SHOULD YOU use a time management tool? If you’re constantly juggling with deadlines, resources, and deliverables, then there’s a high chance you would benefit from dedicated time management software.We tested and reviewed the best time management tools that can help to keep you and your team on track. The Calendar & Time Management section contains software that makes planning and managing your time easier. Programs in this category include schedulers, task reminders, calendar sync, and diaries. This is a great alternative to time-sheets, if you need to track how much time you spend on different projects. Effective time management starts with being clear on exactly how much time you actually spend on your projects and tasks, and then through analysis, working out how you can manage them more effectively. The Calendar & Time Management section contains software that makes planning and managing your time easier. Programs in this category include schedulers, task reminders, calendar sync, and diaries.
When your to-do list becomes a monster, and an item next to a checkbox will actually take a long time and multiple people to complete, you need more than a checklist to keep track of it. What you really have is a project, and you need a tool designed to manage them. This week, we're going to look at five of the best personal project management tools, based on your nominations.
Earlier in the week, we asked you for the best personal project management tools to keep track of all of the moving parts in your home renovation, family reunion, birthday party, vacation plan, or other pet project you need to keep track of.
Advertisement
What's The Best Personal Project Management Tool?
When your to-dos turn into projects, you need a tool that can help you organize all of the work you …
Read more ReadSpeaking as someone who used to be a full-time project manager, the available tools for businesses are really robust and packed with features, but when you need to organize something on your own or for a small time, sometimes lighter and more specific is better (not to mention more affordable). We collected your nominations, and picked out the top five. Here's what you said:
Asana
Advertisement
Asana is a hybrid task and project manager. We covered the service when it launched back in 2011, and since then it's updated several times, spawned iOS and Android apps, and boosted its collaboration features for both individuals and organizations. Adding multiple projects is simple, and you can keep track of them from the left sidebar. You can structure your individual project goals and milestones as a simple checklist from start to finish, order them by date or when they need to be done, or make them dependencies so one thing can't be complete until its sub-tasks are finished. You can add more detail to any task or item, like notes, links, tags, and comments, and if you're working with others, you can see changes they've made as well. Upload attachments, set due dates—it's all there. Plus, Asana packs tons of keyboard shortcuts that make using it fast.
![For For](/uploads/1/2/6/3/126307544/533639984.jpg)
Asana Is a Free Project Management and Collaboration Tool for People with Multiple Projects
If you're looking for a tool to help you keep your projects organized, especially if you work…
Read more ReadAdvertisement
Asana is free for most people (you only need to pay once you get up to 15 or more people working on the same projects), and it's just as good a corporate project or task manager as it is a to-do manager for your own pet projects or ideas. Best of all, they don't pare down features in the free tier—all of the functional features are the same, with paid users only getting things like priority support and 'guest' users. Companies like Dropbox, Pinterest, and Uber use Asana to organize their projects, and—full disclosure—so do I. It's worth checking out if you don't have an account.
Trello
Advertisement
If you're a fan of Personal Kanban, or you like to use cards or post-it notes arranged in categories to orgaanize your thoughts and your tasks, Trello will appeal to you. we covered it when it launched, too, and even shared a method to shoehorn it into GTD. Trello is fast, flexible, and even fun to use, and in minutes you'll organize all of the components for your projects into columns and cards that are easy to drag around, add supporting details to, comment on, and assign from person to person on your team. You can create different boards for different projects, set due dates or times for each card or set of cards, and more. Trello is even available on iOS and Android, and its drag-and-drop interface (usually) works well on mobile devices.
Trello Makes Project Collaboration Simple and Kind of Enjoyable
Just-launched webapp Trello is a simple yet powerful project management tool. We know,…
Read more ReadAdvertisement
Trello is free to use, but Trello Gold, the company's premium plan, offers larger file attachments and some visual upgrades like emoji, stickers, and custom backgrounds. More importantly, Gold is a way to support Trello if you love it, but all of the features are available for free. Trello is the project management tool of choice by teams at The Verge, The New York Times, Tumblr, and others, and it doesn't hurt that it's free and simple to get started with.
