Best Agency Time Tracking Software in 2024
Agency time tracking software helps monitor and manage time, enhances project planning, and boosts overall productivity.
Join us as we explore the best tools for time tracking and their key features and benefits.
List of the Top Agency Time Tracking Software
- Productive — best for all-in-one agency management
- Harvest — best for time and financial management
- Time Doctor — best for employee performance management
- Everhour — best for integration with PM software
- Clockify — best for smaller teams
- Timecamp — best for automatic time tracking
- Hubstaff — best for idle detection
- Rescuetime — best for activity tracking
- Paymo — best for project management
- Wrike — best for resource allocation
- TSheets (QuickBooks Time) — best for integration with QuickBooks
- Tmetric — best for smaller agencies
- Toggl — best for streamlined time tracking
- Workamajig — best for advertising agencies
- Scoro — best for creative agencies
1. Productive – All-in-One Agency Management Tool
Productive is an all-in-one agency management tool.
It combines a number of powerful features that include: time tracking, project management, billing, reporting, budgeting, resource planning, sales and docs.
With Productive, you’ll gain a 360-degree view of your agency’s operations and the insights needed to make data-driven decisions.
You can track billable hours, manage budget burn, handle client billing, and get custom, detailed insights on all of the above.
In Productive, the ability to tie invoicing and detailed estimates and project deliverables: that’s kind of been the secret sauce.
Let’s explore Productive’s key features in more detail:
Time Tracking
Time Tracking was made to be easy with Productive.
There’s a built-in time tracker that you can start from your tasks. Once you stop the timer, your time is automatically transferred to your timesheets, depicting actual hours spent working on projects.
There’s also a desktop widget if you want to stop switching through various tabs to find your timer.
Alternatively, there’s also manual entry, and you can even pin specific entries to help you create them more easily.
Project managers can differentiate between billable and non-billable time, approve entries all at once or individually, and lock timesheets for editing at a certain time to ensure data accuracy.
Finally, if you use the Resource Planning module, you can also turn on automatic time tracking, which automatically creates time entries that match your resource bookings.
Productive also has a Google Calendar integration, which can be used to turn calendar events into time entries that are associated with particular clients.
Time Off Management
Productive also includes integrated Time Off Management. You can assign various categories of time off across specific employees or departments and handle requests through the platform.
Employees can also get an overview of all their time off categories and allocated days used vs. remaining to be used, with a file sharing option.
Productive includes various HRIS integrations, including BambooHR, CharlieHR, Personio, Breathe, SAP SuccessFactors, and more.
Budgeting and Billing
Stay on top of your project budgets with Productive’s Budgeting feature. You can build and manage budgets of various types, including fixed-price, time & materials, recurring, and hybrid.
Monitor real-time insights into budget burn and forecast your budget overruns (as well as profit margins and revenue) based on employee cost rates, scheduling, and tracked time.
There’s also overhead and expense management for actionable insights into profitability.
With Billing, you can pull budgeting data to invoice billable hours or remaining budget amounts, send invoices from the platform, and track your payments. Productive also has a built-in Xero and QuickBooks integration.
Project Management
With Productive’s Project Management feature, you can manage and collaborate on daily tasks and complex projects from start to finish. You can open unlimited projects and break them up into individual tasks or to-dos that can then be assigned to people.
Project views can be switched up according to preference, including Kanban, Gantt, Calendar, List, Workload, and more.
All of the project-related communication can be done in the comments, so you can be sure nothing is lost along the way. You can also set up no-code Automations to make your workflows more efficient.
Resource Planning
With the Resource Planning feature, you can see who can take on more work and who might be overbooked.
This makes future project planning a lot easier, you can plan your capacity ahead of time and take into account vacations and time off. Team leaders can easily see who’s available for projects, as well as visualize and forecast utilization for improved strategic planning.
Reporting
With the Reporting feature, you can create flexible reports that give insights into your agency’s overall business health. They can be built from templates or completely from scratch.
This includes reports such as:
- Estimated vs. actual time
- Billable utilization
- Profitability per client
- Project progress
To share your reports, you can build custom dashboards and manage user access, or set up automatic sending (to Slack or email) with Productive’s Pulse.
