Time Tracking · Researched comparison

Best Time Tracking Software for Grant Reporting

TaskReports may earn a fee from some links on this page, and some placements are paid and labelled. Neither one decides the order. See our disclosure.

On this page

Key takeaways

  • Grant reporting turns on fund codes, locked timesheets and clean exports, so judge each tool on its audit trail before its timer.
  • ClickTime is the only tool here with DCAA-compliant timesheets and custom fields for grant cost codes, but it publishes no prices and asks you to request a demo.
  • Clockify Basic and TimeCamp Starter both start at $3.99 per user per month on annual billing, and both keep a free tier for small teams.
  • TimeCamp lists a 30 percent discount for nonprofits, so ask every vendor about nonprofit pricing before you commit to a plan.

Comparison

How these compare
ToolBest forPrice rangeFree plan
Toggl TrackClean timers and team reports for grant teams$9 per user/month (billed annually)Yes
HarvestTurning grant hours into invoices$9 per seat/month (billed annually)Yes
ClockifyLow cost tracking for large grant teams$3.99 per seat/month (billed annually)Yes
TimeCampAutomatic tracking with a nonprofit discount$3.99 per user/month (billed annually)Yes
EverhourGrant budgets inside Asana and Jira$8.50 per seat/month (billed annually)Yes
PaymoProjects, time and invoices in one app$10.9 per user/month (billed annually)Yes
HubstaffProof of work for field and remote grant staff$4.99 per seat/month (billed annually)Free trial (14 days)
ClickTimeDCAA timesheets and grant cost codesquote onlyNo

How we choose

We reviewed each vendor's own pricing page and product documentation on 2026-11-12, and we compared fund and grant code handling, timesheet approvals, audit trails, cost rates, exports and nonprofit pricing. We picked tools that can split hours across more than one grant and produce a report a funder can read. Every price in this guide comes from the vendor page listed in Sources, and where a vendor hides its price we say quote only instead of guessing. We did not test the products ourselves, and we make no hands-on claims. Feature limits come from the vendor plan tables, and we note where a grant feature sits on a higher tier.

Our full method

The shortlist

★ Best overall

The best time tracking software for grant reporting

2

Toggl Track

Best for Clean timers and team reports for grant teams

Website: https://toggl.com/

Best for: Clean timers and team reports for grant teams

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: One-click timers staff adopt fast; CSV and Excel exports with locked entries; audit log and timesheet approvals on Premium

Cons: Timesheet approvals and labor costs need Premium at $16 per user/month; no native invoicing, so funder invoices need another tool

Toggl Track gives grant teams a timer staff actually start, and that matters because a report is only as complete as the hours behind it. Each grant becomes a project, each fund code becomes a tag, and each task maps to a work package in the award. Team reports break hours down by project, client, member, task and tag, so a program manager can pull one grant's hours without sorting through the rest. Exports run to CSV and Excel, and the Summary report lists every time log in full, which helps when a funder asks for backup.

The catch sits in the plan tiers. Billable rates and team reports arrive on Starter at $9 per user per month on annual billing, while timesheet approvals, labor costs, locked entries and the audit log wait for Premium at $16. Toggl Track has no native invoicing, so funder invoices need a separate accounting tool or an integration. The free plan covers a limited number of users, which suits a pilot with two or three staff, but a full program team will move to Starter fast.

3

Harvest

Best for Turning grant hours into invoices

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

Best for: Turning grant hours into invoices

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Activity log gives an audit trail of every entry and edit; custom reports and custom exports to CSV; QuickBooks, Xero and Stripe integrations

Cons: Usage fees apply on top of the seat price once you pass included limits for projects, clients, tasks and invoices; free plan covers 1 seat and 2 projects only

Harvest turns tracked grant hours into invoices and expense records in one place, which suits nonprofits that bill funders for staff time. Projects carry billable and cost rates per person, and custom reports can group hours by grant, task or team member. The activity log records every time entry and edit, giving auditors a clear trail, and custom exports let you shape CSV files to match a funder's template. Integrations with QuickBooks, Xero and Stripe keep the finance team in tools they already use.

The price needs care. Teams starts at $9 per seat per month on annual billing, or $11 month to month, but Harvest adds usage fees once an account passes its included allowance of projects, clients, tasks and invoices, and it does not publish the per-unit rates. A grant-heavy account with many small awards can see the bill rise above the seat price. The free plan covers one seat and two projects, so it works for a solo grant writer and not much more. Timesheet approval and profitability reporting need Enterprise at $14 per seat per month.

4

Clockify

Best for Low cost tracking for large grant teams

Website: https://clockify.me/

Best for: Low cost tracking for large grant teams

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Free plan covers up to 5 users; project budgets and a time audit that flags bad entries; QuickBooks sync and custom fields for grant codes

Cons: Timesheet approvals need Standard at $5.49 per seat/month; free plan capped at 5 users since early 2026

Clockify is the low-cost pick for grant teams with many staff and thin budgets. The free plan covers up to five users with unlimited tracking and projects, and Basic at $3.99 per seat per month on annual billing adds billable rates, required fields, bulk edit and a time audit that flags entries that are too short, too long or missing detail. Standard at $5.49 adds timesheet approval, invoicing and QuickBooks sync, while Pro at $7.99 adds project budgets, labor costs and expenses.

