Karrin Sehmbi is an editor and content strategist on the small-business team. She has covered small-business software and lending since 2022 and has more than sixteen years of editorial experience in the fields of educational publishing, content marketing and medical news. She has also held roles as a teacher and a tutor.
Karrin Sehmbi is an editor and content strategist on the small-business team. She has covered small-business software and lending since 2022 and has more than sixteen years of editorial experience in the fields of educational publishing, content marketing and medical news. She has also held roles as a teacher and a tutor.
Sally Lauckner has over a decade of experience in print and online journalism. Before joining NerdWallet, Sally was the editorial director at Fundera, where she built and led a team focused on small-business content. Her prior experience includes two years as a senior editor at SmartAsset, where she edited a wide range of personal finance content, and five years at the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, where she held a variety of editorial roles. She has a master's in journalism from New York University and a bachelor's in English and history from Columbia University. Email: slauckner@nerdwallet.com.
Sally Lauckner has over a decade of experience in print and online journalism. Before joining NerdWallet, Sally was the editorial director at Fundera, where she built and led a team focused on small-business content. Her prior experience includes two years as a senior editor at SmartAsset, where she edited a wide range of personal finance content, and five years at the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, where she held a variety of editorial roles. She has a master's in journalism from New York University and a bachelor's in English and history from Columbia University. Email: slauckner@nerdwallet.com.
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Karrin Sehmbi is an editor and content strategist on the small-business team. She has covered small-business software and lending since 2022 and has more than sixteen years of editorial experience in the fields of educational publishing, content marketing and medical news. She has also held roles as a teacher and a tutor.
Karrin Sehmbi is an editor and content strategist on the small-business team. She has covered small-business software and lending since 2022 and has more than sixteen years of editorial experience in the fields of educational publishing, content marketing and medical news. She has also held roles as a teacher and a tutor.
Sally Lauckner has over a decade of experience in print and online journalism. Before joining NerdWallet, Sally was the editorial director at Fundera, where she built and led a team focused on small-business content. Her prior experience includes two years as a senior editor at SmartAsset, where she edited a wide range of personal finance content, and five years at the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, where she held a variety of editorial roles. She has a master's in journalism from New York University and a bachelor's in English and history from Columbia University. Email: slauckner@nerdwallet.com.
Sally Lauckner has over a decade of experience in print and online journalism. Before joining NerdWallet, Sally was the editorial director at Fundera, where she built and led a team focused on small-business content. Her prior experience includes two years as a senior editor at SmartAsset, where she edited a wide range of personal finance content, and five years at the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, where she held a variety of editorial roles. She has a master's in journalism from New York University and a bachelor's in English and history from Columbia University. Email: slauckner@nerdwallet.com.
NerdWallet's content is
fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness, and relevance by humans.
It undergoes a thorough review process involving writers and editors to ensure
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our
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Why trust NerdWallet
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NerdWallet's small-business software content, including ratings, recommendations and reviews, is overseen by a team of writers and editors who specialize in business software, including payroll, accounting and payment processing. Their work has appeared in The Associated Press, The Washington Post, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur, ABC News, Yahoo Finance and other national and local media outlets. Each writer and editor follows NerdWallet's strict guidelines for editorial integrity to ensure accuracy and fairness in our coverage.
Advertiser disclosure
You’re our first priority.
Every time.
We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with
confidence. And while our site doesn’t feature every company or
financial product available on the market, we’re proud that the guidance
we offer, the information we provide and the tools we create are
objective, independent, straightforward — and free.
So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us. This may influence
which products we review and write about (and where those products
appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or
advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our
partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products
or services. Here is a list of our partners .
Whether you’re self-employed doing client work on a freelance or contract basis, or you run a small business with multiple employees, you need to carefully track time to ensure accurate payment for work completed. That’s where time tracking software and applications can help. Some tools exist as standalone apps and others are built in to invoicing and accounting software. Our list of the best time tracking apps and software contains a variety of options to suit different small-business needs.
Why you can trust NerdWallet
250+ small-business products reviewed and rated by our team of experts.
95+ years of combined experience covering small business and personal finance.
75+ categories of best business software selections.
NerdWallet's small-business software content, including ratings, recommendations and reviews, is overseen by a team of writers and editors who specialize in business software, including accounting, payment processing and payroll. Their work has appeared in The Associated Press, The Washington Post, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur, ABC News, Yahoo Finance and other national and local media outlets. Each writer and editor follows NerdWallet's strict guidelines for editorial integrity to ensure accuracy and fairness in our coverage.
