QuickBooks Time Review

• QuickBooks Time gives remote workers numerous ways to clock in and out.
• The system includes geotracking, so employers can monitor where remote workers are each day.
• QuickBooks Time starts at $20 per month, plus $8 per employee per month.
• This review is for small business owners considering using QuickBooks Time as their time and attendance system.

Mobile and remote workforces have become common for businesses. However, allowing your employees to work outside the office poses unique challenges when it comes to tracking their hours. Businesses with mobile workforces need a time and attendance solution that is flexible enough to work from anywhere, can track employee locations, and has a comprehensive mobile app. QuickBooks Time by Intuit is our choice as the best time and attendance system for managing a mobile workforce, such as field employees and service workers. QuickBooks Time provides various ways for field workers to clock in and out – including a web app and mobile app – as well as a place to store client notes and maps. Plus, the cloud-based technology has geofencing and GPS tracking to ensure mobile workers are clocking in and out from their assigned locations.

Editor's Score – 96/100

Why QuickBooks Time Is Best for Mobile Workforces

QuickBooks Time has all the features an employer needs to manage their mobile workforce. The software has flexible punching options, so employees can clock in and out from any location they need, whether that be at home or on a job site. To ensure your mobile employees are clocking in from their scheduled locations, you can set geofences and use GPS tracking. This keeps your employees not only accountable, but also safe.

Many mobile workforces work offsite on various jobs and projects, so it can be helpful to have QuickBooks features like job tracking. This lets managers and employees track progress on jobs and projects, and use project and job notes for consistent communication. Not all competitors offer the level of job-tracking capabilities that QuickBooks does.

Once your employee hours and labor costs are recorded and approved, QuickBooks Time can streamline them into your payroll, further simplifying the process, reducing the potential for error, and allowing you to compensate mobile employees appropriately for each job or project.

Did you know? QuickBooks Time customers save an average of 5% on payroll costs with automated time tracking.

Pros

• Employees can clock in and out using the digital QuickBooks Time Kiosk, web dashboard, or mobile app.
• Managers can set geofence boundaries and access live GPS tracking.
• Managers and employees can see an in-app job activity feed and write project notes.
• QuickBooks Time can also track mileage and expenses.

Cons

• QuickBooks Time charges a flat monthly fee as well as a monthly per-employee fee.
• Phone and live chat support are only available Monday through Friday, between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. PT.

Usability

QuickBooks Time is cloud-based software that you and your team can access via web dashboard and mobile app (available for iOS and Android devices). The QuickBooks Time app is especially great for managing mobile teams because employees and managers alike can access a wealth of time and attendance information from their smartphones. The app lets employees clock in and out from any location, track the time they work on specific projects, view their timesheets, and see which co-workers are on the clock. They can also use the app to view their schedules, receive notifications of schedule changes and request time off. Not all competitors we reviewed offer employee scheduling as a feature.

Source: QuickBooks

Another useful feature is that the QuickBooks Time mobile app employs both geofencing and GPS tracking. You can use these tools to restrict where your employees can clock in and out from and monitor their locations throughout the workday. Although employees may hesitate to have their location tracked, this feature can be useful for maintaining accurate timecard hours and increasing employee safety. You can also view real-time reports to keep an eye on time and attendance data.

Tip: Once you turn on GPS location tracking in company settings, you can use it to identify which employee is closest to a job site and deploy them accordingly.

QuickBooks Time can integrate with third-party applications, like payroll and accounting software, so you can automatically transfer employee data between platforms, minimizing the risk of errors. Although QuickBooks' platform integration is on par with industry standard, it is an important feature for any mobile workforce to look for.

Features

QuickBooks Time has several features that allow you to track and manage your mobile workforces easily. For example, it has numerous options for clocking in and out, managing PTO, scheduling employees, monitoring employee locations, and tracking jobs and projects.

Here are some of the services you can receive with QuickBooks Time:

Time Reporting

One of the biggest advantages of QuickBooks Time for businesses with mobile workforces is that the system is built with field workers in mind. The cloud-based system gives field employees workplace flexibility in how (and where) they clock in and out. For example, employees can use the digital QuickBooks Time Kiosk, a web dashboard, or a mobile app to clock in and out with just one click.

The easy-to-use mobile app also allows mobile workers to log their time, check their schedules, see which co-workers are on the clock, and track how long they work on specific projects – wherever they are. Although mobile apps are common for time and attendance solutions, some competitors charge extra for mobile capabilities or limit their features, whereas QuickBooks does not.

PTO Management

You and your team managers can use QuickBooks Time to set custom PTO policies that fit your workforce's needs. Employees can use the web dashboard or mobile app to request time off, check PTO balances, or even directly enter time off without the approval process (if permitted in your company). In addition, you can create customizable notifications, so your employees can see whether their time off has been approved or denied via email and text alerts. QuickBooks Time's time-off capabilities are competitive for the industry.

