Toggl

Toggl is a time tracking software as a service offered freely with paid upgrades for larger teams with more than five people. The upgraded plans are five dollars per month for an unlimited team size along with the ability to add your billable rates. And there is a premium business plan which is fifty nine dollars per month and includes management, scheduling and audit features in addition basically to the Pro plan which is very good value. There is a lot to like about this software. First of all I am very grateful as a solo contractor currently to be able to have this functionality freely available. That's terrific news. There is a Google Chrome extension along with a desktop version you are able to download. Both worked seamlessly with my Gmail which you can sign up with seamlessly as well. I was very impressed with how easy it is to get going quickly. The software is less than twenty megabytes so it's very light weight and runs in the background. There are some preferences available in your settings all of which is easy to setup and use. The tracking itself could not be any simpler really it's a big red button which click to start and stop. You can right click this as well in the software with a number of features available including reports. It will send you to your online account to view them. I like that you can categorize your time which makes it easy to tag time within multiple project ongoing. You can view all of your time spent per project, or workspace as they call them easily as well. The software is very mobile friendly they have native iOS and Android apps which are free to use which is awesome. So you can be a remote worker and still be very accurate with your billable hours. That's awesome and wasn't even possible not so long ago. The desktop software will work on Mac, Windows and Linux too which is rare nowadays but good to see. The desktop app will track your time in fifteen minute intervals and let you know the window you were working in and how long you were working on the program which you were using so that's great. It's not a screenshot of your desktop but it's the next best thing in my opinion, to help prove your accountability to clients especially initially when you have just begun to work with them. Using the Chrome extension you can track over fifty integrations they have built in. For example you can integrate your Basecamp project management tool and record the time while in the account. Plus fifty more third party services all of which are popular and commonly used and all available in the free account which is awesome value.

I was so happy to have found this software because I have been looking and after looking into over five hundred of the most popular business software online here it was. And it is absolutely incredible for the value they are offering and it all works great. I only wish it had two of the features which I use with the Upwork desktop time tracking app. The first is the ability to automatically take screenshots of the work you are doing and the other is the ability for the software to gage the activity happening. For example it tracks my keyboard strokes and gives the employer a good idea of my activity level at any given time. There are times when it's research and screenshots and others when writing is done so it is verifiable both ways. The accuracy in Toggl is very good and synced directly to the sites you are using but doesn't take screenshots or convey activity levels directly. It's the next best thing in my opinion though will suffice I am quite certain as it is.

The Pro account for five dollars per month for an unlimited size team is excellent value. You can create time estimates and it will warn you if you're nearing the target. And you can round up or down to the hour or minute. You can export your account details as well into a PDF though if you're savvy you could take a screenshot from your free account and turn into a PDF. Overall, this is an outstanding time tracking platform with incredible value for freelancers and contractors. It is easy to learn and use. You can start tracking billable time from your smartphone or table, laptop or desktop in a matter of minutes accurately. While the integrations, Google Chrome extension and desktop are all amazing value on top of the core functionality. Highly recommended!