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Time tracking is an essential tool for any busy business owner. Tracking time spent on projects and giving employees a sense of their productivity can help businesses improve efficiency, while also alleviating employee stress. Here are 6 apps that make it easy to achieve both goals at once.
The “best employee time tracking software” is a tool that helps to track the hours that employees work. It can be used for both personal and business use.
Managers and staff benefit from employee time tracking applications since they can measure hours and extra spent on their mobile devices. The most crucial factors to consider when choosing the best app are cost (some are free, while others pay a few dollars per worker each month), convenience of use, and scheduling capabilities. Online data storage for time worked is also necessary.
Apps for Employee Time Tracking in the Top 6
Apps for Employee Time Tracking: How We Rated Them
Employee work time is tracked using the finest employee time tracking applications, which allow workers to clock in and leave automatically. They compute hours worked automatically and allow you to export the information to your payroll program. Employee scheduling, time off requests, and team member text messaging are all common features.
We looked into employee time tracking applications based on what a small company needs:
- Price: We only looked at applications that were cost-effective to setup and utilize for a small company.
- Ease of use: We choose products that are straightforward to both managers and staff.
- Applications: For managers and staff, all of these choices include iOS and Android apps.
- Virtual time clock: Virtual time clocks are available in all employee time monitoring applications.
- Time sheets on a computer: Data from time sheets may be exported electronically.
- Employee scheduling: We didn’t include any tools that didn’t include a scheduling feature (to track worker time against) either built within the app or as an add-on.
- Time off requests and leave management are handled by almost all time tracking applications.
- Reports and interfaces: Most of the applications can connect to payroll software and provide extra reporting possibilities.
- Resource scheduling is handled by several of these technologies as well.
We discovered that When I Work is the best match for most small companies after evaluating numerous employee time tracking applications and examining customer feedback. Small organizations with less than 75 workers may use a free version of our time tracking and scheduling software. Advanced capabilities such as Global Positioning System (GPS) locations and task management are available in paid subscriptions.
When I Work: The Best Time Tracking App for Employees
The employee time tracking software from When I Work is excellent for firms with less than 75 workers that need to keep track of employee clock-ins and outs for free. You may create a shift schedule ahead of time and send notifications to workers when it’s time to sign in. The app is user-friendly on mobile devices and simple to set up.
Pricing When I’m at Work
When I Work is a cost-effective solution for small businesses, with prices ranging from free (for up to 75 workers) to $2.25 per worker each month. Its free plan includes team scheduling, communication, and attendance monitoring for employees. Paid subscriptions provide more features including remote work locations, task management, and single sign-on (SSO).
Pricing When I’m at Work Tiers
What I Do When I Work
When I Work offers a free time clock app as well as a free employee scheduling and messaging software that is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You may track staff breaks, establish clock-in procedures, and utilize it to prevent buddy punching. When I Work is designed to meet the requirements of small companies with hourly employees, and it includes a recruiting app to assist you in finding new employees as well as employee chat capabilities to keep in contact with them.
Time & Attendance
The free time clock software from When I Work allows you to keep track of when and where your workers are working. Employees may clock in and out using a tablet, such as an iPad affixed to the rear door of your office or business, or by using the free mobile time clock app on their smartphone.
You may upgrade to an option that enables you to geo-fence your workplace if you want to block clock-ins until the employee arrives. Employees are unable to clock in before arriving on-site as a result of this. Buddy punching is also avoided since each employee clocks in from their own device.
When I’m at work, I use a time-tracking app.
Alerts & Notifications
Your workers will get alerts from When I Work. They’ll get notifications when it’s time to clock in and reminders when it’s time to clock out. When I Work also has a WorkChat function that allows workers to communicate with managers and other team members, which improves overall team communication and collaboration.
Reports & Interfaces
When I Work allows you to export your data to Gusto, a small company payroll software. It also has a summary of the time sheet as well as clock in and out times. You’ll be able to view the discrepancy between employee work plans and the actual hours they worked if you utilize When I Work’s free scheduling software. Paid account users may utilize API tools to integrate their time worked data with other company software, such as their POS system.
Scheduling & Leave Management
When I Work is a master at keeping track of employee schedules. You may book your staff for shift work even on the free plan, making time monitoring simple (as it automates reminders to employees based on criteria you set). Through the employee time tracking software, your team members can also request time off. That time is marked off on the employee’s time sheet after you accept it.
