Employee time tracking is not just a workplace trend; it is a critical practice that can significantly impact your organization’s productivity, efficiency, and bottom line.
Take it from a timesheet software CEO- I know all too well the importance of accurately monitoring and managing employee time. It’s what has allowed us at Jibble to thrive in a highly competitive market and assist thousands of businesses in achieving their goals.
Now, there are tons of tools that can help you track employee time. But the big question is: How do you choose the right one? With the vast array of options available, that choice becomes even harder. Luckily, I’m here to help you out.
Have a look at the top information sources I’ve outlined below. These sources are all tailored for US businesses seeking to implement or upgrade their employee time tracking systems. They’ll give you invaluable insights, expert advice, and up-to-date reviews to help you make an informed decision.
Top Info Sources for US Employee Time Tracking
The Definitive List
- Forbes Advisor
- Connecteam
- The Digital Project Manager
- Teamwork
- Buddy Punch
- DeskTime
- MyHours
- Zapier
- Fit Small Business
1. Forbes Advisor
With its authoritative voice and extensive reach, the global media powerhouse Forbes provides valuable insights and influential reporting for millions of readers worldwide across business, finance, and lifestyle topics.
One of its publications, Forbes Advisor, is dedicated to “making smart financial decisions simple” through unbiased personal finance advice, news, and reviews. Included in this are some particularly insightful US employee time tracking reviews.
Their rundowns of the Best Employee Time Tracking Apps Of 2023, Best Time Clock Software (2023), and 7 Free Time Tracking Apps (2023) offer readers a good view of the latest and most effective tools for managing time and resources. They outline everything from the software’s key features and pricing through to who it’s ideal for. They’re also very honest about what they like and don’t like about it.
So, how exactly do they choose which employee time tracking apps make it to their exclusive list?
Well, the Forbes Advisor team uses a five-star rating system—with five being the highest score—to evaluate dozens of employee time tracking apps. They consider factors deemed most important to users. This includes how easy an app is to use, what features it has, the support it provides, and the total cost, including both the base and per-user fees.
For the best employee time tracking apps, the criteria they used are as follows:
- Pricing
- Key features
- Unique features
- Extras and inclusions
- Operating system compatibility
- Customer support
- Customer reviews
They also gave extra credit to products with advanced features like invoicing, billing, Gantt charts, task dependencies, and custom reporting. High value was placed on positive feedback from customer reviews. And after analyzing hundreds of data points, their list came out as follows:
Best employee time tracking apps
- Clockify: Best Overall
- QuickBooks Time: Best for QuickBooks users
- ClockShark: Best for field service and construction industries
- Paymo: Best for managing complex tracking projects
- TimeCamp: Best for team productivity tracking
- Deputy: Best for labor law compliance
- My Hours: Best for client billing reports
- Toggl Track: Best free plan
Best time clock software (2023)
- TimeDoctor: Best Overall
- OnTheClock: Best web-based time clock software
- Jibble: Best free time clock solution
- 7shifts: Best for restaurants
- Busybusy: Best for field employees
- QuickBooks Time: Best for QuickBooks users
- uAttend: Best for small businesses
Forbes advisor reviews are written by experienced journalists and freelance writers. They’re also reviewed by Kelly Main, an SMB Editor specializing in starting and marketing new ventures. She is a former Google Tech Entrepreneur with an MSc in International Marketing from Edinburgh Napier University. With these reviews under her watch, you can be sure you’re getting expertly curated insights and recommendations.
2. Connecteam
Connecteam markets itself as an all-in-one employee management solution, boasting a range of tools for time tracking, scheduling, and task management. They bring a lot of valuable insights to the table, which can help guide you in finding the right time tracking tool for your business.
Their extensive review of the 18 Best Employee Time Tracking Apps in 2023 is a good example of the “expertise and valuable insights” referred to.