For grant reporting, the useful pieces are custom fields, which can hold a grant code or cost center on each entry, and project templates, which let you spin up the same structure for each new award. Reports export to CSV, Excel and PDF, and the attendance report shows start and end times, breaks and overtime in one view. The limits are real: the free plan stopped at five users in early 2026, approvals need Standard, and screenshots and GPS sit on Pro, so a team that needs monitoring proof will pay more than the entry price.

5

TimeCamp

Best for Automatic tracking with a nonprofit discount

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

Best for: Automatic tracking with a nonprofit discount

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Free plan covers unlimited users and projects; 30 percent discount for nonprofits; budget alerts and Excel exports

Cons: Billable rates and labor costs need Ultimate at $9.99 per user/month; timesheet approvals need Ultimate and the audit log is Enterprise only

TimeCamp suits grant teams that want hours captured with little manual entry. Its desktop app records app and website use and turns it into timesheet entries, and the weekly timesheet, calendar view and GPS tracking cover office and field staff alike. Unlimited users and unlimited projects come on every plan, including the free tier, so a nonprofit can put every program staffer on the same account. Budget alerts warn when a grant's hours approach its limit, and reports export to Excel, Google Sheets and PDF.

The price is friendly to nonprofits. Starter costs $3.99 per user per month on annual billing and adds invoicing, attendance and time off, while TimeCamp lists an extra 30 percent discount for nonprofits, universities and schools on request. The trade-offs sit higher up: billable time, billable rates and labor costs need Premium at $6.99 or Ultimate at $9.99, timesheet approvals need Ultimate, and the audit log is Enterprise only. Automatic tracking helps busy staff, but grant managers should check that every entry carries the right grant code before it is locked.

6

Everhour

Best for Grant budgets inside Asana and Jira

Website: https://everhour.com/

Best for: Grant budgets inside Asana and Jira

Starting price: $8.50 per seat/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Single Team plan includes every feature with no tier gating; budget alerts and cost rates; native Asana, Jira, ClickUp and Monday integrations

Cons: Team plan has a 5-seat minimum, so a 2-person team pays for 5 seats; free plan has no integrations

Everhour fits grant teams that already plan work in Asana, Jira, ClickUp or Monday, because it lives inside those tools instead of asking staff to open another app. Time, budgets and cost rates attach to the same tasks the team already works from, and threshold alerts flag a grant budget before it is spent. The Team plan includes every feature at one price, so there is no tier guessing: billing, budgeting, invoicing, approvals, single sign-on and advanced permissions all come standard.

The price is $8.50 per seat per month on annual billing, with a free plan for up to five seats that covers basic tracking, projects, tasks and reports. The catch is the five-seat minimum on the Team plan, so a two-person grants office pays for five seats, or $42.50 per month. Integrations are the other limit: the free plan has none, so a team that needs Asana or Jira sync must move to Team. Everhour has no native grant code field, so teams use project names or tags to mark each award.

7

Paymo

Best for Projects, time and invoices in one app

Website: https://paymoapp.com/

Best for: Projects, time and invoices in one app

Starting price: $10.9 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Timesheet reports and project profitability on Plus; estimates, expenses and invoicing included; desktop app records app time automatically

Cons: Free plan covers 1 user, 1 client and 2 projects; timesheet approvals need Pro at $16.9 per user/month; integrations start on Plus

Paymo combines project management, time tracking and invoicing in one app, which suits small nonprofits that cannot run three separate tools. Each grant becomes a project with its own tasks, Kanban board, estimates and expenses, and timesheet reports show hours by person, project and task. The desktop app, Paymo Track, can record desktop app time and match it to tasks, which cuts down on manual entry. Invoicing, recurring invoices and client portals sit in the same account, so funder billing follows straight from tracked hours.

The price for a team starts on Plus at $10.9 per user per month on annual billing, or $15.9 month to month, since the Free and Solo plans cover one user only. The free plan also caps at one client and two projects with 1GB of storage, so it is a trial shape rather than a working setup for a grants office. Timesheet approvals, leave management and scheduling wait for Pro at $16.9, and integrations and API access start on Plus. A 15-day free trial covers all plans.

8

Hubstaff

Best for Proof of work for field and remote grant staff

Website: https://hubstaff.com/

Best for: Proof of work for field and remote grant staff

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

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Pros: Activity levels, screenshots and GPS give funders visible proof of hours; built-in invoicing and contractor payments; 2 months free on annual billing

Cons: No free plan, only a 14-day trial; screenshots capped at 500 per seat per month on Starter; 2-seat minimum on Starter, Grow and Team

Hubstaff fits grant teams that must prove hours to a funder, because it records activity levels, screenshots and GPS alongside the timer. Managers see what each person worked on during the day, and the audit trail supports that record when a funder questions an invoice. Invoicing and contractor payments are built in, and the tool connects with common accounting software. The Starter plan at $4.99 per seat per month on annual billing is one of the lowest entry prices in this list, and annual billing includes two months free.

