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Track time in real-time with Hourly
Hourly collects time, task and location data from your workers and sends it to you in real-time. Need to organize hours by client, project or location? We make it easy.
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Hourly is an app you download onto your phone and your workers’ phones. That’s where the magic begins...
Time clock, tasks and locations
Workers open the app on their phone and tap clock in to start the timer. They select the task and location where they’re working and you get all of this information piped to your view in real-time.
GPS and location alerts
You can turn on GPS and geofencing settings to make sure your workers are where they say they are. You can even make sure they only clock in once they’re in the right place.
Time Clock Kiosk
Hourly lets you set up a time clock kiosk on an iPad. Employees can use it to clock in and out, take breaks and request time off. Each employee logs in with a PIN to keep things secure.
See it all in your view
How do you like real-time data at your fingertips? Hourly pipes in all of this time clock data to your phone as it happens. Now you can see who is working on what tasks, where they are, and your exact labor costs down to the penny by project, location, or worker.
Manual time entries
Not a fan of real-time tracking? We also support manual time entries, so you can quickly add in hours at the end of each day or week.
Easy exports
At the end of each pay period, you can download a report of hours, rate and wages so you can pay your team, create invoices, or do whatever else you need. All reports can be exported into Excel orPDF.
It’s better with Hourly Payroll
For an even smoother experience sign up for Hourly Payroll + Time Tracking and turn a day of payroll headaches into a few minutes of payroll bliss.
Unlimited runs, full-service payroll
Pay 1099’s and W2’s.
We report and file payroll taxes for you
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For on the go
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Time Tracking
Best Practices and Mistakes to Avoid
Contributor
6 min read
July 7,2020
At first glance, tracking employee time seems pretty straightforward. Your employees simply denote the hours they were at work on a timesheet, or punch a time clock and turn their time cards in at the end of the week or month. What could go wrong?
As it turns out, a lot. The ability to accurately track employee hours is one of the most important tasks a business undertakes. Timesheets and time cards provide invaluable data to your business regarding how efficiently you use employee time, your labor costs, and areas for productivity improvement.
For big and small businesses alike, finding ways to make your time tracking both easier for employees and managers is essential to improving margins, accurately bidding projects, and ultimately running a more successful company.
Time tracking trouble?
Employers have long relied on manual timecards to track employee work hours. Employees either clock in and clock out or they’re responsible for recording and reporting how many hours they worked and when. The manual aspect makes the process vulnerable to errors, miscalculations, and estimates.
In one 2018 survey, 44% of business owners reported that they regularly struggle with timesheet errors. An astounding 92% of the respondents reported that the errors were typically caused by the user. The biggest problem? Employees forgetting to record their time. That was followed by employees recording their time incorrectly or to the wrong job.
Fortunately, you can implement the following time tracking best practices to simplify your timekeeping and improve the accuracy of your labor costs.
Educate employees about time tracking
Time tracking poses a problem for some employees, but it can also be the least favorite part of a manager or supervisor’s job. Managers routinely have to collect all employee timecards or reports, check them for accuracy regarding billable time worked, overtime, and correct any errors. What seems like a simple task can take up hours each month or week, especially if managers have to keep track of employee time because employees aren’t good about reporting their work hours.
Time tracking software solutions like Hourly not only simplify time tracking for employees, but they reduce the workload for managers as well. Your managers will be able to automate their reporting, quickly find missing information and headquarter all the employees' time data in one place.
Avoid these 3 time tracking mistakes
It’s easy to keep doing things the same way. But when it comes to time tracking, finding small improvements and avoiding common pitfalls adds up to real savings. Sidestep these time tracking mistakes and you’ll add efficiency to your timekeeping system and improve the quality of your labor cost data.
Not collecting enough detail about employee work hours
There’s a fine line between trying to keep timecards simple and oversimplifying your data in a way that’s detrimental. For instance, employees should clock in at the beginning of each shift and clock out at the end, of course. But that’s just the basics.
Tracking breaks, lunches and regular work hours are required by federal law. Properly tracking over time is also essential. That not only ensures that employees get overtime pay but also allows your organization to better manage its resources and reduce overtime spending. You can even track hours to specific projects, job sites, and more.
Time tracking tools such as Hourly allow you to document a higher level of detail about your employee work hours. Then you can generate practical data you can use to make smarter decisions about your labor.