The review, which was written by Rae Regan, former Head of Content at Connecteam, presents the many time tracking options on the market. It presents each software with the good and the bad, along with essential information such as pricing and key features. And if you don’t have the time to read through the entire article, you can look at the review’s quick comparison table.
The review didn’t explicitly say what criteria were used for choosing the items on the list, but it did share a list of what users should look for in an employee time tracking app. This included:
- Automation
- Geolocation
- Cost
- Easy Integration
- Customization
- Customer Support
It’s definitely a good set of criteria for choosing an employee time tracking app. However, I would have personally added ease of use and scalability to the list.
3. The Digital Project Manager
The Digital Project Manager is an online resource platform that aims to help professionals excel in digital project management. It offers a wealth of information through training, podcasts, guides, articles, job listings, and product reviews.
Speaking of product reviews, your search for employee time tracking software might just end with The Digital Project Manager’s 10 Best Time Tracking Software For Companies In 2023 review. This review was written by the founder of the platform himself, Ben Aston, and it evaluates ten tools that, according to him, can help you have better control over the time spent on project activities.
The review gives a brief description of each software and how it can benefit users. It also explains how each tool earned its place on the list, along with a summary of its standout features and available integrations. However, I would have preferred the review to have highlighted not just the good parts of each, but also their cons. Because, let’s face it, no employee time tracking software is perfect.
According to the article, its methodology for evaluation encompassed both user reviews and the software’s user interface. It also considered various factors that contribute to a software’s suitability for effective project management, including the following:
- User Interface
- Online time tracking variety
- Integrations
- Pricing
As an added bonus, there’s a comparison chart that highlights essential information covered in the review.
4. Teamwork
Teamwork, true to its name, is a dynamic SaaS (Software as a Service) company on a mission to transform teams into efficient, organized, profitable, and happy units when it comes to delivering client work. They offer a range of services and products for resource management, project planning, and time tracking.
Given their hand in time tracking, it goes without saying that they have a good understanding of time tracking software and what makes a good one. Their review of 8 of the top employee time tracking software options that actually help prevent micromanagers offers great insights into some of the best employee time tracking tools available for US businesses. Now, it’s important to note that this review puts extra emphasis on time tracking apps with features that help prevent micromanagement. So, if that’s something that you find yourself struggling with, this review is worth the read.
The review is fairly brief, but it includes all the important points you need to know about the software, such as its pros and cons, key features, and pricing. Probably the best part of this review is the snippets of feedback from actual users. They offer a firsthand account of how each software tool performs in the real world, providing you with a clear, unfiltered view of what to expect.
According to the article’s writer, Lizzie Davey, here are the key features that you should look for in time-tracking software:
- Provides real-time data
- Integrates with other project management tools
- Makes time tracking easy and flexible
- Automates the time tracking process
- Notifies team members when there is a tracking error
5. Buddy Punch
Not to be confused with buddy punching (which is when one co-worker requests another to punch in or out for their shift), Buddy Punch is all about preventing such issues by offering a reliable and transparent time tracking solution. They have been a player in the time tracking industry since 2013, so you can count on their reviews to be well-informed and enlightening. Put simply, they know what they’re talking about.
As a prior multiple-location business owner and Buddy Punch writer, Eric Czerwonka knows a lot about time collection and scheduling. His review on the 13 Best Employee Time Tracking Software & Apps for Small Businesses in 2023 is a good resource for any small business looking to streamline its time tracking process.
Now, it’s important to note that since the review was written by Buddy Punch, there is a slight bias towards their product. This is evident in the way the review was written. A huge amount of text was dedicated to highlighting Buddy Punch’s many features compared to others on the list. And who could blame them? After all, it is their product, and they’re proud of what they’ve built (this is stated in the review, and not just my assumption! But that doesn’t make this review any less of a good resource.
In the review, Eric puts emphasis on Capterra reviews, mentioning the ratings each software received from the popular review site. Each software review is fairly brief and straight to the point, with a list of the software’s features all linked to their respective pages where readers can further investigate.
