Time tracking is an essential part of any working individual. Whether you are self employed or managing a team, it is important to monitor the hours you spend working to ensure you are compensated appropriately. There are a lot of time tracking softwares available, some with a ton of great features and others that are simply there to track time. Below you will find six of the best time tracking softwares that are currently available. Each software offers unique advantages and disadvantages outlined for your convenience.

The Top 7 Best Time Tracking Software For Consultants

  1. Bonsai – Best For Offering More Control Over Time Trackers
  2. Harvest – Best for Invoicing
  3. Toggle – Best for Ease of Use
  4. ActiTIME – Best for Project Management
  5. Time Doctor – Best for Freelancers
  6. Clockify – Best for Integration Options
  7. Beebole – Best for Reporting

1.  Bonsai – Best For Offering More Control Over Time Trackers

Best Time Tracking Software For Consultants

PRICING: Invest in the Starter plan Bonsai by paying a collective annual payment of $204.

Manage your consulting business better by using a time tracker to record your working hours. The timer works automatically so that you don’t have to remember the time you work each day. It is also possible to pause the timer once you get off from work.

The main benefit of Bonsai‘s trackers is that you can enjoy more control. For instance, the platform lets you set an hourly rate for different projects or clients. You can also use the data to generate invoices to get paid faster by customers.

Bonsai also has accounting and project management features to make your subscription worthwhile. The best thing is you can also integrate Bonsai with other time-tracking programs. You may need this option for syncing your old data to Bonsai if you are changing your time trackers.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Receive original time reports for ongoing projects to manage your hours better
  • Customize the rates for each customer
  • Send invoices using email or the direct client portal of Bonsai
  • Track your expenses and income to manage your finances
  • Grow your consultant business by using workflow automation of this software to enhance productivity

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Fast loading time
  • Multiple integrations
  • Low pricing
  • Suitable for small to large businesses
  • Invite collaborators to track their time and unbilled hours
  • Offers more security

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Its free account is very limited

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2. Harvest – Best for Invoicing

PRICING: Free for one person or $12 a month per person

Harvest is a lot more than just a time tracking software. It allows you to truly see what your employees are doing to best figure out what you’ll need to do in the future. They offer reports for budgeting, team capacity (seeing if someone on your team may be overworking), and analyzing the time spent on projects and tasks. This alone can provide a wealth of knowledge that you otherwise may not have seen. Harvest also offers integrations with PayPal and Swipe which allows you to pay invoices.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Time tracking
  • Offers access from your phone, browser, or desktop app
  • Offers reminders to help stay consistent
  • Reporting and analytics
  • Invoicing
  • Payment integrations
  • Automatically copy invoices to Quickbooks or Xero

REASONS TO BUY:

  • 30 day free trial
  • Monthly and yearly payment options (up to 10% off for yearly)
  • Burnout monitoring capabilities

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Best suited for small service companies


3. Toggle – Best for Ease of Use

PRICING: Free for up to 5 users, Premium is $18 a month per person

Toggle is designed for ease of use in mind. It doesn’t take much to get started with using the software to track how long each task takes you to do. It integrates with a lot of applications to make tracking easier. It’s ease of use and simple flow make it a top contender for time tracking. Toggle truly shines when it comes to keeping track of users and their tasks. However, if you’re looking for software that can do way more than time tracking, then you may need to keep looking. While Toggle offers a ton of features, it doesn’t do much outside of keeping track of the tasks, how long it took to complete them, and the budgeting for that time.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Reporting and analytics
  • Budget planning
  • Offers access from your phone, browser, or desktop app

REASONS TO BUY:

  • 30 day free trial
  • Monthly and yearly payment options (up to 10% off for yearly)
  • Lots of integrations
  • You can schedule a 30 minute personalized demo of the software
  • Has a browser add-on to integrate with other applications

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Does not have many features other than time tracking


