Time tracking software

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oseldman's picture

Can anyone recommend time tracking software?

I've got a Mac and have an iPhone, and am probably looking at something web-based. I need to be able to track hours from multiple locations and devices.

I've been using iBiz for a while, but I'm looking to move to something which has an iphone app for tracking work on the go. Ideally, I'd like to be able to have multiple clients/projects and team members, and also use the software to generate invoices (although invoicing isn't a deal breaker).

I've been trying out Harvest and am also considering FreshBooks, but I figured I'd ask the group to get a sense of what other people like and are using successfully. Pricing isn't a huge factor, but will definitely play a part in my decision.

Thanks,

Oliver

Comments

For iPhone, try

samsonlov's picture

For iPhone, try "HoursTracker". You can get the lite version for free, or the paid version if you want more features.

Yes, that is my profile pic.
:)

This may be an overkill but

ahimsauzi's picture

This may be an overkill but try Redmine http://www.redmine.org/

Redmine is a flexible project management web application. Written using Ruby on Rails framework, it is cross-platform and cross-database.

Redmine is open source and released under the terms of the GNU General Public License v2 (GPL).
Features

Below are some of the main features of Redmine.

Multiple projects support
Flexible role based access control
Flexible issue tracking system
Gantt chart and calendar
News, documents & files management
Feeds & email notifications
Per project wiki
Per project forums
Time tracking
Custom fields for issues, time-entries, projects and users
SCM integration (SVN, CVS, Git, Mercurial, Bazaar and Darcs)
Issue creation via email
Multiple LDAP authentication support
User self-registration support
Multilanguage support
Multiple databases support

+1 for Redmine

Techivist's picture

I'd heard about it since it's written in RoR but never really used it (after my initial cursory glance) until working on the www.vozmob.net project I'm currently on. I really like it. As to your specific feature request, the built-in time tracker is great as you can use it on a per-issue basis. I haven't found a way to do invoicing, but I haven't really looked, but it would be a nice feature (i.e. take your tracked hours & auto-create invoices based on the entire project or a specific chunk of time or specific features).

Miguel Hernandez - www.migshouse.com
Founder & CEO - The OpenMindz Group
Writer- Linux Journal & TechZulu

A great solution

builderShawn's picture

At work we use TimeFox by Function Fox. It is web based and is also supported on iPhone via app. It's good with multiple clients and team mates, as far as invoicing I am not positive...

Not 1 solution, but several combined

scottsawyer's picture

I use Quickbooks online for my invoicing. They finally got their mobile version working for Android, so I can actually invoice from my phone, though it isn't quite as intuitive as I would like. A little annoying that every time I log in to the desktop version, it informs me that my Linux browser isn't supported, but it seems to work fine anyway.

For CRM / Project Management, I started using Solve360. It provides some integration points with my Google Apps account, which is nice. My team definitely doesn't use it to the full potential, which is a shame because I am paying $50/ month. Again, a few features I would like to see, like better integration with Google Docs and Calendar, but in general, pretty nice.

I would really have preferred a Drupal solution, but frankly, CivicCRM is too big for my Team (4 members) and from what I read, not the easiest thing to setup. I really don't have the time to waste working on it.

I tried other Open Source CRM options in the past, but again, nothing that really works with Drupal.

There is another thread on Drupal CRM that I've been watching, but it doesn't seem like a great solution is on the horizon. Some good ideas though.

I've been using freshbooks

BTMash's picture

I've been using freshbooks for the past 3(? maybe 4 at this point) years and I've been very happy with it so far. I currently use the 'free' option which limits me to 3 clients at any given point (though they do give you the ability to 'archive' a client and bring them back if you're doing something for them later on). I don't take on a whole lot of freelance work at a given time so the free limitation of 3 clients actually works out well for me. You can add unlimited projects, tasks (and a bunch of other details associated with a project) and the time tracking feature is really fantastic (it allows you to do a real-time time tracking as well which I've used to 'check-in', 'check-out' on a project for the day. My views are, however, very biased since I've been using it for so long and also because the company is from my hometown ;-)

I've heard great things about Freshbooks

scottsawyer's picture

And it seems like a great product. Seems like a lot of great features and an innovative approach.

There are just a couple of sticking points for me. I've been on Quickbooks Online since it launched, and I have been on a "Accounting Software Migration" team, and let me tell you, no fun AT ALL! The other issue for me is that my accountant knows Quickbooks, and he charges by the hour, so him learning a new software on my dime is out of the question. Finally, I would need the $40/month package with 3 additional staff member access at $10 each, which comes out to double my Quickbooks account.

