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Kelly is a former Editor, SMB at Forbes Advisor, specializing in starting and marketing new ventures. Before joining the team, she was a Content Producer at Fit Small Business where she served as an editor and strategist covering small business marke...
Kelly is a former Editor, SMB at Forbes Advisor, specializing in starting and marketing new ventures. Before joining the team, she was a Content Producer at Fit Small Business where she served as an editor and strategist covering small business marke...
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Kelly Main
Kelly is a former Editor, SMB at Forbes Advisor, specializing in starting and marketing new ventures. Before joining the team, she was a Content Producer at Fit Small Business where she served as an editor and strategist covering small business marke...
Kelly is a former Editor, SMB at Forbes Advisor, specializing in starting and marketing new ventures. Before joining the team, she was a Content Producer at Fit Small Business where she served as an editor and strategist covering small business marke...
Former Editor
Editorial note: Forbes Advisor Australia may earn revenue from this story in the manner disclosed here. Read our advice disclaimer here.
The best employee time tracking apps help you monitor employee time so that you can measure productivity, prevent bottlenecks and uncover underused capacity. Some time tracking solutions also help you calculate project billing and invoice clients directly from the app.
The best employee tracking app for your Australian business will depend on your goals. This Forbes review provides essential details on the best apps, including the pros and cons of each. You’ll learn everything you need to know to select the best time tracking app for your specific needs.
Note: The below list represents a selection of our top category picks, as chosen by Forbes Advisor Australia’s editors and journalists. The information provided is purely factual and is not intended to imply any recommendation, opinion, or advice about a financial product. Not every product or provider in the marketplace has been reviewed, and the list below is not intended to be exhaustive nor replace your own research or independent financial advice. For more information on how Forbes Advisor ranks and reviews products, including how we identified our top category picks, read the methodology selection below.
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Best Employee Time Tracking Apps (2025)
Summary: Best Employee Time Tracking Apps (2025)
Methodology
The Forbes Advisor team used a five-star rating system—with five being the highest score—to evaluate dozens of employee time tracking apps. We considered factors most important to users, such as ease of use, features offered, customer support and total costs, including base fees and per-user fees.
Here’s a look at the key criteria used to determine the best employee time tracking apps:
- Pricing
- Key features
- Unique features
- Extras and inclusions
- Operating system compatibility
- Customer support
- Customer reviews
Bonus points were allotted to solutions that offer advanced features, such as invoicing and billing, Gantt charts, task dependencies and custom reporting. We then prioritised software on one additional metric—positive feedback from customer reviews. In all, hundreds of data points were reviewed to create this list of the best time tracking apps.
Finally, we looked at whether the app was available in Australia.
About Star Rankings
You will note that we have included a star rating next to each product or provider. This rating was determined by the editorial team once all of the data points above were considered, and the pros and cons of each product attribute was reviewed. The star rating is solely the view of Forbes Advisor editorial staff. Commercial partners or advertisers have no bearing on the star rating or their inclusion on this list. Star ratings are only one factor to be considered, and Forbes Advisor encourages you to seek independent advice from an authorised financial adviser in relation to your own financial circumstances and investments before you decide to choose a particular financial product or service.
How To Choose an Employee Time Tracking App
Not all employee time tracking apps are created equal, which is good news since not all app users require the same features. When choosing a time tracking app for your Australian business, you first want to consider which features are “must haves” and which are “nice to haves.”
Since you’re purchasing an app for tracking employee time, you want to look at the types of time-tracking features offered. The best apps usually include clock-in/clock-out tools, real-time tracking, time tracking reminders, automated time tracking triggers, idle detection time and time sheets.
If you’re managing a team, you want to consider the type of team management tools built into the software. Employee time tracking apps often include scheduling, time-off management, timesheet approval, real-time staff activity views, team collaboration tools, payroll integrations and robust reporting capabilities.
Organisations that need to track client work will find client management tools helpful. For example, many apps come with the ability to track billable hours, set billing rates and invoice clients directly.
One final tip: be sure the software you choose fits within your budget and double-check that you understand the full cost of what you are purchasing. Some providers charge a base fee plus a per-user fee. Other apps start with a deep discount for a limited introductory timeframe and then costs skyrocket when that initial period is over.
Benefits of Employee Time Tracking Apps
Employee time tracking apps come with several significant benefits. Among these are:
- Improve employee productivity: Time tracking apps help identify opportunities for improving overall productivity and reducing labour costs.
- Easily schedule staff members: Most tracking apps offer staff scheduling features, so employees understand when they’re expected to be at work.
- Prioritise project resources: With a tracking app, you can assess when projects are long or short on employee resources and adjust schedules accordingly.
- Client project reporting and billing: When a tracking app contains built-in client management tools, you can create accurate billable hours reports for client invoices.
- Award compliance: Australia’s award work system involves mandated breaks, overtime hours, overtime pay and more. Tracking apps can help your organisation stay compliant.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is better than Clockify?
Forbes considers Clockify among the overall best time tracking software, but the best app for you depends on your specific business needs. For example, ClockShark may be the best time tracking app for you if you’re in the construction industry. If you need to keep track of employees’ time for client billing reasons, My Hours could be the best app for you.
Does Clockify cost money?
Clockify offers a free plan with employee time tracking essentials. To tap into Clockify’s advanced features, such as invoicing, time audits, scheduling and expense tracking, you may want to consider upgrading to a paid plan.
Is there a free app to track employee hours in Australia?
There are several free apps for tracking employee hours. Clockify, Toggl Track, My Hours and Deputy all offer basic time tracking functionality for free.
How do I keep track of my employees' time?
The best way to keep track of employees’ time—and ensure staff remains productive—is through an employee time-tracking app. Some of the best time-tracking apps available include Clockify, ClockShark, Paymo and QuickBooks Time.
The information provided by Forbes Advisor is general in nature and for educational purposes only. Any information provided does not consider the personal financial circumstances of readers, such as individual objectives, financial situation or needs. Forbes Advisor does not provide financial product advice and the information we provide is not intended to replace or be relied upon as independent financial advice. Your financial situation is unique and the products and services we review may not be right for your circumstances. Forbes Advisor encourages readers to seek independent expert advice from an authorised financial adviser in relation to their own financial circumstances and investments before making any financial decisions.
We do not offer financial advice, advisory or brokerage services, nor do we recommend or advise individuals to buy or sell particular stocks or securities. Performance information may have changed since the time of publication. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Forbes Advisor provides an information service. It is not a product issuer or provider. In giving you information about financial or credit products, Forbes Advisor is not making any suggestion or recommendation to you about a particular product. It is important to check any product information directly with the provider. Consider the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), Target Market Determination (TMD) and other applicable product documentation before making a decision to purchase, acquire, invest in or apply for a financial or credit product. Contact the product issuer directly for a copy of the PDS, TMD and other documentation. Forbes Advisor adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. To the best of our knowledge, all content is accurate as of the date posted, though offers contained herein may no longer be available. The opinions expressed are the author’s alone and have not been provided, approved or otherwise endorsed by our partners. For more information, read our Advice Disclaimer here.