How To Track Time Of Employees? Top 5 Options
When you want to track time of your employees via time tracking software, it provides insight into how time is allocated and helps identify areas of inefficiency and opportunities for improvement.
For employers, understanding where time is spent enables strategic decision making, resource allocation, and better project management.
It also clarifies the true cost of operations, aiding in budgeting and forecasting.
The top three issues that the concept of track time solutions resolves for employees and employers are,
Resource Allocation: By following time, small businesses can accurately allocate resources, ensuring that tasks are assigned based on availability and expertise.
Track Project Management: Time tracking facilitates better project management by enabling businesses to monitor real time progress.
Performance Evaluation and Compensation: Time tracking enables employers to assess productivity, identify top performers, and address areas for improvement.
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| What Does It Mean To Track Time? |
| Tracking time goes beyond simply noting the hours spent on various tasks; it involves careful observation and documentation of how time is utilized throughout the workday. Time tracking is a powerful tool for small businesses to optimize their operations, enhance efficiency, and foster employee accountability. |
What Is The Significance Of Track Time For Small Businesses?
Tracking time is of immense significance for small businesses.
Intuitive and accurate time tracking allows companies to optimize resource allocation, ensuring efficient use of workforce and finances across different tasks and projects.
Utilizing these add-on feature enables them to pinpoint where they are investing the most time and how to streamline their workflows effectively.
Project management becomes seamless with automatic time tracking, empowering businesses to monitor progress, identify potential bottlenecks, and ensure timely completion of tasks.
Moreover, integrating time tracking with Gmail and utilizing time reports and timesheet software further enhances project oversight and management.
With the ability to track day-to-day activities and project timelines directly within the software interface, businesses can streamline communication and collaboration while keeping a close eye on project deadlines and employee productivity.
The web app functionality of most of these software extends to Chrome, allowing for effortless tracking of project hours and employee timesheets across various devices, including smartphones.
By leveraging automatic time tracking through kiosk or smartphone applications, businesses ensure the accurate capture of employee work hours, facilitating precise cost control and payroll management.
Teams benefit from access to real-time insights into their productivity levels, enabling them to optimize their time allocation and enhance overall team productivity.
Additionally, detailed time reports generated by timesheet software provide invaluable data for performance reviews and informed decision-making, empowering businesses to identify strengths, address weaknesses, and drive continuous improvement in their operations.
Why Do People Track Time?
People track time for various reasons, each serving a distinct purpose in personal and professional contexts.
Tracking time serves multiple purposes, including time management, legal compliance, and personal development.
Individuals use time tracking to manage their schedules efficiently, ensuring they allocate time to tasks and activities according to their priorities.
It ensures adherence to payroll issues and reporting requirements in industries where legal regulations mandate time tracking, such as legal or consulting firms.
Moreover, individuals track time for personal development, gaining insights into their habits and behaviors to foster better time management and work-life balance.
By understanding how they spend their time, individuals can make informed decisions to optimize their productivity and pursue their personal and professional goals effectively.
How Do You Track Employee Hours For Your Business For Free?
Managing employee performance efficiently while minimizing labor costs is essential for business owners.
Gone are the days of relying on pen and paper to keep track of employee hours.
Today, solutions like employee time tracking software offer the best employee time management tools, allowing business owners to automate tasks like employee hour tracking, scheduling, and timesheets.
With features such as location tracking on mobile devices, team members can clock in and out conveniently from anywhere, eliminating the need for manual time tracking.
Many premium platforms offer a free plan or 14-day free trials with basic functionalities, making it accessible for businesses of all sizes to implement automatic timekeeping.
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In free time tracking apps you get access to basic features for small businesses, allowing employees to clock in and out, categorize tasks, and generate reports.
Another option is to utilize spreadsheet software like Google Sheets, which allows you to create customized templates manually to log employee hours and project activities.
Best Application To Track Time For Small Business
The following are the best applications to track time for small businesses.
1. Buddy Punch | Best App to Track Time
Buddy Punch is a top choice for businesses seeking an efficient time tracking solution.
