The Pomodoro technique is a productivity method created by Francesco Cirillo in the ‘80s. Back in college, Cirillo used a tomato-shaped kitchen timer to gain the focus he needed to complete his assignments. He worked until the timer ran out, then took a short break before repeating the cycle.

And that’s the basis of the Pomodoro method (Pomodoro is the Italian word for tomato, in case you’re wondering!). It’s simple, focused, and produces excellent results. You’ll be amazed what you can achieve when the pressure is on.

No worries if you don’t have a tomato timer on hand. These days, we’ve gone digital. Numerous Pomodoro work timers can help you break your work hours into focus time and boost your productivity.

To select the best Pomodoro apps for your needs, we’ve tested each tool’s features and compared their pricing and user reviews.

Here’s a quick summary:

• Toggl Track: Best for tracking work hours with the Pomodoro method
• Pomodor: Best basic free Pomodoro timer
• Marinara Timer: Best shareable Pomodoro timer
• Forest: Best gamified focus tracker
• Session: Best Pomodoro timer for Apple devices
• Pomello: Best for Trello integration
• Pomofocus: Best basic focus timer with customization and task list
• Focus Mode by Geekbot: Best for Slack integration
• Minimalist: Best for tracking to-do list tasks
• Focus Keeper: Best for focus reminders

1. Toggl Track

Toggl Track is a time tracking app with an integrated Pomodoro timer baked in. It’s super easy to access through either the Toggl Track browser extension (available on Chrome, Firefox, and Edge), the desktop app, or the Android and iOS mobile apps. 

Head to the settings, and you can set Toggl Track to automatically start a Pomodoro timer when you begin a time entry. You can also tweak the interval if 25 minutes is too long or short.

When you reach the end of your Pomodoro session, Toggl Track will send a notification (with or without sound) to remind you to down your tools. You can also choose whether or not to stop your active timer at the end of the interval.

You can download the Toggl Track browser extension via the integrations page.

Toggl Track features for tracking time with the Pomodoro technique

Once you’ve activated the Pomodoro feature, you can:

• Track individual Pomodoro cycles automatically for every logged time entry
• Enable “Focus Mode” to show how long you have left of your cycle
• Customize the length of your Pomodoro cycles to fit your needs and tasks
• Log the Pomodoro cycles you’ve worked on your timesheet

Toggl Track pricing

There are four pricing plans for Toggl Track, tailored to teams of different sizes:

• Free: Ideal for freelancers or small teams of up to five users.  It includes unlimited time tracking, shareable reports, and 100+ app integrations.
• Starter: From $9/user/month, the Starter plan provides small teams with additional features like time estimates, billable rates, and unlimited data storage.
• Premium: From $18 per user per month, this plan is best suited for growing teams who need more features like timesheet approvals and team management tools.
• Enterprise: Custom pricing for unlimited users is available on request. This plan is ideal for large teams and comes with priority support, training, and volume discounts for the annual subscription. 

The Pomodoro timer is available on all plans. All plans come with a free, 30-day trial of Toggl Track Premium.

Is Toggl Track right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Logs Pomodoro cycles on a timesheet • Create detailed reports of time entries and export them to PDF, CSV, or XLSX • Integrates with Zapier and 100+ other tools to boost productivity even further	Have to restart time entry after the break manually

Toggl Track’s Pomodoro timer is ideal for an intuitive, user-friendly time tracker that links to timesheets. It’s a great time management solution for businesses and teams of all sizes, who can access time entries for all team members through centralized reports.

Here’s what one user had to say about Toggl Track’s Pomodoro capabilities: “Toggl is great for tracking how long your projects are taking and [it] allow[s] for easy task switching. The Pomodoro timer is helpful when you want to keep an eye on task switching[.] I use it to remind me to check email.”

2. Pomodor

Pomodor is a basic, no-frills Pomodoro timer that has no other features. Users can customize the length of their Pomodoro focus time, break time, and the number of cycles to put in before the long break. Its also easy to skip or restart intervals using the buttons under the timer.

Pomodor is simple to access. Just sign in with Google to customize the settings and set up the tomato timer however you like. It’s available as a desktop and web app.

Pomodor features for tracking time with the Pomodoro technique

• Customizable Pomodoro focus times, breaks, and cycles to fit your productivity needs
• Web app and desktop app to track Pomodoro cycles at your desk and on-the-go
• Keep track of Pomodoro cycles with the countdown timer in the tab title when using the web app
• Dark and light mode to reduce eye strain

Pomodor pricing

Pomodor is free. The app’s creator, Sasha Drmic, has included a link to her Buy Me A Coffee page under the productivity timer for those who wish to support it.

Is Pomodor right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Free to use • Simple Pomodoro tracking • Skippable intervals • Customizable cycles	• No advanced features • No dashboard or reports* • No team tracking

*The creator’s Buy Me A Coffee page states you can access a stats overview and charts showing the most productive days of the week, but I couldn’t find them!

Pomodor is perfect if you want a basic, free Pomodoro timer. One grateful user thanks Pomodor’s creator by saying, “You deserve a gallon of coffee. This app helps me to improve focus in performing different daily tasks and activities, which for me is a challenge due to anxiety disorder and lack of motivation.”

Users who get distracted by their phones could benefit from using Pomodor. However, if you’re looking for advanced features, time reports, or team tracking — Pomodor isn’t for you.

3. Marinara Timer

Marinara Timer is a handy timer tool that allows you to “choose your flavor” (we’re so here for the culinary references). The options are three different timer modes:

• Pomodoro for the classic 25/5 intervals
• Custom timer for setting your own intervals and cycles
• Kitchen timer for standard timeboxing

The app also has two sharing link options. One is a viewing link for anyone who needs to see your cycles in real-time, and the other is for admins who need control over the intervals.

While there’s no centralized reporting for teams, project managers can store these links in an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of their team’s productivity and worked time. Viewing upcoming intervals in your current Pomodoro and a Timer History report is also a cool bonus.

Marinara Timer features for tracking time with the Pomodoro technique

• Three options for timers (Pomodoro, Custom, and Kitchen timer), so you can choose what works for you
• Completely customizable focus times, breaks, and cycles
• Shareable viewing and admin links

Marinara Timer pricing

All Marinara Timer features are available on a free plan — no sign-up required.

Is Marinara Timer right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Customizable timers • Different timer options • Timers are shareable • Timer History reports	• Notification doesn’t work if the screen is off, so you could miss the end of your break • No centralized reporting for teams • Must access the custom timer through the same link each time; otherwise, you need to re-input your intervals

Marinara Timer is best for individuals and small teams looking for a free way to track work and free time but who don’t love the standard 25/5 Pomodoro cycle. This timer allows each team member to customize it to fit into their ideal workflow and whatever task they are working on.

Although the app has basic reports, a manager can’t check them without going into each employee’s time tracker individually. Here’s how one user has experienced Marinara Timer:

“I have used a few Chrome extensions — so far my favorite is Marinara: Pomodoro Assistant because the timers (focus time and break times) are customizable which is a must for me. I also like the white noise and that the sound alerts are customizable. The only thing it’s missing is I wish that it was automated. As in, when my 5min break is up I wish it started focus mode automatically, and when my focus mode is done I wish it started the break automatically. Because I have to enable it manually I’ll forget to do it or just tell myself “I’ll start it again after I do this” and it never happens.”

4. Forest

Forest is a mobile app that blocks distractions by gamifying focus time and holding users accountable for procrastinating. It’s great if you log into your desktop and then check your phone, open your work email and then check your phone, update your project management software, and scroll through social media.

Hey, we’re not judging.

Forest isn’t a classic Pomodoro timer. But it does let you block out a focus window (between 10 and 180 minutes) and then choose whether to take a break once it’s up. Unlike other timers, you’ll need to trigger the break manually after a focus session.

Starting the timer also plants a tree in your forest. Once the timer is started, the tree grows. But if you give up and stop the timer — your tree will wither.

Users love this feature. Check out this review from Forest user Kanmani Jayaprakash:  “I love the little plants, and it really helps motivate me to get off my phone and study so that cute little plant grows. It’s so satisfying to see a full garden.”

Forest  also partners with Trees for the Future, which plants trees in real life when users spend virtual coins earned to stay focused. This feature is only available on the paid version, but it’s a nice little incentive. To date, Forest users have planted 1.7 million trees, which is just awesome. 👏

A major downside of Forest is almost all the features are unavailable on the free version, and the free version only includes a limited focus window of 30 minutes.

Forest features for tracking time with the Pomodoro technique

• Gamification holds you accountable for staying focused
• Deep Focus mode encourages users back to focus if other apps are opened
• Option to count exceeded time when you go beyond the timer
• Personality tests find your focus type and ideal study buddy

Forest pricing

Forest has two pricing options:

• The free version has basic focus tracking features
• The paid version is $3.99, but there are further in-app purchases for seasonal and special packs, in-app coins, and some trees

Is Forest right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Gamification • Block out up to two hours of focus time • Deep Focus Mode blocks apps and websites to minimize distractions	• The majority of features unavailable on the free plan • It’s confusing to set up • Breaks need to be taken manually • The app can be distracting

Forest is best for individuals who need help blocking out distractions during focus time, prefer timeboxing over Pomodoro, and are happy to pay for a timer tool.

This video reviewer is also a big fan of how Forest blends productivity with an eco-conscious angle. He says, “The fact that if you navigate away from the app, it actually kills a tree is an incentive enough for many people — you can actually track how many trees you are growing in your analytics.”

5. Session

Session is a Pomodoro timer designed for Apple devices with advanced features like syncing, calendar integration, detailed analytics, and app and website blocking.

It supports automation via Shortcuts and AppleScript, so users can trigger events at the beginning or end of each timer. You can also integrate it with Slack to set a custom status during focus time.

Session also promotes mindfulness. Before each new timer session, you will be asked to do a few rounds of mindful breathing. It also provides reflection prompts so users can journal about their daily productivity.

One video reviewer describes:

“You can start a timer on absolutely any type of task you’re doing. You can keep track of them in the premium feature which allows you to add notes. It also asks you what type of mood or progress you’re making with a certain type of timer you set, so these sessions can be looked back on, reflected on, and you can overview the best time of day that works for you.”

However, Session is feature-rich and can be distracting to set up. 

Session features for tracking time with the Pomodoro technique

• Syncs timers between iPhone, Mac, Apple Watch, and other Apple products to keep users on track
• Calendar integration to import events like meetings
• Supports automation through Shortcuts and AppleScript
• Promotes mindfulness through breath work and journal prompts

Session pricing

Session has three pricing plans:

• Free: A limited free plan with minimal features. 
• Pro Monthly plan: Gives access to advanced features like website and app blocking, Slack muting, and analytics beyond the past two days for $4.99 per month
• Pro Yearly plan:  The same features as above for $39.99 per year

There is also a seven-day free trial of Pro for new users.

Is Session right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Syncs timers between Apple products • Promotes mindfulness • Automation • Many additional features like integrations, analytics, and website blocking	• Only available on macOS, iOS, and Setapp • Lots of features can be distracting • Most features only available on the paid version

Session is a great tool for Apple users looking for a highly advanced, feature-rich Pomodoro timer app.  However, if you want a simpler timer, Session may not be the best fit. 

6. Pomello

Pomello links with Trello using an API to turn Trello cards into Pomodoro timers. The app displays the task’s name and the remaining time in your cycle to help you stay focused. Pomello also has a distraction-free design with a timer overlay to easily check each cycle at a glance.

When a Pomodoro focus interval is finished, the app asks how you’d like to continue. You can move the Trello card to a different list, mark it complete, continue the task after the break, or switch to a new one. This feature is useful for minimizing distractions from other tasks on your to-do list until you’re done.

However, setting up Pomello can be frustrating. It involves lots of back-and-forth between the app, API, and Trello itself, so it is probably not the best choice for non-tech-savvy individuals.

