7 Alternatives to QuickBooks Time (Formerly TSheets)

QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets) is Intuit’s time tracking software tool developed to help businesses streamline their processes. It’s a great solution for many small businesses already using Intuit products, but some businesses might find the cost is too high or that they want more employee tracking features.

If QuickBooks Time isn’t right for you, there are several excellent alternatives. 

Although time tracking can be an essential function for your business, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. A sole proprietor who hires freelancers has different needs than a company that manages salaried employees and paid time off (PTO). 

Some QuickBooks Time competitors offer all-in-one solutions, while others focus on time tracking. Finding the best time tracking app means looking for the best software to fit your business. 

What is Time Tracking Software?

Gone are the days when employees used paper time cards to clock in and out of work each day. Using paper timesheets in 2020 could be costing your company. 

Here is where time tracking software comes in—improving human resource management and your bottom line.

Time tracking software records the amount of time that your employees work with a computer (or phone) rather than paper. Whereas time cards merely allow business owners to track time, software can also help you pay employees and monitor productivity.

Most time tracking software providers offer a range of features that can assist with project management, productivity analysis, and employee monitoring. 

In addition to monitoring overall productivity, time tracking software can help you identify personnel issues such as excessive absence and tardiness.

QuickBooks Time in a Nutshell

Intuit created QuickBooks Time, which means it’s designed to integrate nicely with their other products. For the multitude of companies already using QuickBooks, this makes QuickBooks Time particularly useful. 

The QuickBooks Time app is available for both Android and iOS, and also has a web-based option. 

It offers timesheet management, an employee database, and workforce management features. 

Even though this platform is a well-known time tracking app, it doesn’t automate time tracking. Manual time tracking can be time-consuming and inaccurate. Customers also report difficulty with tracking how much time is spent on each client.

QuickBooks Time starts at $8 per month, per user. While this pricing model is simple, it can quickly become expensive for small businesses.

What to Look For in QuickBooks Time Competitors

When choosing QuickBooks Time alternatives for your time tracking software, consider the following:

• What software you already use
• What tools your employees use every day
• What business priorities you need help with
• What features you need in addition to time tracking
• How easy it is to use 
• What kind of customer service options are available
• Whether you have salaried employees or freelancers

The right software for you should integrate with your existing tools and workflows. 

Some QuickBooks Time alternatives shared here focus primarily on time tracking. Other apps include employee monitoring, productivity, or expense tracking features. You may also want to consider whether you need to export your timesheets and invoices directly to Excel or other software.

Ultimately, your business priorities will help you choose the best app for you.

QuickBooks Time Competitors

Best for Companies with Primarily Office Employees:

1. DeskTime

DeskTime is built to help teams increase their productivity levels and eliminate manual data entry. 

Notably, DeskTime boasts the ability to increase employee productivity by up to 30% in the first week of use. Some features, like URL tracking, can help minimize the time employees spend on social media. DeskTime offers accurate time tracking and insights into individual employee productivity.

DeskTime lets managers keep an eye on hours for all of their employees, who can also view their hours on the platform. It also includes helpful features, such as productivity and efficiency calculators. While automatic real-time tracking provides several benefits, constant monitoring can hurt employee morale. Be sure to choose the employee monitoring features that work best with your human resource policies. 

Since DeskTime focuses on automatic time tracking, it can be challenging to make manual changes or customize productivity categories for each user. Therefore, it’s ideal for teams that need to track billable hours accurately and have multiple employees with similar roles. 

Best for Blue Collar Service Businesses:

2. Hourly

Hourly is more than just a time tracking software. It’s a people platform. In addition to tracking time, small business owners can also use Hourly to manage payroll, which you can link to your workers’ comp policy to pay your bill automatically. At the end of the day, you’re going to save money because your workers’ comp will be tied directly to your actual payroll. 

In fact, Hourly is the only QuickBooks Time alternative that offers time tracking, payroll, and workers’ comp together. All of these tasks can now be seamlessly managed from your phone. 

Hourly also offers GPS tracking, flexible payroll options, and the ability to create custom rules — such as 8-hour workdays and 30-minute lunch breaks. They also offer flexible payment options and automatic tax filing.