Microsoft OneNote
Advertisement
OneNote is more than just a great note-taking tool (although it definitely excels at that). It can also be an excellent personal planner, and depending on how you use it, it can be a pretty solid personal project manager. We shared some of our favorite OneNote tips in our guide to being productive with what you have at the office. Among more than a fewproject management-focused designs to help you organize complex projects with lots of to-dos and moving parts. Using OneNote as a project management tool can be tricky, since it's not especially good at giving you a quick, top-down view of everything that's going on at once, but there's no reason you can't build that yourself using the tools available. Plus, once you power up OneNote with plugins like OneTastic, or keep your files in SkyDrive (where you can get to them and your projects using the OneNote apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android), you'll find OneNote can be a remarkably powerful tool.
How to Be Productive When Everything's Blocked at Work
There are a ton of killer productivity apps out there, but if you work somewhere with strict IT…
Read more ReadAdvertisement
The only downside to OneNote is the price. It's part of Microsoft Office, but you don't have to buy it along with Office. A stand-alone version will set you back $70. If you do want it as part of Office, you'll have to shell out some cash to get a licensed copy, either with a copy of Office for yourself, or a subscription to Microsoft's cloud-based office suite, Office 365. How much depends on your situation. If you have access to it at work or through a student discount, take advantage of it.
Evernote
Advertisement
Evernote is another killer note-taking tool, but when it comes to the incredible things you can do with it, the sky's the limit. We've shared some of our favorite uses for it and our thoughts on why it's so popular, but its power is clear once you start using it. Adding simple notes is a snap, creating notebooks for multiple projects or parts of your life you want to organize is simple, and searching across everything you've entered is easy too. Don't be afraid to create tons of notes and notebooks either—it may sound counterproductive to getting organized, but one of the best things about Evernote is that it can quickly make sense out of a lot of information and present it to you so you see what you need to see. You can even use Evernote to digitize your pen and paper notes, documents, and other files so you can toss them into the relevant project notebook you want to save them in. Evernote has a massive ecosystem of apps that feed into it and support it, not to mention its web clipper and its iOS and Android apps.
I've Been Using Evernote All Wrong. Here's Why It's Actually Amazing
For years, I kept hearing how awesome Evernote was: how it could store everything you possibly…
Read more ReadBest Tools For Time Management
Advertisement
Time Management Software
Evernote is free, but $5/mo or $45/yr will get you Evernote Premium, which offers compelling features like offline access to your notebooks, collaboration tools, more storage space, and improved search. Once you start using it, you'll want to get premium pretty quickly. If you're looking for a tool to organize your life, Evernote is a great one to look at, but it's just as good at organizing your kitchen remodel (imagine a notebook with all of your ideas, receipts, links and clipped pages of fixtures or appliances you want to buy, contact information for contractors, bills, notes, and a project plan, neatly organized) or your family vacation (picture a notebook with clippings of the destinations you're considering, your detailed travel budget, ticket and booking receipts, and more inside), too.
Azendoo
Advertisement
Azendoo is another hybrid task and project management tool, and while there's a strong focus on teams and collaboration, it's just as easy to use it to manage your own pet projects and personal workload. Plus, Azendoo plugs into other popular services, like Evernote, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box for storage. You do get some free storage with the service so you can upload files directly to your projects, and you can easily assign to-dos to other people, check on their status, make comments on individual tasks, track changes, and see how a project is going from a top-down view. Plus, it does it all in a simple interface that's easy to get used to and simple to use. Azendoo is a webapp, but you can take your projects on the go thanks to its iOS and Android apps.
