Best Free Time Tracking Apps for Freelancers – Tried and Tested!

Freelancing trends have increased massively across the globe and so time management has become necessary. For this purpose time tracking apps and expense management apps have been introduced. They have become the most important tool for those working remotely.

Time management has become easy – to stay productive, focused, and organized.

There are various apps and software for this, but not all are efficient and effective. Here are organizing free time tracking apps for freelancers. Let’s look into the features, benefits, and prices.

Why Are Time Tracking Apps Essential?

As a freelancer, tracking your worked hours, new projects, and payments is necessary. Yet, the advantages of time tracking extend far beyond this. Companies can use these softwares in the following ways:

• Improve your productivity
• Save time which is being utilized for reporting
• Get a better understanding of individual’s spent time
• Build trust with clients through accurate  billing
• Identify opportunities for improvements
• Better work-life balance
• Better project management 

Let’s discuss common features for top-time tracking software and apps. The best time-tracking apps for freelancers should have the following features.

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What is Required in Freelancer Time Tracking Systems?

Here are some significant features that time-tracking apps and software should have:

• Accurate Time Tracking: Accurate and precise tracking of workable hours for different projects. This way freelancers can maintain their work records.
• Invoicing: With this feature expense management gets easier based on their tracked time.
• Reporting Tools: This feature aids in understanding the time utilized and optimizing their working methods.
• Expense Tracking: This feature enables freelancers to analyze their expenses related to different projects. It also enables them to manage their finances efficiently. We will also be highlighting a few best free accounting software for freelancers.
• Project Management: With time tracking tools, organizing tasks, deadlines, and milestones becomes more hassle free. It aids in improving an individual’s workflow and on-time project delivery.
• Accessibility: Accessibility of various desktops and mobile apps, guarantees productivity regardless of location.
• User-Friendly Interface: A user-friendly interface certifies efficient time tracking. Alerts and notifications help freelancers maintain accurate records. Customization of the tools according to individual needs gives a custom built user experience.
• Security: Lastly, ensuring data protection and privacy is most important. Therefore, time-tracking systems should include security measures. This builds trust that individual information is secure and confidential.

Best Free Time Tracking Apps For Freelancers

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Toggl is the most popular and widely used time-tracking app. It is known for its simple and user-friendly interface. It allows freelancers to create projects and manage clients and tasks. It also tracks time across many platforms. With Toggl, review your tracked time entries, and focus on the details. Toggl also provides access to all its apps on Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux, web browsers, and browser extensions.

Features

• Easy-to-use interface allows users to start and stop time tracking with a few clicks.
• Users can create and organize projects, assign tasks, and track time easily. It helps to keep projects on schedule and within budget.
• It has apps for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux, as well as a web version and browser extensions. It makes Toggle virtually accessible from any device.
• It provides detailed reports of spent time. These reports are a way to improve productivity and billing clients.
• It can be aligned with many of the other tools and softwares. This feature improves its functionality and ease of use.
• Reminders help users keep track of their time – you will not forget to log hours.
• Provides better security to protect user data.

Pricing

• Free plan available for up to 5 users.
• The starter plan starts at $9 per user/month and the premium starts from $18 per user/per month

You can also compare all pricing plans and features from here.

Harvest

Harvest is an all-in-one, time tracking and invoicing platform. It helps freelancers to manage their time and finances in one place.

Features

• Harvest provides both manual and automatic time-tracking options. Users can start and stop timers or log time entries directly. This has made time tracking easy for those having different projects at a time.
• The software comes with time tracking and invoicing features. You can generate and send invoices based on tracked time and bills. It also supports online payments. 
• You can create and manage projects, set budgets, and track progress. Your projects will stay on track and within budget.
• Harvest also provides mobile apps for iOS and Android. It makes time tracking easy and on the go.
• Due to its user-friendly interface, it is easy to use for new and inexperienced users.
• Its most unique feature is access provision. It means that access can be provided to clients so they can view their project status by themselves. It creates transparency which helps in trust building between freelancers and clients.
• Harvest also makes sure that user data and privacy are not breached by anyone.

Pricing

• Its free plan is ideal for freelancers and solopreneurs as it includes 1 seat and 2 projects
• The Premium plan starts at $12/month. It is perfect for teams, start-ups, and growing businesses. It provides unlimited seats and unlimited projects.

RescueTime

RescueTime is a time management and productivity tracking software. It is designed to help users understand how they spend their time. It also aids in improving their focus and efficiency.

