The Top 8 Online Timekeeping Solutions in December 2021 (Free Plans Included)

Are you losing money to out of date systems of employee timekeeping and it’s keeping you awake at night? 

Whether your business is dependent on the punch card, or the even simpler pen and paper way, the stressful overload of constant timekeeping inaccuracy (that only results in an inaccurate payroll), gets old very quickly; older than the archaic systems themselves. 

With buddy punching, time theft, payroll messes, and the inevitable human error of it all, it’s time to say goodbye to inaccurate timekeeping practices of the past and hello to online timekeeping systems that will finally drive your business forward.

To assist your process of searching, sorting, and trying out the 100s of online timekeeping systems in the market, we have compiled a list of the top 8 solutions we confidently feel would best suit your needs in terms of both quality and cost in mind (some even free!). 

In a Hurry? The Best Online Timekeeping Solutions for December 2021

Before getting started, it’s worth noting that in all our comparisons, Connecteam landed at the top of the list as the best online timekeeping system.

Connecteam recognizes that employee timekeeping hiccups can creep in and disrupt other business procedures such as payroll. Although knowing exactly when an employee clocks in/out is a good start, Connecteam’s automated, intuitive employee time clock goes much deeper. 

Here are just some of the extra benefits it provides:

• Your employees’ real, to-the-second timings will be recorded at clock in and clock out, giving you sheer transparency of those you manage (and the exact hours they worked). 
• You’ll be able to  geofence the use of the time clock to make sure your employees are clocking in and out from a certain location only
• The integrated GPS breadcrumbs tracking allows you to see the exact, real-time whereabouts of your employees, so you know exactly where they are, and when. 
• With everything documented digitally, you can also easily export timelogs to your accountant in a clear and organized manner, for an 100% accurate payroll 

Sure, the other apps mentioned can carry out basic employee timekeeping functions, however, we feel Connecteam is at a higher level as it provides transparency on both the business owner’s and the employee’s end; leaving no room for error.  

If you would like to explore your options, jump straight to the comparison table, which also includes all of our online timekeeping free solution recommendations. 

What to Look For in an Online Timekeeping Solution

There are foundational features to be on the lookout for when choosing amongst the variety of online timekeeping systems we’ve listed. For online timekeeping solutions that are not just great but can completely alter the operational efficiency of your business, keep an eye out for the following in mind:

• Automatic time clocks
• Payroll benefits
• Buddy punching solutions
• Time theft solutions
• Attendance marked to the second
• Transparency (from both employee and employer’s end)
• Intuitive functionality
• Sick day, vacation day, and overtime monitoring

Without further ado, here are our updated top 8 online timekeeping solutions of December 2021 that will ensure a strong start to your business new year.

The Top 8 Online Timekeeping Solutions of December 2021 

The Connecteam app is the gift that keeps on giving for managers in search of an all-in-one solution to their payroll and timekeeping difficulties. 

Say Goodbye to Time Theft

Know exactly (to the second!) how many hours your employees worked, completely eliminating the potential for time theft. That and, avoid any painful and expensive payroll mistakes or awkward conversations with your employees. You get a real-time overview, minus any administrative headache! 

Clocked-In GPS-tracking

Want to know exactly where (and when) your employees are? Connecteam’s breadcrumbs technology will show you the exact GPS pinpoints of your employees’ routes when they’re clocked in. You’ll see a connected trail of every location they visit, allowing you a no-touch overview of who’s where, and when.. 

One-Click Clock-In

As for the time clock itself, it’s a simple click of a button to clock in and out, available directly from your employees’ app. Even more: thanks to the app’s linked shift scheduler feature, you can attach notes, images, files, and even videos to leave extra information for employees’ when they’re clocking in to their shift.. 

And More!

Beyond that, you also have the power to approve inputs on timesheets and lock them to prevent unwarranted employee adjustments. With Connecteam, you can automate your timekeeping solutions for employees, saving you time, money and ultimately, a lot of worry! 

