TimeBee vs. Clockify: Which Time Tracking Software Offers Better Accuracy & Insights
Time tracking software is not a new concept. However, with the growing number of companies adopting remote and hybrid work models, precise time tracking has become necessary. In fact, as per a recent survey, over 73% of companies now rely on online monitoring tools.
Time tracking, too, has moved with the times. One of the finest additions to time tracking software is that it is no longer limited to tracking time for payroll purposes only. Modern software uses time data for billing, productivity analysis, KPI compliance, and project management.
As demand for time tracking software has grown, the market is filled with numerous options, and choosing which one is best for your company is hard. Comparing the products and checking which one meets your requirements is one of the methods. In this article, two time tracking software, TimeBee and Clockify, are discussed and compared. Let us look at what they have to offer.
The tools
TimeBee
TimeBee is a productivity monitoring and employee time tracking tool that gives managers and business owners comprehensive insight into employees’ performance. When it comes to tracking total time, task time, and other activities, TimeBee is accurate to the second. Its interface is clear and easy to use. Even without extensive training, every employee can use the app effectively. The dashboard makes it simple for them to see their time and work breakdown.
TimeBee quietly logs work behavior in the background without interfering with the work. It only appears on the screen when the employee is inactive for a predetermined amount of time specified by the administrator. TimeBee can be used by hospitals, the educational sector, freelancers, remote and hybrid business models, software companies, nonprofit organizations, and more.
Clockify
Clockify is a time-tracking software famous for its simplicity and ease of tracking employees’ time. As per the usage and features of the app, it is most suitable for freelancers, remote workers, small and large teams, and organizations aiming to improve productivity. It provides the option for employees to log hours manually and through an automatic timer as well.
The primary use of Clockify is to track billable and non-billable hours, monitor employee work time, and manage projects and workloads. It can also generate reports for analysis or invoicing.
Although the features can be enough for many businesses, it doesn’t have some advanced features like screen activity or distraction alerts. Overall, Clockify offers the basic features for monitoring employees and tracking their time. You can integrate it with project management tools. The app’s ease of use and accessibility for users without prior experience make it a competitive time tracking app.
TimeBee vs. Clockify – Side-by-Side Comparison
It can be difficult to pick the right employee time tracking software. Various steps are involved in this process, like choosing the goal, i.e., understanding why you need the time tracking app. Once you have decided, you must read reviews and do a competitor analysis for these tools.
The most essential point to compare is how well the time tracker tracks hours, analyzes work patterns, encourages productivity, and helps in decision-making. Let’s compare TimeBee and Clockify head-to-head on the most critical features that cause the most problems with the user experience.
Dashboard
TimeBee has a visually organized, filterable, and interactive dashboard. You can easily navigate to every feature, such as real-time performance summaries, activity breakdowns, productivity scores, and structured timelines. TimeBee systematically shows how an individual or a team of employees performs at a glance. You can easily spot bottlenecks and inefficiencies through the insights and reports.
Clockify’s interface is more straightforward and offers a color-coded breakdown of tracked hours. Since it revolves around projects, it focuses on monitoring hours, project status, and team contributions, but lacks depth in productivity analytics. Additionally, it doesn’t give as many individual behavioral insights.
Ease of Setup
TimeBee doesn’t take much time to implement the software in any organization. It usually just takes six steps. All the processes, including installation, login, user assignment, and dashboard sync, are seamless, making onboarding efficient for every team.
Clockify also has an easy setup process. The owners can create a workspace on the dashboard and add members to the account. Then you can easily customize the settings, add projects, add time tracking preferences, and start logging time. Customizing it for specific productivity insights may require extra manual configurations or integrations, which could be a slight learning curve for some.
Precision
TimeBee tracks activity based on the seconds spent by the employee. It tracks the activities based on working capacity, app usage, and idle time, offering precise snapshots of employee productivity.
Clockify accurately logs time but relies on employees’ manual entries with the start/stop timer. While this method is convenient for the employees, it opens the door to potential human error or missed entries, especially if they forget to turn on the app. This affects tracking precision for detailed reports and productivity reviews.
Time Tracking
TimeBee’s employee time tracking software automatically tracks the time of all employees. They just have to come in and start the timer, and the app will keep running in the background, capturing every activity and categorizing what they were doing at a particular moment. If the employee becomes idle or takes a break, the timer will automatically stop, and the employee can then start it when they are back.
Clockify provides both manual and timer-based tracking. While this flexibility is helpful for freelancers or simple project logs, it can also allow for time theft. Considering that approximately 75% of US businesses are affected by some type of employee time theft, the app could be less reliable for time tracking.