Love the idea, though.

Agreed - it is on the pricey

BTMash's picture

Agreed - it is on the pricey side. And if you already have an accountant that is used to using particular software, its better off to stick with that. Freshbooks worked in my scenario since I had not used any other accounting software before (and I'm doing everything at this point) and my needs are quite different from yours.

used the Freshbooks module?

Techivist's picture

Have you used the Freshbooks module, Ashok? http://drupal.org/project/freshbooks

Just wondering aloud if that might be a good step in the right direction for creating something that's Drupal-based. What about combining it with OpenAtrium? Overkill?

If anyone knows or has experience with this, I'd be interested to hear about your experiences.

Miguel Hernandez - www.migshouse.com
Founder & CEO - The OpenMindz Group
Writer- Linux Journal & TechZulu

that's interesting

fending's picture

As I work on 2011 accounting issues with my accountant, this is of increasing interest to me. Several of my freelancers use Freshbooks to great effect, using FrB to track time and ultimately produce invoices. If you have a case study in being 1. the freelancer or 2. the firm contracting a freelancer, please lmk; we'll have a call & I will post [agreed-upon] results here.

I've merged Storm and OAtrium, but abandoned for better UX. But an internal UI has not been thoroughly considered.

Harvest

TravisCarden's picture

I favor Harvest. It has a Mac dashboard widget and an iPhone app, as you probably know. I find it pretty reasonably priced, and it supports multiple clients/projects/teams. It exports to QuickBooks, which can be a big plus come tax time, and has nice invoicing features comparable to Freshbooks (which I used previously). Plus they're always enhancing the service, and they're responsive to feedback.

Billings and QuickBooks

fending's picture

I used Billings for a couple of years starting out, and if it's just you I recommend it -- it's an app, not a service, with only a few limitations if you need them (retainer invoices, for example), but it is great for simple cash accounting estimates, invoices (even pro forma), and statements. Oh, and timetracking against individual line items or one-off tasks ("slips"). http://www.marketcircle.com/billings/

Recently, I've had to do some more sophisticated things come tax time and I switched to QuickBooks, using their MyTime.app instead of Billings' integrated time tracking. http://http-download.intuit.com/http.intuit/Downloads/Mac/MyTime/001/Int...

It's clunky and huge by comparison, but I can have other (1099) people using the timer on projects, which was the breakpoint to leave Billings behind (sniff). Timetracking was definitely my leading req, though.

Freshbooks fan

nbluto's picture

I like freshbooks. I use it for invoicing, and time tracking. There is an iphone app (not free) you can try freshbooks for free and thier customer service is great. I use quickbooks online for my other stuff. I use the free edition.

Gnome / Hamster project

mike stewart's picture

Linux rocks. totally love Project Hamster. nice exporting, tagging... super easy. its python based ... so likely pretty easy to port onto other OS's -- but its not going to currently work on multiple devices -- and as a result... no kind of sync.

--
mike stewart { twitter: @MediaDoneRight | IRC nick: mike stewart }

I also use Hamster. In fact I

hershel's picture

I also use Hamster. In fact I wrote a little Drupal module to calculate monthly billing for me. It doesn't require exporting, however--I just copy the SQLite DB over to where Drupal can access it and it reads directly from it. :)

--
CiviHosting -- Drupal and CiviCRM Hosting Specialists -- 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Hm, interesting! I also wrote

donquixote's picture

Hm, interesting!
I also wrote a module (D6) for hamster integration, but I'm not that happy with it anymore.
I would be curious to have a look at yours :)

Take a look at

I don't see any reference to

donquixote's picture

I don't see any reference to hamster on this module page.

have you heard about

fndtn357's picture

Paymo? not too bad maybe it is not complex enough.

I use a trio

wastrilith2k's picture

I signed up for Google Apps and use the Zoho Invoice app (since I don't get more than 5 quotes/invoices a month) and use Yast's freelance version as it's intended for a single user. Yast also has an Android app and may have an iPhone app as well.

--James

drupal time tracking?

Slurpee's picture

I am surprised more people are not using Drupal.

I would love to use OA for

MrMaksimize's picture

I would love to use OA for task management AND time tracking. That would be sexy. Is there a feature for it?