For Whom?

Connecteam is an app for industries with deskless teams who require mobile workforce management. Whether you’re a company just starting out or looking to scale, this is for those who are in need of an online timekeeping solution that can grow alongside your company. 

Key Features

• Timesheets for payroll processes

• Limitations put on working hours

• Geolocation to have an employees’ locations at time of clock in/out

• Special button for approval of sick days and vacation days

• Breadcrumbs to gain a general sense of employee movement 

• Ability to set alerts for overtime

• Easy-to-export timesheets

• Reminders & notification automated

Pros and Cons

• Affordable pricing options

• Easy to set-up and implement into any business

• Excellent customer support

• Intuitive and user-friendly interface

• All-in-one solution for deskless teams

• No integrations to other tools. This is something to wait for with future software updates.

Pricing

• Premium plans starts at $29/month for the first 30 seats

• Free Trial: 14-day free trial

• Free-for-life plan: For up to 10 users, without limitations

Toggl syncs personal Google Calendar or Outlook accounts with its very own built in calendar feature. Beyond the ability to clock in and out online, their online timekeeping software is built to also monitor what’s happening in between those two timestamps. For those looking to monitor where time online is spent, Toggl makes it easy to provide proof of that. Having a work schedule in one hand and a time clock in the other, Toggl mashes the two together in order to calculate estimates that will accurately predict future budgeting for their previously inputted time. It’s one of our top picks for an online timekeeping free solution, but we’d recommend it mainly for freelancers rather than deskless workers. 

For Whom? 

Although Toggl is available to both independent and small to large businesses, their features are geared predominantly to the lifestyle and needs of solo freelance clientele. Toggl is for folks who currently run, or plan to run, their business on digital devices. Toggl is perfect for people who are still heavily reliant on other external apps and are merely looking to merge those with a sensible time management tool.

Key Features

• Can combine with over 100 apps

• Tracks online usage in the background

• Clocking in/out reminder notifications

• Builds summary reports

Pros and Cons

• Aesthetic interface

• Easy to start and implement

• All features subscription is extremely pricey

• Doesn’t have an invoices/ payroll section

Pricing

• Toggle starts at $10/month per user with limited capabilities

• Free trial: 30-day free trial

• Free-for-life plan: Yes

Timely’s online timekeeping solution completely automates your workflow. Workers can log onto their computer or mobile phone, start the day, and Timely will be there to record it all. With a Memory Tracker algorithm, Timely catches onto repetitive activity for long-term purposes to suggest better scheduling for time management in the future. Without any pre-setups, it has a labeling system, tagging projects and designates it into automated groupings. Timely notes that although the software is designed to watch everything employees do (live), it also carefully makes sure to avoid overstepping boundaries of privacy matters. This being said, it is free of any surveillance tactics; employees are even able to edit and choose what co-workers see at the end of the day. It’s also not a great online timekeeping free option, as it doesn’t have a forever-free plan. 

For Whom? 

Timely is meant for project-based companies who are looking to map out their progress. Their most popular industries are consulting firms and accounting firms. For both remote workers and in-house small-to-large business, Timely is open to companies of all shape and size. 

Key Features

• Integrates with many other apps

• Easily tracks progress of specific tasks

• Efficiently tracks status of projects

Pros and Cons

• Designed for easy use

• Provides clear oversight on projects and time spent on projects

• Required to manually input time of each event; even recurring ones. 

• Has a hard time integrating with other softwares in use

Pricing

• Timely’s basic plan starts at $10/month per user

• Free trial: 14-day free trial

• Free-for-life plan: No

Avaza is a free online time clock solution that produces in-depth reports based off of the hours put in. Organized in a format that is easy to understand from any standpoint, these reports are also easy to share with anyone who has a work email. Users may import timesheets in bulk as well as approve or reject timesheets in bulk. Avaza provides transparency when it comes to billing and can be exported into invoicing software with just a few clicks. 

