The Best Timesheet Software You Can Use in 2021 to Keep Track of Your Work Time
This article offers snippets of our review of the best timesheet software to use in 2021. Read the whole article on Paymo’s blog:
What is a timesheet?
A timesheet is a physical or virtual tool that allows you to record and keep track of your worked time. That means that, as an employer, you’ll be able to see exactly how many hours each employee has worked for.
Timesheets were formerly known as time books. They were first used in the 19th century in the form of a paper sheet that included tasks, workdays, and work hours written on it. Employees would stamp them through time clock machines each time they arrived or left work. These were essential in determining a worker’s wage.
Whether you work on an hourly basis with your clients or project-based, recording your work hours boosts job productivity and profitability. For this reason, timesheet software allows you and your employees to log time entries to increase job performance.
In the first half of this guide, we will review the top 5 best timesheet software along with their core features, while in the second half, we will explain in detail what timesheets are and how they can help your team and business. Let’s go!
Software comparison chart
As a sneak peek, here is a timesheet software comparison chart outlining software best features.
1. Paymo
Paymo started out as a standalone time-tracking and invoicing app that gradually developed into a full-fledged project management software.
The focus on time-tracking is still there though. Logging time is as simple as ever. Click and drag anywhere on the timesheets area to relog your time either as a duration or interval. Just mention the project and task, leave notes, and you’re done. The time entries will show up as time entries color-coded by project, so you can better distinguish between them.
Besides adding time entries like this, you can also add them in bulk for one person over the span of a week. Speaking of weeks, the timesheet comes with several views. Active timers allow you to see all running timers in parallel at the same time. Quite ideal in a remote setup, since you don’t have to constantly check in on your team. The rest are the daily/weekly/monthly views, plus the Agenda one for filtering time entries in a spreadsheet.
In itself, the timesheet area is highly customizable. If you go to Settings, you can change the snap interval to range from 5 to 30 minutes, and choose whether to display the task or project name first on a time entry card. There’s even a folded vs. unfolded view of your time entries for monitoring purposes, so you can view them without any free “time windows” one after another.
Paymo Timesheets
As for reporting, there are static and live reports which update themselves automatically every time someone opens them. Cherry on top, they are fully customizable. Choose which parameters to show up on the report and in which order to get as much detailed information as possible. When done, share them with your clients or team, export as a PDF/Excel/CSV file, or print them as a last resort.
Besides manually logging time entries, Paymo’s intuitive time-tracking module offers several ways to record time. There’s an in-app stopwatch in the lower-left corner of the collapsable menu. A desktop widget with Idle Time Detection in case you’ve been AFK and forgot to clock out. An automated time tracker called Paymo Plus, which does automatic time tracking for you. Just leave it running in the background and pair the time entries with their related tasks in Paymo. And a mobile app timer, that can prove helpful if you’re working on the go. A built-in Pomodoro timer is available as well.
NOTE: For those who want to work or study in increments of 25 minutes read our most recommended Pomodoro apps.
Paymo lets you turn timesheet data into an invoice with just a few clicks and get paid accurately thanks to its accounting module. Choose between 85+ currencies when billing your clients and 15 language templates that can be personalized (either via CSS/HTML or the WYSIWYG builder) to better reflect your own brand. In return, your clients can send you the money online via PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net. Pack these with the estimates and expenses, and you’ve got yourself more than a timesheet add-on.
Speaking of project management tools, Paymo provides a resource scheduling module to work alongside your timesheets. You can schedule employees, see their current workload, and manage employee time off by leave type (sick leave, maternity/paternity leave, unpaid time off, sabbaticals) along with their subsequent (non)billable hours.
All in all, Paymo ticks the boxes on all timesheet software criteria. A time entry approval feature would be great, allowing you to submit entries that are later approved by managers. The benefit is that there are fewer errors and better time allocation. Another way to minimize or avoid erroneous or double entries is to lock time entries, which Paymo does not have just yet.
Pricing:
- free plan: up to 10 users
- small office: $11.95/user/month
- business: $18.95/user/month
Platforms: web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux
2. ClickTime
ClickTime is an online timesheet software that helps you schedule and allocate employee time as well as create reports and employee analyses.
ClickTime features three main views: day, week, and timesheet. Day and Week View are similar in . . .
Pricing:
- free plan: no
- starter: $12/user/month
- team: $16/user/month
- premier: $28/user/month
- enterprise: custom
Platforms: web, iOS, Android
3. TSheets
TSheets (now QuickBooks Time) is a timesheet software option that provides employee time tracking and invoicing. TSheets is a good fit for businesses that need strong reporting for audit trails. In a sense, it is the digital timesheet software version of the traditional timesheet reporting: tracking attendance, as it offers GPS location tracking, real-time coordination, and geofence time tracking.
One way to make sure your employees clock in and out is to . . .
Pricing:
- free plan: no
- premium: $20/user/month +$8/user/month
- elite: $40/user/month +$10/user/month
Platforms: web, iOS, Android
4. Harvest
A great timesheet software option is Harvest, which offers many integrations and timesheet solutions such as time tracking, expense reporting, and invoicing for small business needs.
Harvest is good when it comes to . . .
Pricing:
- free plan: one user, two projects
- pro: $12/user/month
Platforms: web, macOS, iOS, Android
5. Hourstack
Hourstack is an online timesheet software option that offers basic time tracking and reporting features to monitor time across multiple workspaces.
Hourstacks’s Kanban-like dashboard stands out . . .
Pricing:
- free plan: no
- personal: $7/single user/month
- professional: $15/user/month
- enterprise: custom
Platforms: web, iOS, Android
Conclusion
If you’re hesitant about bringing timesheets into your organization, remember that timesheets don’t have to be complicated. Most timesheet software comes with instructional guides or videos that make it even easier to add time entries and manage everything you need.
Shifting from paper-based timesheets to digital ones is crucial in the day and age of teleworking. You can read other timesheet software reviews online or refer to the top 5 timesheet software list provided in the first part of the article. Test them out and see which one works best for you.
🔹 Read the full article on Paymo’s blog. 🔹
