Best Time Tracking Software For Small Businesses (2026)

Small businesses lose hundreds of hours every year to manual time tracking, payroll mistakes, and confusing spreadsheets. And when you’re running a tight team, even small errors—like a missed clock-out or incorrect break time—can quietly inflate labor costs.

The good news: Time tracking software for small businesses is built to be simple, affordable, and designed for hourly teams.

This guide breaks down the 8 best time tracking software for small businesses (free time trackers and paid), plus how to choose the right tool, implement your new online time tracker effectively, and avoid common mistakes.

TL;DR: Best time tracking software for small businesses 

If you want the quick version on the best time clock software for small businesses, plus tips on how to choose the right one and set it up, here it is:

Top 8 timekeeping software for small businesses:

1. Homebase: Best all-in-one time tracking software for small business teams that also need scheduling, payroll, and compliance tools.
2. Clockify: Best time tracking for small businesses or freelancers who need project-based time tracking with billable hours.
3. QuickBooks Time: Best time tracking management software for mobile teams that need GPS and mileage tracking and are already using Intuit/QuickBooks tools.
4. Toggl Track: Best for agencies, freelancers, and creative teams doing project-based work.
5. Hubstaff: Best timesheet software for small businesses that are mainly remote and need visibility into productivity via activity monitoring.
6. Harvest: Best for consultants who bill by the hour and need built-in invoicing.
7. Connecteam: Best for deskless and field service teams who work mobile-first.
8. Timesheets.com: Best time tracking for small businesses looking for a simple, affordable tool and don’t mind outdated UI or limited advanced features.

How to choose the right time tracking software:

1. Prioritize the tools you need depending on whether you’re shift-based, project-based, remote, or a field team.
2. Think about the tools you already use today that you want to integrate with your new time tracking software.
3. Determine your budget reality. Free online time trackers are best for very small teams (1–5 employees) that only need the basics. If your team is bigger or has more complex needs, look at paid plans.

How to set up time tracking for your small business: Configure your account and settings, add employees and permissions, train your team, and communicate your policies.

Common mistakes to avoid when implementing time tracking software: Choosing the cheapest tool instead of the right tool, choosing a tool that doesn’t integrate with your payroll, skipping employee training, ignoring mobile needs, overcomplicating with features you don't need, and not setting clear policies for your team.

Time tracking compliance for small businesses:

• FLSA requires tracking daily hours, weekly totals, pay basis, wages paid, and pay periods. Keep payroll records for 3 years and timecards/schedules for 2 years.
• States may require stricter tracking, so check your state’s labor laws to ensure you’re compliant.
• Time tracking software helps you be compliant through overtime alerts, break reminders, audit logs, and digital record storage. Plus, accurate documentation can protect your business in wage disputes.

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8 Best time tracking software for small businesses

1. Homebase

Homebase is the best time tracking software for small businesses with hourly workers. It combines time tracking, scheduling, payroll, timesheets, and compliance tools in one app—ideal for restaurants, retailers, salons, gyms, cafés, and service businesses.

Key features:

• Mobile time clock with GPS and geofencing
• Automated timesheets
• Overtime tracking
• Compliance alerts (missed breaks, overtime, meal periods)
• Schedule builder with shift swaps
• Payroll add-on
• Team messaging in-app

Pricing: Free for one location, up to 10 employees and paid plans from $24/month per location (unlimited employees).

Pros: Designed for hourly teams, per-location pricing (not per-user), strong compliance tools, and the free time tracking app includes scheduling and POS integrations.

Cons: No project-based billing, and not designed for freelancers.

Best for: Small businesses with hourly workers who want time tracking, scheduling, and payroll in one app.

2. Clockify

Clockify is a popular timekeeping software for small business teams that bill by the hour. It’s simple, user-friendly, and offers a generous time tracking app free plan, making it a top choice for freelancers, contractors, and small agencies.

Key features:

• One-click timer
• Track billable and non-billable expenses
• Client and project tracking
• Timesheets
• GPS tracking (paid plan)
• Reporting dashboards

Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $3.99/user/month.

