Workpuls Teramind ActivTrak Hubstaff DeskTime Time Doctor RescueTime Kickidler Veriato Work Examiner
OVERVIEW
Price $6/user/month $6/user/month $7.20/user/month $7/user/month $7/user/month $9.99/user/month $6/user/month $9.99/user/month $150/licence/year $60/licence (lifetime)
Free trial 7 days 7 days No 14 days 14 days 14 days 30 days 7 days Yes 30 days
Ease of use Very easy Difficult Very easy Easy Easy Very easy Very easy Very easy Very difficult Easy
TRACKING METHODS
Unlimited (tracker working 24/7)
Fixed (defined working hours)
Automatic (when computer is connected to a specified network)
Manual (start/stop)
Project based (track time only on projects)
GENERAL MONITORING FEATURES
Stealth mode
App and website usage
Real-time monitoring
Offline time tracking
Attendance
Activity levels
Keylogger
Geolocation
Remote desktop control
Website/activity blocking
SCREENSHOTS AND RECORDING
Screenshots
Screenshots on demand
Screen recording
PRODUCTIVITY FEATURES
Productivity trends
Websites and apps labeling
Category labeling
Productivity alerts
ADVANCED SECURITY FEATURES
User behavior analytics
Data loss prevention
Advanced file and web monitoring
REPORTING
Productivity reports
Team reports
Timelines
Email reports
Access management
PLATFORMS
Web
Mac desktop app
Windows desktop app
Linux desktop app
Mobile app iOS, Android iOS, Android iOS, Android iOS, Android iOS, Android Android
Browser extension Chrome Chrome Chrome
Other Citrix, VMware Chrome OS
OTHER
Support Phone, email, online Phone, email, online Phone, email, online Email, online Phone, email, online, in-person Online Phone, email, online Email, online, Viber, Whatsapp Phone, email, online, support ticket Phone, email, online
Knowledge base
Video tutorials
Integrations comming soon
API
Deployment cloud, on-premise cloud, on-premise, AWS, Azure cloud cloud cloud cloud cloud on-premise cloud, on-premise on-premise
Kronos Humanity Timeclockplus Tsheets Wheniwork Deputy Replicon Jibble EbilityTimeTracker OnTheClock BeeBole
OVERVIEW
Price(per month)Available upon requestFrom $2 per userAvailable upon requestFrom $6.40 per user+$16Free for up to 75 usersFrom $2.50 per userBasic plan:$30 for 5 users+$5 per additional userFrom $1.50 per employeeFrom $4 per user+$8From $2.20 per user$5.99 per user per month
Free trial30 days14 daysYes14 days14 days14 days30 days30 days,no credit card required
Ease of useDifficultEasyDifficultVery easyEasyEasyDifficultVery easyEasyEasyEasy
FEATURES
Timecard management
Scheduling
Shift Trading
Timesheets
Break time management
Real-time tracking
PTO Management
Payroll
Invoicing
Client billing
GPS tracking
Clock out reminders
Alerts
Manual time
PUNCH-IN METHODS
Web app
Mobile app
Time clock device
Time clock kiosk
Facial recognition
Fingerprint scanning
Geofencing
Group punch-in
REPORTING
Visual reports
Email reports
Time rounding
MANAGEMENT
Permissions
Manager approvals
Add time for others
Integrations
PLATFORMS
Web
Android app
iOS app
Mac desktop app
Windows desktop app
Linux desktop app
OTHER
SupportPhone and onlinePhone and onlinePhone,chat and onlinePhone and chatEmail and onlineChat and phonePhone,email,chat and onlinePhone and onlinePhone,email,chat and onlinePhone and onlineOnline chat and video support in English,French,and Spanish
Knowledge base
Video tutorials
Community forum
API
Workpuls Hubstaff Toggl TimeDoctor Harvest TimeCamp Timely Everhour Tick TMetric
OVERVIEW
Price (per month) $6 per user $5.83 per user $9 per user $9.99 per user $10.80 per user $5.25 per user $99 for 5 users $7 per user $19 for 10 projects $5 per user
Free trial 7 days 14 days 30 days 14 days 30 days Yes 14 days 14 days 30 days 30 days
Ease of use Very easy Difficult Difficult Very easy Easy Very easy Easy Difficult Very easy Difficult
TIME TRACKING METHODS
Manual
Start/stop buttons
Automatic time mapping
IN-DEPTH TASK AND PROJECT ANALYSIS
Screenshots
App and website usage
Activity levels coming soon
Real-time tracking
TASK AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Project adding
Project templates
Project status
Task assignment
Task priorities
Budgeting coming soon
Mark billable/non-billable hours
Payroll calculation
Invoicing
ALERTS
Idle time reminders
Deadline alerts coming soon
Budget alerts coming soon
REPORTING
Client login
Productivity analysis
Email reports coming soon
PLATFORMS
Web
Mac desktop app
Windows desktop app
Linux desktop app coming soon
iOS app Beta
Android app
Browser extension Chrome Chrome, Firefox Chrome Chrome Chrome, Firefox Chrome Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Edge
OTHER
Support Phone and online Email and online Email and online Online Online, email and phone Email, online and support ticket Email and chat Email and chat Email Chat
Knowledge base
Video tutorials
Integrations coming soon
API
On-premise hosting

Software monitoring computer activities has become a common occurrence in today’s business world. Its use in the workplace has been growing at a bewildering rate over the past couple of years. And according to many projections, this trend isn’t likely to stop any time soon.