Additional features include: Sales CRM, Docs, Client Portal, Revenue Recognition, Purchase Orders
Pricing
- Plans start with the Essential plan at $9 per user per month, which includes essential features such as budgeting, project & task management, docs, time tracking, expense management, reporting, and time off management.
- The Professional plan includes custom fields, recurring budgets, advanced reports, billable time approvals, and many more for $24 per user per month.
- The Ultimate plan has everything that the Essential plan and Professional plan offer, along with the HubSpot integration, advanced forecasting, advanced custom fields, overhead calculations, and more for $32 per user per month.
You can go for a free 14-day free trial before you decide to check out a paid plan.
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2. Harvest – Comprehensive Time Tracking App
Harvest is a comprehensive time tracking and invoicing solution designed specifically for agencies and freelancers. With Harvest, agencies can easily create detailed reports and streamline their billing process.
Key features:
- Accurate time tracking with a user-friendly interface
- Detailed reporting for insights on project progress and profitability
- Integration with popular project management tools
- Efficient invoicing and expense management
Users like Harvest’s robust reporting capabilities that help agencies gain insights into project performance. It also offers integrations with third-party tools that enhance the overall workflow efficiency. Some users said that Harvest lacks advanced project management features compared to some other tools in the market, so you might want to consider some Harvest forecast alternatives.
3. Time Doctor – Employee Performance Management Solution
Time Doctor is a solid time tracking and productivity management tool that allows agencies to monitor their team’s activities, track time spent on tasks, and analyze productivity levels (read our take on Time Doctor alternatives too).
Key features:
- Real-time tracking of team activities and time spent on tasks
- Automated screenshots for accurate monitoring and accountability
- Integration with popular project management tools
- Comprehensive productivity reports and analytics
Time Doctor has advanced monitoring features that ensure transparency and accountability within the team. It also has productivity reports help identify areas for improvement. Some customers voiced their concerns that the extensive monitoring capabilities might raise privacy concerns for some team members.
4. Everhour – Integrates With Various PM Tools
Everhour is a user-friendly time tracking tool that seamlessly integrates with various project management platforms. It enables agencies to track time, estimate project budgets, and manage team schedules effectively.
Key features:
- Simple and intuitive interface for effortless time tracking
- Advanced budgeting and cost tracking for projects
- Integration with popular project management tools
- Resource scheduling functionality
Everhour has an easy-to-use interface that makes it convenient for agencies to adopt and implement. It also has a robust budgeting feature that helps agencies keep projects on track and avoid cost overruns. Users said that Everhour has limited reporting options compared to some other tools in the market.
5. Clockify – Free Time Tracking Solution
Clockify is a free time-tracking software that offers agencies basic time tracking functionality and enables them to analyze project progress, track billable hours, and manage timesheets.
Key features:
- Simple and straightforward time tracking capabilities
- Detailed reports and timesheet management
- Integration with popular project management tools
- Basic client invoicing functionality
Clockify has a free version available, making it a cost-effective solution for small agencies with limited budgets. It also has a clean and user-friendly interface for easy time entry management and reporting. Some users said that it has limited advanced features compared to some other paid tools. The free version has certain limitations on the number of users and projects.
6. Timecamp – Automatic Agency Timesheet Software
Timecamp is a comprehensive time tracking and project management solution that offers agencies an array of features to monitor and optimize their workflow, including time tracking, task management, and invoicing.
Key features:
- Automatic time tracking with a desktop and mobile app
- Task management and project collaboration functionalities
- Invoicing and expense tracking
- Integration with popular project management tools
Timecamp offers a wide range of features that cover time tracking, project management, and invoicing needs. But at the same time the extensive feature set may require some time for new users to fully understand and utilize.
7. Hubstaff – Idle Time Tracking Tool
Hubstaff is a robust time tracking and freelancer tracking solution that provides agencies with tools to track time, monitor productivity, and manage remote teams effectively.
Key features:
- Real-time activity monitoring and screenshots
- GPS tracking for remote employees
- Integration with popular project management tools
- Invoicing and payroll management
Hubstaff offers advanced employee monitoring features ensure productivity and accountability. It also has GPS tracking that helps agencies manage remote teams and their attendance. The high level of monitoring team time may create trust issues.
