Designer time tracking. Why is it important? Let’s think. Designers do highly creative work. Even if some elements need to be analyzed for UI/UX purposes and can be measured. Sometimes they need time to think, sometimes they need to delete everything they’ve done until now… and start over. Sometimes, creativity just doesn’t show up and every click is painful.
If you’re a designer, and you charge per work done, then you lose a lot of money. Do you want to stop it? Do you want to be paid fairly? Keep reading.
Why is a time tracking app good for designers?
Designers are often overwhelmed with the amount of work they have to do, and it can be difficult to stay on top of things. You have many projects, and different customers; people just don’t understand how much effort it takes to do your job well. Freelance designers constantly explain to their customers that their job is not just a “few clicks and done”. Sounds familiar?
That’s why you should think about using a good time tracker.
Time tracking software helps you get a better sense of how much time you spend on different types of tasks, which makes it easier to prioritize what needs attention first. It also makes the payment process easier.
It also helps you to start counting billable hours instead of getting money per piece. Thanks to the time tracking app, you will finally get the money you deserve. Just show the report as proof of your time spent per project. Without pointless explanations and arguments.
👉 Check why you need time tracking reports!
How to start tracking time?
Ok. You know already that time tracking is a good idea for designers. It is actually crucial for monetary or time budgets. But how should you actually start tracking time? Probably you already know that an old-style paper-pan method is not something you want to do. It would be hard to make everyone use it, especially if you’re a part of the remote team. Let’s forget about it then.
So, is an Excel sheet a good idea?
Well, it’s not the worst one, but not the best either. If you really aim to save your time (and money), an automatic time tracking tool would be ideal. You will be able to track billable hours effortlessly, focusing just on the job.
👉 Read more about Automatic Time Tracking in Excel Spreadsheet.
But which time tracking app should you use? No worries, I’ve made a great list for you. Check it out and choose your best time tracking software.
Best designer time tracking software
TimeCamp
TimeCamp is a great time tracking and project management software for designers. It has a design-inspired interface that makes it easy to use, even if you’re new to time management. This time tracking app also includes features like invoice generation, reminders, and integrations with over 50 other apps (like Slack or Trello).
TimeCamp is great for enterprises, smaller teams of 1-10 people who work on projects together, as well as for freelance designers. Thanks to invoicing, you will get an easy way to charge your customers.
A desktop app is an automatic time tracking solution: no more forgetting about starting the timer off when you make a break, and… no more forgetting about turning it off either 😉 If you’re a fan of mobile devices, there’s also an option.
You can focus on the individual tasks or generate complex reports with all the details of how your team spent its time. Maybe there’s something you should work on immediately to boost your business’ productivity.
👉 Want to increase your productivity? Check Eat the Frog Technique!
Even a free plan lets you add unlimited users and start unlimited projects. You also get access to the key features.
Detailed reports, mobile app, intuitive features, Chrome extension, and simple interface resembling make this time tracker really fun and easy to use.
No wonder that’s considered by many as one of the most favorite project management tools. Check by yourself and forget about counting working hours manually. Don’t let anything ruin your creative process.
Time Doctor
Time Doctor offers a wide range of features that are beneficial to designers. This time tracking app has integrations with project management software Basecamp, so you can track time from your tasks in your project management system.
There is also an option for remote and in-office time tracking, making it easy to use for both types of employees.
Time Doctor can be used for multiple projects with multiple clients, which makes it an ideal choice for freelancers who have multiple clients or are working on several different projects at once. The app also allows users to track the time of multiple users if there’s more than one person working on a project (such as with a team).
Time Doctor is a pretty simple time tracking app, great for small teams and freelancers.
👉 Check also Best Free Time Tracking Software for Freelancers!
Harvest
Harvest is the time tracking software ideal for small businesses and freelance designers. It has a free plan with basic features for up to 3 users and paid plans that scale up to 50, 100, and 500 users. The price is based on your team size (so you’ll pay more if you have a bigger team).
You can create projects in Harvest and then assign projects and tasks to members of your team. You can also configure it so that employees track time on their own devices by setting up a “Harvest for iPhone app” or using the browser version of Harvest online at work.
Toggl
Toggl track is a web-based time tracking software that allows you to work on many projects, track your time and expenses, and generate beautiful reports.
It offers all the features you need to keep track of all the hours spent on different projects. It also lets you see how much time was spent on each project or task, so you can easily analyze where most of your time goes.
With Toggl, you can set up a timer for every task at hand and enter the details about it when done. That’s a really accurate time tracking method. This way, it will serve as a great reminder for the next steps as well: do not forget about sending out invoices or updating your estimates!
Check our Toggl time tracking integration!