What I’m Missing at Work
When I Work does not provide customer service over the phone. Furthermore, it lacks a sophisticated analytics capability beyond the typical data outputs available as a CSV file. As a result, if you want professional-looking reports, you’ll have to make them yourself, maybe in a spreadsheet.
When I work, I’m interested in what users think.
On third-party review sites, we discovered that When I Work customer evaluations are excellent. The ease with which the program may be set up and used is often praised by users. They’d want to see more user roles and permissions introduced, as well as a better approach to monitor PTO.
When I Work, How Do I Sign Up?
Signing up for a free account with When I Work for up to 75 workers is the easiest way to get started. On the When I Work page, you may choose that choice. It is available for download on Google Play, GetApp, and the iTunes App Store for managers and staff. Get your free employee timekeeping account with When I Work.
When I’m At Work
Homebase: The Best Free Scheduling App for Physical Stores
The fact that Homebase delivers all of the time and attendance capabilities in a free employee time tracking software makes it ideal for brick and mortar enterprises. The free service is confined to enterprises with one location, much as When I Work; the difference is that Homebase’s free forever tool may be used for an infinite number of employees, including seasonal workers. Because Homebase charges per location rather than by employee, brick-and-mortar businesses will find it incredibly cost-effective.
Pricing at Homebase
For small company usage, Homebase costs anything from free to $49.95 per month. The free plan includes everything you need to get started, from time sheets to team communication. Paid plans, on the other hand, include a GPS time clock as well as time sheet approvals. For multi-location enterprises, Homebase also offers an enterprise package. It costs little under $100 a month per site and includes a dedicated account manager.
Pricing at Homebase Plans
Features of Homebase
Homebase’s free plan has more features than most other time and attendance software’s free editions. Employee scheduling (similar to When I Work), unlimited users, a free time clock, time sheets, reports, and, of course, free mobile applications for workers and supervisors are just a few of the features. The free version also includes data exports to payroll applications.
Homebase Time & Attendance
All Pricing at Homebase plans, including the free version, let you set up a timekeeping kiosk, such as a tablet, from which employees can clock in and out. Employees can also download the free app and manage their schedule and time sheets through a mobile phone. The time sheets can manage tip reporting, and you can export the data to your payroll software provider. Paid plans offer a GPS time clock, time sheet approvals, and early clock-in prevention.
Apps for a time clock and communications from Homebase
Homebase Alerts & Notifications
You don’t have to upgrade to receive team communications capabilities, such as team shout outs, unlike employee timekeeping applications like 7shifts. You may also send SMS text messages if that is your preference. With a Homebase subscription membership, you may get advanced features like shift reminders, clock out messaging, and read receipts.
Homebase Reports & Interfaces
Homebase has the ability to connect to payroll software as well as POS systems used in the restaurant sector. Those features, as well as typical reports, are included in the free version. Additional data, such as those on labor expenses, actual vs planned hours, employee shift feedback, and performance history, are added to each premium tier. When you upgrade to the Enterprise plan, you’ll be able to create custom reports.
Homebase Scheduling & Leave Management
Drag and drop scheduling capabilities are available on all free plans, allowing you to examine your shift schedule by day, week, month, employee, or job function. You may also store your schedule as a template that you can use again and again. You may also see requests for time off, staff availability, and shift exchanges. A paid subscription is required to log time off.
What’s missing from Homebase
Except for the fact that it only keeps your time sheets for 90 days, Homebase’s free time tracking software has practically every feature a small brick and mortar business may desire. It also needs more setup and training than other providers since it offers more functionalities. So set aside some time to put it up. Furthermore, its user interface isn’t as up to date as When I Work’s.
Users’ Opinions on Homebase
Overall, customer ratings for Homebase’s time and attendance software aren’t as positive as they are for its scheduling features. They fall barely short of a 4 out of 5 star rating. The payroll integration, which is included in the free plan, is the most popular feature among users. Some people have expressed their dissatisfaction with the glitchiness.
How to Become a Homebase Member
You may experience Homebase for free without supplying a credit card since it is entirely free for companies with one location. Keep using it for free if you just have one location and can get by with the free features. Set up your business for free with Homebase.
Pay a visit to Homebase
Deputy: Most Effective at Billing Clients for Time Spent
Deputy was designed to allow advanced scheduling, with the premise that planning your staff’ schedules ahead of time makes it simpler to manage time. Its app is compatible with smartphones, Apple watches, desktop computers, and any other internet-enabled device. It has a time and attendance app and time sheets, much as When I Work and Homebase. What sets Deputy apart is that it has time billing tools that allow you to produce invoices and assign rates to employees (or job).
