Freelancers are flexible individuals when they manage their time effectively. However, the brunt of oversight and accountability lies on your own shoulders – until the time comes to deliver on your promises to your clients.
Effective time management will really come into play here. When done correctly, it can help achieve best results with some time to spare.
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Meeting deadlines all the while working from home or while on the move is not an easy feat. You don’t want to tarnish your reputation with a few mishaps and late project submissions. Time tracking – especially while working online – is something that you need to consider doing.
Time tracking software is available to use that will make your every second count. Lets not forget this software can help minimize the chances of under-invoicing clients and will keep you in check when deadlines are just around the corner.
We’ve talked to freelancers working in variety of industries, and inquired them about some time tracking tools they use. Here is a list of popular software that have received the most positive reviews.
Time Doctor
Applicable for remote teams and businesses. Time Doctor is a time tracking app that saves on average, $37,000 annually in lost time.
Time Doctor tries to keep you accountable for every second you spend working online. Pop-up alerts will alert the user when he or she enters time-wasting websites.
You will have access to daily time reports which disclose how effectively time was used throughout the day. Productivity goals may be set before commencing work; you will be alerted when you reach or exceed them.
Time Doctor also has an easy-to-use dashboard which makes tracking and analyzing your time easy. See what websites use up the most of your time and how distractions are impacting your schedule.
Pricing:
The tool can be used for free, but it will come with some limited functionality. Unlimited functionality comes at $9.99 per month, per user.
Pros:
- Very simple to use;
- Provides incredibly detailed reports about how you and your team spend time online. Very useful when it comes to managing a remote team;
- Integrates well with variety of other online tools such as Zappier, Basecamp, and GitHub.
Cons:
- Some may find it a nuisance being reminded to stay off of social media channels, even when necessary.
Toggl
As the name implies, Toggl is a great time tracking software for freelancers who “toggle” between multiple projects.
This simple productivity tool makes quick work of tracking work hours and generating efficiency reports. Productivity reports are simple to understand and can be delivered straight to your email.
There is a feature that tracks all your online activity and analyzes each second you spend online – whether it’s useful or a time sink. Be sure to set this feature up that it’s on during your work hours for best productivity analysis.
Pricing:
There is a free trial, however the software itself is not free to use. Three payment plans are available. Starter plan is $9 per month while the premium plan is $18 per month.
Pros:
- Has a convenient browser extension for you to use. Available on Firefox and Chrome;
- Very easy to set up, and many freelancers claim that Toggl is the least intrusive application while still providing productivity-boosting guidance.
Cons:
- You need to set up tracking yourself so it can be activated during specific work hours.
Clockify
Free to use, no questions asked time tracking software with freelancers in mind. While Clockify is great for freelancers, it also offers time tracking capabilities for businesses and remote teams.
Clockify has time tracking, project timelines, and even budget tracking. Clients can also be segregated to their corresponding projects so each timeline and budget stays neatly organized with minimal overlap.
Time sheets can be created a week or even a month in advance. This can help you get organized and be more in tune with your daily workflow.
Pricing:
Clockify is free to use – forever. There are paid plans as well, starting at $10/month. Premium price is $30/month.
Pros:
- Very simple and intuitive to use;
- Can assess project expenses and track budgets.
Cons:
- The dashboard is a bit cluttered.
Hourstack
Great platform to help you better understand how precious time is used and what projects are on the to-do list.
Hourstack provides you with a unique way to create and manage your work schedule. Rather than being presented with calendars, you will see time squares that each project occupies. Those squares will grow in size, depending on how much time the project will take to complete.
Color coding is another neat feature. Utilize color coding to create priority color schemes to signify importance of upcoming tasks. You may add labels to squares for notes, and set up time allotted to each work day.
Great visual reminders will show you when you have exceed the proposed time limits. The time will turn red on the bottom of the screen once you have reached overtime on any single day.
Multiple people can work on the same Hourstack dashboard. This helps get a better visualization of what the team is working on at any given moment.
Pricing:
There is a free trial for you to use to see if Hourstack is the right time tracking tool for you. Once the free trial expires, there are 3 plans to choose from, each with corresponding benefits –
$5.60 – Made for a single user to track their time and manage projects;
$12.00 – Time tracking, live chat support, and with a team-centered dashboard;
$29.00 – All what the other 2 plans offered, plus additional integration with popular online business tools and even a dedicated server.
Pros:
- Unique way to view and manage daily tasks and long-term projects;
- Comes with a mobile application;
- Guests can view the dashboard – can be handy when working with clients.
Cons:
- Something to get used to at first. It’s not like other time management tools.
