Time Tracking for Free: The 7 Best Tools for Free Work Time Recording

Your workday can fly by or feel like it drags on forever. Regardless of which variant applies to you, you should still record your working hours. This is because since the Federal Labor Court (BAG) ruling on time recording in September 2022 businesses are required to document their employees' working hours. This serves to protect employees and ensure compliance with legal standards.

If you're a freelancer, time recording forms a cornerstone of your work, especially if your clients pay you on an hourly basis.

In correctly recording your working and holiday hours, as well as generating various evaluations or shift plans, a time recording tool can help you. The best part? It doesn't have to cost anything!

To choose the right software for free time recording for you or your company, this article will explain the advantages of digital hour recording. You will also learn whether free or paid software is the better choice for you and which 7 free time recording tools can support you with their various functions. So let's get going - time is ticking.

 

By using free time recording software, you save time and simplify your work

Tracking your work hours makes sense – but you can do that with pen and paper. Why should you get a digital time clock in the form of a free work time recording tool that you have to familiarize yourself with first? There are several answers to this question.

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

Since they log into the working hours 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 working hours directly at the end of the day - without any waiting times and annoying paperwork from flying hour slips.

If overtime is incurred and must be compensated, you can have this transferred directly into your payroll accounting software. Using the documented work time data, you can generate various reports with a few clicks, which you can use, for example, for salary negotiations with your colleagues. This knowledge can in turn help you revise processes in the right places and take the resulting expenses into account in the correct proportion when calculating offers.

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

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

Many time recording programs allow you to document not only your working hours but also the project you worked on. You can list the individual steps separately on the invoice, if your clients request this.
Via existing interfaces, you can then transfer this data into your billing program.

Free or paid time recording software – which version is right for you?

Whether free time recording software is sufficient for your company, or whether you should opt for a paid version, depends on the functions the program should offer you. Ideally, you should list the must-haves and the nice-to-haves separately to make the best choice for your company.

These functions are offered by many free time recording tools:

• Work hours and break time recording
• Project time recording
• Holiday planning
• Mobile app access
• Electronic access control
• Shift work and service plan scheduling
• Interface with your payroll accounting system
• Interface with your billing system

Like a time clock, free time recording programs typically record working and break times and assign them to projects. In addition, the data can be fed into your payroll accounting system or billing system via an integrated interface. You can also generate simple reports to evaluate your productivity.

However, free working time systems are often limited to a low number of users, so each additional access and each extension of functions costs money. Therefore, pay attention to potential hidden costs when choosing your software.

You should also keep an eye on compliance with GDPR requirements. If free time recording software has security gaps, it may not adequately protect your operating data. Of course, there are also a number of data-protection-compliant and free tools – these actively promote this advantage.

Due to their lower range of functions, free project time recording tools are usually more suitable for freelancers. Larger companies often opt for paid models because of additional features and the associated reduction in workload. These include mobile access or additional hardware terminals for punching, shift and holiday planners, and a greater number of access to the system.

Whether you are part of a large company, a five-person operation, or a freelancer: when choosing the right time recording system for you, it primarily depends on your needs. There is no right or wrong here. You're allowed to do what you like and what makes your work easier.

Here are the 7 best free tools for digital working time recording.

Warning:

Sawayo

Personizer

Toggl Track

Harvest

123erfasst

Tickspot

todo.vu

This ranking is based on the status as of October 5, 2023. 1. Sawayo for your free time recording

Sawayo is a comprehensive software solution that helps companies make time recording efficient and improve operational productivity. The tool offers a variety of features aimed at enabling accurate time recording and supporting effective resource planning.

Sawayo auf OMR Reviews

The time recording function allows employees to accurately document their work hours, thus laying the foundation for accurate billing and project budgeting.

In addition to time recording, Sawayo also provides other useful functions. These include task management, communication, and collaboration between team members, as well as document management. These features supplement the time recording function and generally facilitate the work process.

