13 Best Time Tracking Apps for Designers

Running a business in the creative industry is highly stressful. Creativity can’t be delivered on command. Yet, your clients will expect you to deliver their projects in time. Unfortunately, the nature of the work itself often doesn’t allow for accurate assessments.

That is why many business owners in the creative industry, as well as freelancers, have seen the value of time tracking. Knowing exactly how you and your team spent your time creating the final product is a great advantage to have. Especially so if your clients want you to explain your fees more thoroughly.

You will also be able to review the time spent on different tasks. This way you will be able to distribute the workload more fairly among your staff. Even if you are a freelancer, tracking your time will allow you to assess the hours you need to spend on projects of varying complexity.

Why Use a Time Tracking App for Designers?

While the benefits of tracking time are obvious, you may be wondering why you should use a time tracking app instead of simple manual models. Here are some of the most important reasons

• Easy overview of your business
• Accuracy and transparency
• Saving time
• Different reports on the most important KPIs
• Identifying best performers among clients and employees
• Increasing productivity instead of overworking your team

While Excel sheets and paper logs will give you the same information, time tracking software will allow you to use it to improve your business overall.

So, without further ado, let’s see the best time tracking apps for designers and their features.

1. Time Analytics

Time Analytics is one of the newest time tracking apps for designers on the market. The app is extremely simple to use, and its straightforward design will be a nice break for any designer who has to deal with many visual inputs during their working hours.

The software allows you to create a model all your employees can use to track their time in only a couple of minutes at the end of their workday. This will ensure easy implementation of the system that doesn’t disrupt anyone’s work. Yet, the information your employees enter will be transformed into comprehensible reports that will help you lead your business.

Features

• Time tracking – know how your staff spends their time each day, how long each task takes to complete, and make accurate assessments in the future
• Reports – even though the employees will only need to use the platform for a few minutes a day, the data they enter will create powerful reports that can point out both positive and negative business practices. Real-time reporting allows you to see exactly which tasks are being done and by whom
• Hours structure analysis – find out how much of your company’s time is billable or non-billable. Use this information to increase the number of billable hours
• Client tracking – differentiate between your profitable and unprofitable contracts so you can change the fees for the clients that don’t bring in much profit
• Payroll and billing – add detailed itemized lists of activities that go into a project, or add an employee’s tasks to their payroll slip to increase transparency

Pricing

• Starter – $4.99 per user per month
• Optimum – $6.99 per user per month

Time Analytics offer special quantity based pricing discounts.

Trial period

14 days. No credit card required.

2. eBillity’s Time Tracker

eBillity came up with an automatic time tracking solution for designers. The platform has the goal of increasing the overall success of a business by delivering reports based on the data employees enter. Again, transparency is a big part of the program, as it enables administrators to follow the progress of different projects.

Features

• Time tracking – automatic timers will show exactly how much time went into each task
• Reports – have all the information about your projects in only a few clicks
• Alarms – employees who haven’t submitted their reports will receive email reminders
• Mobile app – the tracker features a mobile app that enables your employees to track time from anywhere

Pricing

• Time Tracker – $7.5 per user per month
• Time Tracker + Billing – $12.5 per user per month
• LawBillity – $30 per user per month

Trial period

14 days

3. Tick

Source: Tick website

Tick combines the features of time tracking and time management apps. As your design team fills in Tick’s timecards, the program will notify the managers about the time left to finish any given project or task. This is a great way to assess whether you need to add more hands to a specific deck. You can filter through the timecards by project, client, task, etc. Finally, you can control whether you are doing your tasks within your time frame and on budget.

Features

• Track project progress – know exactly how much time and resources you still have
• Recurring task management – set up the most common tasks to track automatically
• Integrations – Tick offers numerous integrations with the most famous project software solutions
• Automatic timers – turn a timer as you start a task and let it track your time

Pricing

• 1 project – Free
• 10 projects – $19 per month
• 30 projects – $49 per month
• 60 projects – $79 per month
• Unlimited projects – $149 per month

All plans allow unlimited users and archived projects

Trial period

30 days

4. AtTrack

If you are looking for a more hands-on time tracking apps for designers, AtTrack could be a great option for you. This platform allows you to monitor your employees closely, as it offers many monitoring features. For example, you will be able to see which apps your employees are using during their work hours. you can also receive screenshots of your employees’ devices.

Features

• Screenshots – make sure your team stays on track by knowing exactly what they’re doing
• Invoicing – base your invoices on real data and give your clients an overview of their projects
• Autofill – create tasks in a few clicks for more accurate time tracking
• Track time offline – know whether your employees were productive or not while offline

Pricing

• Basic – free
• Pro – $3 per user per month
• Business – $5 per user per month

Trial period

1 month

5. Timely

Timely is another time tracking app for designers that combines the features of two different types of apps. Namely, the app’s interface is similar to a calendar app. Calendar apps are very popular since they allow a clear overview of everyone’s schedules, and managers can use them to plan shifts and track changes. This way your team will always be on the same page when it comes to their schedules.

Features

• Organization – set up and change shifts quickly and painlessly
• Integrations – integrate Timely with your favorite calendar apps to avoid re-entering all entries
• Automatic time tracking – let the timers do their jobs while your team works on projects
• Project tracking – a real-time overview of all your projects and their progress and budget

Pricing

• Starter – $10 per user per month
• Premium – $18 per user per month
• Unlimited – $26 per user per month
• Unlimited + – custom plan

Trial period

14 days

6. TimeCamp

TimeCamp is a time tracking platform for designers that includes an automatic timer. Again, this tracker is a great option for managers who want to know more details about their employees’ time at work. that is why this platform offers an add-on that tracks the websites your employees are using during working hours. Online distractions are some of the biggest causes of time wasting in any industry, and TimeCamp is a great way to eliminate them.