Pomello features for tracking time with the Pomodoro technique

• Create Pomodoro cycles linked to Trello tasks
• If you get distracted during a cycle, just log an internal (from yourself) or external (from someone/something else) distraction
• Complete Trello tasks from the timer overlay
• Keyboard shortcuts to quickly change or complete tasks, log distractions, skip breaks, open the task in your browser, and more

Pomello pricing

Pomello has two plans:

• Basic: Unlimited boards and lists, productivity tracking, and time tracking is free
• Premium:  Add checklist items as tasks, custom timer sounds, and productivity data exports for $20/year

Is Pomello right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Keyboard shortcuts • Minimalistic design • Customizable intervals and cycles • Productivity report • Track project and task Pomodoro cycles	• Setup is quite technical • Only works with Trello

Pomello is ideal for Trello users looking for a simple UX and customizable Pomodoro timer to link to specific tasks. Tech reviewer Xavier Wharton explains the value of this app in his workflows:

“If I open Trello in the background, I have a description of what I wanted to get accomplished and you can see all the different tomatoes. My split is a 50/10 so I do 50 minutes of work and a ten minute break so each of these Pomodoros represents 50 minutes and at the end of it you can see a log of how much time you spent working on a particular task or card.”

7. Pomofocus

Pomofocus provides a basic, customizable timer paired with a task list and focus reports. The Summary report shows how much time a user spent on a task or project. The free version allows you to view this data by week or month, while a premium account allows you to view it by year.

The Detailed report shows users how much time they spent on different tasks on each date and lets users manually add time to tasks. Pomofocus also has a Ranking leaderboard to show users with the highest recorded focus time for the week.

Like some other timers on this list, the length of your Pomodoro intervals and cycles are customizable, and you can set a notification on your desktop or linked mobile for break reminders if you leave your desk.

Pomofocus features for tracking time with the Pomodoro technique

• Add estimations to your task list to see how many Pomodoro cycles each task will take
• Connect to mobile device for alarms and reminders on both devices
• Add templates for repetitive tasks

Pomofocus pricing

Pomofocus has two plans:

• Free:  Basic time tracking and weekly and monthly reports for free, no sign-up required
• Premium: Access to premium features like unlimited projects and yearly reports for $3/month or $18/year; lifetime access is also available for $54

Is Pomofocus right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Reminders and alarms on desktop and mobile • Task list • Detailed and Summary reports	• Cycle is restarted if webpage reloads • Desktop app only available on macOS • Yearly reports and integrations only available on the paid version • Not suited for teams

Pomofocus is ideal if you need a Pomodoro timer to track project and task focus time and are happy using a web app. One user describes it as “Amazing, easy to use, simple, and cool! Always in my stack and helping me with my productivity.”

8. Focus Mode by Geekbot

Focus Mode by Geekbot integrates with Slack to block distractions and boost productivity. Slack users receive scores of messages each day, which can be a major distraction. Focus Mode aims to curb these distractions by minimizing noise on Slack. 

When a user enters Focus Mode, the tool sets a status to provide teammates with context about what they’re working on so that no distracting messages are sent.

Users can start a focus window by opening the app dialogue window and entering a brief description of the task they’re working on. You can also add the length of focus time and a break so your team will know how long you’ll be uncontactable. Once you click Submit, the Pomodoro cycle begins.

Focus Mode by Geekbot features for tracking time with the Pomodoro technique

• Share context about tasks with your team without the need for direct messages
• Integrates with Slack to prevent distractions during focus time

Focus Mode by Geekbot pricing

Focus Mode by Geekbot operates on a free forever model.

Is Focus Mode by Geekbot right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Cultivates asynchronous work • Helps users build and prioritize focus windows • Minimizes Slack distractions	• Only works with Slack • No reports • Individual use only

For Slack users who are distracted by messages (even during their focus time), Focus Mode by Geekbot is a great option for minimizing noise from pings and notifications. 

9. MinimaList

MinimaList tracks to-do list tasks using a timer (a Pomodoro, countdown, or stopwatch) to help maintain focus. The tool has an intuitive interface that lets you add tasks by swiping instead of tapping by default. Its minimalistic  design helps prevent distractions and keep your focus on just your task list.

I also loved the feature to add notes and subtasks to each task. One MinimaList user said on the App Store, “The app is clean and simple with few distractions. I especially like the timer with the built-in Pomodoro timer.”

The app offers a standard Pomodoro cycle, a customizable countdown timer, and a stopwatch. Initially, figuring out how to change the timer settings can be a bit confusing.  

MinimaList features for tracking time with the Pomodoro technique

• Use the Pomodoro timer for individual tasks on a to-do list
• Focus reminder pop-up tells you to get back into focus
• Home screen widget for tracking to-dos and a timer

MinimaList pricing

MinimaList has two plans:

• Free: With basic features
• Premium: Gives users access to more features, including syncing across devices, TouchID and FaceID functionality, location-based reminders, and more for $0.99/month or $5.99/year

Is MinimaList right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Minimalist design prevents distractions • Use Pomodoro timer on specific tasks • Focus reminders	• Timer settings are a little difficult to understand at first • Only available to Apple users • Not designed for teams

If you need a tool to increase focus around a task list, MinimaList could be a good option.  However, it’s not the best option for teams.

10. Focus Keeper

Focus Keeper is a basic yet customizable Pomodoro timer that includes daily, weekly, or monthly focus reports and focus reminders (on the mobile app).

For users who want to track their focus cycles, Focus Keeper keeps a note of the number of completed Pomodoro cycles each day. It also switches between breaks and focus time automatically, which is great for users who may forget to restart the timer after a break.

It’s best suited for individuals as it doesn’t offer centralized reporting for multiple users.

Tea Benson, a long-time user of Focus Keeper, said on the Play Store: “I’ve been using this app for years and it always helped me keep focus. I used it through most of my high school years and now I still use it in college because I saw my focus and grades improve a lot with this.”

Focus Keeper features for tracking time with the Pomodoro technique

• Focus reminders on the mobile app to help kickstart Pomodoro cycles
• Tracks how many focus cycles and rounds you do each day
• Automatic time interval switching so you don’t need to start focus time or breaks manually

Focus Keeper pricing

Focus Keeper has two plans:

• Free: Use all of Focus Keeper’s features on the web and mobile app for free
• Ad-free: Remove ads for $3.99 per month

Is Focus Keeper right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Focus reminders • Daily, weekly, and monthly reports for individual users • TImer customization	• The Android app kept crashing • Web app only has basic features

Focus Keeper is ideal for users looking for a basic Pomodoro web app or who want to track focus time on a mobile device.

The best work timer apps for Pomodoro compared

Product	Best for	Unique feature	Priced from
Toggl Track	Tracking worked hours with the Pomodoro method	Creates a timesheet from Pomodoro time entries	Free
Pomodor	Basic timer needs	No-frills interface	Free
Marinara Timer	Customizable timers that are shared	Shareable timers	Free
Forest	Distraction blocking for individuals	Gamification	$3.99
Session	Syncing focus time across devices	Multitude of additional features	$4.99
Pomello	Trello task focus tracking	Integrates with Trello	$20/year
Pomofocus	Focus time reporting on specific tasks	Task list	$3/month
Focus Mode by Geekbot	Blocking Slack distractions	Integrates with Slack	Free
MinimaList	Focus on to-do list tasks	To-do list tracker	$2.99/month
Focus Keeper	Focus tracking on web and mobile apps	Focus reminders	$3.99/month

What is the best work timer app for Pomodoro for your needs?

Although every tool on our list is compatible with the Pomodoro method, each approaches time tracking in a slightly different way. So, how do you choose the right one for your needs?

Ask yourself:

• What key features does the tool offer, and does it have a built-in Pomodoro timer?
• Can the tool integrate with other systems and tools I currently use?
• Is the tool user-friendly and accessible across various devices (mobile, tablet, desktop)?
• What is the pricing model, and are there additional costs for must-have features?
• Does the tool provide access to historical data?
• Does the tool offer data security, and is it compliant with relevant regulations?
• What level of customer support does it provide?
• Can the tool easily accommodate growth in team size and handle complex projects?

Next, shortlist a couple of tools from the above list and take them for a test drive. This will help you identify any issues with the Pomodoro timer when implementing it across your business.

Finally, compile all the feedback from participating pilot teams and choose the best work timer with a Pomodoro clock for your needs.

Looking for a Pomodoro timer without distractions?

Try Toggl Track’s built-in Pomodoro timer to stay focused and improve your productivity. It also has a ton of other features like time tracking, timesheets, and detailed reports. Plus, it’s free for five users and comes with a free 30-day trial to try all the premium features.

Sign up for free now.

Whether it’s clients changing their minds or shifting internal priorities, scope changes are one of the most common and frustrating parts of project management. 😤

Sick and tired of them? No problem. Agreeing on a clear statement of work (SOW) aligns stakeholders on your project’s timelines, scope, deliverables, budget, and milestones. Put simply: drafting a statement of work reduces the need for unnecessary changes further down the line.

By the end of this quick guide, you’ll be an expert on statements of work, including why they’re important, what to include in one, and how they differ from other project documents. You’ll also learn how to use Toggl Track to align your project deliverables with the SOW.

TL;DR—Key Takeaways

• A statement of work (SOW) is a formal document that defines a project’s parameters, including its goals, scope, timelines, milestones, deliverables, and budget.
• A well-drafted SOW aligns stakeholders, reduces risk, and prevents unnecessary changes that cause overrun, overspend, and scope creep.
• There are three common types of statements of work. A detailed-orientated version that’s great for tech projects, a level of effort SOW common in construction, and a performance-related SOW well-suited to design projects.
• Collaborate with stakeholders as you create your SOW to get all the right details and ensure your project is a success.

What is a statement of work?

A statement of work is a formal document that defines a project’s parameters, including its goals, scope, timelines, milestones, deliverables, and budget. By doing this, you’ll align project stakeholders and give them a project baseline to work from.

Once agreed upon, a statement of work creates accountability between all parties, helping to control or minimize any unexpected changes down the line.

A statement of work also defines the work requirements for project managers. Throughout the project lifecycle, you’ll refer back to your SOW constantly for guidance, clarification, and direction. For quick reference, here’s what it looks like (but if you keep scrolling, you can download your own template!).

Statement of work vs. scope of work vs. contract

When planning projects, it’s common for teams to get confused between a statement of work, scope of work, and a contract. While all three are important, understanding the differences will help you plan, design, and deliver a successful project. Let’s take a look at each side-by-side:

• A statement of work defines a project’s goals, scope, timelines, milestones, deliverables, and budget.
• A scope of work is a detailed breakdown of a project’s scope. It’s often included as part of a broader statement of work, focusing specifically on the work that will be done (and what won’t be done) within a project.
• A contract is a legally binding agreement detailing the terms of a business arrangement between two or more parties. A contract, such as a master services agreement (MSA), serves as the project’s foundation by defining areas such as performance-related incentives, how suppliers will be paid, and the invoicing payment terms.

Each of these sounds like a separate document — and it is. But in practice, a statement of work, scope of work, and contract are all used together to kick off and manage a project.

How important is a statement of work for project management?

A statement of work is a crucial document for any project, especially for those where suppliers/clients are involved. Without one, your project risks going off track in so many ways. Here are some of the most common consequences of not agreeing a clear statement of work:

• Overrun. Without clearly defined timelines and key milestones, there’s a good chance you’ll exceed your project plan.
• Overspend. SOW documents are a great way to agree on any project’s budget and resource costs. If things aren’t agreed upfront, there’s a risk you’ll go over budget.
• Scope creep. A clearly defined scope enables everyone to agree on what will and won’t be done. Without this, you’ll likely encounter scope creep and deliver the wrong things.
• Poor quality. If you fail to agree on special requirements, acceptance criteria, and project objectives, you’ll have no measure of success. This can lead to poor-quality deliverables that don’t meet stakeholders’ needs.

Types of statement of work (SOW)

Every organization uses a slightly different SOW template specific to their industry, company, or clients. But, despite the differences, you’ll come across three main types of SOW in project management.

Design or detail statement of work

• Purpose: Often referred to as a project specification, a design SOW focuses on the granular details of what you want to achieve from your project.
• Key characteristics: The type of SOW focuses on detailed requirements, often using an enhanced scope of work to ensure the project deliverables are understood and agreed upon in minute detail.
• Example: Software development projects that require very specific functionality use this type of statement of work document to create detailed technical specifications.

Level of effort

• Purpose: Sometimes called a ‘time and materials’ statement of work, level of effort SOWs focus on the high-level resources and time needed to meet the project’s objectives.
• Key characteristics: Once the purpose of the project is understood, level of effort SOWs focus on the people, materials, and costs required for the delivery without getting into the specifics of the deliverables.
• Example: Resource-intensive projects (such as construction projects) regularly use level of effort SOWs to agree the materials and staffing required to complete a job.