Pros: Great for agencies, simple interface, strong project tracking, and easy onboarding.

Cons: Costs rise quickly for multi-user teams, and limited payroll and compliance features.

Best for: Freelancers, consultants, and agencies that need project-based time tracking with billable hours.

3. QuickBooks Time

QuickBooks Time is a timesheet management software built for mobile and field-based teams who need location-based attendance, but it costs more than most tools on this list. It integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks accounting and payroll, making it ideal for businesses already in the Intuit ecosystem.

Key features:

• GPS time clock + geofencing
• Mileage tracking
• Real-time “Who’s Working” map
• Shift scheduling
• Alerts for breaks + overtime
• Mobile-first design

Pricing: Pricing typically starts around $20–$30/month plus per-user fees (for example, $30/month + $10/user on some Elite plans—check current pricing for your region).

Pros: Strong GPS features, perfect for field teams, and integrates with QuickBooks seamlessly.

Cons: No free plan, higher pricing, and mobile GPS can drain your battery.

Best for: Construction, delivery, landscaping, cleaning crews, and any business with mobile workers. 

4. Toggl Track

Toggl Track is a lightweight, intuitive time tracking system built for project-based businesses. It’s a favorite among creative teams because of its clean design, powerful reporting, and frictionless one-click timers. It doesn’t include payroll or scheduling, but it excels at client and project visibility.

Key features:

• One-click timers
• Billable rates
• Projects with tasks/sub-projects
• Project budget and alerts
• Reporting and insights
• Integrations with 100+ apps

Pricing: Free plan available (up to 5 users); paid plans start at $9/user/month.

Pros: Easy to use, ideal for project tracking, great reporting, and a variety of integrations.

Cons: No payroll, no scheduling, and it can get expensive with larger teams.

Best for: Agencies, freelancers, and consultants, especially if they’re marketers or designers.

5. Hubstaff

Hubstaff is an employee timesheet software that combines time tracking with remote work monitoring features like screenshots and URL usage. It’s designed for distributed teams if you need more visibility into how time is spent. Its GPS and geofencing tools also make it useful for field service crews.

Key features:

• Global time tracking
• Keyboard and mouse activity trends
• Insights on “unusual activity”
• GPS and geofencing
• Productivity dashboard
• Timesheets
• Payroll and invoicing options
• Project budgets

Pricing: Free trial for 14 days, and plans start at $4.99/user/month.

Pros: Advanced monitoring tools, detailed productivity analytics, and GPS features for field teams.

Cons: Monitoring features may feel intrusive for your team, the free plan is very limited, and there’s a steeper learning curve.

Best for: Remote teams and distributed workforces that need visibility into tasks and productivity.

6. Harvest

Harvest is the best time tracking software for small businesses that blends time tracking with built-in invoicing, expenses, and budgeting, making it ideal for client services businesses. It’s not an all-in-one employee management platform, but it’s great for agencies and consultants who bill hourly.

Key features:

• Time tracking
• Invoicing and payments
• Expense tracking
• Project budgets and team capacity
• Reporting
• 60+ integrations, including Asana, Slack, and Stripe

Pricing: Free plan for one user; paid plans start at $9/user/month.

Pros: Great invoicing, excellent for client billing, simple interface, strong reporting.

Cons: No scheduling or payroll, and limited team management features.

Best for: Agencies, consultants, and freelancers that bill clients for hours worked.

7. Connecteam

Connecteam is a mobile-first timekeeping software for small businesses with deskless or field service workers. It pairs time tracking with task checklists, forms, and communication tools, making it strong for crews that work in multiple locations.

Key features:

• GPS time clock
• Geofencing
• Digital reports and checklists
• Online forms, fillable via speech-to-text
• In-app chat
• Employee scheduling

Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $29/month for up to 30 users (+$0.8/month for each additional user).

Pros: Great for mobile workers, strong task management, and affordable for small-to-medium-sized teams.

Cons: Pricing jumps for more advanced features, not ideal for office-based teams, and no payroll tools.

