Top 10 Best Remote Employee Time Tracking Apps for 2023

Remote employee time tracking is the process of tracking what and how your employees are working on a specific project. It's also the process of monitoring when your employees clock in and out,, when they take breaks, and how much time they spend at work during their working hours.

In this article, we’ve compiled the top 10 best remote working time tracking apps that you can download in 2023!

Before we get to the list, let’s quickly look at why you need a time tracker for remote workers.

Why do you need remote work tracking software?

Employees are responsible for the output they produce every day. With the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve seen that they can be very productive remotely, reducing the need for office space. Because more people are choosing not to work from the office, there is an increasing need for a work-from-home time tracker.

For these teams, businesses need an extensive and detailed work-from-home log to make sure that employees get paid accurately and time is being used productively.

Implementing remote employee tracking is an excellent idea when you have a remote team to monitor how much time they spend on various tasks and projects. 

A good employee tracking system can help you with:

• Setting work priorities 
• Increased responsibility
• Increased output
• Counting billable hours
• Accurate timesheets
• Payroll process simplification
• Control over money
• Boosting team productivity and employee performance

What’s the best remote employee time tracking software? 10 best remote work time tracking apps for 2023

There are many remote employee time tracking tools to choose from. We’ve compiled the 10 best ones on the market that you can download right now!

Atto

This app is an easy, all-in-one solution for precisely tracking your employees' time and automating timesheets. This app offers a remote working time tracking solution for your business' requirements, whether you're at the office or on the go.

With the help of GPS tracking, you can make remote working time tracking reports for particular teams, employees, or job codes. And with just one click you can download and share them. Additionally, you can calculate your payroll costs based on the hours tracked by adding your employees' pay rates to expedite the payroll process.

Furthermore, each timesheet report is automatically emailed to you to coincide with your payroll period. 

Features 

• Monitor employee activity and hours wherever they are.
• Stay informed without frequently checking in.
• Reduce payroll expenses through precise timekeeping.
• Instant timesheet generation can save hours of administrative work.
• Always be aware of where and what your team is working on.
• With clock-in and clock-out updates, you can simplify team management.
• Simple remote working time tracking helps you track your time with ease -  anytime, anywhere, and with unwavering reliability.
• Download and distribute professional and personalized reports on the time-keeping activities of your team.
• Get notified when an employee clocks in or out, takes a break or edits a time entry with smart reminders.
• Unlimited Assistance. 

Pricing 

The Atto app offers two subscription options: 

• $7.95/month for the Premium plan, for companies with up to 99 users.
• Custom pricing for the Enterprise plan, for companies with more than 100 users.

Harvest

Harvest is a remote work time tracking tool for independent contractors and freelancers. The ability to track time and expenses, as well as bill clients can be very helpful for small and medium-sized agencies and consulting firms. For corporate teams working internally who want to track project time, it’s also a great solution.

As an add-on, Harvest integrates well with many accounting solutions (e. g., QuickBooks, Xero), or it can be used as a stand-alone feature for small businesses with straightforward expense tracking and invoicing requirements. Small Businesses (1–50 employees) and the Marketing and Advertising sector use Harvest the most frequently.

Image from Harvest.

Features

Harvest is an excellent value app for:

• Time tracking, 
• Reports and analysis, 
• Invoicing and payments,
• Starting a project and keeping track of it is very easy,
• Reminders can be set, which is useful for ensuring that everyone remembers to post their time and notes, and
• Invoice creation is simple.

Pros

• Direct integration with Toggl and Stripe.
• Tracking invoices is beneficial and good.
• Simple to use and intuitive.

Cons

• Scenarios for project setup could be made easier.
• Sometimes, the Android app's background synchronization fails.
• A history of altered rates does not exist.

Pricing

Pricing starts from 12$ a month per seat for a pro version with unlimited seats and unlimited projects. 

Harvest also offers a free version for 1 seat and 2 projects.

Both versions offer a 30-day free trial.

Timely

Timely is a fantastic remote work tracker that can assist organizations in delegating tasks to teams and monitoring project progress. It enables project managers to divide tasks within projects and track how much time is spent on each task. Furthermore, a variety of other applications can be integrated with its platform.