Sawayo Costs

Sawayo comes in a free version as well as three paid editions. The free version, although with a reduced range of functions, is free forever. Prices for the more extensive editions range from € 3.79 per month per user in the Basic version to € 8.79 monthly 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 can find an overview of

Sawayo alternatives and decide for the time recording app that suits your craft business best, with the help of user experiences and reviews.2. Personizer as a digital time clock

Personizer is a time recording software that can record working hours as well as plan holidays and absences. Here, Made in Germany applies 100%, which gives security and data protection a very high priority. Of course, Personizer is GDPR compliant. It encrypts and protects your company and personal data securely.

Personizer auf OMR Reviews

When using

there is an Essential and a Professional plan and you can choose to use the time recording, the holiday planning or both functions.PersonizerPersonizer Costs

With a small team, you can use the tool for free and use a large selection of functions. If you want to use Personizer with more team members, a fee will apply. The Essential plan is €10 per month and the Professional plan is €17.50 per month.

If you are interested in the

Personizer price plans and corresponding user reviews, then take a look at the Personizer product profile on OMR Reviews.Personizer Alternatives

If you are looking for

alternatives to Personizer you can find these on OMR Reviews. Various user reviews and experiences will help you find the digital time clock that suits you.3. Toggl Track for free time recording

The time tracking 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 among others. AsanaYou can record 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 to use for up to five people.

Toggl Track Costs

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

More information about

Toggl Track prices and the associated user reviews can be found on the Toggl product profile on OMR Reviews.Toggl Track Alternatives

More time recording tools and

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

Another free time recording software is

Harvest auf OMR Reviews

HarvestHarvest. Besides the documentation of your working hours, you can also manage invoices and reminders in the tool. Additionally, it integrates the software Asana, Basecamp, Trello, Basecamp, QuickBook, Zendesk Sell, Slack and Zapier. For the creation of your invoices you can also directly enter your costs into the tool.

Harvest Costs

In the free version for one user, you have all functions and two projects at your disposal. If you want to work with multiple users in the Harvest time recording software, the corresponding upgrade will cost you $12 per month.

More information about Harvest prices and the associated user reviews can be found on 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.

5. 123erfasst for free time recording

123erfasst auf OMR Reviews

123erfasst123erfasst focuses on free time recording in craft businesses. With the tool, working hours can be recorded at any time with the smartphone and transmitted to the office in real time. The biggest advantages are simplifying time recording for craftsmen and women, the GPS feature for location verification, and the collection of all data in one place. Plus, you can also use 123erfasst offline.

123erfasst Costs

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

You can find more information about 123erfasst prices and the associated user reviews on OMR Reviews.

123erfasst Alternatives

If you're looking for alternatives to 123erfasst you can find them on OMR Reviews.

6. Tickspot for free time recording

Tickspot auf OMR Reviews

Another free time recording software is TickspotTickspotFreshdesk. It has various time cards that automatically display the current information about your time budget while you are working on projects. Tickspot offers you interfaces to Asana, Basecamp, QuickBooks Enterprise, Zapier,

and Trello, to name only a few of the more than 750 integratable apps. You can then directly transfer the tracked times into your linked accounting system.

Tickspot Costs

Tickspot is free for one user.

If you want multiple users to work with Tickspot, you can upgrade the time recording program.For $19 per month, an unlimited number of users can access the tool. In addition, there are two more rates. You can use the Essential rate for €49 per month and the Pro rate for €79 per month. Are you interested in the

Tickspot price plans

and relevant user reviews? Then have a look at the Tickspot profile on OMR Reviews.Tickspot AlternativesYou can find more time recording tools and

alternatives to Tickspot

todo.vu auf OMR Reviews

on OMR Reviews.7. todo.vu for free time recordingThe time recording-focused software todo.vu offers you possibilities for task and project management,

CRM

and invoicing valid services in addition to time recording. In the free version, you get access to 100 MB of storage space, time recording functions with assignment to individual tasks, and various CRM functions. You can also generate various reports in the tool itself.

todo.vu CostsWith an upgrade from todo.vu, you get additional functions for your invoicing and reporting. This will cost you $9 per month per user. More information about

todo.vu price plans

and the associated user reviews can be found on the OMR Reviews product profile.todo.vu AlternativesYou 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 the best fit for you and your colleagues. What is certain, though, is that it can enhance and simplify your project activities as it networks various software systems, eliminating additional steps.Most work time recording programs don't require a lot of training and you can directly enjoy the benefits and optimize your project processes.