Best for: Construction, cleaning, maintenance, security, and other field service teams.

8. Timesheets.com

Timesheets.com is a budget-friendly small business timesheet software designed for hourly and salaried teams. Because of its outdated UI and limited advanced features, it’s better for teams that need a simple tool with just the basics. 

Key features:

• Time tracking
• Mileage and expense tracking
• Time-off and accrual management
• Basic reporting
• HR system

Pricing: Free plan for a single user; standard paid plans start at $5.50/user/month and $4.40/user/month for non-profits.

Pros: Affordable, simple interface, and offers a variety of useful tools for small teams.

Cons: Outdated UI, fewer integrations, and limited advanced features.

Best for: Budget-conscious teams that want basic, reliable timekeeping systems for small businesses or non-profits.

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How to choose the right time tracking software

1. Consider your business type and workforce

Depending on your business type and workforce, you should prioritize certain kinds of tools over others in your timesheet management software.

Shift-based hourly workers (retail, restaurants, healthcare):

• Need: Scheduling + time tracking integration
• Look for: Mobile clock-in, GPS verification, shift swapping
• Best fit: Homebase, Connecteam

Project-based/billable hours (agencies, consultants):

• Need: Project tracking, invoicing integration
• Look for: Client/project categorization, timer, expense tracking
• Best fit: Harvest, Toggl Track, Clockify

Remote teams:

• Need: Visibility into work activity
• Look for: Screenshots, activity monitoring, GPS
• Best fit: Hubstaff, QuickBooks Time

Field service (construction, cleaning, home services):

• Need: Location verification, job tracking
• Look for: GPS, geofencing, job costing
• Best fit: Connecteam, QuickBooks Time, Homebase

2. Evaluate your must-have integrations

Critical questions to ask yourself:

• What payroll system do you use? (e.g., Gusto, QuickBooks, ADP, Paychex)
• Does the time tracker software integrate directly with payroll?
• Does the time tracker sync automatically or require manual export?

Common integrations to verify:

Check if the employee timesheet software you’re considering supports these common integrations.

• Payroll: QuickBooks, Gusto, ADP, Paychex, Square Payroll
• Accounting: Xero, FreshBooks
• POS: Square, Toast, Clover
• Project management: Asana, Trello, Monday

3. Determine your budget reality

Free time trackers work if:

• You have a very small team (1-5 employees).
• Basic features are sufficient.
• You don't need GPS or advanced reporting.
• You’re willing to accept limitations.

Paid plans are worth it when you:

• Need GPS verification.
• Require payroll integration.
• Want advanced reporting.
• Manage a larger team.
• Need compliance features.

Pricing models:

• Per user/month: Clockify, QuickBooks Time, Toggl Track, Hubstaff, Harvest ($4-$40/user/month)
• Per location/month: Homebase ($24-$96/location, unlimited employees)
• Flat monthly rate: Connecteam ($29-$99/month for the first 30 users)

Cost consideration: Per-location pricing (like Homebase) benefits businesses with many employees at one location, while per-user pricing is better for very small teams.

Setting up time tracking for your small business

Step 1: Configure your account and settings

Set up the basics, like overtime rules, break requirements, pay periods, and job codes, so the system matches your real workplace policies. These settings ensure your time tracking management software stays legally compliant and aligns with how you already run payroll. 

Step 2: Add employees and permissions

Invite team members to the time-tracking app on day one. Assign permissions based on their role, like letting managers approve timecards or edit schedules while limiting editing access for regular staff. This keeps your system organized and prevents unapproved changes to important records.

Step 3: Train your team

Walk your employees through how to clock in and out, record breaks, and check their upcoming shifts.  A quick demo or training session can help reduce mistakes. Also, ensure they understand how to use the mobile app, especially if you rely on GPS or geofencing.

Step 4: Establish policies and communicate

Create clear rules for late clock-ins, missed breaks, early clock-outs, or timecard edits so everyone knows what’s expected. Share these policies in writing during onboarding and post them somewhere visible, like your scheduling app or break room.

