5 Best Time Tracking Apps for Small Businesses in 2023

Time tracking is a challenging task for the majority of individuals as well as business owners. The demands and responsibilities at work can be overwhelming, leaving you feeling daunted by time management. 

Fortunately, it doesn’t need to be this way. With the right app, time tracking becomes simple and straightforward. To help you make a decision, we’ve compiled an extensive and detailed list together with screenshots of the 5 best time tracking apps for small businesses that you can get in 2023.

Before we get into the best time clock apps for small businesses, let’s look at why time tracking is extremely important.

The importance of time tracking for small businesses

​​Time keeping for small businesses is very important because it helps to put a good time management system in place at the early stages of growth.

Small businesses are always looking for ways to save money and increase their profits. One way that they can do this is by making sure employees are doing their jobs efficiently. To do this, employers need to make sure that they know what their employees are working on and how long it takes them to complete a task. 

Good time card software for small businesses allows employers to see what tasks each employee is working on at any given time during the day so they can make sure that each employee is doing a fair share of work across different projects and tasks.

Clock in clock out apps for small businesses also help identify where employees have wasted time or where they need more training in order to improve productivity levels.

Benefits of getting timekeeping software for small business

Getting a time tracker for a small business is a wise decision. It can help to save money and time. It also helps you streamline your payroll process by having all working hours sumed up and ready to be exported into your payroll software.

Some other benefits include:

• Fully automated timesheets

• Better team management

• A better overview of how time is spent

• Boosting productivity

• Accurate invoices

Fully automated timesheets

Perhaps one of the best perks of time tracking for small businesses is the easily generated reports and timesheets. Because you are constantly recording data like working hours and location, everything is stored on cloud-based systems and ready to be generated in just a few clicks. 

With a clock in clock out app for small business, you eliminate the use of paper timesheets and manual work. 

Better team management

With a time card software for small businesses, managers are able to better distribute tasks and shifts to their team. Because they can see what everyone is working on and how long they’ve been working, it’s easier to manage a team and workload.

A better overview of how time is spent

Small businesses need time tracking to get a clearer overview of how every minute is spent on the job. With the help of time management software for small business, business owners and managers can see clocked in employees, those who are on break, on vacation, or on the move.

Boosting productivity

Integrating time tracking apps helps teams boost productivity by highlighting areas of improvement. These areas are usually time spent on unnecessary tasks that can distract employees from their work. A reliable employee time tracking software for small business also helps to identify employees who are either faster or slower than others, so that managers can assign appropriate tasks. 

Accurate invoices

Another great advantage of time keeping for small businesses is highly accurate invoices. The best time clock apps for businesses make sure that all of your invoices include every single billable hour. It shows transparency and helps build trust with clients.

What’s the best time tracking app for small businesses? 5 best time tracking software for small business for 2023

Every small business needs time tracking software to help boost productivity, keep track of billable hours, and make administration processes easier.

With the many apps and software available out there, it can be challenging to find the right one that suits all of your needs. That’s why we’ve compiled the 5 best time clock apps for small businesses that you can use in 2023.

Let’s get right into them.

1. Atto

Atto is one of the best timesheet apps for small businesses in any industry. It works particularly well with field service businesses and businesses who rely on frontline workers. With Atto,  small business owners and managers can generate instant and automated timesheets and see how every minute was spent on the job. 

Image from Atto

Features

Atto has a myriad of features are split into 4 main categories:

• Time Tracking

• Location Tracking

• Team Activity

• Timesheet

Pros & Cons

Pros

• The Premium plan includes almost every feature.

• Intuitive user interface for easy to navigation.

• Easy clock in and out option.

• Ability to assign pay rates to calculate salaries.

Cons

• No free version besides a free trial.

• Desktop-only web portal.

Pricing Info & Link to Website

Atto has only two plans that you can choose from, a Premium plan that costs $7 per month for each user and an Enterprise plan that offers you the possibility of a customized plan. 

There is also a 14-day trial period that you can use to test the app without having the need to enter credit card details. You can also cancel anytime.