Image from Timely.

Features

• Automates a company’s remote working time tracking and automatically logs the time employees spend using various work apps so that clients can be accurately billed.
• Automatically scans real-time dashboards, creating automatic notifications and delving deeply into the specifics of tasks, activity, and performance.
• Each team member's time on each project is thoroughly analyzed, resulting in excellent reports, timesheets, payroll, performance reviews, and client updates.
• Easy to use and simple.
• With time, systems become more adept at classifying projects.

Pros

• Continually enhanced UX.
• Easy to implement and affordable.
• The user interfaces are straightforward.

Cons

• The memory app tracking has a few minor issues.
• Improvements are needed for the web and mobile channels.
• Some more branding might be beneficial for the reporting function.

Pricing 

• Timely does not offer a free version but does offer a free trial.
• Timely packages start at $8 a month and scale up to $14 and $20 monthly charge  

Clockify 

Clockify is another great remote working time tracking app that is cost-effective (the initial version is completely free and "does the job"). It integrates seamlessly with already-existing applications and tracks time using mobile and desktop apps.

Image from Clockify.

Features

• Uses information from web and app usage for remote employee monitoring,
• Allows you to lock timesheets and stop retroactive changes,
• Provides you with the option to add work time for your team in the event that they forget to clock in,
• Has no constraints on projects or users,
• Kiosk,
• Calendar,
• Report,
• Time off,
• Expenses,
• Scheduling, and
• Invoicing.

Pros

• Simple to sign up.
• The app allows you to perform all calculations.
• The ability to track time is very simple and adaptable.

Cons

• There is no upper limit to stop at, not even if you forget to stop it for days.
• Gantt Chart is absent.
• The server does not save time automatically.

Pricing

Clockify offers a free plan with unlimited project and user allowances. It also offers upgrades to packages

• Basic – for administration – for $4.99 a month per full seat
• Standard – for time sheeting and billing - for $6.99 a month per full seat
• Pro – for profit and productivity - for $9.99 a month per full seat
• Enterprise – for control, and security - for $14.99 a month per full seat

Toggl   

Any team size can benefit from using Toggl as a remote working time tracking tool. It works well with small teams with fewer than 10 members for tracking projects and billing clients, as well as for large teams that require more adaptable solutions for time and project tracking and reporting. It is especially useful for freelancers and solo users with a growing list of clients.

Image from Toggl.

Features

• Toggl track provides online and offline time tracking. 
• It’s simple to switch between the two, whether using an android app (or one for another mobile platform like iOS or Mac) or one on a desktop.
• Toggl seamlessly integrates with the currently in-use tools. 
• The timer can start automatically without switching tabs thanks to the Toggl tracker's integration into the online app's user interface.
• In addition to providing daily or summary reports, Toggl also provides detailed reports. 
• Toggl provides excellent project and task management options, including the ability to forecast budgets and timelines and monitor ongoing progress. 
• It provides the option of including sub-projects, enabling the teams to distribute workloads and produce accurate reports.
• Toggl offers to divide the team into user groups and grant each group the same project permissions. 
• It provides filters to locate users who have not tracked time, or who have tracked time inexplicably or excessively.

Pros

• Assists in increasing tracking and productive time.
• The capacity to classify work properly and schedule it effectively.
• Very basic user interface.

Cons

• It is challenging to make branded time logs and invoices for clients.
• The order of all tasks in time is a little difficult to understand.

Pricing

• Free up to 5 users.
• Starter plan is $10 per user per month.
• Premium plan costs $20 per user per month.
• Enterprise is customizable.  

Hubstaff

You can give your staff an easy way to track their working hours with Hubstaff's remote working employee monitoring software. Timesheets detailing the duration of each visit to a client's location will be provided to you in great detail.

To more precisely predict when teams will arrive at the job site, you can view the current locations of your staff on a live map. You don't need to visit each location because you have access to real-time location data for everyone who is working.

Image from Hubstaff.

