Whether you are a freelancer, small studio, or large corporation, tracking the time spent on projects is an essential part of monitoring productivity, as well as keeping an eye on costs and sticking to deadlines. Keeping a record of how long certain jobs can take also helps in making estimates, and costing projects quickly and accurately.

There are a lot of companies out there offering time tracking software, far too many to talk about in one post, so I have chosen to target some of the most popular online applications. These allow users to log-in to a third party host from wherever they are in the world, and usually provide desktop / dashboard widgets or iPhone apps that allow you to start and stop the timer, and control projects without having to launch your browser each time.

Clockspot

Clockspot is the easiest way to track employee time from anywhere. Every day, businesses lose thousands of dollars paying employees for time they didn’t work. This web time clock and online timesheet helps your business save time and money by allowing employees to clock in and out of work using the Internet or telephone.

FreshBooks

So easy to use, FreshBooks saves you time and gets you paid faster. You’ll actually love invoicing. Easily track and report on your and your staff’s time. Use our iPhone app when you’re on the go. Brand your system and invoices with your company’s logo. Earn the awe of your clients. Keep track of your expenses, for both projects and yourself. Easily re-bill clients on project expenses.

Harvest

Harvest lets you and your staff track time, log expenses, and create invoices in one simple, integrated workflow. Set yourself or your team up on Harvest in just a few minutes, and instantly start tracking time and expenses. Use the Harvest graphical reports to see the distribution of your company’s resources in a visual, intuitive way. Quickly create an invoice, and with just a single click, bill your client.

LiveTimer

LiveTimer is a flexible and easy to use online time tracking service. It can be used by anyone on the Internet to track time for billing purposes or to improve accountability and productivity. Because LiveTimer runs in your web browser, there is nothing to install or maintain. LiveTimer works for groups of all sizes and can be customized to meet your needs.

Paymo

Paymo is a powerful yet easy-to-use time tracking system. We know how unpleasant time tracking can be for employees, that’s why Paymo is designed to make time tracking simple and fun – once you’ve tried it you’ll wonder how your business ever survived without it!

Ronin

Let Ronin manage your clients, projects, invoices and estimates so you can focus on what you do best. Simple online invoicing and time tracking. Perfect for creative teams and solo freelancers. Designed to make you look professional.

TimeWhale

Manage tasks, keep track of your schedule, explore statistics. Timewhale helps you optimize your time with ease. TimeWhale is an online software application. This means there’ll be no downloads, installations, upgrades or other forms of hassle getting in the way of you doing business. Just create your account, and in under a minute you and your team will be good to go.

Toggl

Time tracking that works. Get things done and turn your time into money. Track time with a single click, switch easily between different tasks and create reports. Toggl suits both individuals and teams. It is used by anyone selling hours: freelancers, design agencies, law offices, developers. There are both free and paid plans.

TrackMyPeople

TrackMyPeople is a free web-based time tracking service that will save you money and time while providing you with a clear overview of the time you (and your employees) spend on projects. TrackMyPeople allows you to easily track your time, as well as your employees’ time. The online timesheet offers flexible management and reporting options for everyone.

Yast

Yast, the world’s easiest time tracker.

By Chris Skelton