Performance-based statement of work

• Purpose: Performance-based statements of work are outcome-focused documents, specifying the purpose statement, goals, and objectives of a project while leaving the details undefined.
• Key characteristics: These types of SOW work similarly to a project charter, focusing on ‘what’ needs to be achieved but leaving the ‘how’ for the other party to define.
• Example: Design or marketing projects typically use a performance-based statement of work to provide clear direction and objective setting while allowing the creative process to flow.

What to include in your statement of work

No two projects are the same, so why would your statement of work be any different? After all, a cost-critical construction project will have different requirements than a prototype-building AI software project. Here are the most common different parts of a statement of work to customize yours and meet your project needs.

1. Project overview

All good SOWs should include an overview of the project, its purpose, the key stakeholders, and the goals it sets out to achieve. This gives readers the context to make sense of the following sections.

Example: “Sponsored by Julie Jones, Chief Financial Officer, the InvestX project sets out to create a digital platform for students to learn how to invest in financial markets.”

2. Project scope (and what’s outside it)

Next, it’s important to define what the project will and won’t do. This sets the boundary for the project, clearly stating what is in and out of scope. As we’ve seen earlier, a more detailed scope of work may be created from the project requirements, avoiding scope creep further down the line.

Example: “The InvestX platform will provide courses on Stocks and Shares, ISAs, and Bonds, but will not include courses on Crypto and Forex.”

3. Timelines, milestones and due dates

All projects have a defined start and end date, so you should include timelines with clear milestones and due dates. The more detail an SOW includes here, the better. Many project managers will create a roadmap with clear deliverable dates and milestones to keep everyone on course.

Example: “The InvestX platform design should be completed and signed off by the 10th of March, with the build of the three courses completed by the 1st of June, July, and August, respectively.”

4. Project budget

No project has an endless pot of money, so your statement of work must include a budget with an agreed set of rates and pricing structures. Alongside an overall budget, it’s best practice to break the project budget down into specific cost areas (e.g., resource time, materials, etc.) to aid transparency and to support financial planning.

Example: “A total budget of $51,000 is agreed, comprised of $30,000 of developer resources (150 hours x $200 per hour), $15,000 for IT licenses, and a fixed price of $6,000 for platform design.

5. Assumptions, constraints, and risks

Often overlooked in a statement of work, it’s important to call out any assumptions, constraints, and risks relating to the project. This aligns all parties on areas to watch out for. It also makes time and space to agree on actions everyone can take to avoid disaster further down the road.

Example: “There is a risk that timelines will be delayed due to the Easter holidays in the middle of the project timeline. To manage this, both parties expedite the design work to finish before the agreed annual leave window in April.“

6. Performance or success standards

If you prioritize performance and quality, defining realistic and measurable success criteria ensures a high-quality delivery. Whether it’s an SLA for specific tasks, achieving a certification, or simply responding to queries promptly, success metrics keep everyone aligned and ensure value for money.

Example: “Development teams will respond to any requests for updates from InvestX within 24 hours.”

7. Billing schedule

Often taken from a supplier contract, it’s important to stipulate the billing structure, payment terms, and milestone-based incentives to agree on how and when parties will be paid.

Example: “50% payment on signing the agreement and 50% after project completion. Invoices due for payment within 30 days.”

Statement of work template

Download our free SOW template below, and then read through our seven-step process for customizing it to ensure it’s exactly what you and the team need to stay on track (pun intended).

How to write a statement of work

Have you made a copy of our template and are now ready to start drafting your own? Here’s a seven-step guide to get your project off to the best start possible.

1. Write a brief introduction to the project

The project introduction should give the reader all the context they need to work through the rest of your statement of work. Specifically, focus on the project’s purpose, goals, and mission to set the scene and introduce any key people, such as the project sponsor and key stakeholders.

Here’s an example of a well-written introduction to a project in a SOW.

Website mockups (Meeting & Figma)

[agency name] will create two unique website mockups for [name of client] website. Each mock-up will be designed to work across all devices. The client will choose one mock-up to move forward with. (2 rounds of revisions permitted) …

When you put that into the actual SOW template, it can look like this. 👇

2. Define the purpose and scope of the project

With the background set, it’s time to explain your project’s ‘why’. Specifically, you want to highlight why the project is important, including how the goals align with the organization’s objectives and what the key outcomes should be.

3. Define the scope with a work breakdown structure

The best way to detail ‘what’ your project is going to do is to create a work breakdown structure. A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a great tool to break down even the most complex projects into bite-size chunks.

This clearly defines the project’s scope, assigns responsibility, and estimates how long each part will take. Using a Gantt chart, task list, or a dedicated WBS template will help here, but it may require creating a separate (but linked) scope of work for highly technical projects.

Here’s what a WBS could look like with estimated hours and costs:

4. Create your project cost estimate

With the work defined, you can estimate your project and create an outline budget. Especially when working with third-party suppliers, a budget will keep your project’s financials on track.

Similar to a WBS, a linked cost breakdown structure (CBS) is a great way to detail project costs. At a minimum, it’s best practice to break labor, materials, and cash spending into separate budgets, but define in even more detail if you can.

5. Create a project schedule

Now you’ve completed the ‘what,’ ‘why,’ and ‘how,’ the last piece of the puzzle is to define ‘when’ things need to happen. Project schedules are super important to ensure teams stay on track as they hold everyone accountable for their tasks.

This is where tools like Toggl Track make project scheduling so much easier. Simply take the tasks from your work breakdown structure and instantly turn them into Gantt or Kanban-style project plans, complete with milestones, dependencies, and checkpoints.

Lift this into your statement of work to create transparency and alignment across the project team while providing a single place to track progress once the project begins!

6. Check internal resources

One of the last key components of any statement of work is the ‘who.’ Resource planning and allocation are crucial parts of any project, so take the time to consider the expertise the project needs, what’s already available, and what may need to be brought in for support.

7. Add in the project risks, assumptions, and constraints

Wouldn’t it be nice if every project ran without a hitch? Sure, but it’s more effective to plan for a few bumps in the road. Within your statement of work, list any risks, assumptions, or constraints you think it’s worth aligning on.

Popping this in your statement of work allows everyone to acknowledge and manage them within the project. Include anything you think is worth noting, such as staff shortages, conflicting priorities, skills gaps, or even upcoming political, regulatory, economic, and supply chain changes that may cause an impact.

Here are some examples of a few of the most common project risks:

Example	Description
Scope creep	Changes to a project’s scope after starting
Blowing your budget	Spilling over your estimated budget
Project delays	Tasks take longer than estimated
Not enough resources	Not having the necessary resources to complete a project
Lack of clarity	Unclear requirements, scope, or communication
Stakeholder issues	Inaccurate expectations and miscommunication from stakeholders
Consultant or contractor delays	Contractors not being accountable
Aggressive deadlines	Unrealistic deadlines your team can’t meet
Low productivity	Burnout and poor project goals lead to work just not being done
Putting inexperienced workers on high-stakes projects	Inexperienced team members are assigned to projects that carry a lot of weight
Poor risk management	Identifying and preparing for all of these risks 😉

Tips for managing SOW’s and processes

While creating statements of work can seem straightforward, it’s easy to go wrong if you don’t follow some best practices. Here are some extra tips to manage the SOW process.

• Make SOWs collaborative. When drafting a statement of work, bring stakeholders together to make it a collaborative, co-creation process. This ensures you don’t miss any crucial details and aligns everyone on the content.
• Conduct regular SOW reviews. Creating SOWs shouldn’t be a fire and forget exercise. Instead, they should be living documents that are reviewed and updated regularly throughout the project lifecycle. fire-and-forget
• Use past SOWs to improve accuracy. If you’re creating a statement of work for the first time, use previous documents as a reference point to improve accuracy. Lifting best practices and learnings from your previous projects is a great way to make your next SOWs better.
• Align your scope of work, SOWs and contracts. Marry them all together to ensure consistency throughout the project.

Make a statement of work your secret weapon

If you’re struggling with scope changes, a well-drafted SOW is your secret weapon to minimize risk, align stakeholders, and set your project team up for success. Once you’ve agreed on key details such as timelines, scope, deliverables, budget, and milestones, use your SOW as a living document throughout the project lifecycle to keep your delivery on track.

But like all things in project management, creating a SOW, managing your time, and co-ordinating your to-do list is easier with the help of expert software tools. Toggl Track is an all-in-one time and task management tool that keeps you and your team aligned on progress while monitoring how long each deliverable takes to complete.

Sounds good, right? Try Toggl Track for free and see how we make managing successful projects a walk in the park — no credit card required!

Clockify and Harvest are among the best time tracking apps out there. But after two weeks of thoroughly researching and testing them, we’ve learned they’re designed for completely different users.

Harvest’s time and expense tracking, invoicing, and payment features make it perfect for freelancers and lean businesses who want an all-in-one solution to manage client projects or contractors. However, as your business expands, you’ll realize that its toolset and price don’t support larger scales, and its basic reports don’t provide good insights to improve productivity. 

Meanwhile, Clockify is ideal for small teams and businesses tracking time, generating reports, and invoicing clients. It lets you closely monitor employee movement and activities with GPS tracking and a screenshot recorder. While some managers love these features, they may cause tension and employee distrust, negatively impacting company culture. Its reporting features are also quite basic.

Since Clockify and Harvest don’t have a comprehensive blend of reporting features, we included Toggl Track as an alternative to Harvest and Clockify for each of the categories.

Comparison Summary: Clockify vs Harvest

What is Clockify?

“Stay lean. Move fast. See everything.”🏃‍♂️🔭

Clockify lets you track time and generate invoices across all projects. It also has dashboards and reports to help you understand where most of your time is spent.

Managers who prefer to monitor and keep tabs on their employees regularly would love its employee surveillance features — GPS tracking for employees’ location and screenshot capture for their screen activity.

These features make Clockify the ideal tool for small teams that want a simple time tracker to visualize their time distribution and productivity. It also caters to organizations that expect industrial efficiency from their employees.

What is Harvest?

“Time tracking and more.” ⏲️➕

Harvest has a simple and minimalist interface for tracking time and expenses, reporting, and invoicing. It has a timer and timesheet for individual and bulk time entries.

A key feature is its invoicing toolset, which lets you generate invoices, send them to clients, and accept direct payments. Its basic reports also help you track billable hours and expenses.

This makes it ideal for freelancers and lean businesses that need a lightweight tool for time tracking, invoicing, and payment acceptance.

What is Toggl Track?

“Empower your employees, improve your performance.” 📈

Toggl Track is an intuitive and reliable time tracking app that works across web, desktop, mobile, and browser extensions, making it easy for employees to adopt in their daily routines.

It has comprehensive Reports and Analytics tools for uncovering bottlenecks and inefficiencies in your workflows. This serves as the basis for engaging in constructive conversations, identifying opportunities for training and mentorship, and making strategic decisions to optimize team and project outputs.

Toggl Track is the perfect solution for small teams, agencies, and businesses who want to maximize productivity and profitability while promoting a culture of growth and mutual trust.

Clockify vs Harvest: Time Tracking

In a nutshell, Harvest has basic web, mobile, and desktop apps, Clockify steps it up with its desktop app, and Toggl Track is the most reliable for time tracking across all platforms.

Harvest and Clockify have timers and timesheets for manual and automatic time entries

Harvest lets you track time manually or with a timer. Select your project and task, add notes, and hit the timer to begin. Instead of starting the time, you can add a time duration and save. 

You can also switch to the week view to manually fill in a timesheet for the entire week. 

Tracking time in Clockify is simple. Describe what you’re about to work on, choose the project it belongs to, add tags if needed, turn the billable tag on or off, and start the timer. 

Like Harvest, Clockify lets you manually enter individual time entries or add them in bulk in a timesheet.

For the sake of comparison, let us also look at Toggl Track. At a glance, Toggl Track’s time tracking process is similar to Clockify’s: 

• It lets you track time on web, mobile, and desktop apps.
• It allows manual time entries and timer logs.
• And it offers a browser extension.

But, unlike Clockify, Toggl Track enables you to track time automatically.

The desktop app features the Autotracker, which locally keeps track of your time based on your activities. The Autotracker data is stored locally on your computer and isn’t visible to anyone until you save it into Toggl Track. It’s purely for your convenience.

