Best Timesheet Approval Software for Agencies

Website: https://www.clicktime.com

Best for: agencies that need audit-ready timesheets

Starting price: $12 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: No

Pros: period locking and a full change history on every plan; billing and cost rates by person, project and date

Cons: timesheet approval workflows start on Team at $15 per user per month billed annually, not on Starter; Starter is capped at 25 users; expense tracking costs $4 per user per month extra

ClickTime was built for timesheets that must stand up to an audit. Every plan includes period locking and a full change history, so a lead can see who changed an entry and when. Starter costs $12 per user per month billed annually, with Team at $15 and Premier at $27, and the single sign-on through Google, Okta, OneLogin and Microsoft Entra ID is included on every plan.

The catch is that approval workflows start on Team at $15 per user per month billed annually, even though period locking and change history are listed on every plan. Starter is capped at 25 users, and expense tracking costs $4 per user per month extra. There is no free plan, so the demo is the only way to test it before a sales call.

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

Best for: agencies already running QuickBooks payroll and invoicing

Starting price: $20 per month plus $10 per user

Free plan: Free trial (30 days)

Pros: hours flow into QuickBooks payroll and invoicing with no separate integration; GPS, scheduling and time kiosk built in

Cons: a QuickBooks Online subscription is required on top, from $38 per month; no geofencing on Premium; base fee applies before any user clocks in

QuickBooks Time suits an agency already inside the QuickBooks ecosystem, because approved hours flow into payroll and invoicing without a separate integration to maintain. Premium costs $20 per month as a base fee plus $10 per user per month, with Elite at $40 plus $12, and the base fee includes one admin. GPS, scheduling, time off and the time kiosk come with Premium, and the 30-day trial lets a team test the approval flow.

The catch is the total bill. A QuickBooks Online subscription is required on top, from $38 per month, so the real monthly cost is higher than the Time price alone. The base fee applies before anyone clocks in, and geofencing needs Elite. An agency outside QuickBooks should compare the combined price with a standalone tracker before committing.

Website: https://www.actitime.com

Best for: agencies that want hours tied to cost and budgets

Starting price: $6 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes, up to 3 users

Pros: free plan covers up to 3 users with the full feature set; cost rates and billing rates sit on the same time entries

Cons: no native desktop app, so it cannot track which desktop apps are used; estimates, budgets, priorities and custom fields need a billing tier; self-hosted version costs $120 per user once

actiTIME suits an agency that wants each approved hour to carry both a cost and a billing rate, so the same entry answers what work cost and what it earned. The free plan covers up to 3 users with the full feature set, and the online version costs $6 per user per month for 1 to 40 users billed annually, dropping to $5 for 41 to 200. The 30-day trial needs no card, and human support and free onboarding come with every version.

The limits are the free plan cap and the missing desktop app. The free plan ends at 3 users, so any real agency will pay, and there is no native desktop app, so actiTIME cannot track which desktop applications were used outside the browser. Estimates, budgets, priorities and custom fields need a billing tier, which is where the planning value sits.

Website: https://www.monitask.com

Best for: agencies that need verified hours with screenshots

Starting price: $6.49 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (10 days)

Pros: screenshots, app and website use and an activity percentage on every entry; payroll export and accounting summary built in

Cons: no invoicing and no billing increments, so invoices are raised elsewhere; no free plan, only a 10-day trial; monthly billing runs about 18 percent higher than annual

Monitask suits an agency whose clients want hours they will accept without argument. It records time against a project as the work happens, with screenshots, application and website use and an activity percentage attached to the entry. Pro costs $6.49 per user per month billed annually, with Business at $8.99 and Business Premium at $12.99, and the 10-day trial needs no card.

The gap is billing. Monitask has no invoicing and no billing-increment setting, so it produces an accounting summary and a payroll export, and the invoice is raised elsewhere. There is no free plan, only the 10-day trial, and monthly billing runs about 18 percent higher than annual billing. An agency that bills by the hour should plan for a second tool.