Source: QuickBooks

Tip: Automatically tracking PTO can help prevent miscommunication, missed shifts and payroll errors.

Employee Scheduling

Unlike some competitors' plans, every QuickBooks Time plan includes employee scheduling capabilities, which can help you improve shift planning. Managers can use drag-and-drop features to build custom schedules based on jobs or shifts. Employees can see the latest schedule in real time by logging in to the system or the mobile app. They can also be notified on their mobile devices when new schedules or shift changes are released.

Source: QuickBooks

Employees can add their work schedules to any calendar app that supports iCalendar, including iOS, Google and Outlook calendars. Another benefit of QuickBooks Time is that you can create email, text or Twitter notifications for when workers are closing in on the end of their shifts. Social media notifications like these are not a common feature in the industry, but some teams may prefer and enjoy social media communications.

Geotechnology

Another great feature that can be especially useful for a mobile workforce is QuickBooks' geotechnology capabilities. You can set geofence boundaries to ensure field workers and offsite employees are clocking in and out on their mobile devices from the designated locations. QuickBooks can send notifications to remind employees to clock in and out when they enter and leave a job site – which can help you and your staff maintain accurate timecards.

You can also use live GPS tracking to get a real-time view of your employees' locations throughout the workday, thus increasing employee accountability and safety. Although geotechnology is an industry standard, it is especially important for businesses with mobile workforces.

Source: QuickBooks

Job Tracking

In case you need to track what jobs and projects your team is working on, QuickBooks Time has job-tracking features that are competitive with the industry standard. For example, you can manage and track employee hours (estimated and actuals) against specific projects and tasks. Managers and employees alike can see an in-app activity feed, write project notes, and add digital signatures to their timesheets.

Source: QuickBooks

Cost                

QuickBooks Time offers two service plans: Premium and Elite. There are no setup or implementation costs, and QuickBooks allows you to switch or cancel your plan at any time.  

• Premium: This plan costs $20 per month, plus $8 per employee per month. It includes employee scheduling, job and shift tracking, timesheet management, payroll integration, PTO management, alerts and notifications, and real-time reports.

• Elite: This plan costs $40 per month, plus $10 per employee per month. It includes everything in the Premium plan, with the addition of geofencing, timesheet signatures, project and mileage tracking, and reports of project estimates vs. actuals.

QuickBooks Time offers a 30-day free trial, which doesn't require you to provide any payment information. When that free trial ends, you're asked to add payment information. If you choose not to activate your account, there is no need to cancel anything.

Key takeaway: The Premium plan costs $20 per month, plus $8 per employee per month, and the Elite plan costs $40 per month, plus $10 per employee per month.

Setup

When you start the free QuickBooks Time trial, a representative can help you set up your account. After you connect your bank account to QuickBooks, the software only takes a few minutes to get up and running. If you or your team have questions about the system setup, a representative will take the time to train your employees on how to use it. Training can be especially advantageous if your employees are working from various locations and need hands-on assistance.

QuickBooks offers several online webinars, tutorials, and training classes that you and your team can access from any location. It also provides timecard calculators, timesheet templates, and industry-specific support resources to help you set up the software. The software easily integrates with accounting and payroll software, so you can automatically sync your employees' time data.

Customer Service

We found QuickBooks Time's customer service to be top-notch. We contacted the company numerous times, posing as a new business owner interested in time and attendance systems. Every time we reached out to QuickBooks Time, helpful and friendly representatives immediately answered our calls and never pressured us to sign up for the service.

Support is available by phone and live chat Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT. The QuickBooks Time website is full of helpful resources, including a learning center and a resource center with tools, webinars, tutorials, videos, training classes, blogs, and FAQs.

Tip: If a chat agent is not available, you can still send a message, and a representative will get back to you as soon as possible.

Drawbacks

Although QuickBooks Time is comprehensive time and attendance software, it does have its limitations. For example, you'll pay a monthly base fee to use the software. Many competitors only charge per employee, but QuickBooks Time charges a monthly fee and per employee. This may not be a dealbreaker for you, but keep it in mind when you tally up your average monthly cost.

If you have a very limited budget for your time and attendance software, check out our OnTheClock review and When I Work review. When I Work is ideal for restaurants and retailers, while OnTheClock is great for field service workers and growing businesses.

Bottom Line

We recommend QuickBooks Time for …

• Employers with mobile workforces.
• Employers who need to track employees' locations.
• Employers who need multiple clock-in/out options.

We don't recommend QuickBooks Time for …

• Employers with a very tight budget.
• Employers who need to create a custom time and attendance system.