Best Time Tracking Software of 2023

Features: Time tracking software must accurately record how employees spend their workdays in terms of hours worked, tasks performed, projects, and breaks. The products must also track billable hours for professionals who bill clients by time spent working on their projects. Other important capabilities of time tracking software are timesheet processing for payroll, billing, and invoicing; reporting and analytics to give managers up-to-date information on the progress of projects and the productivity of workers; and third-party integrations to ensure that timekeeping data can be shared with HR, finance, sales, and other business departments.

As work teams become more dispersed, mobile time tracking increases in importance for workers and managers. Mobile time tracking apps let workers clock in and out at job sites, and offer managers and coworkers in the office insight into their status and the progress of the projects remote staff are working on. Other considerations when choosing a time tracking solution are the functionality of its timers, how automated its time-entry processes are, its summaries and reporting options, how easy it is to import and export data, notifications (breaks, overtime, etc.), and how easy the systems are for employees and managers to access.

Integrations: The most popular integrations offered with time tracking software focus on tying the systems to HR, accounting, sales, and other business processes. Most time tracking products for SMBs and large enterprises link to Salesforce and other CRM systems, as well as Jira and other project management tools. They also connect with team communications apps such as Slack, and productivity apps that include Microsoft Office 365, and Google Workspace and G Suite. Other common integrations are QuickBooks and other accounting systems, payroll products such as Gusto and Paychex, Workday and other workforce management software, and ERP products such as SAP and Oracle Netsuite.

Most time tracking software vendors offer their customers APIs. For example, the REST-style Open Web API available to TimeCamp users allows timekeeping data to be gathered, manipulated, and exported to a company’s internal and external systems. Similarly, Clockify’s REST API lets companies share data between the time tracking software and their own tools for generating custom reports, automating timekeeping operations, and otherwise enhance their time tracking practices.

Mobile Access: An increasingly distributed workforce presents many timekeeping challenges for employees and managers alike. The best time tracking software comes with a mobile app that lets workers clock in and out from remote worksites, and that keeps managers and coworkers back at the office up-to-date on their status and the progress of their projects. All eight of the vendors we selected feature mobile apps for iOS and Android devices, and several offer timekeeping kiosks – both hardware and software varieties – that serves as central punch clocks for teams of workers.

The benefits of mobile time tracking include increased efficiency and productivity, enhanced engagement of remote workers, clearer communication, and more effective collaboration. Among the challenges of managing a mobile workforce are ensuring the privacy and security of employees’ personal data and the business’s sensitive information, training workers in the use of remote-access tools, sharing data from mobile devices with other business systems, and monitoring workers effectively without impinging on their privacy.

Privacy and Security: The intrusiveness of time tracking software can catch some workers by surprise. While it’s natural for managers to be concerned about how remote workers in particular are spending their workdays, the productivity reports generated by products such as Time Doctor can make efficient workers feel like they’re being penalized for their productivity. The solution is to choose time tracking solutions that are transparent about how they operate and what information concerning workers they’re sharing with bosses and others.

To address workers’ concerns about surveillance, lack of control over their data, and the data’s accuracy, firms need to communicate their data-collection policies clearly, give employees control over their personal data, and implement appropriate security measures to prevent sensitive information from being exposed or misused. The vendors on our list encrypt the data in transit and at rest using standards such as Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256-bit. They also comply with SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001 for securing data stored on cloud servers. Many also comply with the European Union’s GDPR standards and HIPAA regulations for handling sensitive health information.

Automation: Machine learning and other AI technologies play a key role in automating many timekeeping functions. The innovations promise to improve the accuracy and efficiency of time tracking, and boost a company’s productivity. The insights gleaned from AI-based time tracking systems deliver new perspectives to business decision-makers in areas such as resource allocation, project management, and employees’ performance. Among the AI-based time-tracking capabilities are time trackers that are able to categorize time spent on tasks automatically and suggest time-saving techniques, as well as virtual assistants that integrate with calendars, email, and other productivity tools to reduce the amount of time employees spend on administrative duties.

One of the most important innovations in time tracking software is the ability of the systems to leverage historical time tracking data to predict future trends and enhance business decision-making. This capability is especially noteworthy for project leaders for determining deadlines and anticipating potential stumbling blocks. AI-powered systems hold the promise of making time tracking more accurate by identifying gaps in the record and pointing to incorrect and potentially fraudulent time reporting.