Pricing Assist
Deputy costs between $2 and $4 per month per employee. Employee timekeeping is merely $2, but if you want both scheduling and attendance monitoring, it’ll cost you twice that. This is in contrast to timekeeping programs like WhenIWork and Homebase, which, even in their free lifetime editions, incorporate scheduling inside the employee time tracking software.
Pricing Options for Features of a Deputy
Features of a Deputy
You can keep track of personnel, shifts, and clock-ins and outs using Deputy. You may also manage HR compliance for planned breaks and create unique pay rates so you know exactly how much your employees cost you every shift. It also integrates dynamic report and accounting software, making customer billing for workers’ client work more efficient.
Time & Attendance
Even when the network is down, Deputy uses a smartphone app to keep track of time. All other changes are done in real time, so you’ll always know when employees clock in or leave. In fact, if you need to stop buddy punching, you can utilize face recognition. You may also add a location stamp to guarantee that workers punch in at the correct spot. It can also handle nine common languages, ranging from Spanish to Japanese, for companies with foreign-born employees.
On a tablet, there is an app called Deputy Time Clock.
Deputy Alerts & Notifications
Staff will get notifications on the news feed as they arrive at the work site, such as meeting reminders or a team member’s birthday. You may get a read confirmation and even attach papers for them to evaluate, such as your new attendance policy. The mobile app may also send you alerts and notifications.
Reports & Interfaces
Deputy integrates with a variety of payroll, accounting, and point-of-sale systems. It’s even built so that your employees don’t have to shut the POS screen to clock out for a break or at the conclusion of their shift. Custom reports, on the other hand, are only accessible on the Premium and higher tier premium subscriptions.
Deputy Scheduling & Leave Management
Employees may seek leave using the Deputy smartphone app. They may also keep track of their accrued vacation time. You’ll be able to check who’s available as their manager as you plan your next work schedule. You may also add hours for relaxation and lunch breaks in your employee’s work plan. You may also benefit from auto-scheduling if you subscribe to the Premium plan.
What the Deputy Isn’t Getting
There is no free plan for a small company, unlike Homebase and When I Work. Its premium plans are also a little more expensive. You’ll need to change to a premium plan if you want reports or payroll integration, while Homebase offers both for free.
What Do Users Have to Say About Deputy?
On third-party review sites, people give Deputy a 4.5 out of 5 star rating. Customers praise the company’s customer service and user-friendly features, such as the ability for workers to claim available shifts. Some people say they’d want to see additional schedule views.
How to Become a Deputy
The free trial is the most convenient way to get started with Deputy’s time tracking software. You can sign up with your email address or by logging in with your Google or Facebook account. Begin your free trial now—no credit card is necessary.
Pay Deputy a visit
Humanity: Best for Firms Wanting Robust Reports & Analytics
Humanity, like many of the other employee time tracking applications mentioned above, combines scheduling and time and attendance management into a one mobile app. The range of customisable reports that may help you utilize analytics to fine-tune your work schedules is what makes it stand out. You’ll be able to plan ahead of time for labor expenditures after you’ve entered worker pay rates.
Pricing for Humanity
Humanity offers a price structure similar to Deputy, with options ranging from $2 to $4 per month per user for small businesses. Basic scheduling is available with the Starter plan, but time tracking, reporting, and payroll exporting are only available with the more costly Classic plan. Larger businesses who wish to connect to a human resource information system (HRIS) and other business applications should choose the Enterprise option.
Pricing for Humanity Plans
Characteristics of Humanity
Humanity’s scheduling software includes an excellent employee time tracking function. It offers a mobile app for managing time and attendance, as well as an online time clock and employee leave and time off requests. It also includes features for scheduling people, organizations, and even managing staff schedules. All of these functions may be monitored from a single administrator dashboard.
Humanity Time & Attendance
Humanity’s time clock feature records staff attendance by enabling supervisors to authorize clock-ins and providing GPS-based time monitoring. After that, the timekeeping data may be easily sent to your payroll or HR software.
In addition to mobile applications, Humanity offers an administrative dashboard.
Alerts & Notifications
Employees have the option of receiving alerts on their cellphones. Humanity’s app, on the other hand, has less alert, notification, and message capabilities than other less priced apps like Homebase and When I Work.
