Clockify Review

• Clockify offers a free plan and four paid plans, all of which can serve hybrid teams.
• Clockify is a great solution for businesses that bill clients, because it has time- and project-tracking features.
• Clockify has a calendar feature that lets users visually track time, activities and work locations.
• This review is for business owners and managers who are considering Clockify as their time and attendance system.

Hybrid workforces have the unique need for software that can be accessed in both the office and offsite, and Clockify is our choice for the best time and attendance system for businesses with hybrid teams (onsite staff and a remote workforce). Clockify's cloud-based software can be accessed from any location, and it is especially good for businesses that need to track specific projects across various teams and locations. The company offers a robust free plan on a par with many competitors' paid offerings, as well as competitively priced paid plans. The software includes unlimited users, projects and reports, as well as many apps and integrations.

Clockify Editor's Score: 85/100

Why Clockify Is Best for Hybrid Teams

Hybrid teams are in the unique position of needing a time clock that can track employees from any location, such as in the office, at home, on the road or at an off-site work location. Clockify is a cloud-based platform, so users can log their hours using a web browser or the mobile app. If certain settings permit, employees can even manually enter their hours, which can be beneficial to workers who travel among locations.

Source: Clockify

Clockify has GPS tracking, which is ideal for managers who want to ensure their staff members are working at the correct locations. The software can also track time spent on specific jobs and projects – a helpful tool for creating expense reports. Although some competitors also offer these features, one unique tool we like about Clockify is its employee calendar. Your team members can get a clear visual of where and when they will be working on specific projects and tasks each day. This is a great way to ensure that employees are working in the office or off-site when they need to be.

Tip: Have your employees connect their Clockify calendars to Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook to sync their schedules with their other meetings and tasks.

Pros

• Users can choose from several plans, including a free one.
• The cloud-based software can be accessed from any location.
• Clockify users can track specific projects and tasks.
• Clockify has GPS tracking capabilities.
• Employees can use the calendar feature to visually track time and locations, as well as to log activities.

Cons

• Clockify doesn't include scheduling software.
• Clockify does not currently have PTO management features.

Usability

Clockify is easy to set up and navigate. Even the free plan has all the basic features you need to track employee hours, including the ability to track time spent on specific projects. Hybrid workforces often work in multiple locations, so the calendar feature can be a helpful way for users to visually track their time, activities and work locations. The dashboard is available on computers and mobile devices, making it convenient for on-the-go employees. Users can easily view a breakdown of how they are spending their time – a feature that wasn't common among other software we reviewed.

Clockify integrates with a variety of project management software and customer relationship management software, as well as with more than 40 third-party applications, using pre-built integrations or APIs. That means you enter time, project and client work hours only once, and they're synced with the other business software you use, thereby streamlining your overall time and attendance process.

Features

Clockify offers a range of time and attendance features, and the tools available to you will vary based on the plan you choose. Here are some of the services you can receive with Clockify:

Time Tracking

Clockify offers a wide range of valuable time-tracking features. The time tracker lets your employees start and stop time as they work or input their hours manually per day or per project. Employees can also set the time tracker to automatically start when their browser opens and stop when it closes. Enterprise plans have added access to force timers, which disable employees from manually editing their time.

The Clockify dashboard shows managers what their employees are working on, and they can track hours by project or team and run reports. Once an employee submits their time, a manager can approve their hours or make changes as needed before submitting the timesheet to payroll.

Source: Clockify

Project Tracking

One of Clockify's best features is the ability to track time spent on specific projects. This means that no matter where your employees are located – in the office or out in the field – they can accurately track how much time they spend on each project or task. This can be incredibly helpful for client billing purposes. Employees can choose to mark time as "billable," and then you can integrate that data with more than 40 applications, such as Monday.com and Salesforce. Or, you can create your own API integration using Zapier to sync the data with over 1,500 apps.

Source: Clockify

GPS Tracking

Certain plans also come with the ability to track employee locations through GPS tracking, which is great for making sure your employees are working from their assigned locations. GPS tracking is common in time and attendance systems, and it can be very beneficial for keeping accurate time logs and safe workforces.

Source: Clockify

Reports

Managers can access various reports that break down employee hours, what employees worked on and how much money they brought in on each project or task. The summary, detailed and weekly reports can be filtered and exported. When you run a report, you have the option to view costs, billable amounts or profits per group.

Source: Clockify

Calendars

Clockify's useful calendar feature gives employees a visual breakdown of what projects or tasks they are working on, as well as what location they will be working from, during certain days or weeks. Hybrid teams often work from multiple locations throughout the week; for example, an employee might spend two days in the office, one day at home and two days meeting with clients from various locations. Their calendar can give them a breakdown of what that schedule looks like. This feature was uncommon among the time and attendance software we reviewed, and we liked it for its ability to improve productivity.  