Azendoo is free, and while there are premium plans, the free version is likely enough for most people. It comes with 10GB of storage and the option to connect to all of Azendoo's supported third-party apps. Azendoo is the project management tool of choice for teams at Evernote (ironically), Cisco, Toyota, Nike, and MIT to name a few. If you've tried some of the big names above and want something different, maybe a little simpler, give it a shot.
Advertisement
That's all there is to it! Now it's time to put the top five to a vote to determine the community favorite:
Advertisement
The honorable mention this week goes out to OmniFocus, which earned praise from many of you for it's elegant interface, powerful tools, and useful views that let you focus on the tasks at hand, or forecast how well the project is going overall (and whether you'll hit your target dates or not). Once you get under the hood, you'll find that OmniFocus is extremely powerful, and can consume your time just organizing your tasks, events, due dates, and timelines. However, it's designed exclusively for Apple users, and has individual iPhone, iPad, and OS X apps that you'll have to buy individually (at $20, $40, and $80 each) in order to use them all.
Advertisement
These are just the tip of the iceberg though. We got so many suggestions this week that it's really worth going back to the original post to check out some of the ones that didn't make the top five. There's likely a tool in there for everyone, even if it didn't get enough votes to join the ones above.
Vote: OmnifocusWhy: I've tried so many others, but nothing else allows you to organize your…
Read more ReadAdvertisement
Have something to say about one of the contenders? Want to make the case for your personal favorite, even if it wasn't included in the list? Remember, the top five are based on your most popular nominations from the call for contenders thread from earlier in the week. Don't just complain about the top five, let us know what your preferred alternative is—and make your case for it—in the discussions below.
The Hive Five is based on reader nominations. As with most Hive Five posts, if your favorite was left out, it's not because we hate it—it's because it didn't get the nominations required in the call for contenders post to make the top five. We understand it's a bit of a popularity contest, but if you have a favorite, we want to hear about it. Have a suggestion for the Hive Five? Send us an email at [email protected].
Advertisement
Title photo by FAKEGRIMLOCK.
(Redirected from Comparison of time tracking software)
This is a comparison of notable time-tracking software packages and web hosted services.
Name | Platform support | Features | Integration | Data-storage | Licensing |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ceiton | Web application | Time-tracking and reporting, timesheets, invoicing. Full project support, integrated with workflow and long-term shift planning. Supports mobile devices. | Export to SAP, Microsoft Excel, CSV and pdf. | Web-based, MS SQL, Oracle. | License |
Chrometa | Microsoft Windows, iOS, Android | Fully automatic time-tracking software that captures PC-based time. Records time spent within all applications, documents, emails, and web pages without data entry. Also records time while you're away and prompts you to add a note. | No user input required. | Export to Microsoft Excel | Subscription-based |
Clarizen | Web application | Collaborative project execution software. Clarizen’s Time Tracking features include cost and billing rates, timesheets, billing approvals process and time-tracking reports. | Integrate with Salesforce, Google docs, Microsoft Outlook. Mobile- iPhone/Android app | Export and import projects to and from Microsoft Excel | Subscription-based |
Everhour | Web application | Team-oriented time tracking software that natively integrates into different project management systems. Includes project budgeting, resources planning, reporting and invoicing. | Asana, Basecamp, GitHub, Trello, Insightly, Xero, Pivotal Tracker, Jira, Teamwork, BitBucket, QuickBooks | Hosted. Export to Microsoft Excel, CSV | Subscription-based |