Watch out for these common mistakes when implementing time tracking software

• Choosing the cheapest tool instead of the right tool.
• Choosing an employee time tracking app that doesn’t integrate with your payroll.
• Skipping employee training.
• Ignoring mobile needs.
• Overcomplicating with features you don't need.
• Not setting clear policies for your team.

Time tracking compliance for small businesses

Small businesses must follow federal and state labor laws when recording employee hours. Below is a breakdown of what the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires you to track, how state rules may differ, and how time tracking software helps you stay compliant.

FLSA record-keeping requirements

What you must track:

• Hours worked each day
• Total hours worked each workweek
• Basis on which wages are paid (hourly rate, salary, etc.)
• Total wages paid each pay period
• Date of payment and pay period covered

Record retention rules:

• Payroll records must be kept for 3 years.
• Time cards, timesheets, and schedules must be kept for 2 years.
• Records must be accessible for inspection by the Department of Labor.

State-specific requirements

In addition to federal law, states often have their own timekeeping and wage requirements that can be stricter than the FLSA. This means small businesses must follow whichever law offers the greater employee protection.

Common state variations include:

• Some states, like California and Alaska, have daily overtime rules (e.g. overtime after 8 hours in a day), while others, including Nevada and Colorado, have more nuanced daily overtime provisions that can be stricter than federal rules. Check your state’s Department of Labor guidance for details.”
• Meal and rest break requirements (vary significantly by state).
• Predictive scheduling laws (San Francisco, Seattle, NYC, Oregon).
• Daily overtime vs. weekly only.

How to check your state's requirements:

• Visit your state Department of Labor website or speak with a labor law attorney to confirm your obligations. 
• State-specific rules may be stricter than federal, so it’s important to know your local rules so that you can set up your time tracking system correctly.

How time tracking software helps compliance

Automated compliance features include:

• Alerts when employees are approaching overtime.
• Break reminders and automated break tracking.
• Audit trails showing all time clock entries and edits.
• Secure digital record retention.
• Reports for compliance audits and payroll reviews.

Benefits of accurate documentation:

• Protects your business in wage disputes.
• Reduces the risk of unpaid overtime claims.
• Helps prove compliance with break and scheduling requirements.

Conclusion: Choose the right time tracking software for your business

The right employee time tracking app should fit your team, your workflows, and your budget, while reducing payroll errors, saving you hours every week, and improving team accountability.

And with a clear setup, employee training, and solid policies, you can avoid common mistakes and stay compliant with federal and state labor laws.

Every tool in our list excels for a different type of business, and now you have the information to pick the right one. For hourly teams looking for an all-in-one tool, Homebase is a strong and affordable choice.

“Before Homebase, we were printing out timesheets and manually calculating hours. Now our lives are so much more efficient!” — Ashley Ortiz, Co-owner, Antique Taco, Chicago, IL.

Reclaim your time with our free time clock—try Homebase today.

FAQ: Time tracking software for small businesses

How much does time tracking software cost?

Time tracking software can cost anywhere from free to $20 per user per month, depending on features. Many small business time tracking software offer free tiers, while full-featured platforms with GPS, payroll, and compliance tools usually require a paid plan.

Can employees track time on their phones?

Yes, employees can track time on their phones if you choose a tool that has a mobile app. Many timekeeping systems for small businesses let staff clock in and out from their smartphones. Some tools also include GPS verification so you can confirm they’re clocking in from the right location.

Does time tracking software integrate with payroll?

Most time tracking software for small businesses integrates with major payroll systems like Gusto, QuickBooks, ADP, and Paychex. This saves time and prevents manual payroll errors.

How do I get employees to actually use time tracking software?

To get employees to actually use time tracking software, train your team, keep the process simple, and use a tool that sends reminders. Clear policies and an intuitive app make it easier to adopt small business time tracking software.

Is time tracking software worth it for very small businesses?

Yes, tracking software is worth it for very small businesses because it helps prevent overpayment, makes payroll faster, and keeps accurate records for compliance. Even a free time tracking app is better than nothing or manual tracking, which is prone to errors.

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