Expert – $8.90/month, Connect – $11.90/month
If you’re a Mac user and you’re interested in tracking your time, you could do a lot worse than installing the Timing app on your desktop, which is in our view the best time tracking app for Mac.
Timing is a time-tracking solution that understands the value of visuals. In the software, you’ll have access to key information about how you spend your time in the form of colorful grapes and displays.
The main reason to pick Timing is that it’s a time tracking app that never clocks off. That’s right, the app never stops working, even when you do. As a result, there isn’t a moment it won’t capture, so if you’re a data analyst at heart you’ll have plenty to work with.
Timing will even categorize your time for you, so you know exactly how much time you’re spending on what really matters. While this might lead to some shocking revelations about your computer use habits, it’s this kind of information that can spark real change and motivate you to make the most of your time. This is especially true of freelancers and remote workers who spend the majority of their time at a computer, and are constantly looking to optimize how they use their time.
Life Cycle – Best for iPhone
💻 Platform: iOS💰 Pricing: Free; Premium: $9.99/year
Time tracking solutions are often presented in the form of a desktop app, which is fine for use at work when you have access to a computer, but what about when you’re using your phone?
Life Cycle is one of the best time tracking apps for the iPhone. It allows you to optimize the time you spend on your phone, so you can spend less of it on digital junk food and more of it on quality journalism and productivity tasks.
While most smartphones will give you basic information about how much you’re using your phone each week, they won’t give you a detailed breakdown of how you’re spending that time or suggest trends. Life Cycle will, though, as it automatically tracks the time you spend and divides it into habitual activities, the places you go, and more. As such, you will have access to insights based on your personal activity.
Life Cycle will let you know how much time you spend sleeping, how many steps you managed for the day, and how much time you spent on your commute to work. You can then use this information to work towards creating a perfectly productive day.
TimeTune – Best for Android
💻 Platform: Android💰 Pricing: Free; Premium: $9.99
TimeTune is a simple time tracking solution for Android users that features plenty of customization options, access to statistics and templates, and the ability to schedule your routines and projects. The best time tracking app for Android, TimeTune provides everything you need to stay productive.
If you’re looking for a one-stop shop for basic time tracking and project management needs, TimeTune is an excellent option for Android. With the app, you can carve out time blocks for various activities to hold yourself accountable, plan your days with templates, and then analyze your activities to see if there’s room for improvement. You can even set up custom notifications in the app to alert you when you have upcoming meetings or obligations.
what is the best employee time clock software
To help with these challenges, many small businesses turn to an employee time clock app.
But deciding which app best fits your specific business needs can be a challenge on its own. That’s why we’ve put together an in-depth post that compares eight of the best employee time clock apps on the market.
Since Buddy Punch is our own product, we’ll introduce ourselves first.
Note: We’re proud of what we built at Buddy Punch. It includes features we ourselves would have loved, having struggled to track time for 20 employees across three locations. Transform how you track time, process payroll, and create schedules for your employees. Click here to learn more and try it for free.
We experienced difficulties for many years tracking time for over twenty employees at three different locations. Specifically, it was a challenge to keep our employees accountable. Our payroll process was slow and inefficient. And trying to manually create schedules that would fit every person’s needs was a headache.
That’s why we set out to build Buddy Punch in the first place. We wanted to create a time clock app that would:
We are proud to say that since our founding, more than 10,000 businesses have trusted us to solve their employee time tracking needs. Our help has translated into many positive online reviews, like this one:
Next up, we’ll dive into how Buddy Punch helps small businesses track time for their employees by detailing some of our best features, one by one.
Increase Accountability (Geofencing, Facial Recognition & More)
One of the first challenges small businesses face when attempting to track time for their employees is a lack of accountability. This in turn translates to wasted money and time due to inaccurate timesheets.
With Buddy Punch, you don’t have to worry about this any longer. You can easily keep your employees honest and accountable when they punch in and out thanks to the following features.
With Geofencing, you can determine the radius inside which your employees can punch in and out of work. Simply choose a specific radius and your employees won’t be able to punch in or out unless they’re inside that radius.
If your business works with multiple job sites, you can create geofences for each and assign a unique job code to them.
Buddy Punch’s GPS technology allows you to keep track of your employee’s locations when they’re out in the field. Our platform automatically records where your staff is when they punch in and out of work. And you can easily see and verify your team’s punch locations all in one place.
This feature works similarly to Geofencing, but instead of limiting your employees’ punches by where they are located, IP Address Locking allows you to determine from which IP address your staff can clock in and out.
Simply designate the IP address where your employees can punch in and out from, and Buddy Punch will show your staff an error message if they try to punch in or out from another IP address.
If you wish to add another layer of accountability to your staff’s punches, you can activate Buddy Punch’s Facial Recognition feature. When this feature is on, your employees will have to scan their faces and verify it’s actually them before they can punch in and out.