There were quite a few time

wastrilith2k's picture

There were quite a few time tracking modules when I looked the other day. Another option might be to just install the base Storm package and use just it's time tracking modules. I haven't looked into it yet though.

James

--James

Tracking time

clintthayer's picture

Yea... have thought about it (using Drupal), but was hoping there would be something out there already I could use.

I've been using google spreadsheets and would like to find something (to track time) that is web based. iPhone is a cool method, but I never seem to track it as well as when I have something within my browser window.

TextEdit

mcfilms's picture

I have to admit that I have been tracking my time on projects using the Macintosh built-in text editing program. (Yeah, really.) Up until recently I only had a few occasional clients that required me to perform hourly work. But that has been growing lately and I recognize I need a better method.

I tried out Yast -- It's fast and free. But here there is one feature that makes my text-based method more efficient. When I accumulate about 10 or 12 hours, I submit an invoice. In my text file I could just add a note on a line that says "SUBTOTAL 10 HOURS- INVOICE SUBMITTED 5-5-20100" and then carry on adding more time for the next subtotal.

So I'm asking you Yast users. Is there a way to replicate this feature in the service? Can I drop a marker when I subtotal my hours up and have the next subtotal start from that marker?

Wow, that's such a great feature request, I posted it at: http://support.yast.com/yast/topics/marking_the_last_subtotal

I've used iBiz for years -

polishyourimage's picture

I've used iBiz for years - www.iggsoftware.com/ibiz/ - no complaints - has a lot of features

Toggl

christefano's picture

Is anyone using Toggl?

   https://www.toggl.com

There is some interesting integration with Drupal and Redmine:

   http://drupal.org/project/togmine

Wow Toggle looks cool. Are

nbluto's picture

Wow Toggle looks cool. Are you using it?

Not yet

christefano's picture

TogMine's integration addresses the biggest problem I have with most timetracking programs: they don't provide an overview of how time is utilized across a team. Larks is aggressively looking for an alternative to Atrium and Redmine seems to be a natural fit.

Have you looked at

nbluto's picture

Have you looked at ClockingIT? It's better than redmine free and open source. Time tracking I'm not sure but it's awesome for PM.

Thanks for the

christefano's picture

Thanks for the recommendation! Jobsworth, the open source, self-hosted version of ClockingIT, looks really interesting.

From what I can tell, the hosted version of ClockingIT is years behind Jobsworth:

   https://github.com/ari/jobsworth

I did notice this unsettling message on the front page of ClockingIT's site...

I've had to move ClockingIT to a new hosting center, hence the downtime today. In the process, we're running on more hardware, a new version of Ruby, a newer version of Rails, and PostgreSQL instead of MySQL. It's pretty hard to roll back now, so this better work out.

We're leaning toward Redmine mostly because of its huge dev community and available add-ons, the mobile apps for it and the number of shops using it (including shops we know, like Linnovate, Palantir and Adyax).

My apologies to the OP for this tangent on project management software, but it's hard to talk about one and not the other! A similar discussion started about project management software and grew to include timetracking, as well:

   http://groups.drupal.org/node/39800

Look at Mavenlink

windtrader's picture

I am using Mavenlink as a single tool for a number of things related to Drupal projects. This tool is fairly wide and shallow so depends on what you need if this is the one for you. I use it to manage projects, define milestones, tasks, deliverables. I track time against these items. You can invite clients and also project associates to join the project. Both clients and myself can post messages against these items in a sort of blog so it is easy to add items and track them like a to do, issues, bug list. It generates invoices and also has a link to PayPal where you can get 1.9% rate or less on transactions. It's interface is quirky and the functions were not originally designed to be used in this mode but they have promised to make it more useful in this configuration.

XMPP Bot ("URT.imE" / node.js)

donquixote's picture

We started developing an XMPP chat bot for the purpose of time tracking.
You can test it by adding bot@urt.im as a contact to your xmpp (google talk or whatever you use).
Or use a web version: http://urt.im/

This is part of the node.js knockout, so you can vote for it :)
http://nodeknockout.com/entries?q=tttp

Are disguised ads allowed?

realEuph's picture

I am not sure why the Shenoi wishes to make the distinction between web-based and cloud-based. Further investigation indicates that replicon.com provides "Web Timesheet Software" with a particular product for cloud-based time tracking. Also Shenoi's account was created shortly before the post.

This leads me to suspect that the post is an thinly-disguised ad? Are they allowed in the forum?