Source: Clockify

Cost                

Clockify offers five plans that range from free forever to $14.99 per user per month. Most small businesses will find the free plan more than sufficient, as it provides time tracking for an unlimited number of users. However, if you want to set up a paid plan, you can choose between monthly and annual billing and access a seven-day free trial. Free product demos are also available.

Here are Clockify's five plans:

• Free: The Free plan allows you to track time and attendance for an unlimited number of employees and projects. It offers unlimited reports, as well as API and software integrations.
  
  
• Basic: The Basic plan is $3.99 per user per month when billed annually or $4.99 per user per month when billed monthly. It has everything in the Free plan, plus administration features.
  
  
• Standard: The Standard plan is $5.49 per user per month when billed annually or $6.99 per user per month when billed monthly. It has everything in the Basic plan, plus timesheet and billing features.
  
  
• Pro: The Pro plan is $7.99 per user per month when billed annually or $9.99 per user per month when billed monthly. It has everything in the Standard plan, plus productivity and profit features.
  
  
• Enterprise: The Enterprise plan is $11.99 per user per month when billed annually or $14.99 per user per month when billed monthly. It has everything in the Pro plan, plus control and security features.

Clockify is easily scalable, and you can even cancel your paid plan at any time without losing data. If you decide you no longer need the advanced features that a paid plan offers, you can downgrade to the free version and all your data will still be available. Clockify is one of the only time and attendance solutions we reviewed that offers an entirely free plan.

Key takeaway: Clockify offers a free-forever plan and four paid plans priced between $3.99 and $14.99 per employee per month.

Setup

You can start using Clockify by simply creating a free account. You will have access to a seven-day free trial, after which you will choose from being downgraded to the free version or upgraded to a paid plan. Clockify offers an onboarding checklist that helps users get set up right away. You can configure your profile settings, create projects and tasks, configure workspace settings, set up and assign groups and members, and set up hourly rates.

Your team can easily download the Clockify time-tracking app via web browser extension (Chrome, Firefox, Edge), desktop app (Mac, Windows, Linux) or mobile app (iOS, Android). Each user will have access to a personalized dashboard where they can see things such as billable versus nonbillable time and projects they're working on.

Customer Service

Clockify offers online resources, including tutorials, status updates, and a help center with articles, forums and frequently asked questions (FAQs). If you need one-on-one support, you can contact a representative by phone, ticketing, email and web chat. Representatives are very knowledgeable and easy to reach.

Drawbacks

One potential downside is that Clockify doesn't include scheduling software. That means this system is better for offices and project-based organizations than for retail, restaurant or service environments, where workers are prescheduled to work in shifts. If you operate in one of the aforementioned industries, read our review of When I Work, which is an ideal system for businesses that need shift scheduling features.

Another limitation is that Clockify does not currently have PTO management features that allow users to create holiday and time-off policies, manage time off and add accrued time off. However, this feature is coming soon. If you are looking for a time and attendance solution that addresses several HR needs in one platform, check out our Paychex Flex review.

Methodology

We spent weeks researching and analyzing time and attendance systems to identify the top solutions on the market. We looked at features, pricing, integrations, usability and customer support, and we got hands-on experience with demos and product videos when possible. When looking for the best time and attendance solution for hybrid teams specifically, we prioritized features such as time-tracking options, mobile apps, geolocation services, project tracking, calendars and reporting.

What Is a Time and Attendance System?

A time and attendance system is a digital solution that employees can use to clock in and out via web browsers, mobile apps and tablet kiosks. Although the specific features and hardware vary among systems, businesses often use time and attendance systems to track employee hours and locations, schedule employee shifts, manage paid time off, track job and project expenses, and communicate with team members.

FAQs

Does Clockify take screenshots?

Yes, Clockify can take screenshots of employee activity, but you will need to download and turn on the feature. Pro and Enterprise users can manually enable screenshots for their team, in which case each employee will receive a notification to download the screenshot app. It can take screenshots only on Windows and Mac computers (there is no mobile app recording), and the employee must have their Clockify timer turned on and the screenshot app installed and active for screenshots to be enabled.

Does Clockify record idle time?

Clockify can record idle time, but you need to have certain settings enabled. The Clockify browser extension can detect idle time based on device inactivity (i.e., no mouse or keyboard movement) after a certain amount of time. When an employee's device is idle, they will get a notification asking whether they want to discard the idle time, discard the idle time and continue active time, or keep the idle time. Similar to the screenshot feature, the idle time detection feature must be manually turned on to be used. Additionally, your timer must be started from the extension, not the web. 

Does Clockify track location?

Yes, Clockify can track employees' locations. However, the GPS tracking feature is available only on the mobile app. It records an employee's location every time they clock in and out, as well as any time they make a major location change (e.g., more than 500 meters).

Bottom Line

We recommend Clockify for …

• Businesses with hybrid teams (in-office and remote employees).
• Businesses that want to track projects and tasks.
• Businesses that need a free time-tracking solution.

We don't recommend Clockify for …

• Businesses that need advanced employee scheduling features.
• Businesses that need to manage PTO requests within their time-tracking software.