If you’re new to it, it gives you a tour to help you familiarize yourself with its interface and start tracking time.

Toggl Track’s timer works offline. So, if you start tracking time and the internet goes down, the timer continues running, and you can stop it when done like usual. 

This prevents the time entry and billing inaccuracies that can occur with Clockify and Harvest during outages. Once you’re back online, Toggl Track syncs your time entries to the cloud.

Harvest displays daily time entries, and Clockify shows a weekly overview

Harvest’s “Day” view lets you see your daily time entries and the total hours logged. However, to view entries for other days, you need to manually switch between them, which can be tedious if you need an overview of your weekly or daily time totals.

Unlike Clockify and Toggl Track, you cannot group multiple time entries in a single, collapsible row. This makes your time entries long and cluttered. Seeing your total time on a task is also challenging if you track it with multiple entries.

Clockify shows you all of your time entries for the current week on a single page, organized by day. It also calculates your daily and weekly hours, making it easy to assess your productivity and workload capacity.

Toggl Track’s display of time entries is similar to Clockify’s, but Toggl Track takes it a step further. The line bar at the top of your time entries gives you a visual overview of tasks that take up most of your time, allowing you to make any necessary adjustments for the upcoming week.

You can also switch from the List View to the daily and weekly Calendar View to add and view time entries. This view lets you identify patterns during your day, like your most busy periods and free time. 

Harvest’s desktop and mobile apps are basic, while Clockify’s and Toggl’s are feature-rich

Like Clockify and Toggl Track, Harvest has a desktop app, a mobile app, and a browser extension for accessing key features on the go. You can track time, add expenses, run reports, and view invoices.

Meanwhile, Clockify and Toggl Track’s desktop and mobile apps are packed with extra features to make time tracking easier and more efficient:

• Set default project (desktop): Automatically select your default project when you start a timer without project details.
• Reminders (desktop): Add a reminder to track time on specific days and times.
• Automatic start and stop (desktop): Start your timer automatically based on triggers like day, time, and open desktop apps. You can also automatically stop the timer when your device sleeps or shuts down.
• Activity tracking: Automatically records every web or desktop app you use for more than, let’s say, 10 seconds.
• Idle detection (desktop): This feature shows how long you’ve been inactive and lets you decide whether to keep or discard the time entry.
• Offline mode (desktop and mobile): Track time without an internet connection.

While Clockify’s apps and extensions have keyboard shortcuts and a Pomodoro timer, they’re more easily accessible and intuitive in Toggl Track.

In addition to default keyboard shortcuts, Toggl Track lets you add custom ones to start and stop the timer for tasks you often do. 

Plus, its Pomodoro Timer is accessible across its mobile apps, desktop apps, and browser extensions, helping to boost focus and productivity.

Clockify vs Harvest: Project Administration

In a nutshell, Harvest has limited flexibility for team and project management, Clockify is a bit more flexible, and Toggl Track gives you the most options to support complex business structures.

Harvest lets you add time entries in timesheets for approvals, and Clockify allows you to disable timesheets

Harvest’s and Clockify’s timesheets work the same — allowing you to add multiple time entries manually. This feature helps log time for repetitive tasks within a project.

However, it can be annoying when time tracked using the timer doesn’t automatically transfer to the timesheet. You have to input it again, increasing the chances of errors manually.

Unlike Harvest, Clockify lets you minimize these errors. How? Disabling the time tracker or timesheet lets your team focus on a one-time entry mode.

Clockify and Harvest let you send reminders to your team to submit their timesheets for approval. After they submit their timesheets, you can either approve them or reject them for re-submission.

Instead of relying on manual entry, Toggl Track lets you set up Timesheet Reports. This feature automatically generates weekly timesheets from your team’s time entries.

Like Harvest and Clockify, you can set up reminders to alert team members to submit their timesheets for approval. Since these are already generated, all they need to do is review, edit, and submit. 

Harvest gives you one workspace to manage teams and projects, Clockify allows multiple workspaces

Harvest only provides one workspace to manage your teams and projects, which is enough for most freelancers and small businesses. Meanwhile, Clockify lets you create multiple workspaces if you need to manage multiple departments in your business separately.    

A user in a Harvest or Clockify workspace can have any of the following levels of access:

• Member: This role allows users to track time and expenses and view personal reports. 
• Manager: Users in this role have additional power to view and approve timesheets, set billable rates, run reports, and manage invoices of projects assigned to them.
• Administrator: They control the entire workspace, including inviting new members and assigning roles.

On the other hand, with Toggl Track, you can set up multiple Organizations and Workspaces in your account. This helps manage multiple businesses or service offerings under one account. 

A user invited to a workspace (under a specific organization) is assigned to one of six user roles:

• Member,
• Project manager,
• Project lead,
• Team lead,
• Workspace admin,
• and Organization admin.

These granular role assignments ensure effective team collaboration and management across different projects.

Unlike Harvest, managers and admins in Toggl Track and Clockify have access rights to streamline time tracking.

For example, they can set up reminders for employees to track time. The rules for the reminder could look like this: “If team members tracked less than 40 hours by the end of the Week, send them a reminder.”

The Reminders feature eliminates the need to monitor time entries and manually send reminder emails.

They can also set time entry restrictions to streamline how and when to log time. And if needed, conduct audits to spot time entries that:

• Aren’t assigned to a project,
• Aren’t assigned to a task,
• Or don’t fall within a specific time duration

Clockify vs Harvest: Billing and Invoicing

In a nutshell, Clockify and Toggl Track let you set up billable rates and generate invoices, while Harvest makes it easy to accept payments.

Harvest has three types of billable rates, but Clockify and Toggl Track have more

Harvest, similar to Clockify and Toggl Track, lets you set up non-billable, fixed-fee, and billable rates for each project. But Harvest only enables you to set up three types of billable rates, which is more than enough for most freelancers and small businesses:

• Project billable rate
• Person billable rate
• Task billable rate

You can also set a project budget and opt for email alerts if spending exceeds a certain percentage of the budget. Alerts allow you to make necessary resource adjustments and ensure projects stay within budget.

Toggl Track lets you set up four types of billable rates:

• Workspace rate
• Workspace member rate
• Project rate
• Project member rate

These rates take priority from the bottom up. So, if you add a project member rate for a project, it overrides the project, workspace member, and workspace rates. If you don’t specify project member, project, and workspace member rates, the workspace rate is used for billing.

Like Harvest, managers and admins can set up budget alerts to keep project finances in check.

Clockify’s billing system works similarly to Toggl Track and, like Harvest, allows you to mark expenses as billable. However, these settings aren’t organized under one page, making it confusing to set up and manage.

Clockify lets you send invoices directly to clients via email, and Harvest lets you accept invoice payments

Toggl Track’s Invoices are based on billable hours, and you can generate them with a few clicks. Filter your time reports for a specific project (or client), activate the billable tag, and create an invoice.

You can edit or delete time entries on the invoice, add new entries (like expenses and discounts), and set a currency. You can customize invoices with an ID, due date, payment terms, addresses, and taxes. Export them to your accounting software to accept payments and manage payroll when ready.

With Clockify, you can generate invoices from billable hours and expenses. You can add notes, apply taxes, and include discounts. 

Unlike Toggl Track, which only shows a list of your invoices, Clockify makes it easier to manage them with tags like unsent, sent, paid, and void. You can export invoices as a CSV or Excel file or email them directly to your clients as a PDF file.

Harvest has all the invoicing features in Clockify, Toggl Track, and more. You can:

• set invoices as one-time or recurring,
• accept payments from clients via PayPal or Stripe,
• and schedule reminder emails when invoice payments are late.

These features are helpful for freelancers and small businesses who want to manage billing and invoicing on one platform. However, agencies and medium-to-large businesses will still need dedicated accounting software to manage more complex financial operations.

Clockify vs Harvest: Reporting and Analytics

In a nutshell, Harvest focuses on basic time and expense reports, Clockify has dashboards and reports, but Toggl Track’s reporting is more robust, provides better insights, and is customizable.

Harvest only lets you track time and expense reports

Harvest’s reports compile your time and expense entries, making it easy to share them with clients. You can filter reports by periods, clients, projects, tasks, and team members and export them as CSV, PDF, or Excel files.

Clockify’s time reports have multiple views and filters

Clockify and Toggl Track’s reporting tools have three main views to help you analyze time entries:

• Summary: Visual reports of your organization’s total tracked time
• Detailed: List of all the time entries recorded in your organization
• Weekly: List of time entries for each week, grouped by user and project

You can filter these reports by team, client, project, task, tag, status, and description. Unlike Harvest, you can share reports with others (internal and external) via a public link. Alternatively, export them as PDF, CSV, and Excel files.

Clockify’s dashboards are rigid, while Toggl Track’s reports can be customized to suit your needs

Clockify and Toggl Track have dashboards for:

• Regular users to visualize their time entries
• Managers to see entries for their projects and team members
• Aadmins for complete visibility over all projects

Clockify’s dashboards are rigid and non-interactive. Plus, you can’t export or share them with key team stakeholders.

Meanwhile, Toggl Track’s Analytics dashboards are fully customizable and shareable. You can create any number of dashboards with tables, pivot tables, bar charts, donut charts, and line graphs, arrange them in your preferred layout, and apply relevant filters. 

This way, you see exactly what’s needed to keep a pulse on team productivity, project progress, and efficiency.

Toggl Track stands out with its Insights feature for optimizing resource allocation and profitability

Toggl Track’s Insights feature helps managers analyze extensive time data to adjust resources for better productivity and profitability. 

For example, the “Data trends” view provides a visual comparison summary of total hours spent across multiple teams, projects, and clients.

The “Project profitability” view also plots your project earnings against your labor costs. This makes it easy to analyze the profitability of each client and project within a specific timeframe.

The “Employee profitability” graph also shows each employee’s costs and earnings for your business, making it easy to spot top performers and under-utilized employees. This could contribute to strategic actions like training, promotions, and resource reallocations.

But that’s not all. The “Comparative” view lets you compare the total number of work hours logged between any two weeks. This helps managers analyze productivity fluctuations across projects and teams and make decisions that streamline operations and boost efficiency.

Clockify vs Harvest: Pricing

In a nutshell, Harvest has one paid plan for freelancers and lean businesses, Clockify’s starter plans are cheaper, and Toggl Track offers the best value for money.

Harvest’s free plan is limited to one user, Toggl Track’s free plan is limited to five users, while Clockify allows unlimited users

Clockify‘s free plan offers basic time tracking for unlimited projects and users. You can set billable rates. However, you cannot track billable expenses or generate invoices.

Harvest lets you add unlimited clients and send unlimited invoices on its free plan. However, it restricts you to just one user and two active projects. Plus, you won’t be able to customize your workspace with your company logo, attach files to invoices, or integrate with QuickBooks Online, Deel, and Asana.

Toggl Track‘s free plan supports unlimited time tracking, clients, and reporting for up to five team members across all platforms — web, mobile, desktop app, and browser extensions. This makes it a good fit for freelancers, small teams, and businesses looking for a budget-friendly time tracking app.

Clockify’s starter plans are cheaper

Harvest has two paid paid plans. The cheaper one is called Pro, and it unlocks all the features:

Premium is slightly more expensive at $14 per user per month. This gives you even more features, such as:

• Profitability reporting
• Timesheet approvals
• Activity log
• Custom reports and exports
• SAML-based SSO
• Custom onboarding support for teams with more than 50 seats

Clockify’s pricing starts with a Basic plan, which is very affordable, but most users find that it’s not very different from its free plan. Meanwhile, the Standard plan is ideal for small teams who want to manage timesheet approvals and invoicing. The remaining higher plans unlock employee surveillance features for managers who want to monitor employee activities closely.

Toggl Track’s pricing starts with a Starter plan. It provides the most value for small teams who need an intuitive and comprehensive time tracking and reporting solution to understand how their time is spent and bill clients. On the other hand, the Premium and Enterprise plans provide managers with unique insights to boost team productivity and project profitability.

Clockify vs Harvest: Pros & Cons

Final Verdict: Clockify vs Harvest

Harvest is a good choice for freelancers who need time-tracking software with built-in payment features. However, it has basic reporting tools, and the cost might be better for smaller teams.

Use Harvest if:

• You’re a freelancer
• You want to track time, send invoices, and accept payments in one platform.
• You only need basic time and expense reporting tools

On the other hand, Clockify is the perfect choice for small teams who want a time tracking tool on a budget and managers who want to pay more for employee surveillance features.

