Finding the Time Tracking App That’s Right for You
For information designers, time is money. Tight deadlines, multiple projects, and complete curveballs are an everyday occurrence. Which is why to be on our A game, we have to stay super organized. A time tracking app can keep an information designer on schedule with all of their work.
What is a Time Tracking app?
A time tracking application can be installed on your computer or on your smartphone to help you keep track of how much time you spend working. Generally, the app lets you start a timer while you’re doing your tasks, allows you to categorize the type of work you’ve been doing to keep you organized, displays everything in a nice and manageable way, and then gives you some sort of insights about how you or your team are dividing your time.
Why would I need one?
There are so many time tracking apps out there. Some are great for established companies who want to keep track of their employees’ hours in one place. Others work best for small teams who need to collaborate and meet project deadlines. Some are useful for freelance designers who need an accurate count of the hours they worked to determine how much they need paid. And others are strictly for personal use, when you want to keep track of how much you’re truly working and how much time is spent on distractions.
My point is, no two time tracking apps are exactly alike. No matter who you work for, or if you work at all, there is going to be an app that will benefit you and fit your needs. Plenty of the apps are very affordable or even free, so you will be able to find one that fits your budget as well. The apps are very versatile and have many benefits that an information designer needs. In this post I will be discussing five time tracking apps that I tested out for myself, and share my thoughts on them. Each of them are available to download on your Windows or Mac computer, or on your IOS or Android smartphone.
1. Toggl Track
For those who want the basics.
Toggl Track works by first setting up a project you’re working on, the client it is for, and all the tasks you do within that project. This way, you can get a complete breakdown of how you spend your time. When you start working on a task, you start the timer on the app, and it counts how long you work down to the second you shut it off. If you forgot to start a timer, you can also log hours you’ve worked after the fact. Users can add different billable rates for different projects and different tasks, and Toggl Track will add up how much you need paid. Finally, at the end of your workweek, you and all your team members can submit your hours as a timesheet to your boss.
The app can be used by multiple people so that everyone on your team is logging their hours the same way in the same place. Toggl Track gives you a general summary of where you or your whole team’s time went, and you can view these reports in terms of clients, projects, or tasks.
Pricing
Toggl Track comes with three different plans at three different price points. The first one is completely free, and you can have to to 5 users. The other plans will cost you $9 or $18 per month per user, but you will get more and better features.
Pros
- Good (and free!) for small teams
- Great for individual users
Toggl Track would be a good choice for small groups who are looking for an affordable app and who don’t need anything fancy. Toggl Track has basics, especially with the lower-cost plans, but that’s really all a smaller group would need. As for individuals, I think a simple and more basic app like this is better than something complex. Most time tracking apps that you pay for have way more options than one person needs. Toggl Track is great for freelancers because you aren’t paying for features you wouldn’t need anyways.
Cons
- It’s basic
As a free software, you aren’t going to be getting anything super sophisticated. If you are coordinating a large company and you need all the special options, this isn’t for you. But this next one might be…
2. Harvest
For those who want the features.
Harvest works very similar to Toggl Track in that you define your projects, tasks, clients, and billables, and are able to either time yourself while working or log past hours manually to record your timesheet. However, Harvest offers much more sophisticated features in their app.
For example, you can create budgets and track the expenses of the whole company. You can add in contractors to track their hours and costs. And, users can run very detailed reports. You can choose your exact timeframe and which projects, clients, team members, and tasks you want to include in the analysis. All of these reports can be easily exported to an excel spreadsheet, CSV file, or PDF.
Pricing
Harvest has recently come out with a free version, but it only allows single users for 2 projects. For their paid plan, there are no restraints on number of users or projects. It will cost either $12 per month per user if you pay monthly or $10.80 per month per user if you pay yearly.
Pros
- Good for large teams
- Has lots of features
Harvest has got it all when it comes to features, reports, and insights. Which is why, in my opinion, Harvest would be a good fit for a larger company with lots of members. A bigger, established team will be the most fit to make use of everything that Harvest has to offer.
Cons
- Not worth it for individuals
- Not worth it for small teams
Although Harvest has its free version, there isn’t a lot you can do with it. Only one person can utilize it, but almost all the features would only be useful for teams. As for small teams, the massive amount of advanced features and options are not needed; they are more of a hassle than a help. A smaller group could easily find a time tracking app that is less daunting and still has everything they needed for much cheaper than Harvest.