6. DeskTime
If you want to increase workplace productivity, you’re going to need to manage time properly. DeskTime’s review of the 21 best productivity and employee time tracking apps of 2023 can point you in the right direction.
Written by Artis Rozentals, DeskTime’s CEO and productivity expert, this review comprehensively covers the wide range of time tracking options available in the market. All the information that a prospective user would want to know is included in the review. This includes the software’s special features, which platforms it’s available on, pricing, and who it’s ideal for. The good and the bad of each software is summarized based on what users say so you can better weigh your options.
The review didn’t mention the methodology for choosing the top time tracking apps on the list, but it did outline features that users should look out for, including:
- Automated and accurate time and cost tracking
- Project management
- Timesheets
- Features for payroll
- Detailed reports
- Powerful Integrations
- A mobile app
Don’t have time to read through their long list of reviews? You can also just skip ahead to the employee time tracking app comparison table they have at the very end of the article.
7. MyHours
Another great info source that can guide you on your search for an employee time tracking app is MyHours. Their reviews, such as the six best time tracking apps for 2023, are fairly well-researched. According to writers Miha Stanovnik and Mitja Puppis, each app on the list was researched and tested by people with more than ten years of experience in the field of time tracking.
Their methodology consisted of sifting through review sites like Capterra and G2 to pick the highest-rated ones based on user ratings. They then tested the apps themselves and explored their help resources to understand their suitability for specific users.
In the review, you’ll find summarized information on the app’s pros and cons, pricing, and platform availability. They also included positive and negative user reviews.
In addition to their top six time tracking app picks, the review also provides a list of 12 honorable mentions and five dishonorable mentions. The latter are apps that the reviewers have singled out for having employee monitoring features, which they believe can instill fear among employees. These undesirable features, according to them, include taking random screenshots, tracking keyboard and mouse activity, monitoring app and website usage, and similar practices.
8. Zapier
Zapier is a web-based automation tool that seamlessly links the different applications you use for work, like Gmail, Slack, Mailchimp, and many others. To help its users choose the best apps to integrate with, Zapier has made a ton of guides and reviews covering a wide range of software, including time tracking apps.
Their piece on The five best time tracking apps in 2023 is very thorough and insightful. Written by freelance writer Nicole Replogle, it is particularly focused on time tracking apps for individuals and small teams.
According to Nicole, the top time tracking apps come with a timer and let you easily adjust or add time manually. They should also help you assign time to different tasks and projects, offer detailed reports, and even help with invoicing to convert your tracked time into earnings.
The review evaluates the overall performance of the app, its pricing, and device compatibility. It also goes into detail on its features and real-life usage. I also like how it’s very honest about who each app isn’t right for. This level of transparency adds significant value to the evaluation process.
9. Fit Small Business
Since 2013, Fit Small Business has served as a digital resource hub, delivering answers to the small business questions of its over 80 million readers. And one of these questions is, “How do you choose the best employee time tracking app?”
Their extensive review of the Best Employee Time Tracking Apps is designed to provide an answer to this. Written by Juvy Vallescas, a Payroll and HR Software Expert, the review covers the top eight time tracking apps that Fit Small Business recommends.
The reviews are fairly detailed and present all the essential information that a potential user might need. It highlights app drawbacks, pricing, what they liked, and the app’s standout features.
To curate their list, Fit Small Business looked at strong time tracking abilities, the ability to track billable hours, and job costing features in curating the list. It also took into account cost, ease of use, and reporting.
Final Thoughts
It’s simply good sense to research a product before buying it. You don’t want to spend your money on a time tracking solution that doesn’t serve its purpose. A good time tracking solution should not only simplify the process of recording employee work hours but also guarantee precision. It needs to have the necessary features to match your unique time tracking needs.
The choices are vast, but hopefully these top info sources for US employee time tracking narrow down your search and provide you insight to make an informed decision.
