Best Time Tracking Software for Government Contractors

Website: https://www.clicktime.com/

Best for: DCAA-style audit trails

Starting price: quote only

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Pros: DCAA-compliant timesheets listed on the pricing page; full audit trail with change history

Cons: Starter caps at 25 users; approvals and cost rates need the Team plan

ClickTime is built for finance teams that need timesheets to stand up to review. Its pricing page lists DCAA-compliant timesheets, an audit trail with full change history, timesheet locking, and approval workflows. Time can be tagged by cost code, and custom fields cover CapEx, OpEx, grants, and research work, which matches how government contracts split labor. Billing and cost rates can be set by person, project, and date, so labor cost reports follow the same structure as the contract.

The Starter plan covers web and mobile timesheets, more than 70 reports, email reminders, and basic billing rates. Approvals and cost rates move to the Team plan, and project budgeting and resource management move to the Premier plan. Expense tracking is an add-on. Contractors that need approvals should budget for Team, not Starter, and confirm ERP links before signing.

Website: https://www.bigtime.net/

Best for: Contract billing and utilization

Starting price: $20 per user/month

Free plan: No

Pros: DCAA listed as an Advanced option; invoicing and utilization reports in one place

Cons: No free plan and no self-service trial; higher tier prices are not published

BigTime is a professional services platform that ties time tracking to billing, budgets, and utilization. The Essentials plan starts at $20 per user per month and covers time and expense management, billing and invoicing, project portfolio management, and the QuickBooks integration. The pricing page lists DCAA as an Advanced option, with multi-level approvals on Premier, so a contractor that needs DCAA-style controls should ask sales which tier carries them and get that answer in writing.

The trade-off is transparency. Advanced, Premier, and Enterprise prices are not published, so the $20 figure is only a starting point for a larger firm. There is no free plan and no self-service trial, only a personalized demo, which means a team cannot test the timesheet workflow before talking to sales. Firms that bill by the hour and want utilization data next to invoices will get the most from BigTime, while a small subcontractor may find the entry cost and the sales-led process heavy.

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

Best for: Simple invoicing from tracked time

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Clean timers and timesheets with invoicing built in; activity log on higher plans

Cons: Usage fees can raise the bill above the per-seat price; free plan covers 1 seat and 2 projects

Harvest is a time tracking and invoicing tool that keeps the daily workflow simple. Staff start a timer or fill in a weekly timesheet, managers review hours, and invoices are built straight from tracked time with expenses attached. The Teams plan costs $9 per seat per month billed annually, and Enterprise costs $14 per seat per month billed annually, with timesheet approval and an activity log that records every time entry and edit. QuickBooks, Xero, and Stripe links keep billing and accounting in step.

The cost to watch is usage billing. On the current plans, active projects, clients, tasks, and invoicing can carry usage fees on top of the per-seat price, so a contractor with many small contracts should ask for a full renewal estimate before committing. The free plan covers one seat and two projects, which suits a solo subcontractor but not a team. Harvest fits a small contractor that bills time and materials and wants clean invoices without a large platform.

Website: https://toggl.com/

Best for: Fast adoption across small teams

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: One-click timers that staff adopt fast; billable rates and team reports on Starter

Cons: Timesheet approvals and labor cost reports need Premium at $16 per user per month; no screenshots or activity monitoring

Toggl Track is the simplest tool in this list to roll out. Staff track time with a one-click timer on web, desktop, or mobile, and managers see team reports, project estimates, and capacity signals on the Starter plan at $9 per user per month billed annually. Billable rates, tags, milestones, and timeline views help a contractor split hours across contracts and tasks without long training sessions. The free plan covers a limited number of users, so a very small team can start at no cost.

The limit for government work is control. Timesheet approvals, required fields, labor costs, and profitability reports sit on Premium at $16 per user per month billed annually, and single sign-on is Premium only. There are no screenshots or activity monitoring, which many staff prefer, but it also means the audit record rests on approvals and the audit log rather than on captured activity. Toggl Track fits a contractor that values adoption first and can run approvals on Premium.