Fanurio | Microsoft Windows, Mac, Linux, Java | Invoicing, time tracking, billing | Address Book | HSQLDB | Subscription-based |
FogBugz | Web application | Automatic and manual time tracking, estimates, milestones, and reports. | Available in FogBugz Tasker, FogBugz Issue Desk, FogBugz Agile, and FogBugz Dev Hub. | Web-based, hosted. | Subscription-based |
FreshBooks | Web application | Invoicing, time tracking, online credit card and ACH payments, estimates, expenses, projects, staff and client management, double-entry accounting, personalized branding, customizable accounting and business reports and iPhone and Andriod apps.[1] | Gusto, G Suite, FundBox, Stripe, Bookkeeping Express, Bench, HubSpot, Yearli, Piesync, Zapier, Hurdlr, Capsule, Revamp CRM, noCRM.io, OneSaaS, 123FormBuilder, Acuity Scheduling, Bidsketch, Avalara Trustfile, Partial.ly, AON, Boomr, Track, Projects, Asana, Basecamp, Everhour, Trello, EazyBI, Collbox, ProWorkflow, Expiration Reminder, Shopify, Enlighten.me, Skyvia, Klipfolio, AgileCRM, Barcloud, Wufoo, Eventbrite, Salesforce, Slack, Square, Freshdesk, Campaign Monitor, WooCommerce, Yalla, Constant Contact, Insightly, MailChimp, ZenDesk, HoneyBooks, Selz, BigCommerce, ToDoList, Artichoke, Calendly, WordPress, Meetup, Geckoboard, HappyFox, Magneto, Podia, Formstack, Gravity, InfusionSoft, Clio, Universe, Solve, Daycast, Intervals, SharpSpring, Prospero, Proposify, AWeber, Natero, Everlance, LiveChat, Teachable, Expensify, InView, Tangentia, Checkeeper, SherpaDesk, ClicData[2] | Cloud-Based. Export to various formats | Subscription-based |
Grindstone | Microsoft Windows | Stopwatch, AFK detection, search tasks, profiles, custom fields, breakdowns, timesheets, invoices. After installation a portable version can be generated, too. | Export to Microsoft Excel, PDF | XML | CC BY-ND 3.0 US |
Group-Office | Web application | Time tracking and time-based reporting, timesheets, project budgeting, invoicing, expenses, CRM, groupware | Built as module for open-source platform | Hosted. Export to Microsoft Excel, CSV | Subscription- or license-based |
Harvest | Web application | Time tracking and reporting, timesheets, invoicing, expenses, project budgeting | iPhone, Android, Mac, Google Apps, Quickbooks, Xero, Basecamp, Trello, Asana | Hosted. Export to Microsoft Excel, CSV, Google Docs | Subscription-based |
Hubstaff | Web application, Microsoft Windows,Mac, Linux, iOS, Android | Time tracking with screenshots, activity levels, employee payments, and scheduling. | Asana, Basecamp, GitHub, Trello, Wrike, and other project management tools. | Hosted. Export to Microsoft Excel, CSV, QuickBooks | Subscription-based |
ICEFLO | Web application, iOS, Android | Project management system that includes time and task-tracking. It also supports task dependencies, a document repository, real-time update dashboard (RTUP) and key project lifecycle information for C-Level and Stakeholders. | Import option from CSV, export to CSV or Microsoft Excel plus iPhone and Android applications available for free download. | Subscription-based | |
Instant | Web application,Mac, iOS, Android | Automatically tracks time spent on phone usage, at places, while traveling, sleeping and fitness activities. With a chatbot coach, reports and goals. Used for consumers and employee wellness programs. | Can export CSV, integrates with Apple Health, Google Fit, Samsung S Health and Fitbit. | Locally stored on phone, can backup on iCloud or Google Drive | Subscription-based |
LiquidPlanner | Web application | Customizable activity codes, reviews, estimate trend charts, date drift trend charts, custom filtering, programming API, and export to XML, CSV, or to Quickbooks. | Fully integrated with the LiquidPlanner Project Management environment. Time tracking integrated with LiquidPlanner Analytics. | Export to Microsoft Excel, Quickbooks, or in CSV format. | Proprietary |
ManicTime | Microsoft Windows, Mac | Automatic time tracking software, which tracks computer usage and stores all data locally. It allows users to track time spent on various projects and tasks. When used on multiple machines, locally installed server generates combined reports, which are accessible with a web browser or sent by email. | Microsoft Office, JIRA, Moves app, Google calendar, FreshBooks, QuickBooks, Skype | SQLite, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server | Free or license-based |
