Honest Review:

DeskTime

• Pomodoro timer
• In-depth and highly detailed reporting
• Smooth Integration with multiple apps and software

DeskTime offers three paid plans and a very limited free version. More features are unlocked as the tier and price go up, and all three plans offer a free month with their annual plan. Let’s take a closer look at the plans and their features. 

Lite

The Free Plan is called DeskTime Lite, and offers automatic time tracking, idle time, meeting and video time tracking, break time reminders, URL and app tracking, integrated web timer, and mobile app. It can accommodate only one user and is a very pale shadow of DeskTime’s capabilities.

Pro

The next tier is the Pro Plan, for $6.42/mo/user annually or $7/mo/user monthly, users get the features of the Free Plan plus productivity calculation and offline time.

They also get time and project management features such as document title tracking, project time tracking, productivity calculations, private time option, reports, and you have access to the API and Calendar integrations

Premium

The Premium Plan is advertised as DeskTime’s most popular offer, and at $9.17/mo/user annually or $10/mo/user monthly, users get the features of the Pro Plan plus shift scheduling and an absence calendar. 

Aside from that, users will also get screenshots, an Account manager, personalized onboarding, and employee training. They will also get product management integrations with Jira and Asana, automatization integrations with Zapier.

Enterprise

The Enterprise Plan is the most expensive at $18.33/mo/user annually, or $20/mo/user monthly. At this tier, users get all of DeskTime’s features plus employee training as well as custom API.

1. Powerful Project Management

To really drill down on the specifics of time expenditure, users can track time against tasks so that every second and every action is accounted for. 

Because budgets are an important part of planning a project and sticking to it ensures profitability, DeskTime provides users the ability to see how hours stack up to budgets.

A budget allocation is made at the beginning of a project and as it develops, DeskTime compares how the estimate stands against the actual work being done, giving business owners powerful insight into how much time and resources are spent to achieve desired results. This is especially useful for future decisions and may even help in solving present challenges with similar projects.

Speaking of estimates, some projects or tasks may require a different rate from default hourly rates. DeskTime simplifies that complication with automatic calculations. Employers simply have to input project or task-specific rates for each assignee, and the software does all the crunching that results in more accurate estimates.

To top it all off, DeskTime integrates well with other project management software that businesses may already be using, ensuring seamless project time tracking with heavy hitters like Asana, Trello, Jira, Zapier, and more.

2. Screenshots and URL and App Tracker 

DeskTime’s accountability tools consist of the URL and app tracker and the automatic screenshotting feature. 

This combo serves as a means to monitor employee computer activity while on the clock. The software notes every app, website, and program employees use while on company time, and classifies them as productive, unproductive, or neutral according to the employer’s specifications. The productivity status of any item on the list can be changed at any time by administrators.

The tracked app and URL usage are visible to administrators, and they can even see which documents employees are working on with document title tracking. Each employee’s productivity levels are displayed in the Productivity Bar.

Desktime’s automatic screenshotting function gives employers visuals of what’s happening on employee’s screens at random intervals for the duration of their shifts. As long as they are clocked in. 

3. Private Time Option

I personally believe that the employee who has nothing to hide should not be afraid of accountability tools, but obviously, that is not a sentiment shared by all. I’d like to affirm that fears of sensitive and personal information finding their way into the screenshots and URL and app trackers are very valid.

This is where DeskTime’s Private Time Option comes in handy. This feature allows them to pause all computer tracking activities. Users can enable private time

Short breaks across the day are essential in maintaining focus and promoting a healthy work-life balance, and the protection of one’s privacy, personal interests and communications.

4. Pomodoro Timer

The DeskTime Pomodoro timer organizes work hours into 52, 60, or 90-minute sprints followed by five to seventeen-minute breaks where they can enjoy activities such as exercising to bust stress and enhance mental sharpness, have a snack or a meal, play a game to boost morale and cognitive function, or take a ten to twenty-minute power nap to rest the body and refresh the mind.