Features

• You can set up geofences around job sites to have remote working time tracking start and stop when crew members enter or leave an area.
• Thanks to geofencing, employee timesheets are now generated automatically; there is no need for weekly hours or paper timesheets. 
• Maintain a budget by keeping track of your expenses.
• Payroll automation will save you time from searching for timesheets.
• Create work orders and plan one-time or ongoing tasks.
• Plan and share the schedules for the crew.

Pros:

• Excellent reporting features.
• You can capture screenshots of their work in progress.
• The use of it is simple.

Cons:

• Payoneer does not integrate with payroll.
• Notifications about the status of tracking are sent twice rather than just once.
• It doesn't have an easy way to track overtime.

Pricing

A 14-day trial is available for Hubstaff Field, which has a starting price of $10 per user per month (minimum of two users).

The Enterprise plan offers VIP support and unlimited Job sites, among other things. To get a personalized quote, you have to talk to their sales department.

You have the option of monthly or yearly billing. For annual billing, discounts are available.

QuickBooks Time

QuickBooks Time is a simple and effective way to keep track of everything that needs to be done. With the timing sheets, you can ensure that everything is finished and done precisely. 

Teams of all sizes can manage projects, track time, and coordinate tasks with the aid of QuickBooks Time. If you need to track your time, there are plans that will work for both individuals as well as large Fortune 500 companies.

Image from QuickBooks Time.

Features

• Plan your availability and allocate tasks and resources to specific time slots through scheduling.
• Give team members a way to share media files, communicate, and cooperate.
• Sync your calendar with other calendars to see shared availability and schedules.
• Monitor and tracks project-related activities based on various metrics.
• Measures the time to completion or hours worked.
• Identify critical tasks that make up a project and assign start and end dates for each.
• Create and manage monetary interactions between parties (i.e. bills and invoices).
• Job and Shift Scheduling.
• Mobile App With GPS.
• Photo Attachments.
• QuickBooks Integration.
• Real-Time Reports.
• Streamlined Payroll and Invoicing.
• Time Clock Kiosk.

Pricing

• Premium package - $10/month + $8 per user per month
• Elite package - $20/month + $10 per user per month
• QuickBooks Time does not offer a free version but does offer a free trial.

Time Doctor

Time Doctor is a time clock for remote employees that is more than just a digital timesheet - it aims to track your time as well as advise you how to use it more efficiently. Time Doctor is a well-liked and reasonably priced option for your time tracking needs, allowing you to track time, access payroll features, and access other employee productivity aids.

Time Doctor is ideal for a remote workforce and small business owners looking to boost productivity. Additionally, the software seems to scale well into bigger businesses. Many companies use Time Doctor, including Verizon, Keller Williams Realty, and even the Better Business Bureau.

Image from Time Doctor.

Features

• You can use two different dashboards that Time Doctor provides. 
• Assign tasks to your users as you create projects. 
• Connect existing tasks to bigger projects, then add new tasks.
• Count the hours you spend on each job in addition to the total amount of time you spend working. 
• Set up your payroll with your employees’ hourly limits and pay rates. 
• Many reports are available for your consideration, including those that examine employee timesheets, schedules, projects, and inefficient time use. 
• Time Doctor will send you a pop-up asking if you are still working on your assigned task if you wander on the internet.

Pros

• For administering to other team members, it offers excellent support.
• All employee information is contained in the Timeline Daily Report.
• Reviewing screen captures is possible.

Cons

• The application window doesn't have a way to check every detail.
• Night differential reports cannot be produced by it.
• When switching between multiple computers, there is a sync issue.

Pricing

There are three different subscription packages available for Time Doctor. 

No credit card information is needed to try each tier for free for a period of 14 days.

• Basic plan costs $7.80/user/month 
• Standard plan costs $9.80/user/month 
• Premium plan costs $19.80/user/month

HourStack

HourStack is a project time tracker that seamlessly integrates with your preferred project management tool to support your team's time management and planning efforts.

The application has native integrations with well-known project management programs like Asana, Google Tasks, Trello, Todoist, and even Google Calendar. When you connect to one of these apps, HourStack will display your tasks in a sidebar so you can drag and drop them into your HourStack calendar to schedule your team's workload.

