Why Do Freelancers or Small Teams Use Time Tracking Software?
Being a freelancer or handling a small team is a very appealing work choice. Because in this digital era, they can operate projects from anywhere in the world at any time, thanks to technological advancement and widespread urbanization.
According to Upwork and Freelancers Union's sixth annual Freelancing in America report, "freelancing income totals approximately $1 trillion — or nearly 5% of GDP — more than major industries including building." It's no surprise that many want to abandon their office jobs to favor this more convenient lifestyle.
There is always the other side of a coin; working as freelancers or handling a small team can be burdening too. It necessitates self-discipline, good time management, and continuous client contact.
Many businesses, stakeholders, and investors choose to collaborate with freelancers or give their projects to teams. However, forming such a partnership is not easy. It's a continuous process in which you share various data types, such as how many hours you and your team spent working on a project, what estimated budget is required to complete future projects, metrics, and numbers.
You might quickly lose track of your company and lose clients if you don't handle it properly. That's where good time monitoring software comes in handy.
Here are the best time tracking applications for freelancers & small teams
to help manage their work and increase productivity:
The software is a simple, free time tracking software for freelancers & teams that blends time tracking with simple project management. It helps you to keep track of work progress, budget, and time spent on tasks.
- Automatic time tracking:
You can monitor your work with a one-click timer in the desktop app or on the web. You can also use the mobile app as a time clock thanks to GPS monitoring and geofencing.
- Manual time tracking and editing time entries: with this software, nobody can manually add or delete time entries.
- Billable time tracking: With online bill tracking software, freelancers and team managers can keep track of billable time for tasks and job forms. They can also keep track of your project budgets and create recurring budgets that reset every day, week, or month.
- Reports include: Work hours are compiled into customizable reports in Workstatus. You can view reports by week, team member, project, customer, timesheet, manual time edits, attendance, and location reports, as well as as a timesheet, manual time edits, and attendance reports.
- Different channels and integrations: the online software tool integrates seamlessly with hundreds of common tools and applications, allowing you to monitor time directly from the apps you already use. It's also available as a web application and a smartphone application (iOS, Android).
- Improve the accuracy of deadlines. With clear clarity of tasks down to the smallest detail, it's easy to estimate completion dates, throw in a few overdue items, and you've never had a more accurate time estimate. Unfinished daily tasks can be quickly quantified to adjust weekly and monthly deadline goals.
- Trial period: Free with other three options. Any package comes with a free 30-day trial period.
2. Hubstaff
Hubstaff is a basic management platform for independent teams and freelancers. The software helps them see what they are working on and where they are working on, thanks to activity tracking. Hubstaff is a good tool for working with a group and keeping track of each member's progress.
Unlike work status, Hubstaff Time Tracker is geared more toward clients than freelancers; but you can still use it.
- Automatic time tracking: On any platform, freelancers use the tool to track time with a one-click timer. It also keeps track of the team's activities using applications and websites.
- Billable time monitoring: The free edition includes simple budgeting and tracking of billable hours.
- Reports include: You will view all of your projects, including hours worked, the money gained, and expenses incurred. Apps and websites are also shown in the reports. Both reports are exportable and can be shared with clients or other stakeholders.
Trial period: available for 30 days.
3.TimeCamp:
TimeCamp is an entirely free time tracker that an infinite number of people can use. It combines the functions of a timer and a project management app in one app. The tool helps you manage all of your tasks in one location and capture all of your work-related data, including client information.
Automatic time tracking: Timecamp's desktop software has an automated time tracker that runs in the background and syncs with the web so you can see all of your data in real-time. It also detects idle time and keeps track of time spent on activities.
Keeping track of billable time: The team manager or a freelancer can monitor all of their expenditures and set billable rates for various projects. Budgeting allows you to stay on top of the finances and keep track of the progress.
Reports include: Extensive reports give a detailed breakdown of the activities. The software also reveals your positive and ineffective tasks, as well as your participation, time off, overtime, underperformance, client work, project work, and more.
Trial period: A 14-day free trial of TimeCamp is available.
4.Toggl
Toggl is a simple time tracking software for freelancers who want to keep track of their work hours spent on specific projects and tasks.
Automatic time tracking: Toggl's automated tracker is compatible with all platforms and add-ons. The online time tracking tool is also included in the desktop timer.
Billable time tracking: Only paid plans can monitor billable time.
Reports include: Toggl provides quick, colorful reports in various formats, including an overview, weekly details, and the ability to filter them by mission, project, customer, tag, or description. There are no timesheet reports available.
Trial period: After a 30-day free trial, you can either keep using Toggl for free with restricted features or subscribe to one of the three plans.
5.TopTracker
TopTracker is one of the few free time monitoring apps for freelancers & small teams that includes a wide range of features. It's a portable app that can be used anywhere. It's a hybrid of a time-tracking app and a payment-processing app designed especially for freelancers & small teams.
Automatic time tracking: TopTracker includes a web-based traditional timer. You can use the desktop app to track events and add descriptions and take screenshots and camera shots. It also has hotkeys that allow you to monitor time and start quickly and stop.
Billable time tracking: TopTracker helps you keep track of billable hours and keep an eye on the finances.
Reports include: TopTracker keeps track of the job in real-time and generates reports from it.
Different channels and integrations: Only a mobile or desktop app is available for TopTracker, but no other integrations are available.
Trial period: TopTracker has a free plan that you can use for as long as you want.
Conclusion
Time tracking apps for freelancers and small teams are somewhat of a personal assistant. Not only do they track time, which is especially helpful when you are working paid based on an hourly rate, but the software also helps in managing projects, accounting aspects of freelancing, or keeping all the data in one place.
In an excellent freelance time tracker, all components should be free, so you can flexibly use the app. It's also good to automatically track time, edit and add time entries, track billable time, and integrate the app with other software for more effective work.
And don't forget to look for a free trial to test all functionalities before you decide to invest in the tool.
Businesses quickly moved into remote work at the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic, and even many of those employers have decided to put that structure forward.As many businesses have understood, it is challenging to know if your remote employees are actually working properly or not.
With the proper tools, you can see when your employees are working and how long they are using on each project, but you may want to consider the pros and cons before undertaking any new process.There are few tools to help businesses, manage their remote workforce and inform what employees are doing during working hours.
These tools help you keep track of the proper activities of your employee and help you to grow your business.Here, We mentioned some best time tracking tools, you can use to improve business -DeskTrack: DeskTrack is a Time Tracking Software in which employees get detailed information about spending their time at work.
It helps you monitor your employees with its features like Web URL Tracking, Blacklist unproductive URLs, Activity Tracking, Apps and Screenshots, Login / Logout, Productivity, Unproductive Time and helps them know what they are doing during their working hours and helps to improve efficiency, skills, productivity from daily tasks to strategic leadership, and your business revenue.
See how you and your employees use their time during work, track time by projects, and automatically calculate their costs based on employees’ regular rates.
Once they clock in — which they can do from everywhere — they see a full list of their time entries.
Accountsight is the user friendly, productivity driven time tracking and billing software for businesses and freelancers.
Do you need help managing remote employees?
Employers can hire the best talent irrespective of location and save on office expenses.
Although hiring Remote employees has its advantages, it also has its own challenges.
Embed it on you site by copying and pasting the embed code below:Managing Remote Employees - 5 Keys to Improve ProductivityDo you need help managing remote employees?
It is particularly great for hiring workers in the US.
It avoids a lot of confusion caused due to the communication gap.
