Payroll errors drain your time and profits.
When you depend on manual timesheets, simple mistakes can easily snowball. These errors create payroll inaccuracies, compliance headaches, and leave team leads scrambling to fix issues, robbing everyone of productive hours.
Without the right tools, managing remote or hybrid teams only gets harder. Not to mention, trying to coordinate workflows or track billable project hours with spreadsheets can leave you constantly worried about missed details.
Effortless, automated time tracking is at the heart of productive teams. It is what helps managers like you focus on business growth rather than on chasing corrections.
According to Deloitte, companies lose up to 7% in payroll costs due to timesheet errors and inefficiencies. This adds up quickly, so reducing these errors can have a direct impact on your bottom line right away.
That is why I put together this guide to help you pick a reliable solution that does the heavy lifting—making your payroll and workforce management much easier and less stressful.
In this article, I am going to break down the best timesheet software, complete with features, pros, and cons, so you can identify the perfect match for your business.
By the end, you will know which platform helps you boost efficiency, support employee well-being, and make smarter, data-driven decisions.
Let’s get started.
Quick Summary:
| # | Software | Target Users |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | QuickBooks ↗ | Small businesses simplifying payroll and invoicing |
| 2 | Clockify ↗ | Managers needing simple time tracking and budgeting |
| 3 | Hubstaff ↗ | Managers controlling costs with detailed time reports |
| 4 | Harvest ↗ | Freelancers and small teams tracking projects and billing |
| 5 | Everhour ↗ | Professionals integrating time tracking with projects |
1. QuickBooks
Wasting time on payroll and time tracking?
QuickBooks solves this by letting you enter employee time by client or project, then automatically adding it to invoices.
This means you avoid the hassle of manual timesheets and endless number crunching. QuickBooks makes payroll painless. It integrates time tracking with payroll and invoicing, so you get paid faster while keeping your team productive and accurate.
The software also streamlines tax deductions and contractor payments, helping you stay compliant without the headache. It even automates invoice reminders, which can help you get paid up to 5 days faster on average.
underlineWhat really stands out is QuickBooks’ AI-powered automations,_ which eliminate tedious tasks so you can focus on running your business, not chasing down payments or timecards.
Plus, with mobile apps for iPhone and Android, your team can track time on the go, making it easy to keep everything up to date.
QuickBooks is especially designed for small business owners like you who want to simplify payroll and keep projects profitable without drowning in admin.
Key features:
- Integrated time tracking and invoicing: Enter employee hours by client or project and have them automatically included in invoices to save time and improve accuracy.
- Automate payroll and tax deductions: Simplify paying your team and contractors with automated tax payments, filings, and 1099 preparation right inside the platform.
- AI-powered invoice reminders: Get paid faster by sending personalized, automated invoice follow-ups that reduce manual chasing and improve cash flow.
Learn more about QuickBooks features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict:
QuickBooks is the best timesheet software for small business owners who want to cut payroll headaches and boost team efficiency. By automating time tracking, invoicing, and tax deductions, QuickBooks saves you valuable hours. Their AI-driven invoice reminders helped users get paid 5 days faster on average, making it a smart choice.
2. Clockify
Want to simplify payroll and team time tracking?
Clockify offers you a versatile time tracker with timers, timesheets, and kiosk modes. It helps you capture work hours accurately without any hassle.
Managing projects and budgets is easier because Clockify tracks where time goes and analyzes costs in real-time. You get comprehensive reports that help you see who worked on what, ensuring better accountability and transparency. It’s perfect if you want to understand your team’s productivity and optimize workflow.
Tracking attendance and overtime is straightforward.
You can schedule shifts, track employee availability, and handle approvals all within the same platform. This makes managing your team less stressful.
Its invoicing feature converts billable hours directly into invoices, so you don’t have to manually calculate payments or miss billable time. This one feature alone saves you valuable time and reduces payroll errors.
