How to Choose the Best Time Tracking Software

Posted on 1st Mar 2019

Types of Time-Tracking Software

Time-tracking software comes in several shapes and sizes. Some come as modules within accounting and invoicing apps such as FreshBooks, where employees can log hours from wherever they are and then automatically generate invoices through the software.

Likewise, comprehensive online project management software will often include time tracking features. Mavenlink, for example, offers time tracking and approval support, allowing for effortless billing and activity logging in a project-focused environment.

If you don’t have a time-tracking module within your existing business software, there are plenty of standalone time monitoring applications. Many of these have free trials, so they’re ideal if you want to shop around for something that fits your budget.

Choosing the Best Time-Tracking Software

When you’re researching which application to use, there are several functions to look out for. Of course, you’ll need to think about which of these features are surplus to your requirements, but the best time tracking software will serve most, or all, of the following functions:

Time Tracking

The ability to monitor the time of both hourly and salaried employees is the main purpose of a time tracking application. If you have staff in the field, look for a service that offers multi-device clocking in/out. Some solutions, such as Vericlock, offer the ability to punch in via text message or SMS, or through a smartphone app, for example.

Offline support is a must if you have staff who are working in locations where Internet access is limited or unavailable. Some time tracking tools, including TSheets, offer GPS features, so you can physically track what your field staff are up to.

Many tools will offer you the ability to set up alerts to remind your employees to clock in and out, and a safeguard feature for automatically clocking out those staff who aren’t supposed to be clocked in.

Timesheets

Timesheet handling is an important part of a time-tracking application. Software that allows you to divide timesheets by project is ideal, because it makes the billing process easier. When choosing a solution, pay attention to its approval workflows.

Ideally, you want a solution that allows a project or department manager to quickly and easily approve or reject a timesheet. Timesheets.com is an example of a solution that allows you to do just this. Many applications send you email alerts when a timesheet or expense has been submitted.

Overtime control is another aspect of time-tracking software that can make your life easier and save you money. Many of the best applications offer overtime alerts, which can notify a manager when an employee is clocking over. This can help you avoid paying for costly overtime in cases where it may not be necessary.

Project Management

The best time-tracking software will allow you to monitor project resources and track tasks, and some allow you to add project notes to tasks so that everyone involved is on the same page.

Support for recording billable and non-billable expenses and for invoice creation are other handy features that some time-tracking tools — like Replicon, for example — include, and help to bridge the gap between project management and payroll.

Reports

Reporting is a crucial advantage of an automated time tracking application. A good software like Toggl lets you generate a wide variety of different reports to help a manager gain insights into things like time worked, expenses, and invoices. Reports can generally be customized, allowing the user to define exactly what information they want to be included in the reports. Although software can gather all this data, it’s very important that managers have the right training to be able to analyze and interpret the data in the most effective way.

Be sure that the time-tracking app you pick includes the ability to export or print reports so that they can then be shared easily with bosses or employees.

Help and Support

While it’s imperative that you choose a time-tracking solution that is reliable and easy to use by everyone in the company, it’s also vital that you research the customer support service of an application before selecting one.

The best ones should offer email, phone, and live chat support so that you can quickly solve issues with the software during the integration phase and quickly squash any problems that arise.

Integrations

One important factor to consider when selecting a time-tracking application is to pay attention to its integrations. Integrations are key because they allow you to synchronize your time tracking application with data from other business software that you’re already using.