Stay in touch with clients through the FreshBooks mobile app and get notified when invoices have been viewed or become overdue.
Intuitive, customizable invoicing capabilities compete with those of more robust accounting solutions.
Track time and add billable hours to invoices in all plans.
Weekday phone support in all plans.
Cons
Highest-tier Select plan only comes with two users (additional users add $11 per month) and lower-tier plans put limits on billable clients.
Least expensive plan lacks double-entry accounting reports, bank reconciliation and accountant access.
FreshBooks is a simple and affordable option for freelancers and very small businesses that don’t require many users and prioritize being able to operate on the go via mobile app. It’s an especially inexpensive choice for those who can work within lower-tier plans’ billable client limits, and all plans include time tracking.
Stay in touch with clients through the FreshBooks mobile app and get notified when invoices have been viewed or become overdue.
Intuitive, customizable invoicing capabilities compete with those of more robust accounting solutions.
Track time and add billable hours to invoices in all plans.
Weekday phone support in all plans.
Cons
Highest-tier Select plan only comes with two users (additional users add $11 per month) and lower-tier plans put limits on billable clients.
Least expensive plan lacks double-entry accounting reports, bank reconciliation and accountant access.
FreshBooks is a simple and affordable option for freelancers and very small businesses that don’t require many users and prioritize being able to operate on the go via mobile app. It’s an especially inexpensive choice for those who can work within lower-tier plans’ billable client limits, and all plans include time tracking.
Best for Time tracking app with accounting software integration
Starting at
$20/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $40. Price increases with each user.
Promotion
50% off
for first three months or free 30-day trial.
Pros
Integrates with popular accounting software.
Mobile app for time tracking and approvals.
Both plans include phone and chat support.
Includes mileage and project tracking (in Elite plan only).
Cons
Monthly cost can add up quickly if you require access for multiple users.
This time tracking app by QuickBooks can be used as standalone software, but it also integrates with QuickBooks Online accounting software.
QuickBooks Time
Best for Time tracking app with accounting software integration
Starting at
$20/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $40. Price increases with each user.
Promotion
50% off
for first three months or free 30-day trial.
Pros
Integrates with popular accounting software.
Mobile app for time tracking and approvals.
Both plans include phone and chat support.
Includes mileage and project tracking (in Elite plan only).
Cons
Monthly cost can add up quickly if you require access for multiple users.
This time tracking app by QuickBooks can be used as standalone software, but it also integrates with QuickBooks Online accounting software.
ClockShark
Best for Construction time tracking software
Starting at
$40/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $60. Price increases with each user.
Promotion
14-day free trial
Pros
Integrates with several popular accounting and payroll apps.
Simplifies time tracking for crews and teams.
Scheduling tool to efficiently assign employees to jobs.
Includes job management and job costing features.
Cons
Monthly cost can add up quickly if you require access for multiple users.
ClockShark’s time tracking software has valuable features to serve a variety of industries, but it’s a particularly good fit for construction, contracting and other service-related businesses.
ClockShark
Best for Construction time tracking software
Starting at
$40/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $60. Price increases with each user.
Promotion
14-day free trial
Pros
Integrates with several popular accounting and payroll apps.
Simplifies time tracking for crews and teams.
Scheduling tool to efficiently assign employees to jobs.
Includes job management and job costing features.
Cons
Monthly cost can add up quickly if you require access for multiple users.
ClockShark’s time tracking software has valuable features to serve a variety of industries, but it’s a particularly good fit for construction, contracting and other service-related businesses.
Harvest
4.5
Best for Project-based time tracking software
Starting at
$0
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $13.75, $17.50 per user.
Promotion
30-day free trial
Pros
Offers a free plan (limited to two projects).
Advanced time tracking features, including integrations with Google Calendar, Slack, Asana, Trello and other project management tools.
Display billable hours by task, person or project on invoices.
Snap and upload photos of billable expense receipts with the mobile app.
Integrates with QuickBooks Online and Xero for accounting.
Cons
Invoice customization options are limited. Free users can’t add company logos to invoices, and Harvest offers only two templates (one PDF and one GDoc).
Payment integrations are limited to Stripe and PayPal.
Harvest wraps tools for time and expense tracking, invoicing and reporting in a single software solution. It integrates with populate accounting and business applications.
Harvest
Best for Project-based time tracking software
4.5
Starting at
$0
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $13.75, $17.50 per user.
Promotion
30-day free trial
Pros
Offers a free plan (limited to two projects).
Advanced time tracking features, including integrations with Google Calendar, Slack, Asana, Trello and other project management tools.
