The best mobile time tracking apps for employees

Time is money when you are tracking worked hours of your global workforce.

Your team members are juggling projects and deadlines while trying to clock their hours accurately. Thankfully, there are tools that can make global employee management much easier.

In this article, we list the top five mobile time tracking apps, who they’re best suited for, and which one comes out on top.

Features of mobile time tracking apps and software systems for employees

To get the most out of your mobile time tracking system, look for these key features:

Clock in/out functionality

This is a basic but important feature that all employee time tracking apps should have. It supports employees to start and end their work time from their mobile phones.

This feature simplifies the process of tracking work hours so that employees don’t forget to log their time. Having accurate working hours is essential for payroll and determining how long each employee’s task takes.

Geolocation and geofencing

With more employees working remotely around the world, you want to know where your team members are during their working hours. Staying on top of your employees' geographical location helps you remain compliant with international labor and payroll laws. Geolocation features give you that extra bit of assurance and make managing teams easier. Project and task tracking

You can learn a lot if you know how much time your team members spend on certain tasks. From a project management perspective, you can better understand your team’s efficiency and make sure resources are used wisely. It can also help set realistic expectations for project timelines and budgeting.

Real-time reporting and analytics

Real-time reporting gives you instant access to up-to-the-minute information on work hours and attendance. You can use information from real-time reports to allocate resources, manage overtime, and ensure projects stay on track.

5 mobile time tracking apps and software for employees

We analyzed five leading mobile time tracking apps and software. Here's the scoop on how they work, their key features and ideal users, and pricing.

Check out this overview to explore your options to choose the best mobile time tracking apps for your business.

1. Remote: best all-in-one time tracking tool

Remote is a great all-in-one time tracking solution, offering precise time and attendance tracking no matter where in the world your team members are.

Employees can request time off through our mobile app that also flags local public holidays. Our mobile software also supports international payroll and benefits, making it that much easier for you to pay your employees accurately and on time.

Best for

Companies with a global workforce and businesses looking for a single platform to handle HR tasks.

Key features

• Global time and attendance tracking

• Integration with payroll

• Compliance with local labor laws in over 50 countries

• Employee self-service portal

Pricing

Remote's HR Management platform and mobile app with time and attendance features are free.

2. QuickBooks Time

QuickBooks Time is a cloud-based time tracking solution designed to simplify payroll and invoicing. Its GPS tracking features and real-time reports make tracking employee hours faster and more efficient.

Your team can submit their timesheets from anywhere using the QuickBooks Workforce app, while managers can instantly edit and approve several timesheets at once.

Best for

Business owners, accountants, and project managers looking for an efficient way to track employee time on the go.

Key features

• Real-time employee tracking and reporting

• GPS location tracking for on-the-go employees

• Time clock kiosk with facial recognition

• Customizable alerts and approval workflows

Pricing

QuickBooks Time offers a free trial. Paid plans begin at $9 per user per month plus a base fee, depending on the number of users and features needed.

3. Connecteam

Connecteam is an easy-to-use app designed for on-the-go teams that work away from desks. It lets employees clock in and out from their phones, making time tracking simple and quick. With the convenience of approving timesheets either individually or in bulk, you can save time and ensure your team is paid accurately and on time.

Within Connecteam, you can set break and overtime rules that align with local, state, and federal labor laws to stay compliant. The app also alerts you when an employee exceeds their overtime limits or when there is a scheduling conflict.

Best for

Any business that wants to make time tracking easy for workers who are always on the move.

Key features

• Clock in and out on a phone with updates in real-time

• GPS to show where employees clock in

• Reminders to clock in or out at the right place with geofencing

• Scheduling features for shifts and tasks

Pricing

Connecteam offers a free plan for smaller teams. Paid plans for larger businesses start at $29 per month.

4. Timely

Timely offers an automated approach to recording employees' work hours. Timely automatically captures data from other web and desktop apps so users do not need to manually record their worked hours.

Timely’s automated time tracking capability means you and your team have more time to concentrate on your work instead of filling in timesheets. It also ensures that no billable time slips through the cracks and your invoicing is accurate.

Best for

Teams looking for automated time tracking

Key features

• Automatic time tracking that captures every detail of your workday across different platforms

• AI-powered time entry categorization, reducing the need for manual sorting

• Real-time project and budget tracking to keep financials in check

• Advanced privacy controls to protect user data

• Seamless integration with popular tools and apps to consolidate work information

Pricing

Timely’s basic plan starts at $9 per user per month.

5. Toggl Track

Toggl Track is an intuitive app that makes sure you never lose track of how much time you and your team spend on different tasks. It’s a great choice for teams who need to know exactly how many hours they're working to ensure all billable and non-billable hours are accounted for.

This mobile time tracking app easily integrates with your employees’ daily routines without them having to continuously input their hours. It also has a meeting scheduling feature, which takes into account everyone’s availability and automatically adjusts for conflicts or priorities.

Toggl Track provides detailed reports for those keen on analytics. You get an overview of how much time is spent across tasks and projects. You can pinpoint where you could improve your company’s work processes and resource management.

Best for

Anyone who needs precise time tracking for client billing, from freelancers to large teams.

Key features

• One-click timers for instant time tracking

• 100+ browser and app integrations

• Calendar integration

• Detailed time reporting

Pricing

Toggl Track has a free plan for up to 5 users. Paid plans start at $9 per month.

Ensure accurate employee time tracking with Remote

There are plenty of mobile time tracking apps available for businesses of all sizes. If you're looking for a comprehensive time tracking tool, consider Remote. In addition to accurate time tracking, Remote’s full stack of features makes it easy to track your global team's attendance, timesheets, and leave requests — all from one consolidated platform. 

Our HR Management software also simplifies payroll and helps you stay compliant with international labor laws. Whether your team is in China or Cuba, are freelancers or employees, Remote helps you manage your global team. If you’d like to learn more about managing a remote team, check out our International Payroll Processing Guide. Or better yet, contact us for a demo of the Remote platform.

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