Website: https://toggl.com

Best for: agencies that want a fast timer with approvals

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

Free plan: Yes, up to 5 users

Pros: one-click timer with browser and desktop apps; approvals, fixed-fee budgets and time audits on Premium

Cons: timesheet approvals need Premium at $16 per user per month billed annually; no screenshots or activity tracking; no built-in invoicing

Toggl Track suits an agency that wants a fast timer and a clean approval step, and is happy to invoice elsewhere. A team member starts the timer when client work opens, stops it when the work ends, and the lead approves the week on Premium. Starter costs $9 per user per month billed annually, while the free plan covers up to 5 users with unlimited projects and clients.

The catch is the tier. Approvals sit on Premium at $16 per user per month billed annually, so the price that matters is nearly double the headline price. There are no screenshots and no activity tracking, which is a plus for team privacy and a minus when a client asks for proof. Toggl Track has no built-in invoicing, so approved hours must export to another billing tool.

Website: https://clockify.me

Best for: agencies on a tight budget that need approvals

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

Free plan: Yes, up to 5 users

Pros: low entry price with a free plan for up to 5 users; approvals, invoicing and time off on Standard

Cons: approvals and invoicing start at Standard at $5.49 per user per month billed annually; project budgets, profitability, GPS and screenshots start at Pro at $7.99

Clockify is the cheapest way to give an agency a shared record of approved hours. The free plan covers up to 5 users, and Basic at $3.99 per user per month billed annually adds project templates, time off policies and the ability to hide pages from regular users. A lead can approve each week by client and project, and the calendar view shows who was on shift and when.

The limits show up as the agency grows. Approvals and invoicing sit on Standard at $5.49 per user per month billed annually, while budgets and profitability sit on Pro at $7.99. A 20-person agency that bills clients will likely land on Pro, though even then the total stays below most rivals, which matters when margins per client are thin.

Website: https://www.getharvest.com

Best for: agencies that bill clients from approved hours

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

Free plan: Yes, 1 seat and 2 projects

Pros: invoicing built in, with expenses and billable rates on each entry; clean reports by client, project and person

Cons: no screenshots or activity tracking; Flex usage fees apply for active projects, clients, tasks and invoicing; free plan covers 1 seat and 2 projects only

Harvest fits an agency that bills by the hour, because the path from approved timer to invoice is short. A team member logs time against a client and a task, the lead reviews the week, and Harvest turns approved hours into an invoice with the right rates already applied. Teams costs $9 per seat per month billed annually, with a 30-day trial, and Enterprise at $14 adds single sign-on, custom roles and a dedicated success manager.

The trade-off is proof. Harvest has no screenshots and no activity tracking, so a client who wants evidence beyond the timesheet will need another tool. The Flex usage fees on active projects, clients, tasks and invoicing add to the seat price, so an agency with many small clients should model the full bill. The free plan covers a single seat, so any real agency will pay from day one.

Website: https://www.timecamp.com

Best for: agencies that want automatic tracking with approvals

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

Free plan: Yes, unlimited users and projects

Pros: free plan covers unlimited users and projects; automatic tracking with invoicing

Cons: billable rates, labor costs and timesheet approvals need Ultimate at $9.99 per user per month billed annually; Premium allows only 1 integration

TimeCamp has the most generous free plan on this list: unlimited users and unlimited projects, with no user cap at all. That matters for an agency, because contractors join per project and the headcount changes every month. Starter costs $3.99 per user per month billed annually and adds automatic time tracking, invoicing and basic reporting, with a 14-day trial and no credit card required.

The limits sit on the higher tiers. Billable rates, labor costs and timesheet approvals need Ultimate at $9.99 per user per month billed annually, so an agency that needs a lead to sign off every week will pay more than double the headline price. Premium allows only 1 integration, so an agency that needs several connected tools should check the tier first. The free plan still covers the core timer and manual entry.