Time Recording for Free: The 6 Best Tools for Free Work Time Tracking

1. With free time tracking software, you save time and simplify your work
2. Whether free time tracking software is sufficient for your company, or whether you should better choose a paid variant, depends on the functions the program should offer you. It's best to list the must-haves and the nice-to-haves separately from each other, in order to make the best choice for your company.
3. Enough of the benefits and onto the tools! We have assembled the 6 best free tools for time recording for freelancers and employees for you:
4. Only you can decide which free time recording tool is best suited to you and your colleagues. However, it is certain that it can improve and simplify your project work, as it networks various software, thus eliminating additional manual intervention.

Your workday can fly by or seem to drag on endlessly. Whichever applies to you, you should still record your working hours. Because since the ruling on time recording by the Federal Labour Court (BAG) in September 2022 companies must document the working hours of their employees. This serves to protect the employees and to comply with legal standards.

If you are a freelancer, time recording is a fundamental part of your work, should you be paid by your clients on an hourly basis.

A time tracking tool can support you in correctly recording your working and vacation times, as well as generating various evaluations or shift plans. The best part? It doesn't have to cost anything!

To choose the right software for free time tracking for you or your company, read in this article what advantages a digital hour recording has. You will also find out whether free software or rather a paid version is the better choice for you and which 7 free time recording tools can support you with their various functions. So let's get started – time is running.

With free time tracking software, you save time and simplify your work

Recording your worked hours makes perfect sense – but you can also do it with pen and paper. Why should you get a digital time clock in the form of a free work time recording tool that you still have to learn how to use? There are various answers to this question.

As a first advantage of time recording programs, you could note that a digital tool makes your work easier. If you work in the human resources department of your company, for example, it can be important for you to use a payroll software that has the correct working hours, overtime and breaks of your colleagues at hand.

Since they log into the work time system themselves when they come to work and clock out when they take a break or go home, you have the correct times and the correct number of worked hours directly at the end of the working day - without waiting times and annoying paperwork from flying around time slips.

If overtime accrues and is to be compensated, you can have it transferred directly into your payroll accounting software. With a few clicks, you can generate various reports based on the documented working time data, which you can use, for example, for salary talks with your colleagues. These findings can in turn help you to revise processes at the right places and to take into account the resulting expenses when calculating offers to the correct extent.

In addition, free time recording software automatically deducts the legally prescribed break times from the work performed. If a colleague forgets to clock out, you do not have to perform any manual operations to achieve legally secure documentation.

Tools for time recording are also suitable for planning your team's vacation. You can forward the planned days to your boss with a click of the mouse and have them approved.
But not only for employees, but also for freelancers, the use of a free digital time recording tool is suitable, especially if you bill your services on an hourly basis. After all, the time you invest should be paid for by your clients, so it must also appear correctly on the invoice.

Many time recording programs allow you to document not only your working time, but also the project on which you worked. If your clients request this, you can list the individual steps separately on the invoice.
Existing interfaces allow you to then transmit this data to your invoice program.Free or paid time tracking software – which variant is the right one?

Whether free time tracking software is sufficient for your company, or whether you should better choose a paid variant, depends on the functions the program should offer you. It's best to list the must-haves and the nice-to-haves separately from each other, in order to make the best choice for your company.

These functions can be mapped by many free time tracking tools: 

Work time and break recording

• Project time recording
• Holiday planning
• Mobile app access
• Electronic access control
• Planning of shift work and duty rosters
• Interface to your payroll accounting system
• Interface to your invoice system
• Free time recording programs usually allow you to record working and break times like a time clock and assign them to projects. In addition, the data can be fed into your payroll accounting system or your invoice system via an integrated interface. You can also generate simple reports to evaluate your productivity.

However, free work time systems are often limited to a low number of users, so that each additional access and each extension of functions still costs money. Therefore, when selecting your software, pay attention to possible hidden costs.

You should also keep an eye on compliance with GDPR requirements. Under certain circumstances, free time recording software may have security gaps that do not sufficiently protect your company data. Of course, there are also a number of data protection-compliant and free tools – these also actively point out this plus point.

Due to the lower range of functions, free tools for project time recording are usually more suitable for freelancers. Larger companies often opt for paid models due to additional features and therefore decreasing workloads. These include, for example, mobile access points or additional hardware terminals for stamping, shift and holiday planners as well as a larger number of access points to the system.

Anzeige

Die automatische Zeiterfassungs-Software für Unternehmen

Mitarbeiter können spielend leicht und akribisch genau ihre Arbeitszeit und Anwesenheit dokumentieren. Schließlich zählt jeder Mitarbeiter.

14 Tage kostenlos Testen

 

Regardless of whether you are part of a large company, a five-person operation or a freelancer: When choosing the time recording system that suits you, it primarily depends on your needs. There is no 'right' or 'wrong' here. Anything is permitted that pleases you and makes your work easier.