Use Clockify if:

• You’re a small business
• You want an affordable time tracking app
• You don’t trust employees and want to closely monitor their activities.

Meanwhile, Toggl Track’s intuitive time tracking interface and powerful reporting tools allow managers to boost employee adoption while gaining insights to maximize profitability. 

Use Toggl Track if:

• You need a reliable and accurate time tracking tool for your business.
• You want to boost employee adoption with a user-friendly tool that values their privacy and builds trust.
• You need powerful insights to optimize productivity and profitability.

Click here to get started with Toggl Track!

Time tracking is about more than logging hours. It’s about understanding what the heck you’re doing with your time, so you can unlock insights, boost productivity, and know how much to charge for your efforts.

And guess what? You don’t need a degree in data analysis to do all this. Sometimes, all it takes is a humble spreadsheet and a sprinkle of know-how.

This guide explains how to set up your own project management time tracker using a spreadsheet. We’ll show you how to customize it to your needs and use it to its fullest potential. Plus, we’ll share free Google Sheets and Excel templates so you can get started right away.

Buuuut…if you start to realize that columns, rows, and formulas might be too time-consuming for you (which we totally get), we’ll explore how a time tracking tool might be a better fit.

How does spreadsheet time tracking work?

Spreadsheets are the OG of time management, beloved by anyone who gets a thrill from small, color-coded cells. Here’s how it works, whether you’re tracking project hours, employee time, or anything else you want to become more productive at.

Step 1: Create your time tracking spreadsheet

First, you’ll need to lay the groundwork with columns for all the essentials:

• Date: The “when” of your work — easy enough
• Start time and end time: When the magic begins and ends
• Task or project: What you’re working on — be specific
• Breaks: Coffee break, bathroom trip, dog walk? Mark it down
• Total hours worked: The grand total after the calculator (or formula) does its work
• Rate of pay or cost: A column that tracks your hourly rate, project rate, overtime hours, or estimated costs. It’s perfect for calculating earnings or billable hours when invoicing clients.

📌 Download the spreadsheet below here. Keep scrolling to learn how to use it.

Step 2: Log it like it’s hot

Here’s where the real action happens — the logging. You manually pop in your start and end times, add a quick description of what you’ve been up to, and let your spreadsheet do the rest.

Step 3: Set your formulas to work

Spreadsheets are smarter than they look. To bring those tiny cells to life, set up some basic formulas to handle the math. For example, you’ll want formulas for:

• Hours worked: The difference between your start and end times
• Break subtractions: Unless you’ve powered your way through lunch, use formulas to deduct time away from your desk from your daily total hours
• Hourly or project pay: Total work hours multiplied by your hourly rate

Step 4: Analyze your spreadsheet like a boss

Now comes the fun part (or hideously boring task, you decide) — analyzing your hard-earned data. Want to know how much time you spent procrastinating (ahem, we mean, working) on a project? Use sorting and filtering to zoom in.

Need to spot trends? Whip up a chart or graph. When you’re ready to share your masterpiece with your clients, boss, HR, finance team members, or anyone else — just export it as a PDF or grant direct access to the file. Instant professional vibes.

Free project time tracking templates

Want to hit the ground running? We have the following collection of project planning and timesheet templates to use. Simply download the one that best matches your workflow, customize the columns according to your needs, and start tracking your time.

Choose from:

• Project tracking template for Excel
• Project tracking template for Google Sheets
• Daily timesheet template for Excel
• Daily timesheet template for Google Sheets
• Weekly timesheet template for Excel
• Weekly timesheet template for Google Sheets
• Biweekly timesheet template for Excel
• Biweekly timesheet template for Google Sheets
• Monthly timesheet template for Excel
• Monthly timesheet template for Google Sheets

How to track project hours with this spreadsheet template

Let’s look at the Project Planning template in more detail, which you can use as either a Google Sheets or Excel timesheet based on your fave. Follow the three steps below.

1. The first step is to enter your project tasks list and their estimates inside the ‘Project’ tab. This will place your project tasks inside the drop-down box in ‘Tracker’ tab.

2. Once you’ve done this, you can start tracking time for each project task via the ‘Tracker’ tab. This will automatically update the ‘Actual hours’ and ‘Actual cost’ columns in the ‘Project’ tab within the template.

3. Once you’ve completed the project and tracked time against all tasks, the total project hours, cost, and profit will be displayed at the bottom of the template.

Other tips to make spreadsheet time tracking work

So, you’ve committed to giving spreadsheet time tracking a shot. A bit of extra know-how could make life easier for you. Try these tips:

• Keep it simple: You don’t need a spreadsheet that rivals a NASA launch control board. Start small and build it up as you figure out what you need. You can always add more columns later.
• Double-check your entries: Manual input is fine — until it isn’t. A transposition error (where you accidentally reverse two numbers) can cause absolute mayhem. Same for forgotten breaks or accidental overwrites. Be sure to review your numbers at the end of the day or week to check your data makes sense. If it doesn’t — what’s the point of doing this at all, honestly?
• Backup your files: We all expect our files to always be a couple of clicks away. But if the worst happens and you lose hours of time entries to an accidental file delete, you’ll be kicking yourself for not investing properly in a backup plan. Save regularly, use cloud storage, and keep a version history if possible.
• Plan for growth: Got a small team now, but plan to scale? Spreadsheets can handle a lot, but they’re not invincible. Be ready to transition to a dedicated time management tool if your data becomes out of control.

Tracking time in a timesheet template vs. project time tracking software

Both spreadsheets and software have their place in the time tracking universe. But which is better? Budget isn’t a strong comparison factor here since both spreadsheets and time tracking solutions, including Toggl Track, offer free versions.

Here are some other pointers to consider as you choose the best piece of kit.

Spreadsheets: The DIY contender

• Manual input: You’re the boss of your own data but also the one typing it all. This opens the door to human error — those sneaky typos and forgotten entries.
• Not automatic: There’s no magic timer ticking away in the background. If you forget to log your work hours, a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet isn’t going to remind you.
• Cumbersome analytics: Need a report? Prepare for some heavy lifting. Yep, pivot tables, custom reports, and endless formulas are your new BFF.
• Dataset drama: Spreadsheets tend to huff and puff under the weight of too much data. Lags and crashes can seriously disrupt your workflow.

Project time tracking software: The streamlined pro

• Real-time tracking: No more typing in start and end times — just hit “Start” when you begin and “Stop” when you’re done. It’s tracking on autopilot.
• Automatic data sync: Software updates everything in the background, meaning no late-night “Did I save that?” panic attacks.
• One-click reports: Need to show a client where their budget went? Software can whip up detailed analytics and user-friendly, shareable reports faster than you can say “pivot table.”
• Effortless scaling: Whether you’re a solo freelancer or managing a 200-strong team, the software is built to handle the load without breaking a sweat.

How to track time with a free time tracking app

If you’ve made it this far, you already know that tracking time can do wonders for your productivity, insights, and workflow. But if you’re looking to level up your time-tracking game, Toggl Track is the ultimate upgrade. It’s designed to make tracking easier, faster, and way more accurate — without the spreadsheet headaches. Here are the features you’ll love:

• Calendar view: Integrate with Google or Outlook calendars and view your time entries clearly and visually. Perfect for planning and reviewing your day.
• Integrations galore: Toggl Track integrates with over 100+ tools, from Trello to Slack, so you can track time without leaving the apps you already use.
• One-click timers: Start tracking with a single click, whether you’re on desktop, mobile, or inside your favorite app. Forgot to track in real time? Add or edit your data entry later.
• Offline tracking: Work anywhere, even without WiFi. Toggl Track syncs and streamlines your data when you’re back online.
• Powerful reporting: Generate detailed, client-ready reports in seconds, exportable to PDF, Excel, or CSV. Save your favorite reports or schedule them to arrive in your inbox.
• Project dashboards: Keep an eye on budgets, timelines, and specific project progress with real-time visual insights. No more scope creep surprises. Just better productivity and profitability.
• Team features: Manage permissions, assign tasks, send reminders, and even lock time entries for complete accuracy.

It takes a few seconds to switch the timer to a different task (especially if projects and tasks are already set up).

• Type in your “time entry description”
• Find your client
• Select what “project” you’re working on
• Start the timer

Once you or your team accurately tracks time against the project, you can use the Project Dashboard to track your progress against the project budget. You will get access to several charts. The Time Tracking Chart will show a forecast for project completion based on the project estimate and the hours clocked for that project so far.

If you charge per hour for projects, you can track the total amount earned from a project inside the Insights Dashboard.

The bottom line?

It’s a million percent free to start tracking time with Toggl Track. Sign up today and take the hassle out of time tracking. With just a few clicks, you’ll save time, get actionable insights, and finally take control of your workday. Your future self (and your projects) will thank you.

Imagine if your time-tracking data wasn’t just another spreadsheet to manage but a tool that delivers actionable insights with just a few clicks. That’s the promise of Analytics in Toggl Track: no exports, no workarounds — just powerful insights tailored to your business needs.

We plan to release many exciting updates related to better time tracking data reporting in the coming months (stay tuned!), and below is what we’re starting with.

All features are being rolled out for Beta users. Share your opinion in the survey here—it will help us create the best time tracking analytics experience for you!

• Not a Beta user yet? Simply go to your Profile Settings, scroll down, select “Enable beta features,” and enjoy early access to updates!
• Don’t see some of the features mentioned? Don’t worry — we’re rolling them out in batches, and you’ll have access any day now!

“I love the new dashboards! They are automatically providing the insights I’ve been requesting, which previously I had to get from Excel.”

– Janet Tuttle, Director Accounting Services, Cover Desk

Profit and Cost Analysis: Identify Areas For Optimization

Do you need a more flexible way to track your project and client profitability? Beta users can now create charts that include cost, profit, and fixed-fee profit calculations. This allows you to identify when your company is operating at a loss or profit—and pinpoint areas for optimization.

Our Senior Product Manager, Enzo, explains how.

Flexible Filters: Farewell to Time-Consuming Exports

The old vs new filters in Toggl Track Analytics

The previous filters only gave you part of the picture. Whenever you had to export to clean data, there was a hidden cost — time spent, clarity lost, details missed.

Flexible Filters eliminate that cost.

Now, choose from 14 filters, apply custom conditions like “is not,” “is empty,” or “contains,” and set up precise “and/or” logic to shape data your way.

Use it to:

• Tailor filters to your needs: Mix and match filters with “and” and “or” options for precise insights.
• Quickly audit time entries: Use “is empty” filter to spot gaps and ensure entries are tagged and billed correctly.
• Analyze specific project types: Have multiple projects with similar names, like “[CS]Project A” and “[CS]Project B”? Use filters like “Starts with” to analyze them as a group.
• Exclude non-billable activities for reviews: Use “Does not contain” or “is not” filters to exclude tags like “Internal Meetings” for a clearer view of productive time.

Improved Date Picker: All-Time Data at Your Fingertips

The updated date picker lets you view all-time data and select any time range you need, opening up flexible ways to analyze your data.

Grouped Rounding for More Accuracy

Rounding once only applied to individual entries, which could sometimes cause discrepancies, depending on your use case. Now, apply rounding at any level—ensuring accuracy across your data. Select the rounding interval you need, whether it’s 10 minutes or an hour.

Our Senior Product Manager Enzo explains how.

Important Notes

As this is a Beta release, keep these in mind:

• Minor bugs may occur (we’re here to help!).
• You can revert changes anytime if needed.
• Let us know what you think! Complete this survey to help us improve Analytics for you.

Between switching tasks, juggling clients, and trying to remember exactly how long that “quick” email reply took, trying to keep an accurate record of your work hours as a consultant can be a serious pain.

Guesswork? That’s not a solid strategy. Especially when you need to track billable hours for your invoices. Instead, you need a robust time tracking app to do the legwork for you.

This guide lists 10 time tracking apps that might be a good fit for your consultancy. We’ll look at some essential features, pricing, and real-life reviews to help you select the right tracking and billing software for consultants.

What is the best time tracking app for consultants?

