A time recorder app helps you save time and money and avoid payroll errors. Here’s our round-up of the best time recording apps for 2023.

Manual time recording is tedious and error-prone. Paper timesheets are not always precise and it’s easy for employees to forget to complete them at the end of a busy day.

What’s more, a rogue employee might be tempted to fudge the numbers or even ask a colleague to complete their timesheet for them in their absence. 

That’s where a time recording software comes in. This digital solution increases payroll accuracy while reducing the risk of errors or time theft. A time recording app also gives you insights into how your employees spend their time and where you can improve efficiency. 

But not all time recording apps are equal. To help you find the best solution for your business, here’s our guide to the top 9 time recording apps for 2023.

If you don’t have the time to read through our research, jump down to our quick comparison table.

Our Top Picks

  1. Best all-in-one time recorder

    Learn more
  2. Businesses with both office and remote employees

  3. A simple time recording solution

What to Look For in a Time Recording App

When choosing a time recording app or time tracker, here are some features to look for. 

  • One-click time recording. Simple functionality means your employees are more likely to use the app. 
  • GPS tracking. This helps you see which job site your remote employees are clocking on and off from. 
  • Reports. Reports allow you to understand your employees’ time data beyond payroll. They help you identify and address inefficiencies within your workflows. 
  • Ease of use. Usability encourages employee uptake. Your time recording software should also complement your existing software and workflows. 
  • Scalability. A time recording app needs to grow with your workforce. Check pricing to make sure the subscription remains affordable as you hire new employees.
  • Transparency. Employees don’t appreciate being surveilled. A time recording app should balance tracking your employees’ work time with respecting their privacy.

The 9 Best Time Recording Apps of 2023

  1. Best for: All-in-one time recorder

    Available on

    • Web
    • iOS
    • Android

    We built Connecteam’s time recording app to make your time-tracking and payroll processes easy and error-free. Convenient for your employees, it also saves you time and money. 

    Our time recording app automates your time tracking. You can keep track of the hours your employees spend on specific projects, jobs, or clients. This overview is available via a desktop dashboard or mobile device so you can see your employees’ hours in real-time. 

    With our notifications feature, you’ll know if an employee clocks in late for a shift. To avoid this, you can set daily reminders in the app so employees don’t forget to clock on. 

    GPS Tracking

    Connecteam includes GPS tracking with maps integration so you know exactly where your employees clocked in and out. Our smart geofencing capabilities allow you to limit employees to only be able to clock in and out while at the job site, eliminating opportunities for buddy punching. 

    Live GPS tracking while employees are on the clock also allows you to keep an eye on your team. This is especially relevant for lone workers who often work by themselves or security teams. 

    Overtime management

    Our time recording timesheet app also helps you manage labor costs. You can set overtime alerts to know when an employee is about to start working overtime. 

    Fully customizable

    The app also offers a level of customization. You can use the time-recorder feature specifically for time tracking or as set timesheets. You can also change permission settings depending on who you want to access the app. 

    Built-in communication

    If an issue arises, you can communicate directly with your employees from the time-recorder view and resolve it on the spot. Connecteam offers a built-in chat that can quickly be accessed from anywhere within the app. Managers can create smart chat groups based on employee characteristics such as teams, shifts, seniority, and many more.

    One-click time recording

    From your employee’s perspective, our time recording app is easy to use. It only takes one click for them to clock on and off. They can do this from their desktop or mobile app when out in the field. 

    The time recorder also allows employees to add notes to a shift. These may include specific updates or mileage to help with later expense claims.

    Time off management

    With our time-tracking software, you can easily track work hours, overtime, double-time, breaks, paid time off (PTO), and unpaid leave. The data you collect can be automatically entered into a timesheet. You can then export this data to your payroll application. You can be assured that the payroll data is accurate and you’re paying your employees correctly. 

    Employees can also make and you can approve requests for time off via the app. 

    Stay compliant

    Connecteam also helps you stay compliant. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to keep certain records. These include employee timesheets. Our time recording app creates a record for the FLSA, you, and your employees for full transparency. 

    We also included an auto reports feature for extra insights into your employees’ time. This helps you identify any inefficiencies in your processes and increase productivity. 

    Connecteam is a great time recorder solution for businesses of all sizes. You can rest assured your employees’ time is being tracked accurately and transparently. This reduces the opportunity for time theft and the risk of later payroll errors.