Here are the 6 best free tools for digital time recording

Enough of the benefits and onto the tools! We have assembled the 6 best free tools for time recording for freelancers and employees for you:

Attention:

Sawayo by Infoniqa

Toggl Track

Harvest

123erfasst

Tickspot

todo.vu

This ranking is based upon the status of 09 September 2024.
⁠
⁠1. Sawayo for your free time recording

Sawayo is a comprehensive software solution that supports companies in managing time recording efficiently and improving operational productivity. The tool offers a variety of features aimed at enabling accurate recording of working hours and supporting effective resource planning.

Sawayo auf OMR Reviews

The time recording function allows employees to accurately document their working hours, thus providing the basis for accurate billing and project budgeting.

In addition to time recording, Sawayo also offers other useful functions. These include task management, communication and collaboration between team members and document management. These features complement the time recording function and make the overall work process easier.

Sawayo costs

Sawayo exists in a free version as well as in three paid editions. The free version has a reduced range of functions, but is permanently free. Prices for the more comprehensive editions range from €3.79 per month and user in the basic version to €8.79 per month per user in the enterprise model. All

Sawayo prices can also be found on our overview page at OMR Reviews.Sawayo alternatives

On OMR Reviews, you will find an overview of the

Sawayo alternatives and can decide for the time recording app that best suits your craft business based on user experiences and reviews.
⁠

The time recording program

Toggl Track auf OMR Reviews

allows you to digitally record your working hours, create reports, and export data to various other tools. These include Toggl Track, Github, Google Docs and Open Project. AsanaYou can log your times offline and synchronize them online later. The tool automatically creates a backup every 24 hours so your data cannot be lost. Toggl Track is free for up to five people.

Toggl Track Costs

With a paid extension for $ 10 per month and user, you can also integrate various project management functions and grant access to more than five users.

For more information on

Toggl Track prices and associated user reviews, check out the Toggl product profile on OMR Reviews.Toggl Track Alternatives

You can find more time recording tools and

alternatives to Toggl Track on OMR Reviews. Based on user reviews and experiences, you can find the time recording software that suits you.4. Harvest for free time tracking

Another free time recording program is

Harvest auf OMR Reviews

. In addition to documenting your working hours, you can also manage invoices and reminders in the tool. It also integrates the software Asana, Harvest, Trello, QuickBook, Basecamp, Zendesk Sell and Zapier. For the Slackcreation of your invoices you can also enter your costs directly into the tool. Harvest Costs

In the free version for one user, all functions and two projects are available to you. If you want to work with several users in the Harvest time recording software, the corresponding update costs $ 12 per month.

For more information on

Harvest prices and associated user reviews, visit the Harvest profile on OMR Reviews.Harvest Alternatives

You can find a variety of other time recording tools and

alternatives to Harvest on OMR Reviews. Based on user reviews and experiences, you can find the time recording software that suits you.5. 123clocked for free time tracking

has focused on free time recording in craft businesses. With the tool, working hours can be recorded at any time with the smartphone and transmitted in real time to the office. The main advantages include simplified time recording for craftsmen, the GPS function for location verification and the collection of all data in one place. You can also use 123clocked offline.

123erfasst auf OMR Reviews

123erfasst123clocked Costs

The tool offers four different tariffs, ALL of which can be used for free up to a certain number of people.

For more information on

123clocked prices and associated user reviews, visit OMR Reviews.123clocked Alternatives

You can find more time recording tools and

alternatives to 123clocked on OMR Reviews. 6. Tickspot for free time tracking

Another free time recording program is

Tickspot auf OMR Reviews

. It has various time cards which automatically show you the current information about your time budget during work on projects. Tickspot offers you interfaces to Asana, Basecamp, Tickspot, Freshdesk, QuickBooks Enterprise and Trello, to name just a few of over 750 integrated apps. You can then transfer the tracked times directly to your linked accounting system. ZapierTickspot Costs

Tickspot is free for one user.

If several users are to work with Tickspot, you can upgrade the time recording program. For $ 19 per month, an unlimited number of users can be given access to the tool. In addition, there are two other tariffs. The Essential tariff can be used for 49 € per month and the Pro tariff for 79 € per month.

If you are interested in the

pricing plans of Tickspot and corresponding user reviews, then visit the Tickspot profile on OMR Reviews.Tickspot Alternatives

You can find more time recording tools and

alternatives to Tickspot on OMR Reviews. 7. todo.vu for free time tracking

The software todo.vu, which specializes in time recording, offers you possibilities for task and

todo.vu auf OMR Reviews

project management, CRM and invoicing of your services, in addition to time recording. In the free version, you get access to 100 MB of storage space, time tracking functions with assignment to individual tasks and various CRM functions. You can also generate various reports directly in the tool.todo.vu Costs

With an upgrade of todo.vu, you get additional functions for your billing and reporting. This costs you $ 9 per month and user.

For more information on the

pricing plans of todo.vu and associated user reviews, visit the product profile on OMR Reviews.todo.vu Alternatives

You can find more time recording tools and

alternatives to todo.vu on OMR Reviews.Ready, set, track

Only you can decide which free time recording tool is best suited to you and your colleagues. However, it is certain that it can improve and simplify your project work, as it networks various software, thus eliminating additional manual intervention.

For most work time recording programs, you do not need a long familiarization period and can immediately enjoy the advantages and optimize your project processes.

Also, check out our

recap article about our Tool Talk on time recording. for more tips.