Here’s our pick of the best time tracker tools consultants can use to track time:

1. Toggl Track: Best for consultants requiring an easy-to-use and powerful time tracker for tracking time, billing accurately, and increasing profitability. 
2. Hubstaff: Best for employee monitoring and productivity management in remote teams that don’t mind surveillance features. 
3. Clockify: Best for consulting firms that need a timesheet app with invoicing features. 
4. Timecamp: Best for consulting agencies looking for a time and billing app with employee surveillance features. 
5. My Hours: Best for consulting firms that need an easy-to-use project time tracking app and billing tool. 
6. Timely: Best for consulting teams who require an AI-powered automatic time tracking tool
7. Time Analytics: Best for consulting teams that want to track time, productivity, and billable hours for multiple clients and projects. 
8. Harvest: Best for consulting teams that want a simple approach to tracking billable time, invoicing clients accurately, and receiving payments.
9. DeskTime: Best for consultants requiring an automatic time tracker that focuses on employee surveillance features.
10. Apploye: Best for consultancy agencies requiring an affordable time tracking and timesheet app to understand how employees spend work hours. 

1. Toggl Track

Price: Free plan available for up to five users.

Toggl Track is a GDPR-compliant time tracking software for consultants with time tracking, billing, and reporting features. These features include online and offline one-click timer, idle time detection, time audit, billable rates, and time rounding. 

If you’ve ever struggled to persuade your consultants to adopt a time tracking tool, you’ll love Toggl Track. With its intuitive interface and seamless tracking between desktop and mobile apps, you’ll quickly reach 100% adoption and start improving productivity across your entire organization.

✅ What we like	❓What’s missing
Toggl Track is a powerful time tracking tool and an equally powerful profitability tool. With Toggl Track, consultants can calculate billable hours, monitor labor costs, analyze project and employee profitability, and forecast future revenue.	Creepy surveillance features aren’t part of Toggl Track and never will be.

Here’s how one PR consultant describes our platform: “I work as an external consultant in different projects and it allows me to perfectly track the time I spend on each task. It’s simple and easy to use.”

Similarly, another user says, “The reporting makes it easy to see where I am with each client’s hours for the current month. And also easy to see the client’s total hours for the previous month, for invoicing.”

Top features

• Billable time tracking: Record every minute, bill clients accurately, and get paid what you worked for.
• Flexible billable rates: Set flexible billing rates for the entire workspace or at the project, team member, or task level.
• Summary, Detailed, and Weekly Reports: Choose the data you want to see and analyze time usage. 
• Multi-platform time tracking: Track work hours across web, mobile, and desktop apps online and offline. 
• Saved reports: Generate a live-updating permalink for particular reports and share this link with your clients so they can monitor your progress in real-time.
• Team member audits: Quickly see which team members forgot to log their time, logged too much, or too little. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Toggl Plan, Google Calendar, Jira, and other 100+ popular apps. 

Pricing

Plan	Cost	Best for
Free	$0	Personal use
Starter	$9 per user per month	Teams with basic time tracking needs
Premium	$18 per user per month	Teams who need online and offline functionality for tracking time and profitability
Enterprise	Custom pricing	Enterprise teams

2. Hubstaff

Price: Free plan available.

Hubstaff is a time tracking, employee monitoring, and productivity management app for consultants. It empowers consultants to keep track of their work through accurate multi-platform time tracking and actionable productivity data. 

✅ What we like	❓What’s missing
Hubstaff simplifies payroll with features like timesheet approvals and payroll reports. While it doesn’t offer everything you need under one roof, it does offer powerful integrations with payroll solutions like PayPal, Wise, Gusto, and different types of project management software, too. It also has workforce management features, including time off management, attendance tracking, and payments.	Trust is missing from this platform. Instead, Hubstaff offers employee surveillance features that some find intrusive and counterproductive. It tracks app and URL activity, takes random screenshots, and registers activity levels.

For example, one SEO consultant describes, “I love that this software integrates seamlessly with Asana and allows me to track my time from anywhere. It’s been a great help to me as an SEO consultant, helping me be mindful of how I spend time on growing/maintaining my business.”

Surveillance is a concern, too, though. Here’s how one person describes this ‘feature’: “I feel some element of surveillance when the program takes screenshots of my screen. I need to work a certain number of hours, and sometimes, knowing that I can complete a project faster than planned, I have to simulate cursor activity. I don’t particularly appreciate being watched.”

Top features

• Multi-platform timer app: Consultants can track time on the go using multiple devices like laptops, mobile phones, and tablets. 
• Client invoicing: Create client invoices from your tracked time in minutes.
• Expense tracking: Upload receipts, organize expenses, and link them to projects for accurate invoicing. 
• Detailed timesheets: See total hours tracked, manual time entries, activity rates, and more to understand productivity and simplify payroll. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Asana, Slack, and Quickbooks. 

Pricing

Plan	Cost	Best for
Free	$0	For individual use
Starter	$4.99 per user/month	Small teams who need a basic time-tracking solution
Grow	$7.50 per user/month	Teams who need more complex time-tracking and time-management features
Team	$10 per user/month	Teams with advanced time-tracking needs
Enterprise	Contact Hubstaff for prices, starting at $25 per user/month	Enterprise companies

3. Clockify

Price: Free plan available.

Clockify is a comprehensive timesheet and time tracking app that helps consultants track their work hours and productivity and simplify invoicing. 

✅ What we like	❓What’s missing
There’s a lot you can do with Clockify’s invoicing features. For example, you can create invoices directly from tracked time, include billable expenses, set custom currencies, and send them to your clients directly from Clockify. Pretty handy, eh?	Unfortunately, Clockify is another platform that prioritizes employee monitoring features over trust and autonomy. These encourage micromanagement and impact employee privacy and productivity.

As a bonus, this user describes how they enjoy the platform’s set-it-and-forget functionality. “I can track everything so well and create tags for specific types of work within a particular client project. It’s efficient and saves me so much time in the end. The timer is so handy, I don’t even have to remember when I started something.” You can also track time for on-site employees by using clock-in and clock-out kiosks. 

However, some also report issues with user-friendliness, as described here: “The interface can feel a bit confusing at first, especially for new users. The mobile app sometimes doesn’t sync right away, which can be frustrating when switching between devices. With a few tweaks it can be much better for user experience.”

Top features

• Billable and non-billable time tracking: Track time accurately in the office or on the go and make sure you get paid for every working minute. 
• GPS tracking and screenshots: Clocify tracks your team’s location and takes random screenshots when the timer is on. 
• Time reports: Analyze how your team spends work hours with summary, weekly, or detailed reports. 
• Time off management: Standard, Pro, and Enterprise plan users can track and manage time off for better scheduling and resource planning. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Trello, Google Calendar, and Quickbooks. 

Pricing

Plan	Cost	Best for
Starter	$3.99 per user/month	Solo users with basic time-tracking needs
Grow	$5.49 per user/month	Small teams with more complex time-tracking needs
Team	$7.99 per user/month	Teams who need a robust project and time tracking tool
Enterprise	$11.99 per user/month	Teams with complex client projects that require advanced time-tracking features

4. TimeCamp

Price: Free plan available.

TimeCamp is a time tracking, attendance, and billing software that consultants can use to simplify their billing and invoicing process and track project and team profitability. Plus, it connects with other tools you’re probably already using, so it fits right into your workflow.

✅ What we like	❓What’s missing
TimeCamp offers many time tracking features for consultants in its free plan, like multi-platform tracking, 80+ tool integrations, and idle time tracking.	Yet again, TimeCamp is another tool that doesn’t believe in empowering employees with trust. Instead, the platform includes employee surveillance features like GPS location tracking, activity levels, and screenshots, so TimeCamp can feel like an intrusive app.

Despite this user describing the surveillance features as “micromanaging in a sense,” here’s how one small business consultant finds TimeCamp valuable in their work: “As a consultant, I work on multiple mandates simultaneously. I needed a tool to help me capture my time spent on various projects directly from iCalendar on my Macs. Using Keywords in my Calendar time entries, the time gets associated automatically to the proper project. Generating invoices at the end of the month for my various mandates becomes kids-play. And to top it all off it syncs those invoices with Quickbooks which saves me time.”

Top features

• Multi-platform time tracking: Track time through TimeCamp’s web, desktop, and mobile apps.
• Billable rates: Set specific billable rates for different projects or clients.
• Time rounding: Round up your time entries to the nearest specified increment for easier invoicing and payroll. 
• Data security: Secure your data with Single Sign-On Login and Two-Factor Authentication features.

Tool integrations

Integrations include Xero, Google Calendar, and ClickUp. 

Pricing

Plan	Cost	Best for
Free	$0	Individual users with minimal time tracking needs
Starter	$2.99 per user/month	Teams with more complex time-tracking needs
Premium	$4.99 per user/month	Large teams that need advanced time-tracking features
Ultimate	$7.99 per user/month	Multiple teams
Enterprise	$11.99 per user/month	Enterprise teams

5. My Hours

Price: Free plan available for up to five users.

MyHours prides itself on being an easy-to-use project time tracker app with powerful billing and reporting features. It lets you log the time you spend on different tasks and break it down by projects or clients, so you always know where your effort is going.

✅ What we like	❓What’s missing
My Hours provides a clear view of the time spent on billable projects with comprehensive reports. The Dashboard shows an overview of your billable hours and time tracked, and the detailed report provides an in-depth analysis of time billing data.	With only two pricing plans, some users find they don’t have enough features, while others have too many. For example, My Hours doesn’t have a time-rounding feature that simplifies invoicing and payroll. It also doesn’t have custom reporting or timesheet approval features.

The Dashboard feature seems to be particularly valuable to small business consultancy founders like Michael O., who says, “We love the ability to manage project budgets directly against time spent on them so that the whole team is clear if we are running ahead or behind.”

But for some consultants, the breadth of features may be overkill, as one person describes, “As a solo consultant, I don’t need the additional features such as billing and breaking out by team member.”

Top features

• Customized billing: Add hourly rates by project, task, or team member, set monthly retainers, and create budgets for every project.
• Expense tracking: Set expense categories, add receipts, and generate expense reports.  
• Custom reports: Customize your reports to show the needed information, export them in PDF or XLS, and share them with clients. 
• Timesheets and invoicing: My Hours creates weekly timesheets automatically from your tracked hours. It also generates invoices directly from your time tracked. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Zapier and PowerBI. 

Pricing

Plan	Cost	Best for
Free	$0	Solo users with basic time-tracking needs
Pro	$8 per month	Consulting firms with more complex time-tracking needs

6. Timely

Price: Starts at $9/month.

Timely is a private and secure AI-powered time tracker that helps consultancies track billable time and increase profitability. It’s a good shout if you prefer the idea of a timer running in the background so you don’t need to stop and start the clock.

✅ What we like	❓What’s missing
Timely automates time tracking by capturing everything you work on. Using AI, it then creates timesheets for you that you can approve in just one click.	You can’t create invoices in Timely. But can manage your invoices through Timely’s QuickBooks Online invoicing integration.

Here’s why one small business user finds Timely to be convenient, “Timely makes time tracking extremely easy and accurate. Since it’s tracking every activity you do during work and groups these activities with machine learning, I don’t need to manually start and stop timers to measure how long I worked on a particular project. It gives teams and clients more transparency when it comes to invoicing and project reviews. I also like the Planning feature, which helps me set the hours and project I want to work on the following days.”

Crucially, Timely is also on the same page as Toggl Track when it comes to anti-surveillance. The platform is committed to providing users with the privacy to capture their own “memories” and then do what they want with them, whether that’s downloading them, sharing them, or keeping them under locks.

Top features

• Automatic time tracking: Timely automatically captures every second of your work in the background. 
• AI timesheets: Timely uses artificial intelligence to draft your timesheets based on the time it tracked. 
• Billable rates: Set hourly rates for each project or team member and keep your invoices accurate. 
• Multiple currencies: Timely lets you add different currencies for your international projects.

Tool integrations

Integrations include Google Calendar, Microsoft Excel, and Quickbooks. 

Pricing

Plan	Cost	Best for
Starter	$9 per user/ month	Freelancers and small teams
Premium	$16 per user/ month	Midsize teams
Unlimited	$22 per user/ month	Midsize and large teams
Unlimited+	Contact for more pricing	Large teams

7. Time Analytics

Price: Starts at $4.99/month.

Time Analytics is a time tracking app that consultants can use to track and manage their time across multiple projects and clients and analyze their efficiency. Think of it as a no-fuss way to stay on top of your time and boost productivity.

