Top 7 Time Tracking Tools for Small Businesses in 2025
When you’re running a small business, every dollar and every minute matters. And I’ve learned the hard way—more than once—that guessing where your team’s time is going isn’t a reliable strategy. Whether you’re trying to improve productivity, manage remote workers, or tighten up your payroll process, having a solid time tracking system in place is non-negotiable in 2025.
I’m Rachel Monroe, a graduate of Boston University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Technology. I’ve owned and operated a boutique staffing agency in Denver for the past 11 years, and I also serve as a writer and editor for Price It Here. I’ve tested dozens of time tracking platforms over the years, both for my own business and for clients across different industries. Some tools are bloated and overcomplicated, while others don’t scale well once your team grows past five people.
So I put together this no-fluff list of my top seven time tracking tools for small businesses this year—tools that actually make sense for real-world teams and real-world budgets.
1. Clockify – Best Free Time Tracking Tool (That Doesn’t Feel Free)
Clockify is hands-down the most generous free plan out there. It lets you track hours across unlimited users, projects, and clients—and it even includes reporting features, app integrations, and a browser timer. For a business just starting out or one that bills by the hour, it’s a lifesaver.
What I love: it’s lightweight and intuitive. You don’t need a 20-minute tutorial to get going.
Ideal for: Freelancers, consultants, agencies, and lean teams tracking billable hours.
2. Toggl Track – Best for Clean Design and Simplicity
Toggl is another big name in the time tracking space, and for good reason. It’s beautifully designed, effortless to use, and it keeps distractions to a minimum. Toggl shines in environments where employees need to self-manage their time and stay focused.
It also gives you strong reporting without feeling like you’re in Excel purgatory.
Ideal for: Creative teams, remote workers, and small businesses that want simple daily time logs.
3. QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets) – Best for QuickBooks Integration
If you already use QuickBooks for accounting or payroll, this one’s a no-brainer. QuickBooks Time tracks employee hours, manages PTO, and syncs everything directly to payroll—so you cut out double entry and reduce payroll errors.
It’s more robust than the simpler tools, so expect a slight learning curve if you’re switching from spreadsheets.
Ideal for: Businesses already using QuickBooks, especially in construction, field services, or hourly staffing.
4. Harvest – Best for Teams That Bill Clients
Harvest combines time tracking with invoicing and budgeting, making it perfect for service-based businesses that need to monitor both labor and financials in one dashboard. You can assign hours to specific tasks, generate branded invoices, and even track project profitability.
I’ve used Harvest when onboarding new contract recruiters—it helped us figure out which accounts were the most time-intensive before they started hurting margins.
Ideal for: Consultants, agencies, legal professionals, and B2B service providers.
5. Hubstaff – Best for Remote Team Management
Hubstaff goes beyond simple time tracking—it gives you tools for managing distributed teams. Think: screenshots, activity levels, GPS tracking, and automated timesheets. If you’ve got contractors or employees logging in from different cities (or countries), Hubstaff gives you accountability without micromanagement.
Fair warning: not every employee will love being tracked this closely, so transparency is key when rolling it out.
Ideal for: Remote teams, virtual assistants, or international contractors.
6. Homebase – Best for Retail and Hourly Teams
If you run a coffee shop, boutique, or restaurant, Homebase is probably your best bet. It’s designed for hourly scheduling and shift-based businesses, with features like time clocks, break tracking, and labor law compliance alerts.
It even lets employees clock in from a tablet or POS system, and it handles wage calculations and timesheet approvals in minutes.
Ideal for: Retail stores, food service, salons, and hospitality businesses.
7. ClickTime – Best for Project-Based Teams Who Need Budget Tracking
ClickTime gives you time tracking with a project management twist. You can estimate labor budgets, allocate hours per project, and compare actual hours to expected ones. It’s great for teams that need both time accountability and financial clarity in real time.
It’s not the cheapest platform, but the ROI makes sense if you’re juggling multiple clients or cost centers.
Ideal for: Architects, nonprofits, software teams, and agencies with tight client budgets.
Why Small Businesses Need Time Tracking Software
Time tracking software isn’t just for enterprise corporations or massive remote teams. In fact, I’d argue that small businesses have the most to gain by using it—because the margin for error is smaller, and every hour truly counts.
When I launched my staffing agency, I handled timekeeping with a patchwork of spreadsheets, email approvals, and handwritten notes from contractors. It worked—for about two months. Then we landed three new clients in a week, and I found myself buried under late timesheets, incorrect billable hours, and frustrated employees wondering when they’d get paid.
