Best Time Tracking Software for Startups and SMEs
June 28th 2024
The old way of time tracking ➡ ️ no system is in place, and employees are asked to enter their log-in/log-out records manually. Result?
Incorrect inputs, no syncing between payroll and time tracking, unnecessary hassle during salary calculation and using spreadsheets to make things worse.
The new way of time tracking ➡️ using one of the best time management tools.
But which features should you look for in a time management tool? Which is the best time-tracking software for your organisation?
We will answer all these questions in this article.
Essential Features to Look Out for in the Best Time Tracking Software
If an employee loses 15 minutes daily, it translates to over 60 hours of lost productivity per year/employee. That’s precisely why you need time-tracking software - to prevent time theft, and its resultant costs and manage your projects better. However, finding the right time tracker for your business is challenging.
To simplify things, here’s a list of the features (for HR professionals and employees) you must look for in a time-tracking tool
Features for HR
Automated and accurate tracking of work hours, including multiple clock-in and clock-out (start/stop)
Automatic and manual time entry and regularisation methods to adjust time gaps, if required
Detailed reports on average time spent on tasks and projects, productivity reports, weekly timesheet reports, etc.
Integration with payroll/ accounting, HR, communication, and project management systems
Executive dashboards highlighting critical metrics like average time spent, quarterly client billing, employee overtime, etc.
Features for Employees
Timesheets to check and confirm logged hours before submission
Mobile app or mobile-responsive browser to track time and create entries on the go
Integration with personal calendars for time entry and scheduling
Target time setting for specific tasks or projects to improve productivity
Automated clock in/out functionality
Employee dashboards to track hours worked, overtime, absence/leaves, monthly/weekly attendance, etc
List of the Best Time Tracking Software for Small Business
Craze
Desktime
Clockify
TMetric
Hubstaff
Harvest
RescueTime
Toggl
Clicktime
Replicon
Quick Comparison of Top Three Time Tracking Software
Here is a quick sneak peek into our top three best onboarding software, their pros, cons, use cases and starting prices. More insights into the tools are in the next section.
Tool name
Craze
Clockify
Toggl Track
Pros
Effortless time tracking within the desktop or mobile browser
Time tracking and detailed reports like summary time reports
Intuitive tool and reporting capabilities
Cons
No mobile app as of now, but the web app makes up for it
Limited task functionality and too many features on the dashboard
Distracting popups and complex analytics
Ideal for
Startups and SMEs with a team of less than 100 employees looking for affordable pricing without feature lock-ins
Small to large enterprises looking for advanced time-tracking features and reporting capabilities
Small to large businesses looking for basic time-tracking features
Starting price
₹80/person/month
$4.99 seat/month
$10/user/ month
10 Best Employee Time Tracking Software
Craze
Craze is the newest player on the block but its seamless time-tracking and automatic syncing with payroll and leave management make it our top choice. Designed for SMEs and startups, Craze’s time-tracking software addresses the challenge all startups struggle with using spreadsheets to track attendance.
With Craze, replace your spreadsheets with browser-based software. It simplifies clocking in and out activities and corrects time tracking flows. Employees can self-serve to provide attendance without involving HR teams
Craze helps you create accurate timesheets, highlighting critical metrics like hours worked, leaves, work days, etc. With a quick search in your centralised employee database, you can download an employee’s specific timesheet for a specific time.
Craze also integrates with your payroll and leaves software to calculate salaries accurately and reduces the hassle of manual payroll calculation.
Craze best features
Easy time tracking within an all-in-one admin dashboard
Quick access to employees’ work schedules and downloading time sheets as and when required
Highly configurable to add your tailored leave policies
Employee-friendly leave settings and a self-serve portal for employees to mark their clock-in and out records
Regularisation requests for clock-in and clock-out
Geo-tagging option to restrict clock-in and clock-out locations
Downloadable timesheets
Loss of Pay or Overtime pay configurations
Auto sync with payroll to calculate customised salary components for employees and contractors
Pros
Configurable and scalable solution that helps growing companies add new features and policies to their time tracking system on the go
24/7 genuine support from subject matter experts to help your HR team with their queries
Transparent pricing, no minimum commitments or hidden charges
Quick account set-up and fast onboarding, and you need only half-day to get your account up and running
Cons
Craze doesn’t have a mobile application yet, but the web app makes up for it
Ideal for: Startups and SMEs with less than 100 employees looking for an affordable time tracking software that doesn’t gate features
Pricing
Growth: Explicitly designed for startups, this plan is perfect for teams of any size and costs only ₹40 /month per person for all advanced HR features such as a centralised employee database, reporting, document management, etc. For time tracking features, you need to pay an additional ₹40 /month per person
Custom: This plan is perfect for enterprises with 100+ employee teams and specific use cases. Craze creates custom plans and features for these companies and follows a custom pricing structure
DeskTime
DeskTime is an automatic time tracker that starts when your computer is switched on and stops when you shut down. The time-tracking tool updates work progress, informing who’s doing what and when.