✅ What we like	❓What’s missing
With Time Analytics, you can manually track time by task, project, or client by using a timer or clocking in time. You can also set hours as billable and add labor and billing rates for your consulting team.	You can’t track time via browser extension with Time Analytics which might lead to inaccurate time tracking data. Additionally, some users experience challenges with loading and exporting data.

This small business user gives an overview of how adding billing rates for consulting works, “It prepares data for the invoice, based on hard facts and time utilization so you could control all tasks and services suitable for billing and review which activities are billable/unbillable.”

Top features

• Auto-generated invoices: Time Analytics automatically generates invoices based on your tracked time data. 
• Daily and weekly timesheets: Keep track of employee work hours, manage workloads, and analyze productivity. 
• Revenue, cost, and profit reports: Get key data on revenue generated, costs incurred, and overall profit margins.
• Mobile app (Android and iOS): Track time and manage tasks on the go from Android and iOS platforms. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Microsoft Excel and Google Chrome.

Pricing

Plan	Cost	Best for
Starter	$4.99 per user per month	Teams who want to track time and employee productivity
Optimum	$6.99 per user per month	Teams who want to streamline time tracking, increase profitability, and transparency

8. Harvest

Price: Free plan available.

Harvest is a consultant time and billing tool that tracks billable hours online and offline. But it’s not just about tracking — Harvest also lets you create invoices right from the time you’ve logged and even tracks expenses.

✅ What we like	❓What’s missing
Harvest lets consultants do many things without leaving the app: track time and expenses, create invoices, generate client reports, and collect payments. This end-to-end workflow simplifies and accelerates client billing and payment processing.	Harvest is a simple tool that doesn’t embrace some of the advanced functionality you’ll find in other tools. For example, you can’t create custom reports and dashboards in Harvest, which one user considers a downside, saying, “It would be nice if they offered more robust reports.”

Here’s how one Harvest user reviews the platform, “It works very well and is very intuitive. It facilitates time tracking for users who need to work on sending invoices to clients and track multiple projects, from multiple devices, complementing several applications.”

Top features

• Billable and non-billable time tracking: Track your paid and non-paid time and share billable reports with clients for transparency. 
• Expense tracking: Track project and task expenses, add receipts, and add them to client invoices. 
• Online payments: Harvest’s Stripe and PayPal integrations mean clients can pay you easier, faster, and safer. 
• Invoicing: Create invoices based on your tracked time in just a few clicks.
• Project and team reporting: Visualize project progress, track internal costs, and see how your team spends time with Harvest’s detailed reports. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Stripe, Google Calendar, and PayPal. 

Pricing

Plan	Cost	Best
Free	$0	Solo users
Pro	$11 per user per month	Small teams
Premium	$14 per user per month	Teams with advanced reporting and administrative needs

9. DeskTime

Price: The Lite plan is free.

DeskTime is a multi-platform automatic time tracking app for consultants with employee monitoring features. DeskTime tracks URLs and app usage and takes random screenshots. So, if you’re managing a team, you’ll definitely gain insights into everyone’s workday to help with planning and balancing workloads. Or you may just think this functionality is too invasive — you decide!

✅ What we like	❓What’s missing
Solo consultants who aren’t being spied on by a team leader will likely love the level of insights that DeskTime delivers.	We’ll say it again. Tools equipped with employee monitoring features like URL tracking and screenshots aren’t bringing any positive functionality to the table. Instead, they’re artificially inserting toxicity into their company cultures — and that’s a loss in our book.

For example, this user describes, “The level of configuration that DeskTime allows is perfect for me. I can see how I use my time, how productive I am and the number of hours I dedicate to each thing. It helps me keep track of how I am doing and to set limits.”

However, the surveillance features are pretty…invasive. One employer describes, “We use it in our office to check the time on which every individual arrives, and the time they spent productively in the office.”

Another enjoys it for similar reasons, “As project lead, I can measure the productivity of my employees with its in-depth application usage details, such as which sites they have visited in browser and other applications.” Yikes — scary much?

Top features

• Automatic time tracking: DeskTime can automatically track your work hours in the background without manual input. 
• Offline time tracking: Track time when you’re not connected to the internet, and DeskTime syncs it once you’re online again. 
• Employee surveillance: DeskTime can track URLs and apps and take random screenshots as proof of work. 
• Multiple platform time tracking: With DeskTime, you can track time from your browser, iOS, and Android devices. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Outlook Calendar, Google Calendar, and Asana. 

Pricing

Plan	Cost	Best for
Lite	$0	Solo users
Pro	$6.42 per user/month	Teams who need a basic time-tracking app
Premium	$9.17 per user/month	Teams with more complex time-tracking and project-scheduling needs
Enterprise	Custom	Enterprise teams with over 200 users

10. Apploye

Price: Starts at $2.50/month.

Apploye is an affordable time tracking and timesheet app that helps consultants improve their billing and productivity.

✅ What we like	❓What’s missing
Apploye has five types of timesheet views showing a real-time view of employees’ tracked time to help you understand their work habits. You can view daily, weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly timesheets or select a custom date range you want to check.	By now, you’ll know where we stand on tracking employee activity. And yep, Apploye is another tool that doesn’t empower companies with trust.

Although there are other tools with entirely free plans, Apploye still offers a reasonably affordable price which many consultants will be happy to pay for.

In fact, one user doesn’t even feel the need to sync the platform with other tools, as they explain here: “The most remarkable thing about Apploye is it has many features with a very minimum monthly subscription fee. Apart from time tracking, it also provides a Task Management feature that helps organizations monitor employees’ productivity. I don’t need to use any other project management tool like Trello or Asana when Apploye came with all the features in one single step.”

Consider the level of surveillance when choosing the best software for your needs, though. Here are some thoughts from Peter P., a small business founder, on why he doesn’t need the employee tracking feature: “There needs to be a level of trust between employer and employee, since no one (even the superstars) works at 100% focus during all working hours. Everyone needs a mini break to surf the web or do something not work related, so if a screenshot captures that, it caused friction.”

Top features

• Daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, and custom timesheets: Choose how you want to see each team member’s time data.
• Random screenshots: Apploye takes screenshots every ten minutes for proof of work. 
• Apps and URL usage: See the total time and percentages of the apps and URLs your team uses. 
• Invoicing: You can quickly generate client invoices based on your tracked work hours. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Asana, Trello, and ClickUp.

Pricing

Plan	Cost	Best for
Standard	$2.50 per user/month	Consultants who need basic time tracking, invoicing, and budgeting features
Elite	$3.50 per user/month	Remote teams who need screenshot monitoring, URL tracking, and app usage tracking

A quick comparison of the best consultant time tracking apps

Tool	G2 Rating	Best for	Cheapest Paid Plan
Toggl Track	4.6	Accurate time tracking, powerful reporting, and profitability analysis	From $9/user/month
Hubstaff	4.5	Monitoring remote employees	From $4.99/user/month
Clockify	4.5	Simple and powerful invoicing	From $5.49/user/month
TimeCamp	4.7	Billing, invoicing, and profitability tracking	From $2.99/user/month
My Hours	4.6	Easy-to-use invoicing and reporting	From $8/user/month
Timely	4.8	Automatic and non-invasive time tracking	From $9/user/month
Time Analytics	4.9	Monitoring employee activity and productivity	From $4.99 per user/month
Harvest	4.3	Invoicing and payments	From $11/user/month
DeskTime	4.5	Automatic time tracking and employee monitoring	From $6.42/user/month
Apploye	4.5	Billing and employee productivity	From $2.50/user/month

How do I choose the best consultant time tracking software?

When choosing consultant time tracking software, you should look at your specific needs. Do you need just time tracking, or do you also need a project profitability tool? How about invoicing and payroll? 

Here are some general things to consider when choosing your time tracking software:

• Ease of use: Your consultant time tracking software should have a user-friendly interface. You should be able to easily log hours, view reports, and manage tasks. If it’s too complicated, it can waste more time than it saves. 
• Features: The best consultant time tracking apps accurately track time online, offline, and on multiple devices. Other relevant features include billable and non-billable hours tracking, productivity analysis, expense tracking, and detailed reporting. 
• GDPR compliance: Depending on your industry, you might need to ensure your employee time tracking methods comply with legal standards. 

Try Toggl Track for consultants

Time tracking for consultants is now a non-negotiable. The data speaks for itself: accurate time tracking drives better billing practices, optimizes project management, and ensures you’re not leaving money on the table. Whether you’re managing a packed client roster or chasing tight deadlines, the right tool can be the difference between chaos and control.

The must-haves? Billable time tracking, profitability reports, cross-platform access, and rock-solid data security. And while free plans can be a decent starting point, premium versions unlock the real power with advanced features designed to save you time and maximize profits.

Still wondering where to start? Toggl Track is one of the best time tracking tools for consultants. It’s simple yet robust, giving you all the insights you need to stay on top of your game. If you’re serious about scaling your consulting business and making every second count, Toggl Track is the obvious pick.

Do you know which skills your workforce needs to succeed in 2025 and beyond? 83% of HR leaders believe workforce demand is developing faster than workers’ skills, and technology is the biggest driver of change. 

Digital workplace systems, business intelligence tools, cloud computing, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence have massively impacted many job profiles. The transition to renewable energy, advancements in cloud computing, and the adoption of digital twins and autonomous agents will further change how we work (and live). 

Understanding what skills will be in demand in 2025 and beyond will help you future-proof your career or ensure your company has access to the right competencies.

TL;DR—Key Takeaways

• Candidates and employees need soft skills like adaptability, creative and analytical thinking, and management chops. They should also be equipped with technical and digital skills like AI, data analysis, software engineering, and cloud computing. 

• Digital skills are in high demand as part of almost every job. Yet almost half of EU workers are digitally under-skilled. They lack the necessary digital competencies to do well in their current role and require upskilling to stay employable in the future. 

• Apart from digital skills, the fastest growing skills between 2025 and 2030 will be creativity, advanced IT and programming skills, scientific research and development, advanced communication, and negotiation skills. 

• A few of the highest-paying skills at the moment are roles relating to software engineering, data analysis, and project management. This is because AI and Machine Learning Specialists top the list of fast-growing jobs, followed by various green sector jobs. 

• The top 25 skills in demand in 2025 include communication, management, emotional intelligence, leadership, teamwork, continuous learning, software engineering, AI, data analysis, financial management, operations, and UX/UI design. 

• The top emerging skills of 2025 are prompt engineering, AI risk management, consultative selling, virtual collaboration, and green skills in sustainability management. 

• To nurture a future-proof workforce, companies use skills assessments to find the right candidates at the hiring stage, identify workers with necessary competencies for internal mobility, and determine workforce upskilling needs. 

What are the fastest-growing skills in demand, and why?

To understand the skills demand, you need to understand broader economic, technological, and societal shifts. 

In 2010, most of us worked a 9 to 5 in an open-space cubicle. But in 2025 and onward, more and more teams will adopt hybrid or remote work. Top-down hierarchical organizational structures have become flatter, and more collaborative leadership styles are preferred. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), employee well-being, and ESG reporting are central priorities. 

New technologies like cloud computing, blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), and renewable energy production are changing how businesses work, how work is organized, and what employees are expected to do.

3 trends driving the demand for new skills
Technological: Emerging technologies require new technical competency and stronger cognitive skills.
Economic: Business cycles have become faster and the operating landscape—riskier, requiring a more agile workforce.
Environmental: Transition to renewable energy sources, sustainable manufacturing, and regenerative agriculture create high demand for new skill profiles.

Because of these changes, a role description you saw (or signed for) eight years ago is no longer the same one you’ll see today or in five years.

Since 2016, 25% of job skills have changed, and by 2030, another 65% will further change. 

According to McKinsey, there’s a strong need for talents with better technological, cognitive, and social skills. Their predictions for top fastest-growing skills between 2025 and 2030 include:

Basic digital skills	Advanced communication and negotiation skills
Creativity	Technology design, engineering, and maintenance
Advanced IT and programming skills	Interpersonal skills and empathy
Scientific research and development	Leadership and management

Upwork also reports technical and digital skills are in high demand among employers hiring freelancers and fractional workers. Per their findings, the top 10 in-demand skills on the job market for 2025 are: 

1. Data analytics (also the fastest-growing) 
2. Machine learning (second fastest-growing) 
3. Data visualization
4. Data extraction
5. Data engineering
6. Data processing
7. Data mining
8. Experimentation & testing
9. Deep learning
10. Generative AI modeling (third fastest-growing) 

Skills gaps are more apparent in other areas, such as project management, data analytics, emotional intelligence, and cultural competency, as job descriptions change and new positions emerge. These trends create new talent market dynamics.