It caters to businesses of all sizes and across various industries, offering robust features tailored to their needs.
Utilized by companies ranging from startups to enterprises, Buddy Punch streamlines time tracking with its user-friendly interface.
Buddy Punch’s automated features reduce the risk of human error inherent in manual methods, ensuring precise time recording.
1. Real Time Attendance Tracking
With a real time attendance tracking feature, businesses can effortlessly monitor employee attendance, ensuring accuracy and accountability.
Customizable notifications alert managers to approaching overtime thresholds, enabling proactive schedule adjustments.
2. Enable and Tracking Locations Using GPS
By capturing GPS coordinates, employers can verify that employees are punching in or out from the correct locations or job sites.
Buddy Punch offers the flexibility to customize GPS settings per employee, ensuring that GPS data is collected only from those who need it.
3. Allows Employees To Request Time Off
Employees can effortlessly request time off directly from the website (Windows or mac) or mobile app (Android or iOS).
The streamlined process enhances employee satisfaction and simplifies administrative tasks for employers.
4. Offers Various Methods To Punch
With various punch methods, employees can choose from 4-digit PINs, QR codes, facial recognition, and password logins.
Buddy Punch’s comprehensive features extend beyond punch methods, offering functionalities like GPS tracking, job code assignments, and payroll integration.
5. Create and Assign Job Codes To Track Time
The job codes functionality allows businesses to create and assign custom codes to track employee time effectively.
Managers can effortlessly monitor the time spent on specific tasks or projects, enhancing productivity and resource allocation.
6. Assign Locations and Capture Time Spent
The locations feature allows employers to exert more control over employee locations, enhancing accountability and streamlining monitoring efforts.
7. Submit Time Cards For Approval
With the time card approvals feature, the timesheet approval process ensures accuracy and compliance with labor policies.
Approved time cards are locked, preventing last-minute edits and providing tighter control over payroll processing.
8. Manual Or Automatic Accrual Of Paid Time Off
Manual accrual involves HR personnel manually tracking and updating employees’ accrued PTO based on predefined attendance policies.
On the other hand, automatic accrual systems streamline the process by automatically calculating and updating employees’ PTO accrual based on set parameters.
9. Option To Enter Time Durations Per Day
Whether employees need to punch in and out in real time or enter total hours worked, Buddy Punch caters to various needs.
One standout feature is the option to enter time durations per day, which allows for flexibility and accuracy in recording hours worked.
10. Punch In And Out From Specific Locations
The ability for employees to punch in and out from specific locations enhances control and accuracy in time management.
The feature ensures that employees are physically present at designated work sites when clocking in or out, preventing discrepancies.
How To Use Buddy Punch as a Track Time App?
To utilize Buddy Punch as a track time tool effectively, follow these steps:
- Create an account on the Buddy Punch platform and set up your company profile.
- Add employees to the system and assign them roles and permissions based on their responsibilities.
- Configure time entry options, such as duration-based entry or clock-in/out functionality, according to your preferences.
- Utilize the location feature to ensure employees clock in and out from specific locations, enhancing accuracy and accountability.
- Use the app to efficiently add, edit, or delete time off entries to manage employee time off requests.
- Take advantage of Buddy Punch’s reporting capabilities to analyze employee time data, track trends, and identify areas for improvement.
- Use training resources to familiarize yourself and your team with the app’s features, and contact customer support for any assistance needed.
Buddy Punch’s Online Reviews
As of the writing date, Buddy Punch has 4.8 out of 5 stars and 934 reviews on Capterra.
Below, we’ll list just a few reviews that speak to Buddy Punch’s ease of use and great customer support service. (Click here to explore the full list of reviews.)
“Buddy Punch is a great product that has allowed us to better track our technicians’ hours. They are on the road 3-4 days a week and Buddy Punch helps us know where they are when they punch in/out and whether they are staying on schedule. It’s a great product at a great value!”
Click here to read the full review.
“The product is easy to use and to deploy to employees. The cost is reasonable and it can do more than what we use it for. The employees can edit their time if there is an error, and the Approver can edit and/or approve an employee’s time entry.”