DeskTime best features
View the team’s real-time work hours data at any time for appraisal and workload distribution
Time tracking stops if the system stays idle for more than 3 minutes with automatic break detection
Add offline time automatically or manually with admin approval
Pros
It helps track productivity hours
Easy to implement and integrate with existing tools
Cons
The task timer doesn't track tasks if the system is idle and then logs the end of the task, creating time gaps. These gaps need manual entry and adjustments
The software refreshes every 5 minutes if the user is not on the system
Ideal for: SMEs looking for basic automatic time-tracking without custom integrations or extra features
Pricing
DeskTime Lite: ₹0 for one user only with access to automatic time tracking, idle time, and web timer. No access to offline, calendar, and private time
Pro: ₹400/ user/month with no access to integrations and APIs
Premium: ₹560/ user/month with feature lock-ins
Enterprise: ₹1120/ user/month with access to all features
Clockify
The third on our list is Clockify, which helps track employee productivity and work hours across projects. It is one of the best time-tracking software that offers reporting capabilities for monitoring the time spent on each app, task, and project.
Clockify best features
Auto tracker to track the time spent across websites and apps, record activities, and create entries from records
Timesheets to categorise and log the time spent on different tasks
Set up kiosks for specific employees and clock in with a PIN code from shared devices
Pros
Time tracking by project and tasks helps record time spent on each
Detailed reports like summary time reports, weekly timesheet reports, forecast progress, project status, etc,
Cons
Limited adding task functionality
There are too many small features that make the dashboard confusing
Ideal for: Small to large enterprises looking for advanced time-tracking features and reporting capabilities
Pricing
Free: $0 with access to auto-tracker, Pomodoro timer, timesheet, and other features
Basic: $4.99 per seat/month with no access to time off, lock time, rounding, customisation kiosk, and invoicing features
Pro: $9.99 per seat/month with feature lock-ins
Enterprise: $14.99 per seat/month with access to custom sub-domain, control accounts, SSO, and audit log
CAKE.com Bundle: $15.99 per seat/month with access to all features and apps in the CAKE.com suite
TMetric
TMetric simplifies time tracking, allowing users to monitor time spent across apps and websites. The tool automatically tracks time on tasks, creates entries, and generates time reports.
TMetric best features
Automatic time tracking on tasks and projects to capture billable hours with automated break detection
Offline feature to track time without internet connectivity
Detailed reports, including task summary, team summary, activity summary reports, etc.
Pros
Clean and intuitive interface for efficient time tracking
Activity screenshots to maintain transparency and accountability
Cons
The software crashes or bugs out, often causing issues with time-tracking
Advanced features like calendar integrations are lacking in the free version
Ideal for: SMEs looking to automate employee time-tracking with basic software
Pricing
A 30-day free trial is available on all plans
Free: $0 with no access to timesheets, Calendar integrations, task management, and more
Professional: $5/ month with time tracking features. No access to the time-off calendar and team dashboard
Business: $7/ month with access to all features
Hubstaff
Hubstaff productivity tool that automates time-tracking processes and monitors employee productivity metrics. The tool unifies time-tracking, invoicing, and payroll, ensuring accuracy.
Hubstaff best features
Timesheets to track the time spent on projects and tasks and use the data for invoicing and payroll
Time and activity reports for insights into team productivity and project performance
Time clock app to track employee time and clock in and out from mobile devices
Pros
Automatic logging of hours spent on tasks
Report customisation to highlight metrics that matter to users
Cons
The tool considers the time spent on calls or meetings as idle time and doesn’t log it
Automatic screenshots may be distracting and uncomfortable for employees
Ideal for: SMEs with 50 or more employees looking for basic time-tracking automation
Pricing
Starter: $7 per seat/ month with at least two seats. It includes time tracking and a two-day email support SLA. No access to reports, integrations, and chat support
Grow: $9 per seat/ month with at least two seats, including one integration and a one-day email support SLA. No advanced features like unlimited screenshots, app and URL tracking, etc.
Team: $12 per seat/ month with at least two seats with no assigned account rep for support
Enterprise: $25 per seat/ month, billed annually with access to all features, assigned account rep, concierge setup, and two-hour email support SLA
Harvest
RescueTime
The next on our list is RescueTime, an automatic time tracker that tracks time spent on websites and apps. The tool generates detailed reports on who spent time, where, and what hindered productivity.
RescueTime best features
Timesheets AI to track projects and ensure accuracy in billing
Real-time distraction alerts to keep users on track
RescueTime Assistant to check meeting schedules, alerts, and hourly tasks completed or in progress
Pros
It helps block distractions from mobiles and laptops during work hours
It helps set goals and track time spent on every app
Cons
Limited report types
Outdated UI
Ideal for: SMEs with 50+ employees looking for basic time-tracking automation
Pricing
Not available on the website
Toggl Track
Toggl Track is one of the best time-tracking software for small businesses. The tool monitors billable hours, generates timesheet reports, and balances workload to improve productivity.