Paymo
Paymo is a time tracking solution for designers (and others ;)) that gives you the ability to track time on tasks, projects, and clients. With Paymo you can create invoices, set up projects, and track your hours by task or project.
The reporting feature in Paymo is great because it provides an overview of all your activities.
You can also view reports related to specific clients or projects. It makes it easy to see how much time has been spent on each project or client, so you know exactly where all your money has gone!
RescueTime
RescueTime is one of the online time tracking apps that helps you understand how you spend your time. It’s free to use, and it can be used on Mac or Windows computers.
Setup is easy: just install the desktop app on your computer, and RescueTime will automatically start tracking how much time you spend in each app and on websites. RescueTime does this by assigning a “Rescue Score” for each activity—a score between 0-100 that represents how important the task is to you personally based on how much effort it takes and how long it takes for you to complete it.
AtTrack
AtTrack is a time tracking tool for designers that allows you to track your time, create invoices and export the data into a CSV file for further analysis. You can also import data from other services like Harvest or Toggl.
It’s one of the simplest time-tracking apps with a very nice design.
Some key features are project management, task lists and assignments, time tracking, and reporting. You can choose the freemium basic version or decide on more complex plans.
It’s a time tracking app good for remote teams, but it will also work great for freelancer tracking.
Timely
Timely is a free or paid time tracking tool. The free version allows you to track time on multiple projects, screens, devices, and browsers. If you upgrade your account to the paid version (starting at $5/month), you can add unlimited collaborators and clients.
Timely’s interface is intuitive and easy to navigate. It offers plenty of customization options—such as the ability to change fonts in reports—but they’re not overwhelming or confusing like some other tools’.
In addition, Timely has an “integrate with” feature that lets you connect with other apps like Trello. When you start a new task in one app, it will automatically create an entry for that activity in another application (such as Trello).
TMetric
TMetric is one of the great time-tracking apps for designers to track time, manage unlimited projects, and understand their productivity. TMetric helps you become more efficient by automating tasks like billing and task assignments. The app also allows you to collaborate with your team on the fly.
TMetric is a web app, so you can access it from any computer or mobile device. It’s free for small teams (up to five users). If your team needs more features than that, TMetric has plans available starting at $9/month per user.
It offers user-friendly features and is straightforward to use.
Time Analytics
Time Analytics is one of the newest time-tracking apps on the market. If you like minimalism, you will definitely appreciate its simple and pretty design. It’s really easy to implement in your business and effortless to use.
Time management with this app isn’t a nightmare anymore. You can focus on a certain project, supervise many of them, and carefully analyze every employee’s time. Great analytics will help you to count expected profits from every new project and make every billable hour meaningful.
You can check all the features with a free 14-day trial or choose a free plan.
eBillity
eBillity is a time-tracking app that really helps you make billable hours count. If you forget to create tasks and enter the time, the app will send you a reminder. It also has an automatic solution for tracking time.
Nice reports help you to analyze the time spent on every project, which is great for all graphic designers as you can plan your next work better.
There is no freemium, but prices start from $7.5 per user monthly.
TrackingTime
TrackingTime is one of the easiest time-tracking apps on the market, but it doesn’t mean that’s not great. The mix of to-do lists features and time managements make it a really useful tool for all designers.
You can check the reports from hours tracked before, or check the real-time overview to analyze what’s going on at the moment.
There’s a free version and a premium version, so you can choose.
Paydirt
Time management with Paydirt becomes really easy. The app automatically detects for which client you’re working for, so you will never forget to switch between projects. Thanks to this feature, you will be able to make really accurate invoices.
The intuitive interface, one-click time tracking, smart reminders, and online quoting are just a few advantages of this software.
Pricing starts from $8 monthly for a single user.
ActiveCollab
ActiveCollab is not just a task management tool. Its designers claim that’s an all-in-one software that gives you full control over the projects. You can measure time spent on all activities, but you can also use it as an HR tool. You can manage absences, vacations, and sick leaves in one place.
What’s interesting, you can not just make task notes but also upload files to them.
There is a free plan for up to 3 members and 2 more paid plans.
Check ActiveCollab time tracking!
Tick
Tick is a very simple time-tracking app that lets you make a time entry from anywhere. It’s available not just on Mac, Windows, and mobile phones but even on Apple Watch. Key features like real-time budget tracking, straightforward time tracking, and simple design make Tick the best time tracking app for many designers.
The app integrates with Basecamp, which makes it even better.
You can check it out with a 30-day trial, and later choose one from 5 plans.
Conclusion
As a designer, you need to track time on different projects. You also need to be able to track time on different platforms and devices. And finally, most importantly: you want to be able to track time on multiple projects at the same time!
When you’re working, it’s essential to keep track of your time. You must know where every hour goes and how much you’re earning from each project so that you can plan accordingly. The best time tracking app will help you to do just that.