For Whom? 

This is for any business that runs its services based on project based parameters. From a few to a few hundred employees, this is for all company sizes. Advised to those looking to use numbers and reports as a way to better judge time usage. 

Key Features

• Tracks time

• Flexible cost rates per project and/or per user

• Easy made project reports

• Reduces manual timesheet entry

Pros and Cons

• Improves project management

• Easily work on projects with people not physically present

• Mobile interface is not intuitive 

• Confusing and unclear pricing model

Pricing

• Avaza’s plans start from $9.95/month. Each feature only allows a certain number of users. If this feels like the right fit for your business, check its pricing on their website to understand more about what this all means. 

• Free trial: Yes

• Free-for-life plan: Yes, there is a free-for-life plan, but it is limited in capabilities.

Harvest essentially operates as a stopwatch. The user is the one in control of dictating what is to be taken into account when online and working. In that sense, Harvest is beneficial for those looking to manually punch in their time and value their own work (which always leaves the potential for time theft). This is one of many ways to time track as a business, and although some prefer it this way than the automated route, it is known to leave room for error. In preparation for human forgetfulness, Harvest provides notifications that are prompt at sending out reminders for a large variety of tasks. Harvest wants their users to be fully equipped even if it doesn’t come directly from their own system and for that reason they provide a way to link their software with other third-party solutions that the user may not be ready to part ways with.

For Whom?

Small to large businesses can find use from the tools Harvest has created. From creative industries to technical ones, Harvest can aid a wide range of industries. This is for companies that have multiple recurring projects and want to learn how to grow more and more as time goes on. 

Key Features

• Time tracking that can be used for insight

• Monitors expenses

• Integrates with Paypal and Stripe for invoices

Pros and Cons

• Perfect for freelancers and contractors

• Simple and efficient reporting and invoicing

• Hardcoded features lack customization and flexibility

• No premade templates for ease of use

Pricing

• Harvest costs $12/month per user

• Free Trial: 30-day free trial

• Free-for-life plan: Yes, but with limitations to users, admins, customers, projects, etc.

Hubstaff gives management capabilities for online timekeeping and geotracking of their employees through the app itself. With a geo location attachment to its automated time clock, managers have visibility to more than just time. Time on Hubstaff can be tracked as a specific job task, a specific company project, special work orders, important clients, or even locations themselves; it’s all doable. Hubstaff works to automate these time keeping services and utilize it from there to get more accurate estimates of project time and cost while negating any payroll errors. While this is also a potentially solid online timekeeping free solution, if you really want to get the best from the online timekeeping feature, you’ll need to pay. 

For Whom?

Hubstaff is great for all business sizes and that even includes freelancers. It is also not limited to those who work in an office building; workers can work remotely with mobile workforce management and Hubstaff will still have the necessary features to support this type of business style. 

Key Features

• Time tracking is broken down by date, client, or project

• Geofencing feature to ensure accurate clock ins/out

• Streamline workflows through helpful reports

Pros and Cons

• GPS Tracker

• Payroll and reporting is automated

• Difficult to get a Hubstaff customer support representative on the phone

• Dashboard is difficult to understand

Pricing

• Hubstaff’s Basic plan starts at $7/month per user. Each listed plan includes different features. Check it out to be sure of what best suits you. 

• Free trial: 14-day free trial

• Free-for-life plan: Yes, for up to 1 user and with very limited capabilities.

QuickBooks Time App (also previously known as T-sheets) covers your online timekeeping tracks with or without Wi-Fi. Through the “who’s working window”, management has full visibility of who’s working and who’s on break in addition to the location of where each individual employee is working. Lastly, with its timesheet solution called “Crew app”, users can manage multiple timesheets in one sitting instead of tediously handling one at a time. 

For Whom?