So, the question emerges: Why is employee tracking software so popular, what benefits can it bring to your company and should you also implement it?


Aside from the fact that jumping on the bandwagon and doing it just because everyone else does is a prime example of employee monitoring gone wrong before it even started, this system can actually bring a lot of benefits to a business if you know how to use it well.

In this article, we’ll go over some of the most significant reasons why implementing computer tracking software is generally a good idea if you want your company to move forward, including:


  • Tracking employee performance and productivity
  • Providing accountability with clients
  • Workload optimization
  • Ensuring proof of work and fair payroll


But before we start…


A Couple of Considerations Before You Dig In


If you decide to go ahead and implement the tracking software in order to improve your business and employees’ performance, you’ll have to ensure two things - that implementation and use of the software are compliant with the law in your country, and that you find the best solution for your business needs.


First things first, check if what you’re about to do is completely legal. In most cases, it will be, but you need to make absolutely sure that you understand your legal liabilities. And there’s another slight complication. Say you’re based in Great Britain. You’ve checked the employee time tracking software UK regulations and you’re good to go. However, say also that you’ve got a couple of remote workers from Canada. In this case, ensuring you’re obeying your country’s laws won’t be enough - you’ll have to check the regulations regarding the implementation of time tracking software in Canada.


Sounds complex, but once you get through this, all that’s left to do is choosing the right tracking solution. This is really all about the research - read through the various ‘top 10 PC monitoring software’ reviews, sign up for free trials, go to forums and read user reviews, consider what your goals are and how the software could help you achieve them, and so on. After a thorough research process, you’ll end up with the best app for logging work hours and tracking computer activity.


And now, on to why businesses might need this system in the first place:


Tracking Employee Performance and Productivity


The first major reason why you might need a computer activity tracker is to accurately and easily measure your employees’ performance and productivity. Any good software will offer you at least a couple of very useful features for doing this. Which of these you’ll end up actually using depends on your goals and the job roles and requirements of your workforce.


For example, if you have an accounting firm, you might want to track workers’ attendance and productivity. Therefore, the best time tracking software for accountants might be the one that has clock in and clock out reports or the stats on how much active time was dedicated to work.


On the other hand, a top priority for a team of copywriters could be task completion and meeting deadlines on multiple different projects. That’s why you might find automatic time mapping or project tracking the most indispensable features of a writing time tracker.


Using these features in a smart way will let you gauge each employee’s performance, as well as figure out ways to improve it.


Providing Accountability with Clients


Another reason why business need employee monitoring software has to do with client management. When you’re working with different clients and on different projects, you need an accurate and objective way to ensure accountability of your team. This includes time on projects, access to files and maybe even billable hours.


The good thing about a tracking system is that it offers a gated access that you can give to your clients that will enable them to monitor client PC activities for their specific project. This way, they can see who’s working on their project, what they’re doing, which tools they’re using, how far along they are and whether they’re meeting all the set deadlines.


This client monitoring software option is a great tool for boosting your relationship with clients, but also for making sure that your company gets paid for every hour of work you’ve put into the project.


Workload Optimization


Considering everything we’ve talked about so far, and especially the usefulness of tracking software for measuring performance, it’s easy to see how many companies decide to implement it because it gives them a chance to optimize their business processes.


You can see where your employees waste the most time and then you can try to avoid those pitfalls. Similarly, you can check the reports to figure out the best way to go about doing certain tasks, organizing the workload and even delegating assignments.


The fun part, however, starts when you realize: Hey, I can use this software to monitor activity on my computer, too. This is when you can start doing all of the above for your own performance and learn how you can use your time and finish your tasks most efficiently.


Ensuring Proof of Work and Fair Payroll


Last but not least, a very important reason why you might need monitoring software is to get proof of work and working hours compliance for all of your employees and therefore ensure fair compensation.


A decent, all-encompassing software solution has both of these functionalities built in - attendance and active time tracking, as well as billable hour reports. That way, you can see how much your employees are really working, whether they’re late, and how much they should be paid in case they’re working at an hourly rate.