Ayoa
If you’re looking to make every second of your precious time count – no punt intended – you may want to consider using Ayoa. This is not only a time tracking tool, but an overall productivity booster.
Though its not related with time tracking, something no other time tracking software had was mind maps. Create and manage your ideas effectively. This is especially useful for freelancers when new projects begin rolling in quickly and you need to start getting your thoughts organized. Even your clients can participate in the mind map creation so their vision matches your end result.
As you progress through your outstanding tasks, you have the option of switching from mind maps to your tasks. Get a glimpse of how your thoughts reflect onto the actual work being done. Are you staying committed to your vision?
Now since we are talking about time tracking apps, Ayoa has excellent time tracking functionality. Manage your due dates; assess your performance and productivity based on past and current accomplishments and time frames.
Pricing:
Prices will vary based on how you want to be billed and how many users will be using the platform. All the functionality remains the same regardless of payment selected. It starts at 11 Euro / month per 1 user.
Pros:
- You have the option to creating very helpful mind maps. Clients can help here too;
- Easy to use all-in-one project management platform;
- Chat option. If the need arises, communicating with others on the platform is simple.
Cons:
- A lot of functionality may be too much for some. It’s the same price for all available functions, no other payment plans available.
Rescue Time
A pure-bread browser-based time tracking app.
As the name implies, Rescue Time is there to rescue your precious time from being wasted on useless sites – at least while you should be working. This platform is good to get time assessments for yourself as a freelancer; it also works with groups and large businesses.
There is an option to set up alerts for when you stray away from the task at hand. Social media sites will trigger a warning that you need to get back to being productive. Good news is is that it lets you configure these alarms yourself, in case social media use is part of your daily work schedule (i.e. digital marketing.)
You have absolute control over what gets tracked and what Rescue Time overlooks. Daily productivity results will be presented to you once the work day concludes, allowing you to gauge just how focused you were throughout the day.
Pricing:
Rescue Time has a free-for-life options for you to use. There are also $6/month plan for solo workers, as well as $6/month per user for organizations. These options provide offline time tracking as well as customized alerts, and unlimited historical data.
Pros:
- Great alert customization options, won’t be bothered by unnecessary alerts at the wrong time;
- Weekly productivity summaries emailed to you.
Cons:
- Lacking some integration options.
Tick
One think that makes Tick stand out from the rest is its pricing model. Tick charges users based on the amount of project they are working on instead of a flat monthly fee like many other applications.
Tick allocates timers to specific projects you’re working on, and tracks your work against the budget of each project. If you’re working on a few projects at once, you can toggle between different timers as you switch from task to task. Great way to keep your billable hours in order for each client that demands your services.
Pricing:
Tick offers a free month trial, before you need to commit to a specific payment plan.
As mentioned before, Tick pricing model is based on the amount of projects you’re looking to track at any given moment.
Tracking 1 project at a time is free.
Up to 10 projects – $19/month;
Up to 30 projects – $49/month;
Up to 60 projects – $79/month;
Unlimited projects – $149/month.
All the pricing options – even the free version – allows the software to be integrated with Basecamp.
Pros:
- Great way to track your time against a client’s budget;
- Multitasking support, so you can switch between different projects and track billable hours accordingly.
Cons:
- Pricing model is unique, though may end up costing more than other time tracking apps if you work an a lot of different projects.
Klok Desktop Application
The more you use Klok, the more useful it becomes. Here’s what I mean by that: Klok Desktop Application assesses all your previously accomplished tasks and gives you time-to-completion estimates on all similar future projects. Can really come in handy when you need to give approximate deadlines to new clients.
All the time you spend with Klok active can be easily categorized. This will give you a nice break down on how you sped time throughout the day. Track phone calls, video conference length, social media usage, and compare to see what modes of communication are most time efficient.
“Klok Desktop Application” is different than “Klok Team Console”. Desktop application is strictly for personal use; gives you personal productivity reports day-by-day and project timeline estimates.
Pricing:
Klok has a free trial, however if you decide to stick with it, you’ll have to fork over $19.99. It’s a one-time payment.
Pros:
- Accurate project timeline projections based on previous work;
- One-time payment method. No need to worry about monthly payments;
- Perfect for solo freelancer, who’s working on a lot of similar tasks.
Cons:
- Timeline projections may be inaccurate if you work on different types of projects across different industries.
As we tick to a close on the time tracking software review
Remember, at the end of the day, time tracking software allows employers and employees alike to stay on top of tasks. With the number of folks working from home also on the rise at the moment, I hope this list provides some great insight.
Happy shopping around and three cheers for increased productivity!