    Key Features

    • GPS and integrated maps display
    • Automated reminders
    • Overtime alerts
    • Job or project reports
    • Intuitive timesheets
    • Absence management

    Pros

    • Intuitive, easy-to-use interface
    • Stored time cards are FLSA-compliant
    • In-app communication to immediately resolve any scheduling issues
    • Free lifetime plan available for up to 10 users

    Cons

    • GPS feature not available with the free plan

    Pricing

    Starts at just $29/month for the first 30 users Free 14-day trial Free plan available

    14-day free trial, no credit card required

    Start your free trial
  2. Good for: Businesses with both office and remote employees

    Available on

    • Web
    • iOS
    • Android
    Screenshot of Clockify’s website showing how to log in from a shared device.

    Clockify offers time recording, reporting, and project management features. 

    The time recorder allows employees to clock in and out from their own or shared devices. They can also edit their hours manually. To help manage client budgets, the app lets you distinguish between billable and non-billable hours.

    Employees can use Clockify’s timesheets to enter activities and submit timesheets for approval. It also allows you to generate reports by user, day, or activity for productivity insights. These reports can then be shared with your clients to update them on projects and budgets. 

    The app also includes several features to help with project management. You can set timelines for projects and quickly see which team member has capacity. You can also check a project’s performance by comparing planned and actual time. 

    Clockify also lets you manage employee timesheets. You can approve or deny requests for time off and expense claims via the app.

    Learn more about Clockify

    Key Features

    • Kiosk for employees to clock in and out from a shared device
    • Scheduling to see your team’s capacity for a project
    • GPS tracking
    • Invoice creation using tracked hours

    Pros

    • Over 80 integrations with apps including QuickBooks, Asana, and Trello
    • Online tutorials available to learn the product

    Cons

    • Per-user pricing can add up for larger businesses
    • GPS tracking only available with higher-tier subscriptions

    Pricing

    Starts at $3.99/month per user Free Trial: Yes Free Plan: Yes

  3. Good for: Businesses looking for a simple time recording solution

    Available on

    • Web
    • iOS
    • Android
    Screenshot of Toggl Track’s website showing its time-tracking feature.

    Toggl Track is a time recording timesheet app for teams of all sizes, from freelancers to enterprises. It emphasizes empowering teams, rather than micromanaging them. 

    With it, you can accurately track employee hours and view them in a calendar format. This helps you manage project budgets and bill clients accurately.

    One-click time recording encourages employee uptake. Offline tracking is also available so employees can clock in and out offline and later sync their hours.

    Toggl Track lets you set billable and non-billable hours. Payroll errors are reduced due to its exportable payroll timesheet data functionality. It integrates with accounting and project management software, including Asana, Jira, and Airtable. 

    Toggl Track has a strong anti-surveillance policy. It doesn’t include any employee monitoring features, such as GPS tracking or screen recording.

    Learn more about Toggl Track

    Key Features

    • One-click clock on and off
    • Offline tracking
    • Both desktop and mobile apps
    • Pomodoro timers

    Pros

    • Intuitive interface
    • Offers a 30-day free trial

    Cons

    • No GPS tracking
    • Users report the desktop interface is more user-friendly than the mobile app

    Pricing

    Starts at $9/month per user Free Trial: Yes Free Plan: Yes

  4. Good for: Accountability features

    Available on

    • Web
    • iOS
    • Android
    Screenshot from Buddy Punch’s website describing several key features.

    Buddy Punch streamlines your time recording activities. With it, you can record employee attendance, overtime, PTO, and unpaid time off. 

    It incorporates a range of accountability measures. These include the ability to assign IP addresses to your remote workers as well as GPS and image tracking. This gives you full control over how your employees sign in. 

    The app’s job codes and location features let you know exactly where your employees are and what they are working on. 

    Buddy Punch’s complementary scheduling features help you create and share schedules. The automated payroll system uses employees’ time recording to generate reports for payroll. This allows you to accurately pay your employees in just a few clicks. 

    The app offers 3 subscription tiers – Standard, Pro, and Enterprise.

    Learn more about Buddy Punch

    Key Features

    • PTO tracking
    • Facial recognition for clocking in and out
    • Overtime calculations
    • Job costing reports

    Pros

    • Mobile app available for iOS and Android
    • Easy product to become familiar with

    Cons

    • Scheduling features are only available with higher plans
    • Does not offer phone support, only chat and email

    Pricing

    Starts at $19/month + $2.99 per user Free Trial: Yes Free Plan: No

  5. Good for: Nonprofits and the education sector

    Available on

    • Web
    • iOS
    • Android
    Screenshot from Harvest’s website showing its time-tracking software.

    Harvest offers a way to time record across multiple projects. From this, you can generate reports for extra insights into how your team is spending their time. This leads to more effective project management. 

    With Harvest, you can set custom reminders so your employees don’t forget to clock on and off. You can also update your budget based on your time recording to see when you’re at risk of going over budget.

    Harvest also offers an invoicing feature to generate invoices based on your time recording. It supports integrated payments with platforms such as Stripe and PayPal, so clients can pay your invoices straight away.