Features

• Activity tracking – monitor the websites your employees visit to remove distractions
• Performance tracking – see how long any given task takes to complete and assess future projects
• Reports – the platform gathers data and turns it into accurate reports on your business
• Quick approvals – approve the reports your team submits with a single click

Pricing

• Free
• Basic – $7 per user per month
• Pro – $10 per user per month
• Enterprise – custom pricing

Trial period

14 days

7. Hours

Hours is a time tracking app for designers who use Mac devices. Even though it started out as a simple time tracker, the app grew into a reliable system that teams can use with no problem. The app is available on all Apple devices, so your team members can synchronize it for remote work needs. With a sleek design and clear interface, the app is quick and easy to use.

Features

• Easy mobile tracking – this application is great for organizations that aren’t looking for a complicated system
• Remote team management – get a detailed overview of your team’s activities no matter from where
• Freelancer tracking – if you need to add another temporary team member, Hours has your back
• Personal or team – both freelancers and teams can get the most out of the platform

Pricing

• $8 per user per month

Trial period

No information available

 8. Time Doctor

Time Doctor is one of the oldest and most reliable time tracking apps for developers. This platform combines time tracking, employee monitoring, and project management. This software solution offers a great degree of insight into your employees’ workdays. There are multiple aspects of their work you can monitor, such as screenshots of employee devices and tracking websites your team uses during working hours. In other words, if you are looking for a more accurate time tracking app, Time Doctor may be just the solution for you

Features

• Real-time data – make informed decisions when it comes to running your business
• Reminders – let the system remind your employees once it notices inactivity
• Billing – use the platform to track time for your clients for increased transparency
• Screenshots – you can know exactly what your employees are doing at any point in time

Pricing

• Basic – $7 per month per user
• Standard – $10 per user per month
• Premium – $20 per month per user
• Enterprise – Custom pricing

Read more on what is included in Time Doctor pricing plans.

Trial period

14 days

9. TrackingTime

Even though TrackingTime is one of the simpler time tracking apps for designers on our list, it has many benefits. This easy-to-use tool includes a to-do list which can be of great help when it comes to prioritizing tasks. The app includes both real-time and historic reports, which is a great feature if you want to observe how your business is progressing over time.

Features

• Time tracker – you can track time automatically or add your entries manually
• Attendance tracking – know exactly who is available and who isn’t at any point
• To-do list – never lose track of your priorities again
• Reports – see the inner workings of your organization and team anytime you need to

Pricing

• Free
• Pro – $7 per user per month

Trial period

14 days

10. TMetric

TMetric is a time tracking app that also offers the features of billing and invoicing, as well as some project management options. it tracks time automatically, so your team doesn’t have to interrupt their creative processes to log different activities. The app is available on web, mobile, and desktop, which enables you to track time from anywhere.

Features

• Time tracking – monitor how your team spends their time each day
• Activity tracking – get an insight into the websites and apps your employees interact with
• Billing and invoicing – you can transform the reports you receive into itemized bills
• Project management – see whether you are distributing tasks equally

Pricing

• Business – $7 per user per month
• Professional – $5 per user per month
• Free

Trial period

30 days

11. Paydirt

Paydirt is a time tracking software solution that doesn’t only focus on time. It is also a budgeting tool that will prevent you from going over your means in a project. This software solution also offers the option of invoicing. Finally, Paydirt will notify your employees if they forget to switch between tasks or clients.

Features

• Time tracking – never allocate time to the wrong client again with Paydirt’s reminders
• Invoicing – create itemized and accurate invoices for your clients
• Team management – assign tasks, view everyone’s progress and distribute the workload justly
• Business reports – receive reports on your team’s productivity and progress

Pricing

• Starter – $8 per month
• Hustler – $16 per month
• Co-op – $29 per month for 3 users
• Small team – $49 per month for 6 users
• Large team – $79 per month for 10 users
• Agency – $149 per month for 20 users

Trial period

Available

12. Harvest

Harvest is one of the most famous time tracking apps for designers currently on the market. It allows for simple time and expense tracking. Like some other entries on our list, Harvest allows you to track time per task, project, and client. It detects idle time and deducts it from the total working hours automatically, so you don’t have to worry if some of your team members have been slacking.

Features

• Cross-device design – an intuitive interface that works on any device
• Time tracking – track both the time your employees spend working and their idle time
• Billing – create accurate invoices for your clients for maximum transparency
• Integrations – Harvest can integrate with a great number of other popular business platforms

Pricing

• Free
• Pro – $12 per month per user

Trial period

30 days

13. Toggl

Source: Toggl web

Toggl is the final entry on our list. It is a real visual treat, as it has an especially youthful approach to time tracking and app design alike. It is a simple, yet effective time tracking tool that also allows other features you can add to it. Invoice generation is a large part of Toggl’s functionality, as the software allows you to export time reports to different formats you can add to your invoices.

Features

• Simple time tracking – a one-click timer that will run in the background
• Task management – Create task boards and let your employees cross off completed activity
• Project management – plan your projects from start to finish and assign them to your team members
• Invoices – add time reports to your bills to explain your fees

Pricing

• Free
• Starter – $10 per user per month
• Premium – $20 per user per month
• Enterprise – custom pricing

Check out our article on what is included in Toggl pricing plans.

Trial period

30 days

Conclusion

Whether you are a freelancer or own a design agency, time tracking is the best way to increase productivity within your business. Recognize your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to time management to avoid burnout.

The creative industry doesn’t really give much opportunity to breathe, and people who work in this field can feel overwhelmed and get into an artist’s block if they don’t take care of themselves.

We have given you the 13 best platforms to help you take care both of your business and your and your team’s well-being.

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