The software works across all devices: desktop, web, and mobile, syncing data instantly, so remote or hybrid teams stay coordinated. Plus, with unlimited users and projects even on the free plan, it scales as you grow.
Clockify gives you clear visibility over your workforce’s efforts, making payroll easier and boosting productivity.
Key features:
- Real-time tracking with timer, kiosk, and timesheets fits different work styles, helping you track hours easily and avoid lost billable time.
- Powerful reporting and budget monitoring tools let you analyze costs and project progress, so you can prevent overruns and improve profitability.
- All-in-one employee management including scheduling, time off, and approvals keeps your team organized and payroll calculations accurate without juggling multiple tools.
Learn more about Clockify features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict:
Clockify stands out as the best timesheet software for managers and small business owners who need simple, reliable time tracking combined with budgeting and payroll management. With over 5 million users and a 4.8-star rating, its unlimited users and projects free plan gives you a no-risk way to improve team efficiency and financial control.
3. Hubstaff
Worried about tracking your team’s hours accurately?
Hubstaff offers automated timesheets from both manual and digital time entries, making payroll faster and simpler.
This tool helps you control costs and boost efficiency by tracking employee time with GPS, screenshots, and productivity insights. You can see exactly where your billable hours go and prevent money leaks. Real-time dashboards reduce meeting time while keeping teams on task.
Automated payroll saves you time.
Hubstaff integrates with popular payment providers like PayPal and Deel, so you can run payroll from one app without headaches.
Another powerful feature is advanced reporting with over 20 customizable reports. These give you real-time insights into project costs, employee activity, and budget adherence, helping you make smarter business decisions.
It’s privacy-first too.
Key features:
- Automated real-time timesheets: Tracks all hours accurately from devices and manual entries to simplify payroll and reduce errors.
- GPS time tracking and geofencing: Automatically clocks employees in/out at job sites, ideal for field workers managing remote teams.
- Robust workforce analytics: Delivers insights on productivity, project profitability, and activity benchmarks to improve team efficiency and cost control.
Learn more about Hubstaff features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict:
Hubstaff stands out as the best timesheet software for managers who want to simplify payroll and boost team efficiency. Its detailed reports, automated payroll integrations, and time-tracking accuracy helped Affordable Staff save $4.2 million over 12 years, showing real impact. It’s a solid choice if you need clear visibility into work hours and project costs.
4. Harvest
Struggling to get accurate time tracking done?
Harvest offers simple time tracking your entire team will actually use, helping you easily manage project hours without the usual hassle. Its intuitive apps and 1-click timers make logging time quick and less of a chore.
By connecting tracked hours directly to projects and tasks, Harvest provides you with instant, detailed reports so you can monitor progress, budgets, and team capacity clearly. This means you can spot when a project is drifting off course before it costs you money.
It’s reliable.
You’ll also appreciate how Harvest automates invoice creation for the time tracked, letting you bill clients faster and get paid sooner without sifting through spreadsheets.
Harvest integrates with 50+ popular apps including Slack, Asana, and QuickBooks, so your workflow stays uninterrupted and your team remains productive. It’s especially handy if you want to tie time management tightly with your existing project tools.
One more cool feature is budget monitoring, which alerts you as projects near their set limits, so surprises don’t creep up.
Try it yourself.
Key features:
- Simple one-click time tracking across desktop, mobile, and web keeps your team focused on work instead of logging hours.
- Automated invoicing and fast online payments turn tracked time into client-ready invoices with just two clicks for quick billing.
- Powerful reporting and budget monitoring help you track project progress and expenses to avoid cost overruns and improve profitability.
Learn more about Harvest features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict:
Harvest is an excellent choice for freelancers or small business owners who need the best timesheet software to simplify payroll and project tracking. It has helped over 70,000 companies track 4.5 billion hours and invoice more than $64 billion, proving it works well in real-world busy teams. Its ease of use, strong integrations, and budgeting alerts make managing time and billing straightforward.
