Best Time Tracking Software for Accountants

Website: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/time-tracking/

Best for: Firms already on QuickBooks Online

Starting price: $10 per user/month plus $20 base fee per month

Free plan: Free trial (30 days)

Pros: Time flows into QuickBooks payroll and invoicing; scheduling and time off in one place

Cons: Base fee plus per user cost adds up fast; requires a QuickBooks Online subscription

QuickBooks Time, formerly TSheets, is the natural pick for an accounting firm that already runs QuickBooks Online. Tracked hours move into payroll and invoicing without a separate export step, which cuts the weekly scramble to turn timesheets into client bills. The Premium plan lists at $20 per month plus $10 per user per month on the vendor pricing page, and Elite lists at $40 per month plus $12 per user per month. Both plans include one admin in the base fee.

The tool covers the basics a firm needs, with mobile timers, a time kiosk, scheduling, time off, alerts and photo attachments on timesheets. Elite adds mileage tracking, project tracking, project estimates against actual hours, geofencing and timesheet signatures. For accountants, the strongest point is the link to QuickBooks: hours, expenses and client jobs stay in one system, and payroll runs draw on the same timesheet data. The weak point is cost. A 10 person team on Premium costs $120 per month before the QuickBooks Online subscription.

Website: https://www.getharvest.com/

Best for: Hourly billing and invoicing

Starting price: $9 per seat/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Clean invoicing from tracked time; QuickBooks and Xero sync

Cons: Usage fees apply beyond a base amount of invoices and projects; profitability reports need Enterprise

Harvest is built around one clear job: track time, then turn it into an invoice. The Teams plan lists at $9 per seat per month on annual billing, or $11 per seat per month on monthly billing, and Enterprise lists at $14 per seat per month on annual billing, or $17.50 monthly. A free plan covers 1 seat and 2 projects. Harvest also lists Flex usage fees for extra invoices, projects, clients and tasks beyond a base amount, so a busy firm should read that part of the pricing page before budgeting.

For accountants, Harvest covers billable and cost rates per person, project estimates, expense tracking and team reporting. Invoices sync with QuickBooks, Xero and Stripe, which keeps client billing close to the books. Timesheet approval, profitability reporting, single sign on and custom exports sit on Enterprise, so a firm that needs a manager sign off on every week should price Enterprise at $14 per seat per month on annual billing.

Website: https://toggl.com/

Best for: Simple timers for small teams

Starting price: $9 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Fast one click timer on web, desktop and mobile; clear team reports

Cons: No built in invoicing; timesheet approval needs Premium at $16 per user per month

Toggl Track is the simplest timer in this guide, and that simplicity is the point. One click starts tracking, one click stops it, and the entry syncs across the browser, desktop apps and mobile apps. The Starter plan lists at $9 per user per month on annual billing, or $12 per user per month on monthly billing. Premium lists at $16 per user per month on annual billing, or $24 monthly. The free plan covers a limited number of users, and Starter adds billable rates, project estimates and team reports.

Accountants will like the billable rates at workspace, member and project level, plus rounding rules and calendar links that turn meetings into time entries. The gap is invoicing: Toggl Track records time well, but it does not turn hours into an invoice, so firms still need accounting software or an export step. Timesheet approval, labor costs, profitability reports and fixed fee projects sit on Premium, which doubles the per user price against Starter.

Website: https://clockify.me/

Best for: Low cost tracking for small firms

Starting price: $3.99 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Free plan covers up to 5 users; very low entry price

Cons: Invoicing and timesheet approval need Standard at $5.49 per user per month; free reports cover 31 days

Clockify is the low cost default for a small accounting firm. The Basic plan lists at $3.99 per seat per month on annual billing, or $4.99 monthly. Standard lists at $5.49 per seat per month on annual billing, and Pro at $7.99. The free plan covers up to 5 users with unlimited tracking, timers, timesheets, calendar views and basic reports, though free reports cover at most 31 days at a time. Every active or invited user on a subscription plan occupies one seat, so a firm pays for the whole team once it upgrades.

Standard is the tier most accountants need, because it adds invoicing, recurring invoices, timesheet approval, locked timesheets, time off, attendance and overtime, task rates and a QuickBooks link. Basic adds billable rates, CSV and Excel export, shared reports and project templates, which covers a firm that only needs clean hours and rates. Pro adds expenses, budgets, labor cost and profit views, scheduling and forecasting.