Not leveraging time tracking software features
You don’t have to be a tech wizard to benefit from time tracking solutions like Hourly. The platform provides multiple, easy-to-use features that enable your company to run more efficiently, and frankly, get more from your timecard reports. For example, with Hourly, you can:
- Know who’s working in real-time. Log in to the app and see who is on the job—and whether anyone is missing.
- Have employees clock in by location. With this feature, your employees can only clock in once they’re at the right worksite.
- Geofence jobs. The software can send you an alert if employees are not where they’re supposed to be during the workday.
- Set alerts for important issues. Hourly can send alerts if your employees head into overtime or switch work locations.
Not combining payroll, worker’s comp and time tracking solutions
All of these things are deeply related. By incorporating them into one solution you can reduce the time you spend, and improve your compliance with labor laws as well as documentation in all three areas. Hourly is the only small business solution that incorporates payroll, worker’s compensation and time tracking into one application.
You can simplify your paydays, running payroll for employees, contractors and freelancers with the click of a button. Integrating workers comp ensures that you and your employees are covered in case of an accident and ensures that your vital employee information is all in place. Add in time tracking and you’ve streamlined a significant component of your HR function.
FAQs
What is the best app to track employees hours? ›
The best time and attendance apps are When I Work, TimeClick, OnTheClock, Clockify and ADP. The best GPS employee tracking apps are QuickBooks Time, Timesheet Mobile, allGeo, Timeero and Hubstaff. This article is for small business owners looking into employee-tracking apps.
How do I track an hourly employee? ›- Pen and paper.
- Desktop or kiosk time clocks.
- Mobile apps.
- Geofencing and GPS tracking.
- Biometric clock-in.
- Browser plug-ins and URL tracking.
- Manual timekeeping — pen and paper.
- Time clocks or punch-in tools.
- Automated time-and-attendance solutions.
- Mobile apps.
- GPS clock-ins.
- Clockify: Best overall.
- TimeCamp: Best for remote teams.
- Toggl Track: Best for very small teams.
- Paymo: Best for invoicing.
- My Hours: Best for freelancers.
- Deputy: Best for scheduling employees.
- TrackingTime: Best for visual time tracking.
Clockify is the most popular free time tracking software that lets your employees track time they spend working on projects and tasks. Start tracking time — It's Free!
What are the 2 ways in tracking the work hours of an employee? ›- Manual Time Tracking. The easiest way to start if you're not doing any sort of time tracking is to start manually. ...
- Manual Timesheets. Manual timesheets are just a notch above manual time tracking. ...
- Time Tracking Software. ...
- Time Clocks. ...
- GPS Clock-In.
Clockify is a time tracker and timesheet app that lets you track work hours across projects. Unlimited users, free forever. Start tracking time — It's Free!
What app can I use for my employees to clock in? ›Your office and remote/offsite employees can clock in on their mobile phones or desktop computer using the Clockify time clock, and that way record their attendance and breaks. If someone forgot to clock in, they can add the missing time manually. Clockify is a web app, but it can also work offline.
Do employers keep track of hours worked? ›Yes. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers must keep certain records for nonexempt employees, including hours worked each day and total hours worked each workweek. Employers may use any time-keeping method they choose, including written time sheets, time clocks or automated time-keeping systems.
Who is responsible for tracking employee hours? ›This can be the use of timecards, paper timesheets, an old-fashioned time clock or any other system used by your employer. Tracking overtime hours is the responsibility of your employer.
What is the best clocking in and out app? ›
1) Sling. Sling tops the list of the best mobile time clock apps for two very important reasons: It offers powerful employee clock-in/clock-out and time-tracking features. It provides other tools that help you streamline a large portion of your scheduling, communication, and employee-organization work.
Is Clockify really free? ›Yes, it really is! Clockify is the only time tracker that's free for teams of all sizes. You and your team can use Clockify without ever paying a cent, even if you have hundreds of users! Use it as much as you want, for as long as you want, and we won't charge a cent.
How do I track my employees daily work? ›- Asana. Asana is one of the leading cross-platform task tracking and project collaboration apps on the market. ...
- Basecamp. ...
- Google Apps. ...
- DropBox. ...
- Rescue Time. ...
- Toggl. ...
- Remember the Milk. ...
- Evernote.
Clockify's basic version is free with the option to upgrade to a paid plan.
Is there a free timesheet app? ›Clockify is a free employee timesheet software with the features of time tracking, reporting, and simplified task management. It enables you to add as many users as you want in the free version. With this tool, you can see how many hours you and employees spend on work and what takes most of their time.