There is no free plan, only a 14-day trial, and Starter, Grow and Team all carry a two-seat minimum, so the smallest bill is two seats. Screenshots and app tracking on Starter are capped at 500 per seat per month, and scheduling, time off and payments need the Team plan at $10 per seat per month. Monitoring features can also raise trust questions with staff, so a nonprofit should set a clear policy and tell the team what is recorded before rollout. For desk-based grant teams that do not need GPS or screenshots, a simpler tracker may cost less in goodwill.

9

ClickTime

Best for DCAA timesheets and grant cost codes

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

Best for: DCAA timesheets and grant cost codes

Starting price: quote only

Free plan: No

Pros: Custom fields for cost codes, CapEx/OpEx, grants and R&D; DCAA-compliant timesheets; full audit trail and approval workflows

Cons: No published prices, so you must request a demo for a quote; expense tracking costs $4 per user/month extra; no free plan

ClickTime is built for the audit end of grant reporting, and it shows in the feature list. Custom fields hold cost codes, CapEx and OpEx flags, grant identifiers and R&D tags on every entry, and the Team plan adds approvals, cost rates and work types with dated project phases. Timesheets meet DCAA standards, the audit trail keeps a full change history, and timesheet locking stops edits after approval. More than 70 pre-built reports cover billing, cost, utilization and project health, and exports feed accounting systems such as NetSuite, SAP and Sage Intacct.

The trade-off is price transparency. ClickTime publishes no prices and asks every buyer to request a demo, so the starting price here is quote only, and small nonprofits should budget time for a sales conversation. Expense tracking costs $4 per user per month as an add-on, and ERP and HR integrations are add-ons too. There is no free plan. For a team that reports on federal funds or manages many grants with strict cost rules, the DCAA timesheets and grant cost fields may justify the quote-only model, but a small team with one or two grants will find a simpler tool faster to adopt.

What to check before you buy

Before you commit, run a pilot with one real grant and three to five staff for two full weeks, then export the report your funder expects and check every column. Confirm that grant codes travel with each entry, that approvals lock the timesheet, and that the audit trail shows who changed what. Ask about nonprofit pricing in writing, confirm the data region, and check the renewal price, since first-term discounts often end at renewal.

Use this checklist before you sign: one project per grant with a matching fund code; required fields so no entry ships without a grant code; weekly approvals with locked periods; a monthly export test against your funder template; a named owner for the audit trail; and a renewal date in the calendar with the price you agreed. If a tool fails any of these six checks on the pilot grant, it will fail the same way at audit time.

FAQ

What makes time tracking software good for grant reporting?

A good tool splits hours by grant, locks approved timesheets, keeps an audit trail of edits, and exports clean reports a funder can read. Look for custom fields or tags for fund codes, cost rates per person, project budgets with alerts, and CSV or Excel exports. Approvals matter too, since a signed-off timesheet carries more weight with a funder than an open one.

Can one person track time against more than one grant in a day?

Yes, every tool in this guide lets one person log hours to more than one project in a day. Set each grant up as its own project, add tasks for work packages, and use tags or custom fields for fund codes. Staff should log hours daily rather than at month end, since same-day entries are more accurate and easier to approve.

Do funders accept exports from these tools?

Most funders accept CSV, Excel or PDF exports if the report shows dates, staff names, grant codes, hours and totals. Check your award terms first, since some federal awards need DCAA-compliant timesheets with daily entry and approval signatures. ClickTime lists DCAA-compliant timesheets, while the other tools cover standard funder reporting.

Which tool is cheapest for a small nonprofit?

TimeCamp Free costs nothing for unlimited users and projects, and Clockify Free covers up to five users. For a priced plan, Clockify Basic and TimeCamp Starter both start at $3.99 per user per month on annual billing. TimeCamp also lists a 30 percent nonprofit discount, so a nonprofit should ask for that rate before choosing on price alone.

Do I need DCAA-compliant timesheets for a federal grant?

It depends on the award and the agency. Cost-reimbursement federal contracts often require DCAA-compliant timesheets with daily time entry, supervisor approval and an audit trail. Fixed-price grants usually accept simpler reports. Read the award terms, ask your grants officer, and pick ClickTime if DCAA rules apply, since it is the only tool here that lists them.

Sources we checked

  • https://toggl.com/pricing/
  • https://www.getharvest.com/pricing
  • https://clockify.me/pricing
  • https://www.timecamp.com/pricing
  • https://everhour.com/pricing
  • https://paymoapp.com/pricing/
  • https://hubstaff.com/pricing
  • https://www.clicktime.com/pricing
How we score

Need the method behind these picks?

We publish the criteria and the weights, so you can disagree with them.

The best time tracking software for grant reporting#1 PICK