Choose a replacement by how your people will record time every day, because a tracker nobody uses produces nothing. Manual timers and timesheets suit project and client work, while automatic trackers suit remote teams and personal productivity. Then check the hours flow into your timesheets, invoices or payroll without retyping.
Time tracking only works if people do it every day without grumbling. Everything else, from reports to invoices, depends on that habit. Here are eight time tracking tools for small businesses and teams moving on from TMetric, in no particular order, sorted first by how they record time.
Timers people start, or tracking that runs in the background
Clockify, My Hours, Toggl Track, Everhour and TimeCamp are built mainly around timers and timesheets, where people start a timer or fill in their hours against a project. That suits agencies, consultants and anyone billing clients by the hour, because the time is tied to a project from the start.
DeskTime, RescueTime and Hubstaff lean towards tracking that runs on its own, recording hours, apps and activity in the background. That suits remote teams and people who want to understand where the day went, but monitoring staff raises privacy questions, so talk to your team first and check the rules where you operate.
How the eight compare
| Tool | Approach | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Clockify | Timer and timesheet app | Simple hours tracked across projects |
| DeskTime | Automatic tracking for remote teams | Seeing remote team hours without check-ins |
| Everhour | Time tracking inside project tools | Billable hours inside Asana, ClickUp or Jira |
| Hubstaff | Workforce time and productivity | Turning approved hours into payments and reports |
| My Hours | Project time tracking for teams | Client reports and invoices from tracked hours |
| RescueTime | Automatic personal time tracking | Understanding where your own working day goes |
| TimeCamp | AI-assisted time tracking | Linking logged hours to projects and invoices |
| Toggl Track | Time tracking and capacity planning | Tracking time and planning team capacity together |
From A to Z
Alphabetical and in no particular order. Each line reflects how the vendor describes its own product.
Clockify
Best for: Teams that just want a straightforward timer and timesheet for hours across projects, which is how the vendor describes it.
DeskTime
Best for: Managers of remote teams who want hours, apps and project time recorded automatically; the vendor names a free plan.
Everhour
Best for: Agencies tracking billable hours inside the project tools they already use, with threshold alerts, as the vendor lists them.
Hubstaff
Best for: Distributed and hybrid workforces where approved hours feed payments and reports, alongside productivity monitoring, per the vendor.
My Hours
Best for: Freelancers and consultants who share time reports with clients or managers and turn hours into invoices, as the vendor describes.
RescueTime
Best for: Freelancers and individuals wanting automatic tracking, goals and timesheets that show how time is spent; the vendor names a free trial.
TimeCamp
Best for: Project teams wanting logged hours turned into project reports and invoices, with native connections to tools like Jira and Asana; a free plan is named.
Toggl Track
Best for: Service teams that want time tracking, capacity planning and task management in one product, according to the vendor.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
Will it feed payroll and timesheets?
TMetric pitches time tracking and project management for teams. The thing to test in any replacement is how people record time every day, and whether those hours flow into timesheets, invoices and payroll exports without someone retyping them.
Ask to see the export, not just the dashboard. If you pay staff by the hour, check the timesheet format your payroll provider accepts and whether approvals happen before export. If you bill clients, check that billable and non-billable time stay separate all the way to the invoice. Working time and record-keeping rules vary by country, so check what applies to you with your regulator.
Don't forget the approval step. If managers can't review and lock timesheets before they're exported, mistakes slip straight through to pay or invoices, and they're much harder to fix afterwards. A simple weekly approval, done on a set day, keeps the numbers clean without turning into admin for everyone. It's also worth checking how the tool handles edits after approval, because you'll want a record of who changed what.
Advice for managers choosing a tracker
Make it easy before you make it detailed. A tracker with a browser extension, a phone app and a timer inside the tools your team already uses will get far better data than one with clever reports that people forget to open. Start with a few projects and clients, not your whole structure, and add detail once the habit sticks. Don't judge a tool on its first week either: there's always a dip while people get used to it, and the data that matters is what you're seeing after a month. For more ideas, see my roundup of time tracking tools for solo business owners and my guide to AI tools for productivity.
Rolling it out without a revolt
- Explain why you're tracking time, whether that's billing, payroll or planning, and what you won't use the data for.
- Set it up inside the apps people already work in, so tracking is one click away.
- Agree a simple rule, such as filling in the day before logging off.
- Review the first two weeks of timesheets together and fix anything confusing.
- Export a test payroll or invoice run before you switch off the old tool.
Do you make time tracking or time clock software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between manual and automatic time tracking?
Manual tracking means people start a timer or fill in a timesheet. Automatic tracking records time and activity in the background, with less effort but more privacy questions.
Is it legal to monitor employees' computer activity?
Rules vary by country and region. Check with your regulator or an employment adviser, and tell staff clearly what's tracked and why.
Can time tracking software feed payroll?
Many tools export approved timesheets in formats payroll systems accept. Test the export with your own payroll provider before you rely on it.
How do I get my team to track time consistently?
Make it quick, put the timer inside the tools they already use, and explain what the data is for. A short daily habit beats a detailed weekly fill-in.
Do freelancers need a time tracker?
If you bill by the hour or want to see which clients take most of your time, a simple tracker makes invoicing and planning much easier.
