When you are considering timesheet apps they need to be able to easily collect, track, and measure data. Data is an important piece of any business, whether you’re tracking data from customers and potential clients or measuring the internal functions of business and employees.‍

Time tracking data and keeping an electronic record of employee hours is an important part of running a successful and profitable business. You probably didn’t get into business to constantly think about payroll and billing, but, federal and state laws require you to track employee hours closely. Therefore, it is worth finding a quality (but still affordable) time tracking app that reduces administration time and keeps your business compliant with employment laws and regulations.

A lot of time tracking apps offer similar features, but not all features work the same. For example; when it comes to tracking time, does your team clock in, take breaks and clock out or do they complete a weekly timesheet? Do you manage a basic schedule or do you need more automation to manage continuous change? The only way to find out if a feature like “scheduling” is the right type of scheduling tool for your business is to “try before you buy”.

Here are some additional points to consider when making your decision on which time and attendance tracking app is right for your business:‍

Pricing‍

In addition to a free trial look for apps that don’t ask for a credit card up front that way you won’t be charged for something you don’t want or haven’t made a decision on. It’s equally important to experiment and find out which time tracking app offers the features you need at an affordable price. Most will also provide annual discount pricing, so if you are looking to lower your cost you should definitely consider choosing this option. ‍

TIP: If your free trial gets away from you before you really have time to try it out, we recommend reaching out to the support team, chances are they will give you a one-off extension on your trial account.

Free Integrations‍

The easier it is for employees and Human Resources to access time clock data; the more accurate payroll and reports will be. Many of the popular timekeeping apps integrate with payroll, expense and accounting software to sync important data such as; employees, clients, payroll items, timesheets etc. Also consider other integrations that help with efficiency and productivity, apps like; Zapier, Amazon Alexa and Google Home or connected apps that sync time like Google Calendar and Outlook/365.  You never know what is around the corner so explore all your channels to avoid a costly or time consuming product switch in the future. ‍

Mobile Apps‍

Mobile apps are a must when considering a timekeeping app, being able to track time from any location means all hours are accounted for. This will also help you run an accurate payroll and bill clients for every second worked. GPS tracking and geofencing are great features for managing a remote team; they allow you to see who is on the clock and where, whose on a break or offline – all in real-time. Whereas geofencing will allow you to set a predefined boundary around where the employee can clock time, think of it as an ‘out of bounds” management tool, if your employee is not inside the predefined circle then they cannot log time. ‍

Support‍

With so many apps on the market to choose from you get to be picky. Select apps with free unlimited lifetime support and one-on-one training. Be sure to take a closer look to see what that means for your timezone, and the method of contact available. For example, does it include phone, live chat, email, webinars, private demos and an online help forum? You should seriously consider support when deciding on a time and attendance tracking app because we may love technology but some days technology doesn’t love us!‍

Our Recommendation?‍

We’re not going to do all the heavy lifting for you! We’ve given you an overview of what to look out for and now it’s up to you to try and buy.

Start some free trials and determine what app has the right features and benefits for your business and budget.

Use promo code ‘Accountex2020’ to receive an extended 30-day trial PLUS a 50% discount on annual billing for an entire year.  Afterall time is money, and we want you to have more of both!