What is the best way to track time at work? ›- Measure working time using a timer - start tracking time when you start working on something and stop when you finish (or when you switch to a different activity).
- Add time manually later - approximate and enter all your time entries at the end of the day/week.
- Pen and paper. The old pen and paper. ...
- Digital time tracking templates. Tools like Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets are widely used to track employee hours. ...
- Time clocks. ...
- Time tracking app. ...
- GPS and location tracking. ...
- Monitoring tools.
While it will be legitimate for employers to monitor and test their network for cyber security reasons, if employers do not tell their staff that they are using productivity tracking systems, they are basically breaking the law.
How long does the IRS require you to keep payroll records? ›Keep all records of employment taxes for at least four years after filing the 4th quarter for the year. These should be available for IRS review. Records should include: Your employer identification number.
Can my boss make me show up 15 minutes early? ›See 29 C.F.R. secs. 785.14 and 785.15. So, if you specifically require your nonexempt employees to be at work 15 minutes prior to their start time, that time likely is considered working time under the FLSA, and you should pay them for that time spent waiting to begin work.
What happens if an employee does not submit a timesheet? ›
So, even though many companies rely on employees to complete timesheets or punch in and out with a time clock, the employer is ultimately the responsible party. This means that employers must pay all employees for all hours worked, even if they do not complete or turn in timesheets.
How do I know if my boss is tracking me? ›Additionally, check your contract to see if your employer mentioned monitoring or tracking software anywhere. The presence of such a clause confirms that your employer has installed some sort of a monitoring program on your computer. Other than that, there's really no sure way to tell if your boss is spying on you.
Are there apps for staff clocking in and out? ›The uAttend smartphone clock-in app is a quick and accurate way to track employees' attendance and also offer them greater autonomy. Suitable for both Android and iPhones, the app is perfect for remote or hybrid staff, multi-site workers and anyone who frequently needs to travel as part of their job.
What is better than Clockify? ›- Toggl Track.
- Harvest.
- Hubstaff.
- Time Doctor.
- Timely.
- TimeCamp.
- When I Work.
- TMetric.
- Timely. Timely is one of the best ways to get a sense for how your employees are spending their day. ...
- Connecteam. Connecteam does more than just track time; it's an all-in-one employee management app. ...
- Jibble. ...
- Toggl. ...
- Hubstaff. ...
- HoursTracker. ...
- When I Work.
Clockify is a simple time tracker just like Toggl, only it lets you have an unlimited number of users for free. Start tracking time — It's Free!
Does Clockify track your screen? ›Clockify has screenshot recording and location tracking features, but they need to be explicitly enabled by admins. When they're enabled, all users receive a privacy notification. Only mobile app collects location data (if allowed on device), and desktop app collects screenshots (if installed and running).
Does Clockify track your activity? ›Clockify will then track all active programs you use and websites you visit (only you can see this data — it's not available to workspace admins).
Can employers monitor your work from home? ›While working from home certainly offers more freedom and flexibility for many people, it also can come with more oversight than ever before. Your employer now can have “access to almost everything you do electronically, and monitoring software makes that data easy to collect and analyze,” reports The Washington Post.
How do employees use Clockify? ›- Create a free Clockify account.
- Invite employees by adding their email.
- Employee accepts the invite.
- Employee downloads a mobile app.
- Employee logs in and starts/stop the timer as they work.
How does Clockify work? ›
Everything in Clockify revolves around time entries. You track time you spend working on things and then analyze workweeks in reports. Clockify also lets you invite others, so you can track and analyze time together. When you start working, type what you're working on and start a timer.
How safe is Clockify? ›Completely safe. Your Clockify data is hosted on Amazon Web Services, so it's as secure as it can get. Our servers are protected both physically and electronically. Any connection between you and Clockify is protected by 256-bit SSL encryption.
Is there an app to keep track of work schedule? ›- My Hours: Best for running profitable projects.
- Timely: Best for visual task and project planning.
- Harvest: Best for invoicing time and materials.
- QuickBooks Time: Best with integrating with QuickBooks.
- Replicon: Best for complex setups and enterprises.
- Toggl Track: Best for simple time tracking.
- Create a to-do list.
- Set goals.
- Prioritize.
- Use dedicated time tracking apps.
- TimeCamp – FREE time tracking app and attendance management.
- Pulse – simple time tracker app.
- WorkLog – mobile time tracking app.
- focus booster – time tracking app for Pomodoro technique.