Attendance Sheet
TimeBee generates detailed attendance logs, including login/logout times, total hours worked, absenteeism, late arrivals, and early leave. This data can evaluate employees’ working behavior and check whether they are slacking or covering the company’s required time.
Clockify’s attendance sheet is more like an employee activity timeline. It shows clock-in and clock-out times, daily working hours, breaks (if tracked), and total worked hours per day/week. It can provide the total time tracked, but lacks attributes like early leaves or late arrivals.
Activity Summary
TimeBee compiles daily, weekly, and monthly activity summaries. These summaries show the percentage of the total productive, nonproductive, unrated, or neutral time. This breakdown is based on websites and apps the employee has visited during work hours. You can use the filters to get the required information.
The Clockify Activity feature monitors employee activity, tracks what apps and websites employees use, and understands how work time is spent. It tracks active time, idle time, app, and website usage, and shows screenshots (optional), as well as the productive time.
Web App & Usage
TimeBee provides a detailed report of all websites and applications accessed by the employee. It captures a website even if the employee visited for a few seconds, and shows the total time spent on it. These reports could be modified based on time. Moreover, you can categorize each website as productive or non-productive for proper productivity analysis.
Clockify records time against every project but does not indicate what the employee is doing or what websites and applications are being accessed. Third-party integrations would be required for additional information.
Project Monitoring
TimeBee allows managers to enter projects and further break them down into tasks. Employees can select what they are doing on a project, and TimeBee clocks each one, so there is proper project productivity. This is a great feature for project management.
Clockify is project-tracking oriented and does a fine job of it. It quantifies time, labor, and resources spent on a specific project. This functionality helps you create and manage projects, assign team members and tasks, set budget estimates, track actual vs. estimated hours, log billable hours, and track project progress.
Screen Activity
TimeBee’s screen monitoring feature periodically captures screenshots of the employees’ screens at the employer’s designated time. These screenshots offer a thorough analysis of the operations, guaranteeing openness and objectivity in selecting high performers.
Screen capture is not integrated into Clockify. The app’s paid version includes the screenshot feature. Managers are forced to use extensions or third-party tools otherwise.
Quarterly Performance Reports
TimeBee focuses on productivity and generates detailed quarterly performance insights. The app combines data from time tracking, activity levels, productivity scores, and screen time to deliver a holistic performance report.
Clockify allows quarterly summaries of logged hours per user or project, but lacks built-in tools to assess behavioral performance or trends in productivity over time.
Payroll Calculation
TimeBee provides automated payroll calculations from hourly rates, time logs, and attendance. You can enter hourly rates for each worker, which can differ from project to project. The software automatically computes the actual billable hours and total payroll, with less manual effort and greater accuracy.
Clockify also has payroll features, especially in paid plans, such as time-based billing. However, in cases where idle time or mistakes affect billing data, manual checks are required. It tracks worked hours and calculates gross pay based on hourly rates. In effect, it acts as a payroll calculation and time tracking back-end to allow you to prepare accurate payouts.
Invoicing
TimeBee allows managers to create invoices based on accurate logs, user rates, and project durations. It supports branded invoice templates and detailed breakdowns.
Clockify invoices include the project details, time tracked for a project or client, fixed amounts, and billable rates per user or task. Within the platform, you can convert tracked time into an invoice, track invoice status, and export or email invoices directly to clients.
Distraction Alerts
TimeBee includes real-time distraction alerts when users deviate from productive behavior. For example, when the employee has been inactive, it shows a pop-up timer of 1 minute and notifies them that they have been inactive, helping reinforce focus.
Clockify doesn’t offer built-in distraction alerts. Users must manually review time logs or use integrations for similar functionality.
Email Notifications
TimeBee provides customizable email alerts for employers about their employees’ overall time. They can customize these alerts and set emails to track the productivity and progress of any employee they want.
Clockify sends basic notifications for task assignments or time approvals. Its email alerts are less dynamic and primarily focused on task-level updates.
TimeBee or Clockify: Which is the Best?
Both TimeBee and Clockify are excellent tools for tracking time and reporting productivity. Clockify stands out for its simplicity and flexibility, making it ideal for freelancers, startups, or teams looking for a straightforward time management solution.
TimeBee, on the other hand, offers precise tracking with a strong focus on productivity analytics, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes that require detailed performance insights. Each tool has its strengths, so comparing their benefits is essential. Do your research, evaluate your specific needs, and choose the one that aligns best with your goals and work environment.
About the Author
Stephen Hawks is a tech writer and digital productivity enthusiast with a focus on remote work tools and performance analytics. He frequently explores software solutions that help businesses improve efficiency, manage time, and drive results. When he’s not writing, Stephen enjoys testing emerging apps and consulting with startups on workflow optimization.
