5 Best Time Trackers for Xero Payroll Software – Australia

The 5 Best Xero Time Tracking Integrations of 2024

1. Connecteam — Best all-in-one Xero time-tracking integration

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android

   Start for free

   

   The Xero time clock integration I like best is Connecteam. An all-in-one employee management solution, Connecteam offers a robust time-tracking clock, attendance management, time-theft prevention, and more. Let’s look closer at everything Connecteam offers. 

   Seamless integration—and quick data transfers

   First off, Connecteam integrates seamlessly with Xero and provides excellent training documentation to get you started. You’ll be set up and ready to go in just a few minutes. 

   Start by aligning payroll periods on both platforms and establish a connection between them. Then, simply link Connecteam users to Xero, set your standard pay rules, and align your paid time off (PTO) policies. After this, you’ll be ready to export timesheets directly to Xero for payroll processing.

   Accurate employee time clock and tracking 

   

   Connecteam is a time clock app that lets you track employee or contractor time however it works best. Your team can easily clock in and out via a mobile app. Or, deploy Connecteam as a time clock kiosk app (a standalone device employees can use to clock in onsite). You and your employees can even fill out work hours manually. 

   Connecteam uses tracked time to generate timesheets for payroll. 

   Time tracking with GPS 

   

   Connecteam’s real-time GPS tracker lets you view exactly where your employees are clocking in and out, as well as where they’re working. I believe privacy is important, so I appreciate that Connecteam tracks location details only while workers are on the clock. 

   You can also set up the geofence time clock, which creates a virtual boundary around a real geographic area. This feature lets you restrict clocking in and out to specific locations. 

   Together, the GPS tracker and geofencing help you feel confident your workers are where they should be. They prevent team members from clocking in on each other’s behalf or engaging in other forms of time theft (where you pay employees for time they haven’t actually worked).

   Time off, overtime, and break tracking

   Connecteam offers simple time off management and tracking. This helps ensure you calculate PTO for payroll accurately.

   Its overtime tracking can also calculate overtime for you, ensuring you pay your team accurately for their extra hours. You can even customize overtime settings using your time zone to ensure compliance with state laws. As a bonus, you can have the system alert you when employees go into unapproved overtime—it can even prevent them from clocking in or automatically clock them out.

   The break management software helps you set up automatic paid and unpaid breaks for shifts, prompting your employees to take their required breaks and factoring break times into payroll calculations. I appreciate how this helps you comply with meal and rest break laws. 

   Automated reporting

   Connecteam can generate automated reports—including live reports based on employees’ clock-in statuses. It can notify you if a worker is late to clock in or misses it entirely. 

   Need to understand the time spent on specific tasks, projects, or clients or at particular job sites? Create custom reports to monitor these.

   Connecteam can even filter specific jobs and automatically send reports to the client for invoicing.

   Various other features

   Connecteam offers various other features for managing your workforce, and many of these can be used alongside its time tracker. For example, the employee scheduler integrates directly with the time clock. This means that when an employee clocks in, they can access important shift information from the schedule. And the team instant messaging can be used to chat about hours, payroll, and more.Overall, Connecteam’s features make it an ideal time tracker and more.

   Connecteam also offers a free for life plan – Join Connecteam!

   Key Features

   • One-click integration with Xero

   • Accurate time tracking from anywhere

   • Kiosk app

   • GPS and geofencing

   • Time tracking for specific projects, clients, or sites

   • Time off, overtime, and break management

   Pros

   • Great customer service and training

   • Offers a forever-free plan

   • Easy and intuitive to use

   • Various workforce management features

   Cons

   • More integrations still in development

   Pricing

   Free-for-life plan availablePremium plans start at $29/month for 30 users

   14-day free trial, no credit card required

   Start your free trial
2. 

   Timely — Good for salons and other appointment-based businesses

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android

   

   Timely is a time-tracking and scheduling app originally developed for salons. Customers can book directly with their service provider on the online booking system based on rules you or your team set. Or, if you prefer, you can manually accept, change, or decline bookings. Timely will keep track of the hours worked on these appointments. However, that’s the extent of its time tracking. 