    Learn more about Harvest

    Key Features

    • One-click time recording
    • Invoicing
    • Reminders
    • Mobile app

    Pros

    • Discounts on paid subscriptions for teams with over 50 employees, non-profits, and the education sector
    • Custom reminders to help with compliance

    Cons

    • Per-user pricing adds up for large businesses
    • Fewer integrations than other apps

    Pricing

    Starts at $10.80/month per user Free Trial: Yes Free Plan: Yes

  6. Good for: Automated time tracking

    Available on

    • Web
    • iOS
    • Android
    Screenshot of TimeCamp’s website explaining its automated time recording.

    TimeCamp’s automated features track employees’ time without interrupting their workflow. For example, the one-click tracker automatically turns off when an employee isn’t working. Employees can also set keywords so that the app intuitively switches between tasks or projects.  

    TimeCamp’s time recording features allow you to track time for increased profitability. Timesheets can be submitted and approved via the app. 

    Complementary features include billing and invoicing. The app lets you create invoices based on timesheets, applying the relevant tax rates. 

    The app also helps you with project budgeting. You can input billing rates and the budget for a project and set notifications for when you’re nearing that budget. 

    TimeCamp also offers a Chrome extension so you can time record from Trello or Asana. There are over 100 integrations with other apps including Airtable, Google Docs, and Notion.

    Learn more about TimeCamp

    Key Features

    • Time recording with timesheet and calendar views
    • Productivity tracking
    • Over 10 built-in types of reports
    • Automatic reminders

    Pros

    • Automated time recording features
    • Free plan for unlimited users

    Cons

    • Invoicing features only available with higher subscription
    • Per-user pricing for paid plans adds up

    Pricing

    Starts at $6.30/month per user Free Trial: Yes Free Plan: Yes

  7. Good for: Tracking onsite employees’ time

    Available on

    • Web
    • iOS
    • Android
    Screenshot of QuickBooks Time’s website showing its time kiosk.

    Accounting software QuickBooks offers a time recording solution called QuickBooks Time. 

    This time recording timesheet app lets employees easily clock on and off via the web or their desktop or mobile device. 

    It also helps managers quickly see who is working where. GPS tracks your employees’ locations when they are clocked on. This is ideal for finding the right person to send to a last-minute job. It’s also an easy way to track mileage for expense reports. 

    The app includes a digital time kiosk for onsite workers to clock in and out. You can set this up on a device in a central location, for example near the office entrance.

    QuickBooks Time offers complementary scheduling features, including automated schedules. Its time recording and scheduling features sync with accounting software. 

    Free setup and training are included in all their subscriptions.

    Learn more about QuickBooks Time

    Key Features

    • Mobile app with GPS
    • Geofence time tracking to remind employees to clock in or out when entering or exiting a job site
    • PTO tracking
    • Scheduling features

    Pros

    • User-friendly app
    • Unlimited live support offered with all subscriptions

    Cons

    • The pricing model can become expensive, especially for large businesses
    • Mileage tracking only available with the top subscription

    Pricing

    Starts at $10/month + $8 per user Free Trial: Yes Free Plan: No

  8. Good for: Extensive customer support

    Available on

    • Web
    • iOS
    • Android
    Screenshot of Hubstaff’s website showing its online timesheets feature.

    Hubstaff is a workforce management solution. Some of its features include time recording, reporting, and payments.

    You can start tracking time easily according to project, task, client, or location. The app also lets you automate time-tracking features. For example, you can set notifications for when an employee clocks in late or out early. 

    Generating timesheets from this data for review and approval is straightforward. This helps your managers understand how employees are using their time. From this, they can refine work processes for better productivity. 

    You can access Hubstaff’s time recording features via its app or Chrome extension.

    Learn more about Hubstaff

    Key Features

    • Online timesheets
    • Geofence time recording
    • One-click time recording
    • Automated timesheets

    Pros

    • 24-hour support is available—excluding the free version
    • Can be used across all devices

    Cons

    • The free plan only allows for 1 user
    • Insights reporting feature available as an extra add-on

    Pricing

    Starts at $5.83/month per user Free Trial: Yes Free Plan: Yes

  9. Good for: Employee privacy

    Available on

    • Web
    • iOS
    • Android
    Screenshot of Timely’s website showing its drag-and-drop timesheet builder.

    Timely’s time recording features can reduce time recording admin by up to 75%. This is done via automated time recording. The app captures user data in the background rather than by setting a timer. 

    Timely’s memory app captures each tool or program an employee uses. They can then drag and drop these tracked time entries into a timesheet template and share it with their manager. 

    Managers can view time recording on Timely by hours and performance according to project or team.