4. ActiTIME – Best for Project Management

PRICING: Free for up to 3 users, $7 a month per person

ActiTIME truly shines when it comes to project management. It makes planning and sharing tasks easy to do. They have a focus on transparency when it comes to project tracking, making it easier for users to understand and meet goals. ActiTIME is a big help when it comes to paid time off and over-time. They also allow for comments on weekly timesheets, making the conversation between the user and management much easier when odd entries appear. Another great thing about ActiTIME is that they will work with you to create features that you need, but at a cost. Nonetheless, it’s wonderful to have a software that is so eager to be everything you need and more.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Reporting and analytics
  • Project tracking
  • Billing and invoicing
  • Team management
  • Notifications
  • Over-time tracking based on your state
  • PTO management
  • Has security features

REASONS TO BUY:

  • 30 day free trial
  • Monthly and yearly payment options (up to 20% off for yearly)
  • Offers online or self-hosted options
  • Has a mobile app
  • Offers a chrome extension
  • Several integration options
  • Will work with you to create features specific to your needs, for a fee.
  • Offers a discount for nonprofit organizations

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • The free plan has very limited features


5. Time Doctor – Best for Freelancers

PRICING: $7 a month per person

Time Doctor is a well used software by big and small companies alike. It tracks users’ website visits to help best monitor productivity, which can be a big topic for many people. Time Doctor backs this feature by stating that it is there to help management best see exactly how long tasks take for future knowledge. They also have a feature that will alert users when the computer has been idle for a significant amount of time. For anyone who wants more control over analyzing how time is spent, this is the software for you.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Reporting and analytics
  • Project tracking, management, and budgeting
  • Payroll and invoicing
  • Distraction alerts
  • Automatic or manual time entry options
  • Has security features
  • Activity tracking

REASONS TO BUY:

  • 14 day free trial
  • Lots of integrations
  • Ability to customize
  • Burnout monitoring capabilities
  • Has a mobile app
  • Monthly and yearly payment options (about 10% off for yearly)

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Mobile app tracking doesn’t always work
  • To access all features you need to be a Premium subscriber
  • The mobile app is only available to Android users


6. Clockify – Best for Integration Options

PRICING: Free

Completely free with no cap on users. However they do add more features for a fee. The cost depends on what you are interested in. They offer administration, timesheet and billing, productivity and profit, as well as control and security options. The features listed below are only for the free version of this software as that is the main focus of Clockify. It is also important to note that their activity tracking feature will collect a ton of information for each user, including their location. You do have the ability to manage what information is gathered in the privacy settings though.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Reporting and analytics
  • Calendar with time management, holiday, and PTO input features
  • Dashboard with user status and activities
  • Project tracking, management, and budgeting
  • Expense reports and tracking
  • Timesheet notifications
  • Hourly rates individualized per user
  • User management permissions
  • Scheduling planning
  • Activity tracking

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Has a mobile app
  • Lots of integrations

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • The mobile app doesn’t always work
  • No invoicing feature


7. Beebole – Best for Reporting

PRICING: $6.99 a month per person

Beebole prides itself on flexibility and security. It hosts a range of features that are key to tracking time efficiently. They allow users to clock in and out from any device, which can be very helpful when there are unexpected issues on your device. A feature to note is the ability for management to input users schedules. This makes clocking in and out easier as the user has a guide, while also making timesheets simpler for management.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Reporting and analytics
  • Project tracking
  • Team management
  • Automatic reminders
  • Overtime tracking
  • User management permissions

REASONS TO BUY:

  • 30day free trial
  • Monthly and yearly payment options (about 10% off for yearly)
  • Offers a discount for NGOs and schools
  • Has a mobile app
  • Lots of integrations
  • 11 language options

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • No invoicing feature
  • Help center only has basic information

References and Links

  • https://timeanalyticssoftware.com/time-tracking-for-consultants/
  • https://biz30.timedoctor.com/consulting-time-tracking-app/
  • https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-time-tracking-apps-for-freelancers/
  • https://www.getharvest.com/
  • https://toggl.com/
  • https://www.actitime.com/
  • https://www.timedoctor.com/
  • https://clockify.me/
  • https://beebole.com/