Premium Plan

The Premium plan includes almost all features at only $7 per month per user. It has everything you need to start tracking everything from employee  hours to location, and offers integrations with payroll software like Quickbooks Online and Xero.

It’s features include:

• Automatic Time Tracking,

• GPS Location Tracking,

• Team Activity Insights,

• Timesheets,

• Mobile Time Clock, and 35 more features.

Enterprise Plan

The Enterprise plan has no set price point, but it does include some extra features that a business may want, such as:

• Priority Support,

• Concierge Onboarding,

• Custom Implementation,

• Custom Roles & Permissions,

• Custom Integrations, and

• API Access.

You can contact Atto’s sales team to get a fixed quote for the enterprise plan.

Link to website.

2. Clockify

Clockify allows businesses and institutions to track productivity and billable hours. Users can specify the time duration of projects, track hourly rates, and see a breakdown of how much time is spent on different tasks. 

It offers easily-generated reports in PDF, Excel, as well as CSV formats. Clockify is also available on all platforms, like Web, iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Furthermore, Clockify is a great free time clock app for small businesses that also offers paid plans for those who want extra features.

Image from Clockify

Features

Clockify’s features are categorized into three sections:

• Timekeeping

• Reporting

• Management

Each of these includes:

Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Offers a free plan for everyone, with options to upgrade to different plans as needed.

• Its cloud-based software can be accessed from any device at any time.

• Clockify also offers GPS tracking system.

Cons:

• Free plan is quite limited.

• There is no scheduling software.

• Tracker does not have a limit, and will not stop unless manually turned off.

Pricing Info

Clockify offers 5 pricing plans for its users. They can start from a free plan and then upgrade to other plans at any time, which is why it’s considered a free timesheet app for small businesses.

These plans are formulated to suit the specific needs of small businesses, whether they are for administration purposes or to boost productivity.

Free Plan

Users don’t have to pay anything for the free plan. It includes features like

• Unlimited reports, 

• Basic time tracking,

• API, and

• Webhooks. 

Basic Plan

The Basic plan costs $4.99 per month/user and is intended for those who want to focus more on the administrative side of the business. 

It includes features like

• Add time for others,

• Hide time & pages,

• Required fields,

• Bulk edit,

• Decimal format, and more.

Standard Plan

The Standard plan costs $6.99 per month/user and offers businesses more focus on timesheeting and billing. 

Features include everything in the basic plan, plus:

• Time off,

• Invoicing,

• Approval,

• Lock time, and more.  

Pro Plan

The Pro plan is advertised as Clockify’s most popular plan at $9.99 per month/user. This plan is intended for businesses that want to boost productivity and profit.

This plan includes everything available with the standard plan, plus:

• Scheduling,

• Expenses,

• Labor cost & profit,

• Budget & estimates,

• Custom fields, and more.

Enterprise Plan

The Enterprise plan is intended for businesses that need more control and security alongside their time tracking. It costs $14.99 per month/user.

Features include everything in the pro plan, plus:

• Single sign-on (SSO),

• Custom subdomain,

• Control accounts, and

• Audit log.

3. Toggl Track

Toggl is another great tool that helps businesses track time. The official name for the tool is “Toggl Track” and it boasts of saving businesses time and money. 

It offers a free plan and options to upgrade when needed. Their timer can sync across multiple devices in real time and they also offer a tiered data structure. 

Furthermore, Toggl Track offers easy integration with ​​project management tools like Asana, Basecamp, and GitHub.

Image from Toggl Track

Features

Toggl Track’s features are categorized into 5 focus points:

• Time tracking

• Integrations

• Reporting

• Project management

• Team management

Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Easy to use and intuitive design

• Compatible with 100+ tools

• Automatic daily, monthly or weekly remain reports to regularly track progress

Cons:

• Doesn’t include invoicing and scheduling

• Not suited for businesses who want to go beyond time tracking

• More expensive than other tools

Pricing Info

Toggl Track offers a free plan and 3 other paid plans. Each plan is intended to help businesses tackle their time-tracking needs based on company size and growth.