Image from HourStack

Features

• Use the Individual and Team calendar views to organize your schedule.
• Work with your preferred apps and workflow by utilizing integrations.
• Sort items according to projects, clients, and labels.
• With just one click, start timers directly from your calendar.
• If you forgot to click track, you can add time with unlimited manual entry.
• You can track time using HourStack on mobile, tablets, or desktops because it is responsive.
• With charts and visualizations, you can quickly gain insights.
• Add filters, grouping, and sorting to reports to make them more unique.
• To meet your needs, export in a variety of formats.

Pros

• Great integration possibilities.
• Ability to start the timer from your calendar.
• Easily edit, add and delete time manually.

Cons

• Can be quite buggy.
• Open jobs need to manually be rolled over to the next week.

Pricing

• Personal package - $9/month for one user
• Team package - $12/user/month for teams

TimeCamp 

Many users use the well-liked web-based tracking tool called TimeCamp. Businesses in the IT industry and marketing firms are particularly fond of the product. 

Businesses can more accurately bill their clients and estimate project costs thanks to TimeCamp, which makes it easier for people to keep track of the time they spend on various tasks. As a result, project managers will be better able to prioritize tasks based on their relative costs in terms of both time and money.

Image from TimeCamp.

Features

• Automatic time tracking.
• Daily timesheets.
• Weekly timesheets.
• Reporting (including Revenue, Cost, and Margin reports).
• Timesheet approvals.
• Invoicing.
• Custom roles.
• Computer activities.
• Tags.
• Keywords.
• Projects & tasks.
• Idle time tracking.
• Budgeting.
• Optional screenshots.
• Billable hours.
• Attendance & leave management.

Pros

• Easily tracks time by adding it to your Chrome browser.
• Employee work hours are simple to bill.
• Effective user interface.

Cons

• Reporting could be made more transparent.
• It could be improved to make it more understandable.
• An integrated timer notification would be helpful.

Pricing

Basic time tracking features are available for free, but only for one user.

Depending on the features you need, paid versions range from $5.25 to $7.25 per user per month (billed annually) or $7.50 to $10 per user per month (billed monthly).

There is a free trial available.

How to find the right time tracker for remote workers?

When selecting a time-tracking app for remote workers, there are a few things to take into account. 

Consider simplicity

Time tracking for remote workers shouldn’t be complicated. Remote time clocks should, first and foremost, be simple to use and offer in-depth reports. If it’s too difficult to implement and use, then your employees won’t use it and you’ll have inaccurate data.

Analyze your needs

When choosing remote employee trackers, it’s important that you consider an app that fits your needs. While there is the possibility that no app will do exactly what you want, make sure that the one you do decide on using covers at least the most important features for your business.

Think of accountability

Before you choose a remote worker time tracker, confirm that the app has a solid track record for reliability and accuracy. You will be tracking your employees’ every minute on the clock, so there shouldn’t be any errors when it comes to calculating and tracking those.

Does it help you streamline workflows?

Think of which workflows you want to automate, and then decide on an app that helps you do just that. If an app is creating more problems than it is fixing, then it’s time to choose a different one. Especially for work from home time tracking, you need an app that will streamline your accounting and payroll processes.

Does it integrate with other apps?

Look for a remote employee time clock app that integrates with other software that your business already uses. These include software payroll, accounting software, and even project management tools.

Final points on time tracking for remote employees

To make sure everything runs smoothly, time tracking is necessary when working remotely. Remote worker's time tracking can more efficiently manage their projects and accurately bill their clients by using a time tracker. 

Aside from projects, time tracking will make it easier for staff members to collaborate and communicate with one another because they will be more aware of when they are working. Building trust within a remote team is another benefit of working in such an environment.

You can also use an app to track employees working from home, to make sure that their time is being used productively. A work-from-home time clock ensures that all working hours are accurately tracked.

Whichever app you decide to use, make sure to check beforehand if:

• It is simple to use.
• Fits your needs.
• Is reliable and accurate.
• Helps automate and streamline workflows.
• Integrates well with third-party apps.

Time tracking for remote employees will help your business set work priorities, increase productivity, and gives you more control of your resources. Take a few apps for a test drive and find out which one works for you.