Toggl Track best features
Track employee time on multiple platforms, get time reports and export them to relevant users
Custom time-reporting system to generate timesheets, detailed time logs, and track project performance
Generate invoices for billable hours from real-time tracking reports to streamline invoicing
Pros
Clean and intuitive user interface
Detailed reports make client invoicing easy
Cons
There are many distracting pop-ups in the web tool
Sometimes, it is challenging to analyse the report data
Ideal for: Small to large businesses and freelancers/ solopreneurs looking for basic time-tracking features
Pricing
Free: $0 for up to 5 users with automated time tracking and other basic features
Starter: $10 per user/ month with custom reporting, time rounding for reports, etc. No access to time-tracking reminders, timesheets, and other features
Enterprise: Custom pricing with access to all features and customisable solutions
ClickTime
ClickTime is time and resource management software that simplifies time tracking and project management. The tool monitors employee time on projects and helps plan hours and set time goals.
ClickTime best features
Track employee hours, overtime, time off, and expenses to streamline approvals and reimbursements
Auto-save time entries and week view pages for record
Executive dashboards to view key metrics, like client billings, total monthly billable revenue, etc.
Pros
Auto-saves time entries so users don’t lose work
Easy to track time on projects and import data to billing systems like Quickbooks
Cons
The UI isn’t quick; it is difficult to find specific task-related items
The web version takes time to load when switching sheets or selecting options
Ideal for: SMEs looking for basic time-tracking automation and invoicing features
Pricing
Starter: $15 per user/month for up to 25 users with no access to time off management
Team: $19 per user/month for up to 200 users with feature lock-ins and no access to account manager
Premier: $31 per user/month for up to 200 users with no custom integrations
Enterprise: Custom pricing based on selected features
Replicon
The final name on our list is Replicon, a unified time-tracking software for billing, project management, pay, and compliance. The tool automatically captures, analyses, and optimises employee time to improve productivity.
Replicon best features
Track real-time task progress and set targets for improved productivity
Generate compliant timesheets with built-in compliance and rules engine to comply with business policies
Dashboards to view key metrics, like client profitability, monthly billable clients, top projects by costs, etc.
Pros
Intuitive interface
Reliable customer support
Cons
Report customisation is complex
For admins, the backend processes and finding reports are complicated
Ideal for: Enterprises looking for project and resource management software with basic time-tracking features
Pricing
Project time tracking: It starts at $12/ month, with feature lock-ins and extra charges for TimeBill, ProjectTime, time off, etc.
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How to Select the Best Time Management Tools?
Your time-tracking tool may have 10/10 features, but what if it has a cluttered interface?! Apart from features, there are certain ‘other aspects’ of software you must look for. Here’s a list.
How user-friendly is the interface? Opt for a clean and intuitive UI that reduces your training efforts
Is the time tracking accurate? Check if the tool provides precise time measurements to help with client billings
Is the tool value for money? Look for tools that offer advanced features and integrations at affordable prices. Also, check for feature lock-ins, minimum user commitments, and hidden charges
What integrations does the software offer? Does it offer custom integrations? Look for tools that are compatible with your existing payroll and accounting systems
Is the tool scalable? Can it handle a larger workforce and more data volumes? Check if the software is flexible enough to accommodate growing business needs
What level of support is available? Do the support services change according to pricing plans? Look for a tool that offers 24/7 dedicated support regardless of your chosen plan
Conclusion
Appropriate time-tracking software helps HR teams monitor an employee’s working hours. It is a must for organisations with a diverse workforce, where most employees work from different time zones.
Our list of best time-tracking software is in front of you. Make your choice wisely.
If you need our recommendation, we will be bold and say it: go for Craze.
Yeah, it sounds biassed, but give us a chance to explain why Craze is the right fit for you:
You are building a people operating system that handles HR, finance, and IT within a single dashboard
You need a break from the existing time tracking tools that gate most of their features for expensive, premium plans
You need a support team that cares enough to get back to your queries faster
Craze does it all. Book a demo to see Craze in action:
FAQs
What is the cost of time-tracking software in India?
Time tracking software in India ranges from free plans to ₹1,120 per user per month. Prices vary based on features, number of users, and whether it's for startups or larger enterprises.
Why should I implement a time tracking software?
Time tracking software helps prevent time theft, improves productivity, ensures accurate billing, simplifies payroll calculations, and provides insights into employee work patterns and project time allocation.
What are the key things to look for in time-tracking software?
Look for user-friendliness, accuracy, value for money, integrations with existing systems, scalability, and quality customer support. Also, consider the interface and whether it meets your specific business needs.
Does time-tracking software offer built-in features for payroll and core HR?
Yes, time-tracking software like Craze has a strong core HR and built-in payroll software that syncs deeply in real time.
What are the different pricing models in time tracking software?
It is per-user-based. Some companies have feature gating and minimum users. Craze doesn't have restrictions and has transparent pricing.