Free Plan

The Free Plan is mainly targeted towards freelancers and small teams. It is only free for teams of up to 5 people.

Some of its features include

• Unlimited time tracking,

• Unlimited projects, clients, and tags,

• Exportable reports,

• Web app, mobile apps, desktop apps, and more.

Starter Plan

The Starter Plan, according to Toggl’s website, is designed with small teams in mind that “work at a fast pace without a lot of overhead”. It costs $10 per month and per user. 

Its features include everything in the free plan, as well as:

• Billable rates,

• Time rounding for reports,

• Favorite time entries,

• Create Saved Reports for quick online access,

• Project time estimates and alerts, and more.

Premium Plan

The Premium Plan is intended for businesses that are growing their teams and need more powerful tools. It costs $20 per month and per user. 

The features include everything in the starter plan, plus:

• Archive clients,

• Fixed fee projects,

• Team time tracking reminders,

• Schedule saved reports via email,

• Time tracking audits, and more.

Enterprise Plan

The Enterprise Plan targets large or complex organizations that need tailored tools. There is no set pricing for this plan, as each business needs to first book a demo and discuss pricing afterward. It does, however, include unlimited users.

Among the features included in the premium plan, the enterprise plan also offers:

• Manage multiple workspaces under one Organization,

• Priority support,

• Expert training and assistance,

• Customizable solutions, and

• Volume discounts for large teams on our annual plan.

4. Homebase

Homebase is another cool tool that makes our list of best time tracking software for small businesses. It helps businesses track the time their employees spend working. It also offers the possibility of scheduling.  It offers a wide variety of tools that help with payroll, employee onboarding, performance tracking, and even team communication. 

While the majority of its features come with a paid plan, time sheets and time clocks are part of the free plan.

Image from Homebase

Features

Homebase’s total features are categorized into:

• Time Tracking,

• Communication and Performance,

• Labor and Operations, and

• Human Resources.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Free plan includes time tracking software.

• No set-up fee.

• Offers many features and plans to upgrade to.

Cons:

• No ability to separate working hours and overtime when importing to payroll software.

• Only managers can assign shifts outside of working hours, employees can’t do it themselves.

Pricing Info

Homebase offers 4 plans to choose from, with one option being completely free. All plans are catered to specific business needs, such as time tracking, integration with payroll and accounting software, team management, and more.

Basic Plan

The Basic plan is completely free for 1 location and allows unlimited employees to sign up. It’s focused on helping businesses track working hours and manage employee schedules. 

Other features included in this plan are:

• Timesheets & time clocks,

• Scheduling & availability,

• Messaging, and

• Hiring.

Essentials Plan

The Essentials plan starts at $24.95 per month and per location. It targets businesses that want to better their team communication and performance alongside their time tracking. 

The plan includes everything in the basic plan, as well as:

• Team communication,

• Performance tracking, and

• Remote & field tools.

Plus Plan

For businesses that want to get more control of their labor costs and operations the Plus plan is the one for you. It costs $59.95 per month and per location.

It includes everything in the essentials plan, plus:

• Labor cost controls & budgets,

• Time off limits & PTO tracking, and

• Permissions & policies.

All in One Plan

The All in One plan is advertised as Homebase’s best choice and is valued at $200. It is geared towards businesses that want a closer focus on an all-encompassing solution that includes employee onboarding and other HR-related tasks. It costs $99.95 per month per location.

It includes all features in the plus plan, as well as:

• New hire onboarding,

• Employee documents, and

• HR & compliance.

5. QuickBooks Time

QuickBooks Time is a great app for teams who work in the field. It offers employees easy options to clock in and out on both a web app and a smartphone app. It also offers the possibility to track locations and geofencing. 

For businesses that want to track employee time for payroll, scheduling, and invoicing, QuickBooks Time is the perfect app to do so.

Image from Quickbooks Time

Features

Quickbooks Time’s features are many, and they’re only categorized into two groups:

• Time Tracking, and

• Scheduling.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Can clock in and out from a web app, mobile app, or time kiosk.

