The best time tracking apps for Android and iPhone

Apps, Games & Services

10 March 2022

Walter Salchli

The Corona pandemic proved it: Home office and remote work are the future. From bed to work, this is already a reality for millions of people. However, you shouldn’t just focus on the benefits, because home office can blur the line between personal and work even further. Time tracking apps can help here.

Why is a time tracking app necessary?

“Time tracking? Why do I need that?”, many people might ask themselves. Sure, we can think of a million more pleasant things to do than track our working hours. Nevertheless, they do bring some benefits. Here’s an example:

“I worked from 7:49 am to 4:23 pm.”

1. Saves you from calculating

A time tracking app takes the calculation out of your hands. Well, who came up with 8 hours and 34 minutes without a calculator? And how much is that in decimals? That’s right, 8.57. This is especially helpful for self-employed people.

2. Simplifies business trips

A time tracking app logs your working hours. Many companies have their own solutions where you enter your working hours. But what about off-hours activities, like when you need to make a work-related trip and don’t have access to the employer’s system? This is where time tracking apps that you can use offline come into play. If you are travelling abroad a lot, read our smartphone travel tips in advance and get a mobile plan with roaming included.

3. Employer control

A time tracking app exposes employer black sheep. Unfortunately, there are still employers who don’t follow current law and don’t consider things like preparing the workplace, such as booting up the computer, or going to the bathroom as working time. You can use a time tracking app to log this and use it to contact a lawyer if necessary.

4. Salary negotiation

A time tracking app can give you an advantage in salary negotiations. If you feel you deserve a raise because of your hard work, show your boss or supervisor how hard you’ve worked in recent months.

5. Tracking specific tasks

A time tracking app allows you to track tasks and projects. It’s not uncommon for supervisors, clients, and even you to underestimate the time needed for specific tasks or new projects. At the same time, it gives you a more reliable experience for the future.

Labor law requires you to track your working time

Even though trust-based working hours prevail in many companies: Every employer in Switzerland is required by law to track employee working hours. This includes compensatory time, overtime and breaks of half an hour must be documented here.

The top time tracking apps

Clocko:do

Clocko:do is one of the most popular time tracker apps and claims to have over 30,000 users. The app is suitable for employers and freelancers as well as employees. Clocko:do not only tracks time, but also shows the profitability of projects, which is especially important for freelancers. The servers of the German company are also located in the EU and thus meet the requirements of the GDPR. In addition to Android and iOS, apps are also available for Windows and Mac.

You can test Clocko:do free of charge for 14 days. After that, you have to pay CHF 5 for a single subscription. If you want more features, you can buy the Pro subscription for CHF 10.

Timr

Timr is the only app available for Huawei smartphones, in addition to iOS and Android. The time tracking app brings recording capabilities for projects, field workers, and employees working on construction sites in addition to normal working time recording. Timr also has a trip log function that works with GPS to automatically determine mileage and start and destination locations.

The Free version is without any charges, but limited in features. For more features, there are several paid subscriptions available, which then also allows for vacation planning, more work time types, and more accurate project time tracking. Positive: Your subscription is not automatically renewed.

Stechuhr X

If you can do without all the functions of Clocko:do and Timr, you’ll be happy with the Stechuhr X app. It is only about clocking in and clocking out – there is no connection to employer systems. After clocking out, you enter your break time(s) and have an overview of how long you have worked. Afterwards, you can download the working hours as an Excel spreadsheet. Positive: The app is completely free and does not store any data about you.

Time Recording

The Android counterpart to Stechuhr X is simply called Time Recording and has over 1 million downloads. In addition to clocking in and out, working times can also be assigned to tasks, and daily and work notes are also possible with this app. Time Recording has more configuration options in comparison to Stechuhr X. So you can set target times, hourly rates and alarm functions, with a home widget you can keep track of your working time and clock in and out. A connection to Google Calendar (only in the Pro version) and to Google Drive, Dropbox and OwnCloud is also possible.

Conclusion: Time recording has never been easier

Clocking in and out is an exceedingly tedious task. If you’re working from home, you’ll be happy about the time savings that time tracking apps bring. In the long run, however, the apps bring one thing in particular: a better work-life balance.

You can find more apps for your smartphone on our app page!

This article was published on 10 March 2021 and was updated on 25 November 2024.