That’s when I realized that manual timekeeping might be free, but it comes at a cost—and that cost shows up in lost revenue, administrative overload, and compliance headaches.
Here’s why every small business should seriously consider switching to time tracking software in 2025:
Time Is Money—Especially When You’re Lean
When you’ve got a small team, every task counts. If employees are spending time on the wrong things—or if billable time slips through the cracks—it affects your bottom line fast. Time tracking tools give you visibility into who’s doing what, for how long, and for which client or project.
That kind of insight helps you make smarter staffing decisions, adjust workloads, and pinpoint where inefficiencies are hiding. You don’t need to micromanage—you just need data you can trust.
Payroll Errors Drain Morale and Momentum
Let’s face it: nothing ruins team morale like paycheck mistakes. If you’ve ever had to retroactively fix underpaid hours (or worse—explain to a contractor why their invoice was off), you know how messy that can get. Time tracking software eliminates the guesswork and keeps everyone on the same page.
Automated timesheets that sync with your payroll provider ensure that people get paid correctly and on time—and you stay compliant with wage laws. That means fewer disputes, fewer corrections, and a much smoother payday.
It Protects You Legally
As a small business owner, compliance isn’t optional. Labor laws require you to keep accurate records of hours worked, breaks taken, and overtime. If you’re ever audited—or if an employee files a wage claim—incomplete or inconsistent records can cost you thousands.
Time tracking software gives you a digital paper trail. Most platforms also include features to flag overtime, missed breaks, or irregular hours, so you can fix small issues before they become big problems.
Remote and Hybrid Teams Are Here to Stay
Even if your business didn’t start as remote-friendly, odds are you’ve had to adapt in the last few years. Whether you’re managing part-time freelancers, remote employees, or a hybrid schedule, time tracking keeps your team aligned and accountable—no matter where they’re working.
Modern tools like Hubstaff and Toggl Track allow workers to log hours from their phone, browser, or desktop—and some even offer GPS tracking or app usage data for higher accountability in distributed teams.
It’s not about spying—it’s about building trust while giving your team the flexibility they need.
Billing and Budgeting Get a Whole Lot Easier
If you bill clients hourly or need to monitor project profitability, manual tracking just won’t cut it. I’ve had clients who underbilled by thousands of dollars in a single quarter simply because time was recorded inconsistently—or not at all.
With platforms like Harvest or ClickTime, you can track hours in real time, assign rates by employee or client, and generate accurate invoices with a click. You’ll also start spotting which projects are eating up time versus those that are delivering a healthy margin.
It Helps You Grow Smarter
Maybe you’re not ready to hire a full HR department. Maybe you’re still wearing every hat in the business. That’s exactly why you need tools that make scaling possible without adding chaos.
Time tracking software gives you operational clarity. You’ll know when it’s time to hire, where to cut back, and how much time certain tasks really take. That kind of insight doesn’t just help you survive—it helps you grow strategically.
Your Team Will Thank You (Eventually)
Here’s the part a lot of owners don’t expect: employees often like having a clear system in place—especially when it leads to faster paydays, better transparency, and less back-and-forth.
When you introduce time tracking software the right way—with communication, clarity, and a good tool that fits your culture—it becomes a tool for empowerment, not surveillance. And that builds the kind of trust you can’t buy with perks or ping-pong tables.
If you’re still using manual time cards, Excel sheets, or nothing at all, now is the time to level up. Today’s cloud-based tools are affordable, easy to use, and built for businesses exactly like yours. Whether you need to track five people or fifty, time tracking software is one of the few investments that consistently saves time, reduces risk, and boosts profitability.
And as someone who’s seen what happens when it’s missing—I can’t recommend it strongly enough.
Choosing the Tool That Works for You
Don’t get caught up in choosing the “best” tool—choose the right one. The best platform for a five-person creative studio is going to look very different from the one a 30-person HVAC company needs. My advice? Start with one or two tools that offer a free trial, involve your team in the testing process, and make sure whatever you choose integrates easily with your payroll or accounting software.
At Price It Here, we help small businesses avoid costly tools that don’t scale—and find solutions that pay for themselves in productivity and peace of mind.
About the Author
I’m Rachel Monroe, a Boston University graduate with a bachelor’s in Business Technology. I’ve spent the last 11 years running a successful staffing agency in Denver and helping business owners optimize their operations through smarter tech. As a writer and editor for Price It Here, I specialize in small business tools, time-saving software, and back-office systems that actually deliver results.