Website: https://www.freshbooks.com/

Best for: Time tracking with invoicing and accounting

Starting price: $23 per month

Free plan: Free trial (30 days)

Pros: Unlimited time tracking and invoicing on every plan; accountant access on Plus

Cons: Lite caps billable clients at 5; each extra team member costs $11 per month

FreshBooks is different from the other tools here because it is accounting software with time tracking inside, not a tracker with billing added on. Lite lists at $23 per month, Plus at $43 per month and Premium at $70 per month on the vendor pricing page, with Select quoted by the vendor. There is no free plan, only a 30 day free trial. Each plan covers one user, and each extra team member costs $11 per month, so a firm should count heads before choosing a tier.

Lite covers 5 billable clients with unlimited invoicing, estimates, time tracking and expenses. Plus raises the cap to 50 billable clients and adds proposals, retainers, double entry reports, bank reconciliation and accountant access, which is the tier most small firms need. Premium removes the client cap and adds project profitability, accounts payable and bill receipt capture.

Website: https://www.timecamp.com/

Best for: Automatic tracking with billing

Starting price: $3.99 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Free plan covers unlimited users; automatic tracking by app and keyword

Cons: Billable time needs Premium at $6.99 per user per month; billable rates need Ultimate

TimeCamp combines manual timers with automatic tracking of apps and websites, which helps accountants who forget to start a timer during client calls and admin work. The Starter plan lists at $3.99 per user per month on annual billing, or $5.49 monthly. Premium lists at $6.99 per user per month on annual billing, and Ultimate at $9.99. The free plan covers unlimited users and unlimited projects, which is the most open free tier in this guide, though invoicing and attendance sit on Starter and above.

Starter adds invoicing, attendance, time off and overtime, plus report exports. Premium adds billable time, budgets, estimates and invoice exports to QuickBooks and Xero, which is the tier most accounting firms need. Ultimate adds billable rates, labor costs, expenses, timesheet approvals and single sign on. Check the tier map first, because automatic tracking features vary by plan.

Website: https://hubstaff.com/

Best for: Activity tracking and payroll

Starting price: $4.99 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Screenshots and activity levels give managers proof of work; payroll tools built in

Cons: Starter, Grow and Team carry a 2 seat minimum; monitoring may not suit every client relationship

Hubstaff is the monitoring option in this guide, built for managers who want activity levels, screenshots, app and website tracking, GPS and payroll in one tool. The Starter plan lists at $4.99 per user per month on annual billing, or $7 monthly. Grow lists at $7.50 per user per month on annual billing, and Team at $10. The vendor pricing page lists a range of $4.99 to $25.00 per user, and the free plan covers 1 user. Starter, Grow and Team carry a 2 seat minimum, so even a solo buyer pays for two seats.

For accountants, Hubstaff covers timesheets, clients and invoices, budgets, scheduling and payments on higher tiers, plus integrations with common accounting and project tools. The trade off is trust: screenshots and activity tracking can feel intrusive to staff and to clients whose work is confidential, so a firm should agree the policy with the team before switching it on.

Website: https://www.paymoapp.com/

Best for: Small firms that want tasks, time and invoices in one place

Starting price: $5.90 per month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Tasks, time tracking, invoicing and expenses in one tool; free plan has unlimited time tracking

Cons: Solo is limited to 1 user, 3 clients and 5 projects; Gantt charts need Pro

Paymo is a work management tool with time tracking and invoicing built in, aimed at freelancers and small firms of up to about 20 people. The Solo plan lists at $5.90 per month on annual billing, or $9.90 per month on monthly billing after the first 3 months. Plus lists at $10.90 per user per month on annual billing, and Pro at $16.90. The free plan covers 1 user, 1 client and 2 projects with unlimited time tracking and invoices, plus a 15 day free trial on the subscription plans.

Solo suits a single accountant with a small client list, but the limits are tight: 1 user, 3 clients and 5 projects. Plus is the realistic starting point for a team, with unlimited users, clients and projects, timesheet reports, project profitability, recurring invoices and integrations. Pro adds Gantt charts, task dependencies, employee scheduling and workload views, timesheet approvals and leave management.