• Offers geofencing and GPS tracking possibilities.

• Ability to track expenses and mileage.

Cons:

• Quite expensive when more users are needed, as you pay a monthly fee and a fee per user.

• No 24-hour customer support.

Pricing Info

Quickbooks Time offers two plans for users. Both plans include a monthly fee and an additional fee for each user. There are no installation fees, and there is a 30-day free trial that doesn’t require any payment information. 

Premium Plan

This plan costs $20 a month and an extra $8 per user per month. It is geard towards those customers who want a simple time tracking tool that gets the job done. 

Its features include:

• Mobile app with GPS,

• Streamlined payroll and invoicing,

• Job and shift scheduling,

• Real-time reports,

• Time-off management,

• Time clock kiosk, and more.

Elite Plan

The Elite plan costs $40 per month and an extra $10 per user. This plan is perfect for businesses who want more team management-related features together with their time tracking tool. 

It includes everything in the premium plan, as well as:

• Mileage tracking,

• Track project progress to plan,

• Project estimates vs actuals reporting,

• Project activity feed,

• Timesheet signatures, and

• Geofencing.

Want to check out some other tools? Take a look at Harvest, Time Doctor, Hubstaff, Buddy Punch, and TSheets.

How to find the right time tracker for your small business?

The best way to find the right employee time tracking software for your small business is to start with the basics. Make sure that the tool you choose has a user-friendly interface, integrates with other tools you use, is affordable, scalable, and has all the features you need.

Analyze your business’ needs

The first step in choosing time management software for your small business is analyzing exactly what your needs are. Do you need an app that tracks both time and location? Or do you need a time tracking tool that has a scheduling function? 

You can also observe your daily work across a week or more and note down what features would make your life easier. Then, cross-check that list with the list of features offered by various apps. The best timesheet app for your small business will be the one that matches most (or all) of your needs.

Think of scalability

When researching timekeeping software for a small business, it’s important to think how scalable those tools actually are. Can that tool handle steady or rapid growth? How easy is it to implement on a larger scale? 

As a small business, you need a reliable time tracking solution to help your business improve efficiency and grow. But this tool should also be able to support or integrate with your business even after it begins to experience this growth. 

Consider affordability

Affordability is another main factor when deciding on a clock in app for a small business. Your resources are limited and you aren’t able to dish out on the most expensive package, even if it offers exactly what you need. 

Instead, look for tools anf software that best accommodates your needs at a low cost, but that can easily be upgraded when you start to grow. 

Atto, for example, offers one plan that includes almost all features for a monthly fee of only $7 per user. The Enterprise plan offers a few more advanced features, but you don’t have to upgrade at all. You only add more users as your business  grows.

How easy to use is the tool?

A tool that is easy to implement and use is a tool you want to have. Because a time tracking tool will be a crucial part of your everyday work, you need to look for one that works seamlessly with your employees’ mobile devices and is easy to navigate.

If an app is to bulky, crashes, or needs regular maintenance, then you might want to consider using a different app. You should also consider if an app can work on multiple devices, and not just on some specific platforms. Unless you can afford to buy each employee a work device, you should always look for an app that runs on most (if not all) platforms.

Final points on the top small business time tracking apps

It's important to track your time and employee productivity. If you are not doing so, it can be hard to manage the work that needs to be done and your time effectively. The best time card app for small businesses will be one that solves problems and automates workflows to save time and money.

Some of the benefits of small business timesheet software include:

• Fully automated employee timesheets,

• Better team management,

• A better overview of time management,

• Increased productivity, and

• Accurate invoices.

In order to find the best small business time tracking software for you, always make sure to:

• Analyze your business’ needs and if an app offers the time tracking features you want,

• Check how scalable the app is,

• Check if the tool is affordable, and

• Make sure the app is easy to install and use.

A small business time tracking app like Atto will make your entire timekeeping process a breeze. Try the 14-day free trial, and if you’re not happy with it you can cancel at any time.