Humanity Reports & Interfaces
Within its comprehensive reports section, Humanity offers both standard and bespoke reports. You can create dynamic reports using real-time data that may be filtered in any manner you choose. All data is exportable. Managers may also develop bespoke reports to their own needs. The best part is that it connects to the most common payroll providers through a drop-down option.
Humanity Scheduling & Leave Management
Humanity is designed as a scheduling tool with time clock and tracking capabilities. It has excellent scheduling capabilities. Managers may use it to plan shifts and track employee shift acknowledgements. Managers must authorize requests for time off from employees. The software then keeps track of who is available when you create your shift, as well as how much each person is paid, so you know precisely how much your labor costs.
What Humanity Is Currently Lacking
When workers forget to sign in, Humanity lacks reminders and alerts to remind them. Also, although it’s comparable to Deputy in terms of pricing, it’s more expensive than When I Work and Homebase, both of which provide free plans for small businesses.
Users’ Opinions on Humanity
According to our study, the majority of Humanity users rate customer service as excellent. They give it the same high rating as Deputy. There were several recommendations for new features and ways to improve the software’s usability.
How to Become a Humanity Volunteer
The easiest way to get started with Humanity is to start with a free trial. It comes with a software demo and a 30-day free trial, which is more than most other employee time monitoring applications and software businesses provide. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to try it out before committing to a premium membership. Sign up for a free Humanity 30-day trial.
Ximble is the best app for managing the breaks of entry-level workers.
Ximble is great for small firms with hourly employees since it makes it easier to keep track of new hires on the job. It allows you to plan and track staff breaks, both paid and unpaid. It contains a picture capture clock-in function that helps guarantee employees are truly at the job site when they clock in, in addition to all the time and attendance capabilities a small company requires.
Pricing Flexibility
Ximble provides three options: time monitoring, scheduling, or a combination of the two. The fundamental plan begins at $3 per month per user for time monitoring and scheduling. That is the strategy that would most likely meet the demands of the majority of small enterprises. The Advanced plan adds integrations and face recognition for $5 per month per user plus a $15 monthly base charge. A quote-based corporate package is also available from Ximble.
Pricing Flexibility Tiers
Ximble Characteristics
With its face recognition feature, Ximble’s time and attendance software helps prevent buddy punching. Shift reminders, team chat, time sheet review and approvals, and a virtual time clock are among the other features of Ximble. You may also keep track of numerous roles and pay rates for each employee, such as if your waitress works as a shift lead one night a week for a higher hourly rate.
Ximble Time & Attendance
Ximble features a time clock as well as a time sheet with payed breaks. If a worker, for example, fails to clock out on time, you may make manual alterations and revisions to the time sheets. It also keeps track of employee activities and sends out shift reminders when it’s time to clock in or leave.
Photos are included in the Ximble clock’s choices.
Alerts & Notifications
Managers may reach staff by SMS or email using the Ximble app. Shift reminders and alerts are included in the employee scheduling mobile app, as well as a team chat feature. The program even allows you to exchange work files immediately. This is useful for sharing information about price adjustments or impending sales events.
Reports & Interfaces
All of Ximble’s price levels include comprehensive, sophisticated reporting, including as activity monitoring and payroll reports. HR, POS, and payroll connections are available if you upgrade to the advanced plan. When you’re in charge of an hourly staff and need to remain on top of labor law obligations like planned breaks and sick leave balances, these reports come in useful.
Ximble Scheduling & Leave Management
Ximble manages shift trading and coverage, but until you subscribe to the Advanced package, you won’t be able to manage paid time off. It does, however, include labor cost tracking so you can know how much it will cost to staff your shifts. The Advanced plan includes automatic shift scheduling as well as the ability to schedule employees across several locations.
What Ximble Isn’t Doing Right
There is no free plan available with Ximble, and the expensive ones might be perplexing. To receive mobile clock-in services, for example, you must upgrade and pay a $15 monthly cost. When you add up the costs of both scheduling and timekeeping in Homebase and When I Work (which are both free), it comes out to be a little more expensive than any of the other employee time tracking applications for the same set of capabilities.
Users’ Opinions about Ximble
Although there aren’t as many internet reviews for Ximble as there are for some of the other time monitoring applications, it has a good user rating. Many customers like the considerate features like unpaid breaks and timesheets that are automatically calculated. They also praise the client service. Making manual modifications to shifts or timecards, on the other hand, is not for everyone.
