Time tracking tool has been around for ages. This tool has generally helped companies understand how one spends their time during work hours and increase productivity and workflow.
Since the pandemic and the popularity of remote working, companies have grasped the essence of a company’s time tracking tool. Many businesses question its usability and benefits. Many ask if “it is necessary to be implemented on a project?” or “What is the best time-tracking tool?”
Thus, this article is dedicated to helping you understand what a time-tracking tool is and how it can help your business. We also added five free-time tracking tools that you can choose from.
Table of Contents
What Is A Time Tracker Tool?
A time tracking tool is software freelancers, professionals, and companies use to track the time spent on a task or project.
It allows tracking time spent on different projects, tasks, and clients. It has a built-in timer that can track the time spent on a specific job by simply clicking it. You can also add tags to each task to categorize them better.
Many types of time tracker software are available, each with its unique features and benefits. Some types offer more detailed reports, while others allow users to set up custom fields or categories for tracking projects and tasks. Likewise, some have a mobile app that allows users to track their hours from anywhere, and some even offer a live dashboard to see.
How can Time Trackers Help With Project Management?
Time tracking is an essential part of project management. It helps to manage the time spent on tasks, and it also helps in determining the profitability of a project.
Many project management teams use time tracking tools to help with time tracking, reporting, and invoicing. Likewise, the use of such software depends on various reasons, such as the following:
- Some people use it to track how much time they spend on different tasks so that they can work more efficiently in the future
- Others use it to see how long activities take to estimate better the cost of those activities in the future
- Some people use it for billing purposes, so they know what their clients are paying them for and their hourly rate
Top 5 FREE Time Tracker Tools
If you are looking for a time tracking tool in your company, tons of apps are available online for free. Here are our top 5 FREE tools that can be good for your needs.
1. Clockify
Clockify is an AI-powered time tracker that helps with your everyday tasks. This time-tracking software can help you stay on top of your work and better understand how much time you spend on each task.
This app is an excellent tool for freelancers, remote workers, and anyone who needs to track their hours for billing purposes. It also offers a wide range of features to help you track your time more efficiently. These features include:
- Ability to create custom tags for different clients or projects
- Export data in multiple formats and reports
- Smart notifications that remind you how much time you have left on a task
- Compatible with any platform, device, and operating system
- Comes with a user-friendly dashboard that offers an overview of your project and works on just one screen
- Report on how much time you spent on each project and task daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly
2. Hubstaff
Hubstaff is an online time-tracking tool for Mac. It’s an easy-to-use, intuitive, and reliable application that can be used on any device with internet access. This tool helps them track their employees’ time and productivity. It also provides the ability to monitor remote workers from any global location.
Here are some of its offers:
- Take screenshots, activity levels, and work hours
- Monitor their team members’ work habits
- Set up specific work hours for each employee
- Set a limit on each task
3. Desktime
Desktime is a time-tracking app that helps you to track your time and productivity. It is a free app that allows you to track your time and productivity. This time tracking tool has been designed with individual users and businesses in mind. It’s great for freelancers who want to keep on top of their work hours or employees who want to ensure they’re not wasting company time on social media during the day.
The app also includes features such as the following:
- Create reports and graphs that can help you analyze your productivity
- Use a Pomodoro timer
- Automatic time tracking
- Integrate web time tracker
- Comes with URL and app tracking
4. Timecamp
Timecamp is a time tracking app used by freelancers and employees. The app was released in 2015 by a group of developers from Croatia to simplify tracking time spent on different projects.
It has a simple and intuitive interface, which makes it easy to use, even for those who are not tech-savvy. This app provides detailed reports of your work activities.
Some of the features that make Timecamp stand out are:
- Have an overview of the tasks and projects done by different team members
- Use various languages, making it easier to use for international teams
- Operate with multiple operating systems, like Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux
- Add a desktop widget can be placed on your desktop screen to track the time
Likewise, this time tracking tool is available for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Opera.
5. Toggl
Toggl is a time management software that helps you track time and get more done. It offers features like tracking time with the timer, setting up projects with tasks and adding notes to jobs, creating reports on how much time has been spent on each project or task, and so much more.
With Toggl, you can:
- Track your time in real time.
- Create reports to see how much time you spend on tasks and projects.
- Get notified when you spend too much time on a task or forget to start the timer
- Manage your team’s tasks from anywhere with Toggl Teams.
Conclusion
In summary, time tracking tools can help you understand your time’s value and efficiently enhance your team’s productivity. We hope this article helped you strengthen your business and find the perfect tool for your company.
But if you want to build your own time tracking tool, Flexisource IT can help you! We develop top-notch desktop applications for businesses in Australia. Contact us now!
Pamela is a full-time content writer and a lifelong Philomath. Her previous experience as a research analyst made her passionate about traveling the world and understanding how it works. During her day off, you can often find her indoors, writing stories or oil painting.