5. Everhour
Want better control over your team’s time?
Everhour integrates directly with popular project management tools like Asana and Jira to track time without wasting clicks.
You don’t have to waste hours switching between apps. Everhour embeds its time tracking controls right inside your existing tools, letting you log hours and monitor progress instantly. This reduces admin overhead and keeps your workflow smooth.
It also keeps budgets in check.
With real-time budgeting, you can stop projects from going over budget by tracking costs as work happens.
Another game-changer is the detailed, customizable reports. They help you quickly visualize how time and money are spent across projects and team members, making billing and project evaluations easier.
Simple timesheets help you approve hours quickly and set reminders for timely submissions, so nothing slips through the cracks.
You can even track time off and keep comprehensive employee records all in one place, which means no more juggling separate systems for leave management or storing key documents.
Everhour gives you control over your team’s time and projects without adding complexity, letting you focus on what truly matters. Underline your project transparency and budget confidence with their easy-to-use software.
Key features:
- Native integrations with 40+ project management apps enable you to track time where work actually happens, reducing tool switching and lost time.
- Robust budgeting and invoicing tools keep your project costs visible and billing accurate, helping you meet financial goals with confidence.
- Customizable, visual reports provide insights into team productivity and project profitability, so you can make smarter decisions faster.
Learn more about Everhour features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict:
Everhour is a standout option for professionals seeking the best timesheet software that fits seamlessly into their project workflows. With over 344,000 users tracking 196 million tasks, including Kelly Bonneau from 7shifts praising its accurate tracking and easy reporting, it clearly helps teams stay on budget and improve efficiency.
6. Time Doctor
Worried if your remote team is truly productive?
Time Doctor helps you track exactly how your team spends time and where productivity dips occur.
By giving you real visibility into work with detailed screenshots, app, and website usage data, you’ll stop guessing and start managing effectively. It boosts team efficiency while keeping your best people protected from burnout. You can spot bottlenecks early and act before morale drops or turnover spikes.
It simplifies payroll with automatic time tracking, schedules, and approvals.
You get a comprehensive dashboard to oversee remote or hybrid teams anywhere in the world.
Plus, Time Doctor integrates easily with over 60 other business tools, tracking time in those apps automatically to help eliminate wasted hours.
You’ll also appreciate its enterprise-level security and compliance with standards like HIPAA and GDPR.
Key features:
- Accurate time and attendance tracking helps you pay your team correctly while uncovering unproductive patterns and protecting against burnout.
- Centralized dashboard and reporting tools give you clear team insights that improve retention and support better business decision-making.
- 60+ app integrations with automatic time capture so you no longer waste hours manually tracking or guessing where work happens.
Learn more about Time Doctor features, pricing, & alternatives →
Verdict:
Time Doctor is an excellent choice for managers seeking the best timesheet software to boost productivity and simplify payroll. Companies like SmartBuyGlasses saw a 3x increase in team performance and cut compliance issues by up to 75%. It’s a solid tool for anyone managing remote or hybrid teams who wants actionable data and peace of mind.
Conclusion
Payroll errors can really hold you back.
If you’re like many small business owners, you know how frustrating manual timesheets can be—leading to costly mistakes and lost productivity. This challenge can result in compliance issues that consume valuable time and resources.
Research from Deloitte shows that companies can lose up to 7% in payroll costs due to inaccuracies. This statistic clearly highlights the risk you’re taking if you don’t have the right tools in place to manage your workforce effectively.
That’s where QuickBooks steps in. By automating time tracking and payroll processes, it enables you to focus on what truly matters—growing your business.
Small business owners like you have found success with QuickBooks, as it streamlines tax deductions and ensures compliance effortlessly. If you’re ready to experience this transformation, I highly recommend you start a free trial of QuickBooks today.
With QuickBooks, you’ll save valuable time and boost your bottom line.