Click here to read the full review.
“Overall it’s a great app! I was able to easily navigate the app and desktop app. The guys were able to easily use it! It was much more efficient than the handwritten time sheets we have been using.”
Click here to read the full review.
“The interaction with the different sections is seamless once a person learns all the processes that relate to time in and time off. Having the availability of the calendar option makes keeping up with personal time very simple. The features that allow changes to time and scheduling are made simple and are quick and easy to perform.”
Click here to read the full review.
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For free trial, no credit card required.
If you feel that Buddy Punch might be the right fit for your business, sign up for a 14 day free trial (no credit card needed). You can also book a one-on-one demo, or view a pre-recorded demo video.
2. Clockify
Clockify is a time tracking tool that provides a range of features to help businesses manage and monitor their time related activities.
Clockify is a versatile time tracking tool designed to help individuals and teams manage their time effectively.
Key Features,
- Time Tracking
- Project and Task Management
- Reporting and Analytics
- Billable Hours Tracking
- Team Collaboration
- User Permissions and Roles
- Integration with Third-Party Apps
- Mobile Time Tracking
- Invoicing
- Browser Extension
Clockify has 4.7 out of 5 on Capterra as of the writing date.
It has a total of 4748 reviews on Capterra.
“It is a great software for smart working experience. It works very well and it helps you to track time from anywhere. Its flexibility makes it compatible with everyone. Collected data by clockify helps me alot to analyze employees performance and also create reports.”
Click here to read the full review.
3. Connecteam
Connecteam is an employee management and communication platform designed to streamline various aspects of workforce management.
It provides a comprehensive solution for businesses with deskless teams, offering features to enhance communication, scheduling, time tracking, training, and more.
Key Features,
- Scheduling & Time Tracking
- Real-Time Operations Monitoring
- Internal Communications Hub
- Employee Growth and Training
- Success Stories and Case Studies
- Results-Driven Performance:
- Full Support Services
- Small Business Support:
- Webinars and Blog Content
- Podcast Episodes
Connecteam has 4.8 out of 5 stars on Capterra as of the writing date.
It has a total of 323 reviews on Capterra.
“Connecteam was easy to set up and deploy. The changes and improvements that came over the last year and a half or so were timely and (with 1 exception that was only an issue for about a month) improved the value of the program greatly.”
Click here to read the full review.
4. ClickUp
ClickUp is a powerful project management and productivity platform that streamlines workflows and enhances team collaboration.
It provides a comprehensive set of features to meet the diverse needs of users in managing tasks, projects, and organizational processes.
Key Features,
- Task Management
- Customizable Workspaces
- Time Tracking
- Collaborative Docs
- Goal Tracking
- Gantt Charts
- Integrations
- Automation
- Multiple Views
- Reporting
ClickUp has 4.7 stars out of 5 on Capterra as of the writing date.
It has a total of 3997 reviews on Capterra.
“Our overall experience with ClickUp has been positive. It’s a powerful tool that has streamlined our project management and collaboration. While the learning curve was initially steep, the benefits we’ve gained in terms of organization and efficiency have been well worth the effort.”
Click here to read the full review.
5. Time Tracker
The time tracker facilitates efficient time management for individuals and businesses.
It is a valuable resource for tracking, analyzing, and optimizing time utilization, enabling users to enhance productivity and project management.
The tool is a versatile solution, catering to the diverse time management needs of users, from freelancers to businesses.
Key Features,
- Automated Time Tracking
- Task and Project Management
- Invoicing
- Reporting
- User Permissions
- Mobile Accessibility
- Client Billing
- Integration Capabilities
- Collaboration Tools
- Expense Tracking
Time Tracker has 4.4 stars out of 5 on Capterra as of the writing date.
It has a total of 2992 reviews on Capterra.
“Time tracker has been great for most of my employees to track their hours accurately, as well as give me a way to double check those hours using the mapping feature.”
Click here to read the full review.
How To Effectively Track Your Time To Enhance Productivity and Achieve Your Small Business Goals?
Following are the effective ways to track time and enhance your productivity.
