Is there a application or web app that I can use to keep track of my time at work?

December 17, 2008 8:43 AM

Is there a application or web app that I can use to keep track of my time at work?

I work for a PR firm in which we have to track our time by the quarter hour for billing purposes. I've been using Slimtimer for a while and I loved it, but the site is so slow and down so often it's easier now just to keep track with pen and paper.

Ideally, this would be a free service but I could potentially expense it as well. I want to be able to have a list of tasks, perhaps grouped by client, that I can click on and have it just tick away in the background while I work. I would also need it to generate a daily or weekly report so that I can enter my time.

I feel like I've tried every service out there and none of them are functional enough for what I need. I've tried Slimtimer, Klok and Toggl so far.

I would love if I could just use SlimTimer in offline mode, but that feature is not available.

posted by DrDreidel to work & money (10 comments total)

This previous question may have some good suggestions.
posted by burnmp3s at 8:52 AM on December 17, 2008

Previously (sort of).
posted by cjorgensen at 8:53 AM on December 17, 2008

What OS do you use? There are several applications for Mac OS X and Linux that I know of, notably Hamster for Linux and Time Tracker for the Mac. I've used both and liked them. There was another Mac one that integrated with a free web service... this one? ... I haven't actually used it, though.
posted by tarheelcoxn at 8:54 AM on December 17, 2008

Slife is free for individuals and very good.
posted by Happy Dave at 8:55 AM on December 17, 2008

I have looked into things like Slife and most of the things in those previous ask mefi questions. However what those things can't do is track when I'm in a meeting or out with a client. What I also loved about Slimtimer was that if I had forgotten to tick it on, I could always go back and edit a task .

I think the ultimate solution to this problem is if SlimTimer would just work again. I've been using it for almost a year and I've become so dependent on it.
posted by DrDreidel at 9:04 AM on December 17, 2008

I've been a happy Freshbooks user for going on two years. It was born as a billing service, but now its billing features are almost overshadowed by its time-tracking abilities.

Ideally, this would be a free service but I could potentially expense it as well. I want to be able to have a list of tasks, perhaps grouped by client, that I can click on and have it just tick away in the background while I work. I would also need it to generate a daily or weekly report so that I can enter my time.

Freshbooks does exactly that, just as you described. It has a web time-tracking widget, as well as dashboard widgets for Mac OS X and Vista.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 9:30 AM on December 17, 2008

I used Timecore back when I needed to track based on task and client. There's a free trial, and exports to excel for really handy pivot tables and a fair bit more.
posted by Iteki at 9:47 AM on December 17, 2008

OnTheJob has worked well for me.
posted by sadiehawkinstein at 10:10 AM on December 17, 2008

Time Stamp sits in your taskbar -- click to start/stop the clock. Exports spreadsheets, etc. Very much like an old mac app I used to use.
posted by greensweater at 12:18 PM on December 17, 2008

I love love LOVE Harvest. Not free (I pay $12/mo.) but it does what you're asking. Has desktop widgets, has a great mobile interface, and can be controlled remotely via Twitter.
posted by shopefowler at 9:18 PM on December 17, 2008