How to Become a Ximble Member
Signing up with Ximble on their website is the easiest way to get started. Without a credit card, you may test Ximble for free. Even if you formally join up, you may cancel and obtain a refund within the first 30-days. If you’d like to see Ximble in action before you subscribe, you can also request a demo. Sign up for a free Ximble staff time monitoring trial.
Pay a visit to Ximble.
7shifts: Best for Restaurant & Foodservice Operations
7shifts was created for companies that manage hourly employees and measure time in shifts, such as restaurants and cafés. It’s priced by location, similar to Homebase, and there’s a free option for just one. Employee schedules, a virtual time clock, tip management, and team communication are all available. Paid subscriptions provide you access to more advanced reporting and labor pricing capabilities for your business.
Pricing at 7shifts
For one location with up to ten workers, 7shifts is free. Paid options run from $17.99 to $69.99 per month, depending on the number of locations (billed annually). It also provides free samples of its Appetizer, Entre, and The Works plans, which are creatively called. Each tier of pricing adds new capabilities, but all plans include time off requests, time clocks, and mobile applications as standard. A $150 white glove service is available if you want 7shifts’ professionals to set up your equipment.
Pricing at 7shifts Plans
Features of 7shifts
The most appealing aspect of 7shifts is that it is tailored to a single industry: foodservice. That means it contains shift scheduling, time off requests, and reports, all of which are accessible via a mobile app to keep busy restaurant managers informed. POS integration, sales forecasting, multi-location scheduling, SMS messaging, templates, labor pricing tools, and event management are all included in the paid subscriptions.
7shifts takes care of both timekeeping and scheduling.
7shifts Time & Attendance
All subscriptions include with a basic time clock and online time sheets that can be accessed through free iOS and Android mobile applications. You’ll need to subscribe to a premium plan if you want overtime and break warnings, punch audit reports, or mobile shift reminders.
Alerts & Notifications
7shifts provides supervisors with overtime and break warnings, as well as mobile shift reminders and a shift feedback tool. Managers may also utilize an electronic log book to keep track of notes. All of these capabilities, however, need a paid subscription.
7shifts Reports & Interfaces
Standard reports are provided by 7shifts to assist you in managing your company. The Appetizer package includes POS connection with TouchBistro, Lightspeed, and Square, among other suppliers. However, if you want QuickBooks payroll connectivity, you’ll have to switch to the more expensive “The Works” plan. Alternatively, you may export your data to a spreadsheet and submit it to your payroll provider by hand.
Scheduling & Leave Management
All plans contain employee scheduling, as well as data on staff availability and time-off requests. Schedule templates, weather predictions, mobile shift reminders, and the opportunity to name your workstations and sections are all included in the paid subscriptions. If you choose The Works, you may add several administrators to your account, allowing your night shift manager or office employees to update and control worker scheduling on your behalf.
What 7shifts Isn’t Including
7shifts is wonderful for restaurants, however it doesn’t have as many free services as When I Work and Homebase. For example, the Comp plan is free only if you have 10 or less workers, but Homebase allows you to have an unlimited number of employees. Furthermore, you must switch to a more expensive tier to have payroll integration or activity audits, and there are no group scheduling possibilities.
7shifts: What Users Have to Say
Users of 7shifts generally give it good marks. They like how simple the interface is to use and how eager the organization is to assist them set up interfaces. Some employees claim that alerts don’t always function and that keeping track of paid and unpaid vacations is tough.
Employee Time Tracking Apps Alternatives
While searching for the finest employee time tracking applications, you may discover that your company also need additional software such as time and attendance, time clocks, HR, or employee appointment scheduling software. Consider your sector, the amount and kinds of staff you have, and your compliance requirements, among other things.
Here are some excellent alternatives to the top time monitoring apps:
Conclusion
Employee time tracking software may help you save a lot of time and money by correctly recording employee hours worked for overtime compliance and payroll reasons. You’ll lessen the danger of frequent mistakes users make with manual time card systems by storing data in the cloud and exporting it to your HR or payroll software.
We suggest When I Work for employee time monitoring out of the top six sources we got. It monitors employee leave requests and approvals in addition to tracking employee clock ins and outs. It also enables you to contact directly with your workers, offers employee scheduling, and assists you in finding new employees via its job posting tool. If you have 75 or less workers, you may join When I Work for free.
When I’m At Work
The “employee time tracking software free” is a list of six best employee time tracking apps. These apps are the most popular and well-known for their ease of use and high user ratings.
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