3. Tracking Time
For those who love a good calendar.
Where Toggl Track and Harvest have a timesheet feel to them, Tracking Time feels more like a calendar or planner, which makes tracking your working hours a little less of a chore. Like the other two apps, Tracking Time lets you create your projects and start your timers. But, it has some fun and unique features as well.
In order for you to stay on top of your schedule, you have the option to block off chunks of time in advance. Or, you can integrate your existing Google or Outlook calendar. Then, when it’s time for a scheduled task, you can start your timer right from the event and the program will time how long it went. For insights, it gives you pretty detailed reports either on a project or a specific user.
Pricing
Tracking Time comes with a free plan that will support 3 people using the app. For more users and/or more features, you can try the Pro plan for $7 per month per user if paying monthly or $5 per user per month if paying yearly.
Pros
- Can schedule in advance
- User friendly
- Good for personal use
The stand-out feature of Tracking Time was its option to block off time you know you’ll be working in the future. The other time tracking apps are solely concerned with logging your past or present hours, which Tracking Time does as well. The interface is very approachable and easy to use. There are fun customizing options like colour-coding projects and adding emojis. As well, you can track or schedule time under the category of ‘no project’ for things not work related. For this reason, I think Tracking Time would be a good option for an information designer who wanted to use a time tracking app for personal use and not just their career.
Cons
- None!
I couldn’t find anything that was an issue with this time tracking app. Especially for a program that is completely free, it has pretty much everything you could want, except for super elaborate features for advanced companies.
4. Timely
For those who are always too busy.
Unlike the previous apps, Timely doesn’t make you track your time manually; it does it for you! The app tracks every site you visit or program you run and for how long, and they all will show up on your dashboard as ‘memories’. From the memories, you can drag whatever was work-related onto your timesheet and submit it to your superior. I know this sounds invasive, but it is completely private, and assures you that no one will see any memory that you don’t allow.
For insights, Timely gives the usual data you might need to know about projects, billables, etc., and you can filter what aspects you want on your reports.
Pricing
Timely comes in 3 pricing options. Per month per user it can cost you either $10, $18, or $26 if you pay monthly ($8, $14, $20 if you pay yearly).
Pros
- Automatically tracks time
- User friendly
- Good for teams or individuals
A pro for Timely is obviously not having to track hours manually. If you are always short on time, messing around with logging hours and trying to remember to start and stop timers might not be for you. The program was very easy to get the hang of with its simple drag-and-drop interface. And, I think that a team or a freelance information designer could both utilize what timely has to offer, as long as they use it just for work-related reasons.
Cons
- Not for personal use
This app is another one that is focused on the workplace and wouldn’t be worth the money to use it just to track your habits for personal use or as students. It is based around a timesheet, so if that doesn’t apply to you, Timely isn’t your best choice.
5. Rescue Time
For those who struggle to focus.
Rescue Time, like Timely, tracks your computer or smartphone use for you; no logging required. However, this app is very unique in what it wants to help you with. While the previous apps are tracking your work time to measure progress on projects, Rescue Time is tracking your habits to measure progress towards personal goals. Using AI technology, Rescue Time sorts all of your screen time into ‘Focus Work’, ‘Other Work’, or ‘Personal’ (which was really accurate!). You can also start a ‘Focus Session’, where the app will block any tab or app that is a distraction to your work.
This time tracking app then gives you many graphs and charts about how many times you got distracted, if you worked too much into personal time, which categories your time went to, and if you are checking your email too many times a day.
Pricing
Although it is unfortunately not free, Rescue Time will only cost you $6.50 per month if you pay yearly, otherwise it will be $12 per month.
Pros
- Automatically tracks time
- Super customizable
- Good for personal use
A nice thing about Rescue Time is its ability to track your screen time for you, as well as its function to categorize everything in terms of priority. The app is very personalized to your needs. It asks how many hours you want to work and what times of the day you want for yourself. Then, you can change any of their pre-determined targets regarding Focus Sessions, distractions, etc. This app is great for personal use. I think everyone could use a program like this to help make their work time as productive as possible so that they have a proper amount of down time to enjoy.
Cons
- It’s not made for work
Most of the run-of-the-mill time tracking apps are made for employees who need to track their work hours. Rescue Time is nothing like that. If you want a typical program for traditional uses, there are plenty of them out there. But this one will not do the trick.