Redmine | Web application | Project management and issue tracking with time tracking, forums, wikis, and project flows. Includes Gantt charts and a calendar. | IDEs, version control systems, mobile phones, and browsers. | SQLite, PostgreSQL | Open-source |
Replicon | Web application | Provides employee time tracking, project time tracking, expense tracking and scheduling. Includes text reports with custom columns, graphical reports, email reminders, multiple approval paths, time off calendar. | Quickbooks, Microsoft Project, ADP, Oracle, SAP, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, Ceridian, WSDL/XML API, Mobile - iPhone/Android available | Hosted. Export to XML, Microsoft Excel, CSV, PDF | Subscription-based |
Severa | Web application | Includes highly intuitive GUI for easily managing time tracking, scheduling and resource management. | Also offers Project Management, Resource Planning, Customer relations in the same application. | Hosted. Export to Microsoft Excel. | Subscription-based |
Talygen | Web application | Time tracker with complete project management, human resource management, and expense tracker[3] | Subscription-based | ||
Teamwork | Web application | Complete web-based project management software with timesheet module, ASP available | MS Project, open source Java API | Any SQL compliant Database | Subscription-based |
Tick | Web application | Employee time tracking, instant budget feedback, reporting and invoice integrations. Edit time directly in Basecamp. Includes mobile apps, web app, chrome extension, REST API and more. | iPhone, Android, Apple Watch, Mac App, Chrome Extension, Zapier, Quickbooks, Freshbooks, Basecamp, Asana, Trello | Hosted. Export to Microsoft Excel, CSV, Google DocsFreshBooks, Basecamp and QuickBooks | Subscription-based |
TimeCamp | Web application, Microsoft Windows,Mac, Linux, iOS, Android | Mobile time tracking, timesheet management, billable hours tracking, timesheets, manual time entry, timer, reporting & statistics, data import/export, import/export data, activity dashboard, real time data, task planning, real time monitoring, real time reporting, real time updates, real time analytics, real time notifications, permission management, role-based permissions, invoice management, invoices, billing & invoicing, electronic payments, and more. | Chrome Extension, Trello, Podio, Asana, Insightly, Calendar, Xero, Wunderlist, Basecamp, Quickbooks, Jira, Zendesk, Freshdesk, Teamwork, Pivotal Tracker, Target Process, GitHub, Active collab, Redmine, Evernote, Assembla, WARBENCH, Zapier, Slack, Visual Studio Team Services, Producteev, MeisterTask | Hosted. Export to Microsoft Excel, CSV, PDF, QuickBooks, Xero | Free and subscription-based |
Time Clock Wizard | Web application | Time Clock Wizard is a software, which includes a mobile app, that allows unlimited users and employees to work in a single schedule, whereas, optional services such as web design, merchant accounts and other business loans credit to the company's business model. | iPhone, iPad, CSV, email | Hosted | Subscription-Based |
Time Doctor | Web application, Microsoft Windows, Linux, iOS, Android | TimeDoctor is a time tracking and productivity tool which employs screenshots, website & application usage monitoring, keyboard & mouse activity, and task & project time logging. It also has web-based reporting. | Basecamp, Asana, JIRA, Podio, Teamwork.com, Slack, Trello, GitHub, and 20 others | Hosted and export options available | Free and subscription-based |
TimeSheet | Microsoft Windows | The TimeSheet software will notice when you start an application, are working on a document, visit a web page or switch to another application, and registers the time spend on this application. By defining rules you can assign Projects and Tasks automatically to the used applications, documents and web pages. The tool records the time and creates a timesheet automatically. | Plug-ins in C# | Export to Microsoft Excel and XML | Shareware (€24 after 30 days trial).[4] |