8. RescueTime – Good Activity Management Solution
RescueTime is a time tracking and productivity management tool that helps agencies understand their team’s online habits, identify distractions, and optimize their focus on important tasks.
Key features:
- Automatic time tracking for websites and applications
- Detailed reports on time usage and productivity levels
- Goal setting and progress tracking
- FocusTime feature to block distracting websites
RescueTime provides insightful reports and helps eliminate distractions and improve productivity. Some users said that is has limited project management features compared to other tools on the market.
9. Paymo – Solid Productivity Tool
Paymo is a comprehensive project management and time tracking tool that offers agencies a range of features, including task management, time tracking, team collaboration, and invoicing.
Key features:
- Task management and project planning capabilities
- Time tracking with accurate time reports
- Team collaboration and communication tools
- Client billing and expense tracking functionalities
Paymo is an all-in-one solution for those looking for project management and time tracking solutions. It offers seamless integration of time tracking data with project management features. The interface may feel overwhelming for new users due to the extensive feature set.
10. Wrike – Good Digital Agency Project Management Software
Wrike is a popular project management software solution that includes time tracking capabilities, enabling agencies to plan, track progress, and manage their projects efficiently. It’s a good choice for those working in the creative industry or media marketing.
Key features:
- Project planning for client projects
- Time tracking and resource management
- Collaboration and communication tools
- Advanced reporting and analytics
Wrike offers robust project management features combined with time tracking capabilities. The advanced reporting helps agencies gain insights into project performance and team productivity. The learning curve for new users might be steep due to the comprehensive feature set.
Find out more about Wrike and its key competitors: Wrike vs Trello, Wrike vs Asana, Wrike vs Airtable, Wrike vs Notion.
11. TSheets – Fair Employee Productivity Tool
TSheets, now known as QuickBooks Time, is a timesheet software designed to help agencies efficiently manage their workforce, track time, and streamline payroll processes.
Key features:
- Mobile time tracking with GPS location tracking
- Employee scheduling and shift management
- Integration with popular payroll software
- Comprehensive reporting and payroll management
The GPS tracking feature allows agencies to track employee location, particularly for field-based work. The seamless integration with payroll software simplifies the payroll process. The focus on employee scheduling may overshadow other project management features. Learn more about QuickBooks vs Netsuite.
12. Tmetric – Time Tracking Software for Smaller Agencies
Tmetric is a time tracking app that provides agencies with features to monitor time spent on tasks, analyze productivity, and generate detailed reports.
Key features:
- Desktop and mobile time tracking applications
- Productivity analysis and detailed reports
- Integration with popular project management tools
- Offline time tracking
The offline time tracking feature ensures accurate tracking even without an internet connection. Tmetric’s intuitive interface and seamless integration with other tools enhance usability. The lack of advanced project management features compared to some other tools in the market.
13. Toggl – Simple Solution for Time Management
Toggl is a simple yet powerful time tracking software that offers agencies an easy way to track time, generate reports, and analyze project profitability.
Key Features:
- One-click time tracking with a user-friendly interface
- Detailed reports and project analysis
- Integration with popular project management tools
- Billable hours tracking and invoicing
Toggl has an intuitive and straightforward interface for effortless time tracking. The comprehensive reports provide valuable insights into project progress and profitability. Users say that the advanced project management features are relatively limited compared to some other tools.
14. Workamajig – Advertising Agency Time Tracking Software
Workamajig is described as a project management solution for creative agencies.
Key features:
- Time tracking
- Project management
- Resource planning
- Budgeting and billing
Although Workamajig has a good range of features for delivering client projects successfully, including time tracking and budgeting, the user interface is usually an issue with users. Despite being geared towards creative agencies, a review states that: “The design is incredibly dull and made it hard to motivate a creative team to use the platform to track time” (Capterra).
For a more modern solution, check out some Workamajig alternatives.
15. Scoro – Solution for Creative Agency Time Tracking
Scoro is a comprehensive platform for managing billable rates and keeping track of time.