Display billable hours by task, person or project on invoices.
Snap and upload photos of billable expense receipts with the mobile app.
Integrates with QuickBooks Online and Xero for accounting.
Cons
Invoice customization options are limited. Free users can’t add company logos to invoices, and Harvest offers only two templates (one PDF and one GDoc).
Payment integrations are limited to Stripe and PayPal.
Harvest wraps tools for time and expense tracking, invoicing and reporting in a single software solution. It integrates with populate accounting and business applications.
Allows unlimited users with all but one plan tier.
Includes phone, chat and email support at all plan levels.
Cons
The majority of time tracking features are only available in the higher tier plans.
With several plan options, including a free one, Time Clock Wizard is time tracking software that can grow with your business.
Jump to
Our picks for the best time tracking apps and software
FreshBooks
Best accounting software with built-in time tracking feature
Price
$21 per month for the Lite plan.
$38 per month for the Plus plan.
$65 per month for the Premium plan.
Custom pricing for the Select plan.
Why we picked it: FreshBooks is one of our highest rated accounting software solutions. It’s also one of the more affordable tools on our list. The software is an especially solid tool for freelancers who need to easily track time for client work, generate invoices, collect online payments and keep accurate accounting records. FreshBooks’ built-in time tracking feature includes a timer to accurately keep track of your time, is available within the mobile app, and connects with popular work apps such as Asana and Trello.
Time tracking app with accounting software integration
Price
$20 per month plus $8 per user per month for the Premium plan.
$40 per month plus $10 per user per month for the Elite plan.
Why we picked it: Because this time tracking software is a QuickBooks product, it automatically integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks Online. It therefore likely makes most sense for businesses that already use or intend to use QuickBooks accounting software. Notable features include a mobile app for easily tracking and approving time, business insights and customizable reports, as well as unlimited access to customer support by phone and chat.
ClockShark
Best construction time tracking software
Price
$40 per month plus $8 per month per user for the Standard plan.
$60 per month plus $10 per month per user for the Pro plan.
Why we picked it: ClockShark is strong on features well-suited to the needs of construction and other service industries. This time tracking software includes tools for project management, job costing, crew scheduling, and time and attendance tracking. It also has the ability to integrate with a number of well-known accounting and payroll solutions, including QuickBooks, Xero and RUN Powered by ADP.
Harvest
Best project-based time tracking software
Price
$0 per month, 1 user, for the Free plan.
$13.75 per user per month for the Pro plan (or $11 per user per month billed annually).
$17.50 per user per month for the Premium plan (or $14 per user per month billed annually).
Why we picked it: Harvest makes NerdWallet’s list of best invoicing software for its strengths in time tracking and invoicing, particularly for project-based work. In addition to useful features such as automated time tracking reminders, a mobile app, and integration with team-related apps like Asana, Basecamp and Slack, Harvest enables you to dig into the details with reporting on time, budget and profitability. Harvest also integrates with Xero and QuickBooks Online, among dozens of other third-party apps.
Time Clock Wizard
Best scalable time tracking software feature
Price
$0 per month, unlimited users, for the Free plan.
$34.95 per month, unlimited users, for the Value plan.
$54.95 to $119.95 per month for the Pro plan. Pricing depends on the number of users.
$249.95 per month, unlimited users, for the Enterprise plan.
Why we picked it: For very small or startup businesses that anticipate growth and therefore need time tracking software that can scale, Time Clock Wizard may be a great fit. The company offers a free, albeit barebones, version of its software. But unlike the other products on our list, Time Clock Wizard allows an unlimited number of users at no additional cost for three of its four plans. The business software includes useful tools for employee scheduling, task management and payroll, along with a mobile app.
Seth David contributed to an earlier version of this article, which was first published on Fundera, a subsidiary of NerdWallet.
Last updated on April 25, 2024
Methodology
NerdWallet independently reviews accounting software products before determining our top picks. We collect the data for our software ratings from products’ public-facing websites and from company representatives. Information is gathered on a regular basis and reviewed by our editorial team for consistency and accuracy.
NerdWallet’s accounting software ratings favor products that are easy to use, reasonably priced, have a robust feature set and can grow with your business. The best accounting software received top marks when evaluated across 10 categories and more than 30 subcategories. Learn more about how we rate small-business accounting software.
These ratings are meant to provide clarity in the decision-making process, but what’s best for your business will depend on its size, growth trajectory and which features you need most. We encourage you to research and compare multiple accounting software products before choosing one.
NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our editorial guidelines.