Quickbooks Time is for Small to Medium sized businesses. More specifically, QuickBooks Time is useful for those who work remotely or who do field work off the grid and would benefit greatly from geolocation tools that maintain workplace safety. 

Key Features

• Tracks location with or without Wi-Fi

• Time Clock Kiosk for multiple workers in one space

Pros and Cons

• Wide array of detailed reports

• Real-time GPS tracking and monitoring

• Features such as project tracking and paid holiday time will require additional technical assistance

• Subpar customer support

Pricing

• QuickBooks Time premium plan has a base price of $25/month, plus 8$/month per user. This includes only 1 free admin. 

• Free trial: 30-day free trial

• Free-for-life plan: No

The main point and purpose of RescueTime is to sharpen productivity to a point of maximum efficiency. Its online timekeeping solution is two fold; track the hours spent working and then on top of that, track the websites themselves where time is mostly spent. Employees who use this application are able to better manage their time and thus give more of themselves to the company, ultimately boosting employee morale.

For Whom? 

Businesses of all shapes and sizes can find use from RescueTime. It is for companies that use the internet and other online platforms to complete projects and would like to improve on their management of those projects. 

Key Features

• Personalized work goals

• Notifications to keep on task to meet goals

• Blocks distracting online platforms 

Pros and Cons

• Reports that shows where daily focus is productive vs. unproductive

• Compares averages to see how you have progressed

• Interface feels outdated: not able to view day’s worth of activities on a single page 

• The app is more for productivity and less of a tool for time tracking

Pricing

• Rescue time Premium costs $9/month per feature

• Free trial: 14-day free trial

• Free-for-life plan: Yes

Quick Comparison Table of the Best Online Timekeeping Solutions

Frequently Asked Questions About Online Timekeeping

Are there any online timekeeping free solutions? 

There are more than one options when it comes to online timekeeping free of charge and that all can seem tempting and confusing at the same time. You’re probably thinking back to the saying “there’s no such thing as a free lunch”, and you’re asking yourself, what’s the catch? 

Anything free is going to come with its own set of limitations. However, if you pay close enough attention to the quality of what you’re signing up for, you may find yourself with a nice turkey on rye. 

The quality Connecteam maintains from its free plan to its premium plan is seamless. 

Connecteam offers a first row seat with its free 14 day trial. The trial is full service with no limitations. At the end of its free trial, subscribers can either choose to upgrade to a premium plan or stay with the free plan for a lifetime. After the 14 day trial phase, the free plan does not include everything you are given in the premium plans, however it still maintains the core 6 features without asking for any additional money in return. Connecteam keeps it honest and fully usable which is something to recognize and keep note of when deciding amongst other online timekeeping free solutions. 

Can I erase errors from my process of timekeeping?

It’s easy for things to go wrong when you’re going about your timekeeping manually. You and your employees can lose timesheets and on top of that, making any sort of update to a timesheet on paper can get sloppy. Switching to time clock software that’s stored on the cloud can keep everything safe, organized, and accessible from any device.

Humans weren’t designed to be perfect, but online timekeeping solutions were. This being said, you will be able to erase timekeeping errors when you ditch your manual timekeeper system and swap it for an automated one. 

The Bottom Line of Online Timekeeping Solutions

Finding the right online timekeeping system for your company can seem like a daunting task and we totally get why that is. It requires making a decision beyond what’s right for you as a business owner, but what would also best serve your team as a whole. Your company is essentially your baby and this decision rightfully matters to you. Our ranked list of the top timekeeping solutions was made with that empathetic understanding in mind.

It’s easy to get lost in the number of online timekeeping options available, but overcomplicating anything solves nothing. For this reason, we suggest Connecteam because it is straight to the point with its fully loaded services and mission to save your managing time and money from costly human error. Having Connecteam’s all-in-one built in app, cuts buddy punching, time theft, shaky attendance keeping from your daily overload while adding even more ease to your payroll, communication, and scheduling, that have been negatively affected as well through poor timekeeping.