Work time data collected in a time clock software can be used to analyze work process and reorganize it to achieve better results. This data also makes up for the lack of established practices and procedures: it reveals important dynamics and trends, providing decision makers with essential basis for possible changes and improvements.
However, many small businesses are reluctant to implementing special time clock software right away. The main reason here is cost – not all tools seem to be affordable. The good news is that there is a lot of free time clock software that works great at no cost. In this article, we’ve collected several helpful solutions for small teams and solo entrepreneurs.
1. actiTIME
actiTIME is a timekeeping and work management tool that helps businesses of any size optimize their work processes, ensure accurate billing, and get valuable data for making important business decisions. Its features include work and leave time tracking, calculating billable and payable amounts, issuing invoices, and managing project workflows. Being flexible and configurable, it can be adapted to any company’s or team’s needs. actiTIME is available both in the cloud and for hosting on the company’s own server, depending on the company’s data access requirements.
We reduced payroll processing to 45 minutes per week
actiTIME is very robust, integrated well into your business process, and most important, helps you focus on your business instead of monkeying around with technology. actiTIME has reduced our payroll processing from 4-6 hours per week to 45 minutes per week.
2. Time Clock Free
This solution allows to organize clock-in and -out, track work time, create shifts and schedules for employees, and run reports to get insights from the accumulated data. Time Clock Free eliminates the problem of “buddy punching” by supporting different clock-in and -out methods. QR code scanning, face recognition, web camera photo, or landline phone dial-in make this solution suitable for any work setups: offices, distributed teams, remote job sites etc. Paid option includes reports that help managers analyze work time data and manage attendance on their teams.
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3. Time Doctor
Time Doctor is a timekeeping solution that instantly improves productivity and focus. It tracks employees’ time spent on work and on unproductive activities, and provides employees and managers with detailed metrics of how time has been used. Statistical information helps identify inefficiencies and optimize work time structure. Time-track data can also be used for client billing. Besides, Time Doctor automatically takes screenshots to monitor employees’ activities. To increase productivity, the tool also allows to set up time use alerts and off-track reminders that pop up when employees use non work-related websites.
4. Homebase
Homebase is a comprehensive solution for managing team work time. Its features include scheduling, hiring and team communication tools that simplify the work management process. With Homebase, you can turn a workstation with a web browser, a tablet, or a smartphone into a time clock to keep track of your employees’ attendance. For mobile clock-in, managers can set up a radius within which an off-site clock-in is possible. iOS and Android apps work as time clocks in offline mode and log clock-in times even without an Internet connection.
5. OnTheClock
This punch-in and -out solution offers a convenient way for employers to keep track of their employees’ attendance. The tool works for both office and remote workforce, as it can be used from both desktop workstations and mobile devices. Mobile app allows to keep track of the employees’ clock-in locations and restricts the ability to punch in down to a specific radius. Managers can easily monitor their employees’ presence at the workplaces with a GPS punch-in location map and a who’s in list. Manual punch feature allows to edit employees’ clock-in entries, which is convenient when someone forgets to clock in. The tool is free for up to two employees and offers a full set of features in any plan.
6. Time Clock Wizard
Time Clock Wizard is a time clock and scheduling solution that streamlines time and attendance management in teams. It allows to create staff schedules, set up parameters and restrictions for clock-ins and -outs, and configure notifications when unscheduled clock-ins or clock-outs are attempted. The solution also features reports for payroll processing, paid time-off calculation, timesheet management, and schedule review. The free package offers basic functionality and allows you to manage up to three employees.
7. My Work Clock
A simple clock-in and -out app for Android devices that allows tracking work time with start and end timestamps. It calculates overtime and supports multiple jobs, allows to configure different work week schedules, and adds records to calendar. A home screen widget simplifies the clock-in and clock-out process. The app collects work time data, summarizes it in simple reports, generates a .csv file with the work time summary, and sends the file to the user’s email.