Key features:
- Time tracking
- Project management
- Sales CRM
- Invoicing
Scoro is similar to Productive because it offers more robust tools for business growth. However, it lacks team collaboration in tasks, which means that you’ll need to use it alongside task management solutions. Scoro alternatives like Productive can do this in a single platform.
What Is Agency Time Tracking?
Agency time tracking refers to the process of recording and monitoring the time spent by employees or contractors within an agency on various tasks, projects, or client work. It involves tracking hours worked, tasks performed, and projects completed by individuals or teams in an agency setting, including software development companies, marketing businesses, consultancies, and production companies.
Benefits of Time Tracking for Agencies
The purpose of agency time tracking is to:
- Accurately measure and manage the utilization of resources
- Allocate and monitor costs
- Evaluate employee productivity
- Improve project management and billing processes
Implementing Tools for Tracking Time
Agency time tracking systems can be implemented through various methods, including manual timesheets, electronic spreadsheets, dedicated software applications, or integrated project management tools. Implementing time tracking tools makes it easier for managers to get reports on utilization rates, time spent working on projects and project profit.
What Is the Best Platform to Track Time
Agency time tracking software has become an indispensable tool for modern agencies looking to maximize productivity, optimize project management, and ensure accurate billing.
The tools for agencies that we mentioned offer diverse features to cater to the specific needs of agencies. By using the right time tracking software, agencies can enhance efficiency, streamline workflow, and achieve greater success in their projects. Before you decide, you should asses your agency’s needs.
You might be looking for a tool that can create weekly timesheets, help track employee time, monitor employee productivity, or you might want a more comprehensive tool.
If you’re looking for an all-in-one agency management tool you should book a demo with Productive.
FAQ
How do I track my consulting hours?
You can track your consulting hours by using a time tracking system. Choose a tool that allows you to log your hours, specify the tasks or projects you are working on, and provide any additional details or notes. This will help you accurately record and manage your consulting hours.
What software should I use to track staff hours?
There are numerous software options available to track staff hours. Some popular ones include Toggl, Harvest, TimeCamp, Hubstaff, and RescueTime. These tools provide features such as timesheet management, task tracking, project tracking, and reporting to help you monitor and manage your staff’s working hours effectively.
What are the 3 types of timesheets?
There are different types of time sheets commonly used:
- Paper Timesheets: Traditional paper-based timesheets that require employees to manually record their working hours and tasks.
- Spreadsheets: Electronic timesheets created using software like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, where employees enter their time and tasks.
- Automated Timesheets: Web-based or software-based timesheets that automatically capture time data based on employee activity, such as logging into a system or using specific applications.
What is the #1 timesheet app for IT companies?
There isn’t a definitive “#1” timesheet app for IT companies, as the best choice depends on your specific requirements and preferences. However, popular options for IT companies include Productive, Harvest, and Clockify.
How do I choose the best time tracking software?
When choosing the best time tracking software, consider the following factors:
- Features: Assess the features offered by the solution, such as timesheet management, project tracking, reporting, invoicing, and integration capabilities. You should aim for a tool that can be used by the entire team. You might want a to check out tools with basic features and some with premium features.
- User Interface: Ensure the software has an intuitive and user-friendly interface to facilitate easy time tracking and reporting.
- Scalability: Consider whether the solution can accommodate your current and future needs as your business grows.
- Pricing: Evaluate the pricing plans and determine if they align with your budget and the value you expect from the software.
- Customer Support: Check the availability and quality of customer support provided by the software vendor.
What is the best developer time tracking software?
For tracking time specifically geared towards developers, you can explore tools like Jira, GitHub, or GitLab, which provide built-in time tracking features. Additionally, tools like Productive, Harvest, and Clockify also offer developer-specific integrations and features.
What is the best time tracking software for remote workers?
Many time tracking software options are suitable for tracking remote employees’ hours. Some popular choices include Productive, Toggl, and Timecamp. These tools offer features like remote tracking, activity monitoring, and collaboration features to support efficient time tracking for remote teams.
What is the best time tracking software for architectural firms?
Productive is one of the best architecture project management software solutions, with a set of features that support time management, collaboration and communication, easier client feedback, budgeting, and more.
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