    Timely emphasizes individual privacy rather than surveillance. It doesn’t include screenshots or keystroke monitoring. The information it collects is given directly to individual employees to build their timesheets. In turn, this helps them to better understand how they work and ways to improve their productivity.

    Learn more about Timely

    Key Features

    • Project time recording
    • Team time recording
    • Automatic reminders
    • Calendar view

    Pros

    • Easy-to-use, drag-and-drop interface
    • Timely’s emphasis on user-level privacy builds trust with employees

    Cons

    • Some integrations, such as Monday and ClickUp, are still in development
    • In-app support only available with higher subscriptions

    Pricing

    Starts at $8/month per user Free Trial: Yes Free Plan: No

Compare the Best Time Recording Apps

Topic
Reviews
4.8
4.7
4.7
4.8
4.6
4.7
4.7
4.6
4.7
Pricing
Starts at just $29/month for the first 30 users
Starts at $3.99/month per user
Starts at $9/month per user
Starts at $19/month + $2.99 per user
Starts at $10.80/month per user
Starts at $6.30/month per user
Starts at $10/month + $8 per user
Starts at $5.83/month per user
Starts at $8/month per user
Free Trial
yes
14 days
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
Free Plan
yes
Up to 10 users
yes
yes
no
yes
yes
no
yes
no

What Is a Time Recorder?

Time recorders keep track of when an employee arrives and leaves work. They also track the time an employee spends working on a particular project, task, or for a specific client. This information can then be used for payroll and invoicing purposes. 

Historically, this was done manually with a pen and paper or punch clock. Now, time recording apps do this electronically.  These track employee hours, as well as absences, breaks, and time off. They typically distinguish between billable and non-billable hours too. Most can be accessed via a desktop as well as a mobile device.

How Does a Time Recorder Work?

A time recorder—or time recording app—tracks the hours an employee works via the web or a desktop or mobile app. Some apps require the employee to manually start and stop the time recorder. Others automate time recording, with the app recording an employee’s actions in the background. 

This information can be used for a range of purposes. time recording apps typically use it to generate timesheets for manager approval. It can also be used to create bills or invoices for clients. 

Many time recording apps offer extra features such as

  • integration with scheduling and payroll features
  • reports that offer insights into how employees or teams are using their time
  • GPS tracking to ensure your employees are clocking in from the right job site.

The Benefits of a Time Recorder

Time recording apps digitize your time recording, saving you time and money

Many time recording apps link with both payroll and invoicing or billing. The accuracy of these apps and automated features reduces the risk of payroll or billing errors. 

Time recording reports can also help you identify and address any inefficiencies in your organization. With the insights these reports provide, you can streamline workflows

Compliance is easier with a time recording app. For example, the FLSA requires employers to record employees’ hours. An app automatically generates the required time reporting to ensure you stay compliant. 

Time recording apps can also help you monitor your employees’ well-being. Tracking their hours helps you to identify employees who may be overworked and at risk of burnout

Overall, these benefits contribute to increasing your business’ productivity and profitability.

How Much Does a Time Recorder Cost?

The price of time recording apps varies. Many providers charge per user. Some start at around $4 per user. But even at a low price, this pricing model can quickly add up, especially for larger businesses.

Some providers also offer time recording features as add-ons. This can also add up as you’re required to subscribe to the main app and then pay extra for time recording functions. 

That’s why we believe Connecteam offers excellent value for money. Connecteam’s free-for-life subscription allows for up to 10 users, making it ideal for small businesses. Our basic plan is only $29 a month and allows for up to 30 users.

FAQs

How do you record time?

You can record your employees’ time manually on paper or on a digital time recording app. It’s typically quicker and more accurate to use a time recording app. Digital time recording also reduces the risk of errors or hard copies going missing. 

What is the meaning of time recording?

Time recording involves employees recording their work hours. This is typically done on a timesheet, either in hard copy or digitally. This information is used for payroll and billing purposes. It can also give you insight into how your employees are spending their time and identify any inefficiencies in your workflows.

Is there an app to track hours worked?

There are several apps designed to track the hours your employees work. We believe Connecteam is the best all-in-one time recording app. It allows you to easily and accurately record working hours across your organization. You can then rely on this data to produce timesheets, payroll reports, and invoices. 

The Bottom Line On Time Recording App

Are you still relying on paper timesheets or a punch clock? Then it’s time to make the switch to a time recording app. These apps make it easy to track your employees’ hours, breaks, and leave. They reduce the risk of payroll or invoicing errors. You can also improve your organization’s efficiency with the insights a time recording app provides. 

We believe that Connecteam offers the best all-in-one time recording solution. With its error-free time-tracking app, you can be assured the data you collect is accurate. Its other complementary features and design make it a popular choice for businesses across all industries.