Website: https://clockify.me/

Best for: Low cost time tracking

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Cheapest entry price in this list; free plan covers up to 5 users

Cons: Audit log sits on Enterprise at $11.99 per user per month; invoicing needs Standard

Clockify gives a small contractor the lowest entry price in this list. Basic costs $3.99 per seat per month billed annually and adds billable rates, kiosk mode, required fields, and time audits. Standard at $5.49 adds invoicing, timesheet approval, locked timesheets, time off, and QuickBooks. Pro at $7.99 adds scheduling, expenses, labor cost and profit, and activity monitoring. The free plan covers up to 5 users with unlimited tracking, timers, timesheets, and calendar views.

The catch is that the controls a government contractor needs most are spread across tiers. The audit log, which records every change to time entries, is an Enterprise feature at $11.99 per seat per month billed annually, and single sign-on sits there too. A contractor that only needs clean timesheets and approvals can run well on Standard, but one that must show a full change history to an auditor should price Enterprise from the start and test the export formats during the 7-day Pro trial.

Website: https://hubstaff.com/

Best for: Activity proof and field teams

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

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Pros: Screenshots and activity levels back up each timesheet; GPS and geofencing on higher plans

Cons: Two-seat minimum on Starter, Grow, and Team; screenshots capped at 500 per seat on Starter

Hubstaff pairs time tracking with activity proof, which suits contractors with remote or field staff. Starter costs $4.99 per seat per month billed annually and covers timers, automated timesheets, activity levels, and up to 500 screenshots and 500 tracked apps and URLs per seat each month. Grow at $7.50 adds project budgets, expenses, and 1,500 screenshots per seat. Team at $10 adds timesheet approvals, scheduling, attendance, payroll, and unlimited screenshots, while Enterprise at $25 adds HIPAA and SOC 2 support, single sign-on, and account provisioning.

The cost to watch is add-ons. Insights, Tasks, Locations for GPS, the silent app, extra screenshots, and longer data retention are sold separately per seat, and the Locations add-on is only available on Team and Enterprise. There is no free plan, only a 14-day trial, and every plan except Enterprise needs at least two seats. Hubstaff fits a contractor that needs to show what field staff did, not just how long they worked, and that can budget for Team when GPS matters.

Website: https://www.bill4time.com/

Best for: Time and billing with LEDES options

Starting price: $39 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Pros: Time, billing, and client portal in one plan; LEDES export on Legal Pro

Cons: Highest entry price in this list; LEDES export needs Legal Pro at $59 per user per month

Bill4Time is a time and billing platform that covers the full path from hours to invoice. The Time and Billing plan costs $39 per user per month billed annually and covers time tracking, task and client management, a client portal, expense management, invoicing, payment processing, QuickBooks integration, and encrypted backups. Legal Pro at $59 adds trust accounting, a conflict checker, contingency billing, task workflows, and LEDES export, which matters when a client or agency requires LEDES billing files.

The entry price is the highest in this list, so a contractor should compare it against the cost of running separate tools for time, billing, and client records. There is no free plan, only a 14-day trial with no card required, and the Legal Enterprise plan at $89 adds custom LEDES export and a dedicated success specialist. Bill4Time fits a contractor that bills clients directly from tracked time and needs clean invoices and a client portal without extra tools.

Website: https://www.timesolv.com/

Best for: Detailed billing and e-billing

Starting price: $49 per user/month

Free plan: No

Pros: LEDES billing, split billing, and trust accounting in one system; volume discounts for larger teams

Cons: Per-plan prices are not shown on the pricing page; volume rates need a sales quote

TimeSolv is a time and billing system built around detailed invoices and e-billing. Its pricing page states that pricing starts at $49 per user per month, with volume discounts for larger teams and a 10-day free trial. The Pro and Legal plans cover time and expense tracking, flexible billing rates and templates, batch invoicing, online payments, and a client portal. The Legal plan adds conflict checks, LEDES billing, trust accounting, and automatic trust transfers, which suit contractors that bill through legal or agency channels.

The main drawback is price transparency. The pricing page does not show per-plan per-user prices in its main table, so a buyer must talk to sales for a firm quote and confirm how the price changes as staff are added. There is no free plan, and the 10-day trial is shorter than the 14-day trials offered by several tools in this list. TimeSolv fits a contractor that needs LEDES billing and trust accounting and is willing to get a written quote before deciding.