TimeTiger | Web application, Microsoft Windows | Team and enterprise time tracking, project tracking, reporting, and analysis. | Bi-directional sync with MS Project, export to Excel and QuickBooks, integration SDK | MS Access, MySQL | Subscription- and license-based |
Timewarrior | Linux | Command line interface | JSON | File | MIT License |
TMetric | Web application, Microsoft Windows | User-friendly interface, Projects budgeting, Project management, Task and time-tracking, Invoicing, Billable time and rates, Detailed time and money reports, Task tags, Team management, Time-sheet export, Workday timeline, Downloadable version | Integrates with Asana, Basecamp, GitHub, Trello, Wrike, JIRA, GitLab and many more | Web-based, hosted. | Free and subscription-based |
Toggl | Web application, iOS, Android | Toggl allows users to track the time spent on various projects and analyze productivity. It’s cloud-based and can be up and running from scratch in less than a minute. You can use Toggl on the web, as a desktop widget or on your mobile – all your data gets synced in real time. | Export to Excel, FreshBooks, and Asana, Basecamp, GitHub, Teamweek integration SDK | Web-based, hosted. | Free and subscription-based |
Tracker | Web application, Microsoft Windows,Mac, iOS, Android | Includes a Web enabled time reporting module, with automated approval routing and messaging. | Other Tracker Suite modules, Microsoft Project | Microsoft SQL | License-based |
TSheets | Web application, iOS, Android | Mobile time tracking, manual or automated time entry, employee job/shift scheduling, real-time GPS location tracking, customizable alerts & reminders, detailed reporting, invoicing, PTO & vacation tracking, kiosk functionality, open API, and more. | integrates with Intuit QuickBooks Online & Desktop, Xero, ADP, Gusto, Square, Expensify, and other payroll/accounting solutions. | Hosted. Export reports in CSV, PDF and others. | Free and Subscription-based |
Wrike | Web application | Project Management & Collaboration solution. | Integrated with email. | Hosted. Export to Microsoft Excel. | Subscription-based |
Xpert-Timer | Microsoft Windows, Android | Native Project time-tracking software that includes a To-Do list, a document management, client management and invoicing module in the PRO Version. The Windows version includes a time bar that floats on the Windows desktop that allows users to keep an eye on the time spent on a project. Multiple reports are included. | Bi-directional sync with Android XT MOBILE version, export to Excel and CSV. Full access to database. | MS Access, MySQL, Microsoft SQL (also Express) | License-based |
ZipBooks | Web application, iOS | Time tracking, flexible billing tracking, invoicing, credit card processing, recurring payments, late payment reminders, transactions, bank integration, bank account reconciliation, estimates, expenses, staff and client management, accounting, customer feedback, financial reports, 1099 contractor management, multiple currency support | iPhone, ZenDesk, G Suite, Chrome Web Store time tracking extension | Hosted. Export to various formats | Subscription-based |
Zoho Projects | Web application, iOS, Android | Project management software with a wide range of time tracking functionalities to record the start and end dates, calculate the time spent on tasks, differentiate billable and non-billable hours, generate invoices, and to establish and manage an approval process for timesheets. The time logging process can be automated by starting and stopping timers for tasks.[5] | Integrates with Zoho Invoice, Zoho Books[6] and enables export of timesheet data in xls/csv formats. | MySQL | Subscription-based |
See also
References
- ^FreshBooks. 'Features'. FreshBooks. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
- ^FreshBooks. 'Accounting Software Add-Ons & Integration'. FreshBooks. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
- ^'Top ten tools for small biz at CES 2014'. PC Magazine.
- ^'TimeSheet - the smart, automated time tracking solution'.
- ^'Timesheet Software Web : Zoho Projects'. www.zoho.com. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
- ^'Zoho Projects Integrations'. www.zoho.com. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Comparison_of_time-tracking_software&oldid=901436928'