   One thing I like about Timely is that you can use the “Minimise Gaps” feature to book back-to-back sessions and avoid open time slots. Plus, you can use dashboards to keep track of your team’s time-sheets, appointments, and shifts.

   However, Timely is more expensive than some other Xero time-tracking apps, and some users may find it difficult to set up. Plus, because it focuses on appointment-based businesses, I think it’ll fall short for businesses that don’t book appointments with customers and need more robust time tracking.

   Learn more about Timely

   Key Features

   • Direct booking
   • Ability to book back-to-back appointments
   • Automated waitlist feature
   • Manager dashboard

   Pros

   • Easy to use
   • Useful and simple-to-understand help guides

   Cons

   • Initial setup can take some time
   • Not suitable for non-appointment-based businesses

   Pricing

   Starts at $16/user/month, for 6-50 users Trial: Yes Free Plan: No

3. 

   MinuteDock — Good for professional services companies that track billable hours

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android

   

   Focused on firms like accounting, law, or consultancies, MinuteDock offers employee and contractor time clock/tracking. It lets you and your team track basic shift time, as well as the time spent on specific clients, projects, or tasks. Use a live timer or enter time manually, then send billable hours straight to Xero. Businesses can also use this information to generate invoices for clients. 

   Unfortunately, transferring information from MinuteDock to Xero can sometimes take a while. Minutedock is also more expensive compared to similar Xero time-tracking apps. Also, it might not be ideal for businesses that don’t use billable hours.

   Learn more about MinuteDock

   Key Features

   • Project, task, or client-based time tracking
   • Manual or time-based tracking
   • Ability to generate billing invoices based on hours worked
   • Reporting and analytics

   Pros

   • Good customer service
   • Client invoicing

   Cons

   • More expensive than other apps
   • Difficult to integrate with Xero

   Pricing

   Starts at $19/month + $9/additional user Trial: Yes Free Plan: No

4. 

   Deputy — Good for simple time clocking and tracking

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android

   

   Deputy is a time-tracking app that offers an employee time clock/tracking, manager approval and oversight, and time verification. Its compliance features ensure your team takes required breaks and helps you manage overtime. Additionally, I appreciate that you can use GPS facial recognition and location stamps to ensure your employees are clocking in and out from the appropriate locations.

   While Deputy integrates with Xero, setting up the integration can be tricky. Also, at times the system can be a bit laggy, which I find can make accurate time tracking challenging.

   Learn more about Deputy

   Key Features

   • In-app clock-in feature
   • GPS and facial recognition
   • Compliance features
   • Live updates about who’s working when and where

   Pros

   • Easy to use
   • Offers good customer service

   Cons

   • Difficult to integrate with other systems
   • Users report it can be laggy at times

   Pricing

   Starts at $4.5/user/month, for Scheduling or Time & Attendance Trial: Yes — 31-day Free Plan: No

5. 

   TimeDock — Good for businesses wanting a mix of mobile and physical time-clocking

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android

   

   TimeDock is a Xero time clock integration that can turn any supervisor into designated time recorders. Employees can log in by scanning QR codes (barcodes), swipe cards, or key fobs against their supervisors’ phones. I appreciate how this can prevent time theft.

   TimeDock also sells clock-in hardware that can be installed at job sites. 

   Unfortunately, there’s a lack of automated reporting, which could increase the manual work required to keep everyone in the loop. And the clock-in hardware, which runs at least $300/device, may be too pricey for some businesses.

   Learn more about TimeDock

   Key Features

   • Kiosk capabilities
   • Real-time dashboard for managers
   • GPS tracking
   • Mountable hardware for onsite clock-ins

   Pros

   • Good customer support
   • Time theft prevention

   Cons

   • Lack of automated reporting
   • Costly hardware

   Pricing

   Starts at $38/month Trial: Yes Free Plan: Yes