Essentially, the type of time-tracking software you choose will depend on the type of company you have, the size of your company, the types of employees you have, your budget, and your needs. From portable time clocks to mobile apps, there are a lot of things to consider and different uses for different types of companies and jobs.
Remote Workers
The COVID-19 pandemic led to many companies adopting flexible scheduling and remote work, which many still offer. Tracking time for remote employees is hard to do without a time-tracking software that gives you accurate information about their hours worked.
Your remote workers need to be able to access schedules and communicate effectively with everyone, so your time-tracking software should enable these things to make remote working more productive and collaborative.
Freelance Contractors
If you do freelance work, you likely have multiple clients. Even if you have a flat rate, having time tracking capabilities helps you stay organized as well as transparent with your clients. Job sites like Upwork use employee monitoring time tracking to provide screenshots, keystrokes, and mouse clicks so employers can see exactly what the freelancer they hire is doing throughout their time clocked in.
This kind of time-tracking software is ideal for freelancers.
Small-Sized Businesses Since small businesses have smaller budgets, a simple time-tracking solution that provides you with the tools you need to track time accurately, but also have access to data that helps you grow your business and can grow with you. Reports that give you business insights are helpful to determine which employees are the best for which tasks/jobs. Communication is also key to getting jobs done right, so it’s important for your employees to be able to share information within the software to make sure there’s no confusion around what needs to be done, by whom, and when.
Medium-Sized Businesses
Usually defined as companies with up to 999 employees, mid-size organizations need additional tools with their time-tracking software. Your company will likely have different departments, types of jobs, and customers so you’ll need a solution that helps you keep track of each of these things.
You’ll also need reporting features that are easy to complete, filter, and export to stay on top of trends within your organization or to provide to customers who request them.
Communication tools that allow you to share data, ideas, client information, job details, etc. are crucial for any organization but more challenging when you have more employees. Your time-tracking solution should enhance and improve communications in a way that’s easy for employees to use.
Large Enterprises
Large companies with more than 1,000 employees need a solution that integrates with the software they are likely already using. You’ll need an employee time clock app that works across the organization, whether you have one facility or 100.
Administrators should be able to assign permissions so each manager can monitor employee times for each department. Security is a concern for all businesses but large businesses have a lot of data and information, so it’s important that your time-tracking solution provides strong security features.
Industries
What an office enterprise needs for time-tracking software is going to be different, for example, than companies with field crews or subcontractors.
When you work in construction or a service industry, you’ll have different people in different locations, doing different jobs. It’s challenging to track time in construction, so you will need to offer a mobile time clock app for these workers to use.

Time tracking in manufacturing will probably tie into their overall plant management software, while office workers can use a simple standalone time-tracking system on their computers.
With different industries having different needs, it’s important to consider what you’re wanting to accomplish with your time tracking capabilities, how much you have a budget for, and what’s going to be the easiest way for your employees to get on board.