Buddy Punch also offers the ability to prompt your employees to take photos of themselves before they can punch in and out. All the photos are saved in your dashboard. And you can then review those photos and verify that your employees punched in and out themselves (instead of a co-worker doing it for them).
Streamline Payroll (Integrations, Payroll Reports & More)
As we mentioned earlier, another key challenge we set out to solve when building Buddy Punch was to make payroll processing simple and effortless. We have multiple features and functionality to help with this, such as:
Now, let’s look at each one by one.
Buddy Punch pairs with most top payroll providers to make sure your payroll processing is as fast, simple, and accurate as it can be. To name just a few examples, Buddy Punch integrates with:
We also offer a Zapier integration which, if you lean on the tech side of things, you can use to connect to thousands of other apps.
Note: To view a full list of all Buddy Punch’s integrations, click here.
Buddy Punch automatically calculates what you need to run payroll and allows you to export the data in the form of an Excel payroll report. There’s no need to waste time manually reviewing timesheets, and searching for mistakes to correct.
Buddy Punch’s Project Tracking feature allows you to set up pay rates tailored to your different jobs and pay scales, which then allows you to calculate labor costs, create budgets, and generate project reports with just a few clicks.
This feature allows you to keep track of all your employee’s time off (PTO and unpaid), and then export reports with all the information for you to review. This can be done for all your employees at once, or broken down on a per-employee basis.
Buddy Punch gives you the capability to create time off accrual rules. These can be based on the number of hours worked, a specified pay period, or annually.
Simplify Scheduling (Drag & Drop, Employee Availability, & More)
Creating schedules without the right tools is a notoriously time-intensive process. More often than not, there are too many moving parts to take into account, such as which employees can work when and for how long. Using Excel, or pen and paper, doesn’t make the process easier.
That’s why at Buddy Punch we created an array of features that remove all hurdles and make creating schedules for your team simple and easy.
For starters, we set out to make scheduling intuitive with our drag and drop functionality, which you can see in action below:
Other Buddy Punch functionalities that help you create schedules for your teams are:
Once you’ve created a schedule that works, there’s no need to waste time and effort manually re-creating it each week or each month.
With Buddy Punch’s repeating/recurring shifts functionality, you can copy your schedule across time, or have it repeat over regular periods to create shifts for your employees.
One of the biggest pain-points behind the creation of schedules is knowing when your employees are available to work, and when they’re not.
Thanks to Buddy Punch’s Employee Availability feature, your employees can easily notify you of their availability. All they need to do is log into our app (which works with iOS, Android, tablet, or desktop) and choose their preferred time and day of work, subject to your approval.
Our Punch Limiting feature allows you to tie your employees’ ability to punch in and out of work to their assigned schedule. If they attempt to punch outside of that specified time-frame, Buddy Punch will now allow them to do so.
Once you’ve crafted a schedule you’re happy with, the next step is to share it with your team.
With Buddy Punch, this just takes a few clicks. Select our ‘publish schedule’ button, and choose whether to share through email, push notification, or both.
Your employees can also check their schedules at any time via the Buddy Punch mobile, desktop, or tablet app.
Other types of scheduling notifications that you can configure to automatically get sent to employees and/or administrators include:
Additional Features
So far we’ve covered features dealing with accountability, scheduling and payroll. But Buddy Punch also offers a whole suite of other features, such as:
When we set out to build Buddy Punch, a great array of features wasn’t our only concern. We also wanted to make an employee time clock app that was simple to use and offered customer support we could be proud of.
How We Set Out to Make Buddy Punch Easy to Use
From day one, we set out to make Buddy Punch as simple as it could possibly be. We did not want employees to have to worry about not being tech-savvy enough to use our platform or have to learn a complicated app interface just to clock in and out of work.
In the Buddy Punch platform (pictured above), employees are presented with as few options as possible. They have buttons to clock in and out of work, and can also view their current timecard. This was designed with the express purpose of eliminating all unnecessary distractions.
We’re proud to say that our effort was noticed by many of our users, and that it translated into many positive reviews that highlight this very effort:
What Differentiates Our Customer Support?
At Buddy Punch, we have a median first response time of 54 seconds via live chat during business hours. In comparison, you may have to wait for hours (or even more than a day) to hear back from other companies.
Interested in Learning More?
We’ve recorded a full Buddy Punch Demo that goes in-depth on our key features. Watch it below, and sign up for a free trial to see it in action!
In addition, you can request a demo here — we’ll show you how to best leverage Buddy Punch, as well as answer any questions you may have.
Connecteam is a great employee time clock app for small businesses. Connecteam has a total of 112 reviews on Capterra at the time of writing, with an average of 4.8 out of 5 stars.