Conclusion


As we have seen, figuring out how to track user activity on computer devices by using monitoring software can bring your company a lot of tangible benefits. Once you get started on this path, you’ll soon realize why so many businesses nowadays consider it necessary to monitor their employees this way - in other words, the results will speak for themselves.

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Employee Monitoring

Why Businesses Need an Employee Monitoring Software

Written by
Kristina Valjarevic
Published on
October 8, 2019

Software monitoring computer activities has become a common occurrence in today’s business world. Its use in the workplace has been growing at a bewildering rate over the past couple of years. And according to many projections, this trend isn’t likely to stop any time soon.


So, the question emerges: Why is employee tracking software so popular, what benefits can it bring to your company and should you also implement it?


Aside from the fact that jumping on the bandwagon and doing it just because everyone else does is a prime example of employee monitoring gone wrong before it even started, this system can actually bring a lot of benefits to a business if you know how to use it well.

In this article, we’ll go over some of the most significant reasons why implementing computer tracking software is generally a good idea if you want your company to move forward, including:


  • Tracking employee performance and productivity
  • Providing accountability with clients
  • Workload optimization
  • Ensuring proof of work and fair payroll


But before we start…


A Couple of Considerations Before You Dig In


If you decide to go ahead and implement the tracking software in order to improve your business and employees’ performance, you’ll have to ensure two things - that implementation and use of the software are compliant with the law in your country, and that you find the best solution for your business needs.


First things first, check if what you’re about to do is completely legal. In most cases, it will be, but you need to make absolutely sure that you understand your legal liabilities. And there’s another slight complication. Say you’re based in Great Britain. You’ve checked the employee time tracking software UK regulations and you’re good to go. However, say also that you’ve got a couple of remote workers from Canada. In this case, ensuring you’re obeying your country’s laws won’t be enough - you’ll have to check the regulations regarding the implementation of time tracking software in Canada.


Sounds complex, but once you get through this, all that’s left to do is choosing the right tracking solution. This is really all about the research - read through the various ‘top 10 PC monitoring software’ reviews, sign up for free trials, go to forums and read user reviews, consider what your goals are and how the software could help you achieve them, and so on. After a thorough research process, you’ll end up with the best app for logging work hours and tracking computer activity.


And now, on to why businesses might need this system in the first place:


Tracking Employee Performance and Productivity


The first major reason why you might need a computer activity tracker is to accurately and easily measure your employees’ performance and productivity. Any good software will offer you at least a couple of very useful features for doing this. Which of these you’ll end up actually using depends on your goals and the job roles and requirements of your workforce.


For example, if you have an accounting firm, you might want to track workers’ attendance and productivity. Therefore, the best time tracking software for accountants might be the one that has clock in and clock out reports or the stats on how much active time was dedicated to work.


On the other hand, a top priority for a team of copywriters could be task completion and meeting deadlines on multiple different projects. That’s why you might find automatic time mapping or project tracking the most indispensable features of a writing time tracker.


Using these features in a smart way will let you gauge each employee’s performance, as well as figure out ways to improve it.


Providing Accountability with Clients


Another reason why business need employee monitoring software has to do with client management. When you’re working with different clients and on different projects, you need an accurate and objective way to ensure accountability of your team. This includes time on projects, access to files and maybe even billable hours.


The good thing about a tracking system is that it offers a gated access that you can give to your clients that will enable them to monitor client PC activities for their specific project. This way, they can see who’s working on their project, what they’re doing, which tools they’re using, how far along they are and whether they’re meeting all the set deadlines.


This client monitoring software option is a great tool for boosting your relationship with clients, but also for making sure that your company gets paid for every hour of work you’ve put into the project.


Workload Optimization


Considering everything we’ve talked about so far, and especially the usefulness of tracking software for measuring performance, it’s easy to see how many companies decide to implement it because it gives them a chance to optimize their business processes.


You can see where your employees waste the most time and then you can try to avoid those pitfalls. Similarly, you can check the reports to figure out the best way to go about doing certain tasks, organizing the workload and even delegating assignments.


The fun part, however, starts when you realize: Hey, I can use this software to monitor activity on my computer, too. This is when you can start doing all of the above for your own performance and learn how you can use your time and finish your tasks most efficiently.


Ensuring Proof of Work and Fair Payroll


Last but not least, a very important reason why you might need monitoring software is to get proof of work and working hours compliance for all of your employees and therefore ensure fair compensation.


A decent, all-encompassing software solution has both of these functionalities built in - attendance and active time tracking, as well as billable hour reports. That way, you can see how much your employees are really working, whether they’re late, and how much they should be paid in case they’re working at an hourly rate.


Conclusion


As we have seen, figuring out how to track user activity on computer devices by using monitoring software can bring your company a lot of tangible benefits. Once you get started on this path, you’ll soon realize why so many businesses nowadays consider it necessary to monitor their employees this way - in other words, the results will speak for themselves.