Features

• RescueTime can run in the background on your device – automatically tracking time. It gives you detailed reports on exactly where you have spent your time.
• Users can set goals for their time management. They can also limit time on certain applications or websites. RescueTime will send alerts when you exceed these limits. It keeps you focused.
• It generates weekly summaries that show how your time was spent. It also provides data to help you make data-driven decisions about your work habits.
• It can be connected with productivity and project management tools. Due to this feature, freelancers can get a view of their work activities.
• Its desktop application is available for Windows and macOS. Also, it has mobile apps for iOS and Android. Time tracking is easy across all devices.
• Your data is kept safe and only accessible to you.

Pricing

• The free plan is  available for a 14-day trial
• Premium plan starts at $6.50/month

Timeneye 

Timeneye is another time-tracking software. It helps individuals as well as teams for effective time management.

Features

• Timeneye has a simple user interface for tracking time. It provides manual time entries, making it flexible for all.
• It allows users to create and manage projects and tasks. It tracks time spent on each task and organizes workload.
• It is best for team collaboration. It allows time tracking of many team members. It also aids in tracking progress and managing team projects collectively.
• Timeneye allows users to bill their hours. Generating invoices get easier!
• The platform has an easy-to-follow interface that makes time tracking straightforward.
• Timeneye can turn an individual’s working hours into valuable data. One can also predict future projects based on productivity.

Pricing

• All plans come with a free 30-day trial. 
• Pro plan starts at $7/month or $6/month if you buy a yearly plan.

Everhour

It’s another time-tracking and project-management tool. It helps freelancers to track and manage their work hours and project progress.

Features

• It enables users to monitor their spent time on different tasks and projects. One can also log hours manually.
• It can work with 40+ most popular tools like Asana, Trello, Basecamp, and others. This makes it easier to track time within existing workflows.
• It allows live work tracking. This enables users to find who is working at this moment, and on what.
• You will get detailed reports on time spent, project progress, and team productivity. You can make data-driven decisions and manage budgets efficiently.
• It helps in tracking project budgets. It also allows budget comparison with the actual time spent. Users can create and manage invoices based on their tracked time. These details aid in refining the billing process.

Pricing

• The free plan is available for up to 5 seats.
• The team plan starts at $8.50/month providing at least 5 seats.

Clockify

It is a time-tracking tool that comes with a range of features for better user productivity. 

Features

• It provides both manual time entry and a stopwatch feature for tracking hours worked. You can log time against specific projects and tasks.
• Detailed reports can be generated on time spent, productivity, and project progress. Reports can also be customized and exported in various formats, such as PDF or CSV.
• It allows users to create and manage projects, tasks, and subtasks. Time tracking and project management gets easier.
• It is available on many platforms, including mobile and desktop. A few of these platforms are Chrome, Firefox, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android
• It can also be aligned with project management and productivity tools.

Pricing

• It’s free plan is available
• Five pricing plans are starting from $4 per month to $13 per month.

Find out more about their billing details here.

Attributes of Best Free Accounting Software for Freelancers

Wave

Wave is a cloud-based accounting software that provides:

• Invoicing and payment tracking
• Expense categorization
• Financial reporting and analytics

Zoho Books

Zoho Books is also an online accounting software. It offers:

• Easy cash flows
• Controlling payables and receivables
• Syncing with banks of individuals

Mint

Mint is developed by Intuit. It is also about personal finance management. It helps in tracking expenses, creating budgets, and managing finances.

• It allows us to manage budgets based on income and expenses. 
• It categorizes and tracks spending by linking bank accounts and credit cards. 
• Users can receive alerts for unusual spending, and upcoming bills. An overspending budget is also notified so anyone can efficiently manage finances.

How To Use Time Tracking and Accounting Software?

1. Set clear goals and objectives
2. Choose the right tools
3. Take advantage of automation features
4. Stay organized
5. Review your time tracking and financial data regularly

In a Nutshell!

Time-tracking apps are an incredible tool for freelancers. You can manage your time, increase productivity, and deliver exceptional quality work. If you are choosing a time-tracking app, a few features should be considered. The best free time tracking apps and accounting software for freelancers can help you get organized. You can grow your business, and succeed as a freelancer! Always pick the right tools. Use automation. Stay organized. And adjust goals regularly to get the benefits of these powerful tools.

FAQs

Why do I need both time tracking and accounting software?

Time tracking and accounting software have different purposes. Time-tracking software helps you manage your time. While accounting software helps you manage your finances. Using both tools together can organize your workflow.

Can I use these tools on my mobile device?

Yes, most of the softwares has mobile apps. It makes time tracking and finance management on the go.

Are these tools secure and reliable?

Yes, the tools mentioned in this guide are reputable and secure. They use encryption and other security measures to protect your data.

What if I need more features or customization?

Many software have premium plans or team plans to provide extra features or options. You can check them all at the website of your particular software or app.