Additionally, Hourly helps customers stay compliant with labor laws with tools like:

• Custom workday rules 
• Lunch break reminders
• Automatic break opportunity logs

The web and mobile app offer a user-friendly design and digital time clocks. Employees can easily switch tasks and access their total hours worked, as well as their pay stubs.

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Best for Small Businesses with Basic Needs:

3. Clockify

Clockify offers a freemium model without any limits on the number of users. Instead, customers pay for certain features when they use Clockify. The basic version of Clockify includes productivity tools such as a Pomodoro timer and automatic idle detection.

Clockify is a QuickBooks Time alternative most known for its free basic tier. Its biggest strength lies in its project management features, including subtask creation and project templates.

Additionally, Clockify is easy to use with different workflows. The app also provides reports for easy invoicing. Since it lacks payroll and native invoicing capabilities, Clockify is best used in conjunction with other software. Here’s the good news: with over 50 integration options, you can most likely fit Clockify into your team’s existing processes. 

Best for Business with Multiple Office Locations:

4. Hubstaff

Hubstaff is a time tracking and employee monitoring software that offers features like payroll integration and team scheduling. 

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Hubstaff’s employee monitoring features include mobile GPS tracking, URL and app monitoring, and screenshots. These tools let business owners see the productivity of their employees’ online time.

According to user reviews, Hubstaff’s customers note their user-friendly design and ability to customize their tracking with features and integrations. Business owners can keep track of team members in different cities, though customers have reported trouble working with different time zones and currencies. Furthermore, the automatic screenshot feature allows for productivity monitoring. 

While Hubstaff is well-reviewed for its design, customers report trouble accessing monthly features and some of the integrations can be finicky, making it difficult to pull in time records from other project management software.

Ultimately, Hubstaff is ideal for remote companies that want productivity insights for each team member.

Best for Businesses with Long-Term Clients:

5. Harvest

Harvest is a QuickBooks Time alternative that includes project management, team scheduling, and business insight features. 

Harvest streamlines business processes and provides insights on high-level productivity. In addition to time tracking, it also tracks payroll and expenses. The app offers recurring invoices and online payment options.  Customers like Harvest’s accessible time tracking features and comprehensive expense tracking. 

On the other hand, Harvest treats every time entry as part of a project, making it difficult for businesses that have frequent one-off tasks or customer interactions. Although the software is easy to use, it should be noted that they do not offer live customer support. 

Harvest is best-suited for small to medium businesses that are looking for a time and expense tracking solution. 

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Best for Companies with Employees that Work from Home:

6. TimeDoctor

TimeDoctor is a time tracking software that helps remote companies track time for employees that work from home. 

TimeDoctor includes several features to ensure the productivity of remote employees, making it a unique QuickBooks Time alternative. These include attendance tracking, break tracking, and off-track reminders to keep employees focused. TimeDoctor has features that help business owners stay more hands-off, including employee reminders and productivity nudges.

Some users report that the user interface is not always intuitive, and companies working with Linux OS report several difficulties with TimeDoctor. TimeDoctor is best used by remote companies that want to track the productivity of work-from-home employees.

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Best for Large Businesses:

7. TimeCamp

TimeCamp’s features include project management, collaboration, and profitability monitoring. The app is easy to set up, and automatic time tracking eliminates time spent on manual data entry.

One of TimeCamp’s most notable features is its profitability per project calculations. Profitability reporting allows business owners to identify which projects have the highest bottom-line impact. 

In user reviews, customers say they also enjoy the budgeting features and easy integrations with other software. TimeCamp’s user interface lets you easily switch between different projects and tasks.

TimeCamp’s desktop app and time clock are not as intuitive as the web interface, and some advanced reporting features require extra time to learn. Additionally, some customers report issues with canceling service or changing their subscription level. 

TimeCamp is an excellent solution for businesses that want more team management features.

Final Thoughts: The Best QuickBooks Time Alternatives 

When it comes to time tracking tools, several QuickBooks Time competitors might work better for your small business. With the right time management software, you can increase data accuracy, productivity, and profitability. 

With so many options, there’s a straightforward path to finding the best tracking system for your business. It’s just a matter of taking some time to figure out your top priorities.

Time management software is especially helpful for businesses that have remote or mobile teams. Learn more about how Hourly’s mobile time tracking can improve your business today.