1. Understand The Value Of Time
Understanding the value of time helps individuals set realistic goals and deadlines, allowing them to focus on tasks that align with their objectives.
By valuing time, individuals become more mindful of how they spend each moment, leading to better time management and increased productivity.
2. Set Clear Goals and Priorities
Setting clear goals and priorities helps you make informed decisions about allocating your time for maximum productivity and goal achievement.
You can focus your time and energy on tasks that directly contribute to your overarching objectives by clearly outlining what you aim to accomplish and the steps required to get there.
3. Analyze Your Current Time Management Plan
Analyzing your current time management plan is crucial in effectively tracking your time to boost productivity and achieve your goals.
Begin by assessing how you currently allocate your time throughout the day.
Identify any inefficiencies or time-wasting activities that may be hindering your progress.
4. Choose The Right Time Tracking Method
Selecting the appropriate time tracking method is vital for optimizing productivity and reaching your objectives.
Depending on your preferences and work environment, you may opt for manual methods like keeping a detailed journal or using spreadsheets.
5. Implement Time Tracking Software
By integrating such software into your workflow, you gain invaluable insights into allocating your time, identifying inefficiencies, and prioritizing tasks effectively.
These time clock apps offer a range of features tailored to streamline time management, including automated tracking, real-time monitoring, and detailed reporting.
6. Establish A Daily Or Weekly Routine For Tracking
Consistency is key to effective time management, and having a structured routine helps ensure that tracking becomes a habitual part of your workflow.
It’s essential to clock out at the end of each workday to accurately assess your team’s time allocation and project progress.
Incorporating tracking into your routine provides valuable insights into how you spend your time, enabling you to identify patterns, eliminate distractions, and allocate resources more efficiently.
Profitability hinges on understanding where time is spent and ensuring it aligns with strategic goals.
By consistently tracking project timelines and team productivity, you can optimize workflows and maximize profitability.
7. Regularly Review Your Time For Improvement
Schedule regular time reviews to reflect on your productivity patterns, assess whether you align with your goals, and identify any distractions or time wasting activities.
Analyze your tracked data to understand where your time is spent and whether adjustments are needed to prioritize tasks more effectively.
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FAQs
Does Employee Time Tracking Software Track Overtime Work Hours?
Employee time tracking software ensures compliance with labor laws regarding overtime work hours.
By accurately recording when employees clock in and out, these tools help businesses prevent time theft and maintain transparency in timekeeping.
Advanced features such as geofencing enable employers to monitor employees’ on-site activities, which is especially useful for industries with mobile workforces.
With the ability to track employee work time automatically, businesses can effectively manage overtime and avoid any potential legal issues.
What is the Geofencing feature in Buddy Punch?
The geofencing feature in Buddy Punch offers business owners an efficient way to track the location of their team members.
By setting virtual boundaries around designated work sites, employers can ensure employees are where they must be during their scheduled shifts.
The feature is particularly beneficial for businesses with on-site operations, as it helps prevent time theft and ensures accurate timekeeping.
With geofencing, employers can have peace of mind knowing that their workforce stays productive and accountable while on the job.
Do Employee Time Tracking Apps Follow Labor Laws?
Employee time tracking apps are designed to assist businesses in adhering to labor laws and regulations regarding employee scheduling and compensation.
These apps offer comprehensive features for tracking employee hours, including automatic timekeeping and overtime calculation.
With built-in compliance tools, such as alerts for potential violations and regular updates to reflect changes in labor laws, these apps help businesses stay legally compliant.
Additionally, location tracking and mobile device restrictions further enhance accountability and prevent unauthorized use of the system, ensuring that companies can confidently rely on these tools to manage their workforce by labor laws.
Conclusion
Implementing the right time tracking methods and utilizing suitable time tracking tools can help individuals and businesses gain invaluable insights into their time usage patterns.
Establishing a routine for tracking time and regularly reviewing the data for improvement opportunities can enhance efficiency and time management.
It allows for identifying time sinks, optimizing workflows, and prioritizing tasks to align with overarching goals.