Employees find themselves in an hourglass-shaped labor market. For highly skilled individuals, a progressive work environment allows for greater autonomy and a better balance of work and family life. While the ‘squeezed middle’ of the workforce see jobs disappearing, low-skilled workers compete ferociously for positions (across all sectors).

The Future of Work. Jobs and Skills in 2030 Report

Without upskilling or reskilling, workers risk getting stuck at the bottom of the ‘hourglass’, especially as roles continue to evolve.  

This is evidenced by the fact that, by 2027, almost half (44%) of workers’ core skills will be disrupted due to the effects of job creation and destruction from environmental, technological, and economic trends.  

The World Economic Forum (WEF) predicts a loss of 83 million jobs, but 69 million new ones will be created. These new jobs come with a 44% change in a core skill set, per WEF, with a greater emphasis on: 

• Creative thinking 
• Analytical thinking
• Technological literacy 
• Curiosity and lifelong learning
• Resilience, flexibility, and agility 
• AI and big data 
• Systemic thinking 
• Motivation and self-awareness 

LinkedIn’s research found that employers are seeking talents with strong interpersonal skills, such as communication, customer service, leadership, and management. The company also ranked adaptability as the fastest-growing skill over the last year. 

Adaptability is on the rise because more and more work is becoming fractionalized. Roles are no longer limited to a narrow, itemized list of responsibilities. They have become cross-functional, assuming a continuous flow of evolving projects and tasks requiring a variety of skills and competencies. A data analyst may work with a marketing team for six months on a new go-to-market strategy, then get reassigned to help the finance department with some budgeting tasks. 

We see a stronger convergence of tech and soft skills from multiple sources. Technology isn’t going away. On the contrary, it’s getting embedded into more and more processes. But automation doesn’t fully remove humans from the workplace. 

No matter how ‘smart’ systems get, people still need to be present in the loop to supervise, tune, and program their performance. Moreover, future progress will require further innovation, and with that, skills like creativity, analytical thinking, data-driven decision-making, and strong people management will only become more important. 

As Bernard Marr, best-selling author, futurist, and  technology advisor to governments and private companies, puts it: “Success in 2025 will belong to those who can seamlessly integrate technological acumen with distinctly human capabilities.”

Fastest-growing data science & analytics skills

• SQL and NoSQL databases
• Apache Spark and Kafka
• Data pipelines development
• Data governance
• BI tools: Tableau, Power BI, and Looker. 
• Data governance 
• Advanced machine learning 

In 2024, we’ve produced and consumed over 149 zettabytes of data. By 2028, global data volumes will increase by 2.6 times to 394 Zb. To transform raw numbers into actionable insights, business leaders need more people with strong data analytics skills. These include folks proficient in advanced machine learning and deep learning modeling techniques for real-time data processing. 

Fastest-growing coding & development skills

• Python 
• Java 
• Javascript 
• C/C++
• Typescript 
• Cloud engineering 
• API programming 
• DevOps
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)
• Microsoft Azure

Spending on IT continues to grow year on year as companies rush to become digitally-native. With that, tech skills shortages will remain in the news headlines. IDC expects over 90% of global companies will continue to experience IT skills shortages until 2026. Choosing a STEM specialization or pursuing new coding certifications is a future-proof career choice. 

Fastest-growing sales & marketing skills

• Marketing automation 
• Email marketing
• Sales and business development 
• SEO, SEM, and SMM 
• Lead generation 
• Digital marketing strategy
• Sales funnel management 
• Framing and negotiation 

68% of marketing professionals believe finding a new job today is more challenging than five years ago. However, candidates with in-demand skills in automation, marketing analytics, and digital campaign execution get competitive compensation.

Sales roles, too, now require more software knowledge. But ‘traditional skills’ like negotiation, rapport building, and effective framing still give candidates an edge on the job market.  

Fastest-growing financial skills

• Advanced financial modeling 
• Bookkeeping 
• Statistical analysis 
• Financial data mining 
• Risk management 
• Financial planning and analysis
• Data visualization 
• Basic coding skills 

Employers in the financial sector look for talents who bring a good combination of core competencies and adaptability. High volatility means companies seek resilient, analytical, and flexible professionals who can quickly respond to regulatory landscape changes and dips in economic indicators.

Aside from math and statistics skills, many financial roles also require basic coding knowledge or familiarity with low-code tools for data analysis and visualization.

Fastest-growing customer support & administrative skills

• Digital project management 
• Market research 
• Dropshipping and order processing 
• Medical virtual assistance 
• Supply chain management 
• Customer relationship management 
• Cybersecurity awareness
• Knowledge of automation and low-code tools 

Customer support and admin roles are arguably seeing the biggest skill transformation. Technologies streamlined many common responsibilities like data entry, transcriptions, and invoice matching, typically done by admin staff.

Instead, operational staff is now expected to help with a wider range of project management, research, and business process optimization tasks. Customer service is also evolving from basic issue troubleshooting to a relationship-driven function, requiring people with strong interpersonal skills to create memorable customer experiences.

What are the highest-paying skills in demand right now?

Like any demand and supply situation in business, people with in-demand skill sets receive higher compensation. 

Global talent shortages have reached a 16-year high, as 75% of employers can’t find the talent they need with the right blend of technical and soft skills.

Source

Despite massive layoffs, tech sector workers continue to enjoy high compensation. In the US, senior AI engineering and machine learning positions continue to offer salaries of $300,000. The median salary of a software engineer in the US also continues to sit at a lavish $161,433 per year. 

Healthcare is another sector where talent shortages drive wage growth. In the UK, NHS nursing staff received a 5.5% pay rise and GPs — an extra 6% in 2024. However, unions also demand further pay grading from 2025 to 2026. In the US, healthcare employers are offering 20% higher pay to workers who’d agree to come on-site 4 to 5 days per week. 

The British banking sector will offer the highest salary budget increase by 5% in 2025. Across roles, the US employers plan a 3.5% salary budget bump for 2025 and Canadian by 3.3%, according to Payscale. 

Overall, if your goal is to make more cash this year, look into the following positions.

Technology

Role	Average US Compensation	Average UK Compensation
Software engineering manager median compensation	$192,472	£144,542
Machine learning engineer median compensation	$166,665	£95,950
DevOps engineer median compensation	$141,446	£75,975
Data engineer median compensation	$132,940	£71,071

Operations

Role	Average US Compensation	Average UK Compensation
Program manager median compensation	$123,317	£95,317
Project manager median compensation	$136,363	£80,575
Business analyst median compensation	$128,604	£60,089

Marketing and sales

Role	Average US Compensation	Average UK Compensation
Marketing manager median compensation	$114,556	£81,317
Content marketer median compensation	$108,824	£31,468
Sales development representative median compensation	$79,354	£63,720

Top 25 future-proof skills for 2025 and beyond

Before we jump into the meat, here’s a quick note on our methodology:

• To come up with this list of in-demand skills, we’ve analyzed data from the World Economic Forum, University of South Wales, KornFerry, LinkedIn, and McKinsey, among others. 

• Additionally, we’ve examined anonymized skills testing data from Toggl Hire to understand the current dynamics and consulted our People Team for their insights.

With that in mind, let’s look at the top skills HR teams prioritize in workforce planning and what candidates need to have (or develop) to be in demand. 

Soft skills

Soft skills, like communication, empathy, and adaptability, are just as important as tech savviness and core job-related skills. Even as tasks become more automated, strong collaboration, problem-solving, and organizational abilities will set apart top candidates. 

Two-thirds of employers say soft skills are more important than educational qualifications in hiring.

Source

1. Adaptability

With faster business cycles, an expanded risk radar, and rapid tech disruptions, businesses prize people with strong adaptability skills. For 77% of business and HR leaders, flexibly moving skills between roles is critical for navigating future disruptions.

Therefore, companies seek people who can quickly respond to changes, try new approaches, think resourcefully, go with the flow, and excel in cross-functional roles. Adaptability is a critical component of innovative thinking, too, as it challenges your ways. New technologies rise and fall on the hype cycle. Customer sentiments shift, budgets fluctuate, and adaptable people can ride out all those changes.  

2. Analytical thinking

Analytical thinking is a range of cognitive skills that help you parse information, assess it critically, and develop creative, rational solutions. 72% of companies expect analytical skills to rise in importance between 2023 and 2027. 

Cross-functional analytics skills include data interpretation, problem-solving, critical thinking, problem synthesis, and data modeling. Each is essential to succeed in modern workplaces where data-driven decision-making is a given. 

There’s more of a focus and an interest in having people with analytical thinking, and people with creativity.

Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director, World Economic Forum 

3. Management

Management skills indicate how well someone can organize and influence others to do assigned work. Strong people leaders excel in communication, conflict resolution, mentorship, problem-solving, time and task management, and accountability. But they’re also hard to find in the talent market. 

Almost two-thirds (63%) of European startup employees say only a fraction of managers at their company are well-equipped to take on the role. Many don’t know how to lead or communicate well. That’s problematic because a bad manager costs companies around the world billions in lost productivity and is the number one reason why people quit their jobs.

🔥 Unsure how to find employees with great management skills? Learn how to spot leaders with great management skills.

4. Creative thinking

Creative thinking (and creativity in general) is another skill consistently mentioned in the Future of Work reports. 

The demand for creative thinking will grow faster in the next five years, by 73%, than the demand for analytical thinking.

World Economic Forum

Creativity in the workplace refers to the ability to think differently about a problem and a motivation to produce new and valuable things. It’s about coming up with a solution others may not have considered. 

Another aspect is being open-minded, receptive to unconventional ideas, and enthusiastic in your approach to testing those options. Human ingenuity will be crucial to driving differentiation and further innovation.

AI systems cannot produce new ideas independently; they need expert input and fine-tuning. And for that, businesses need their people equipped with creative thinking abilities. 

5. Communication skills

There’s no surprise that communication is one of the top in-demand skills. Every business needs people with the right communication style to build rapport with coworkers, customers, and other stakeholders. 

Communication is also the crux of effective collaboration. Lack of alignment between teams (courtesy of poor communication), negatively impacts project outcomes. So do other negative practices of shifting blame, concealing information, or just perpetually forgetting to share updates with colleagues.

To find strong communicators, companies use skill assessments for written, verbal, active listening, and async communication skills early in the hiring process.  

Business communication is among the top global emergent professional skills, rising in demand by 19% at the end of 2024.  

Udemy 2024 Global Workplace Learning Index

6. Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage your emotional responses and maintain a high awareness of how others are feeling and the effect you have on them. Empathy, self-awareness, good listening skills, and sensitivity are examples of emotional intelligence in action.

Employees with high levels of emotional intelligence can motivate other team members, resolve conflicts quickly (or avoid them altogether), and create a positive work environment. So, it remains a #1 leadership skill for the future, according to WEF. 

Discover why leaders with emotional intelligence stand out in this Harvard Business School video.

7. Leadership skills

Good leaders can inspire teams to do their best even during tough times. This is an essential skill in companies that experience a lot of change (startups, tech-focused companies, etc.). Strong leaders also share traits like integrity, good communication skills, gratitude, and influence.

Great leaders know how to attain and retain team trust. High trust in leadership leads to higher employee engagement and better physiological safety at the workplace. This, in turn, improves the overall company culture, which attracts more people to work for or do business with your company. 

8. Life-long learning

As mentioned earlier, skill sets now become obsolete in a matter of years. A willingness to upskill and continuously gain new knowledge is staying employable. It also maximizes your options for exploring new career paths through internal mobility. 

57% of workers pursue training outside of work. Many more also take advantage of the mushrooming internal learning & development (L&D) opportunities. If you don’t invest in sharpening your skills, you risk finding yourself at the industry outskirts. 

9. Taking ownership

Employees who take ownership or responsibility for their tasks are a big asset to their team and the organization. They can be trusted to consistently complete their duties on time and at a high-quality level.

With the nature of teamwork and team structures changing — smaller, cross-functional teams, remote-first culture, flat hierarchies — it’s even more important for employees to be autonomous, reliable, and dependable.

A strong work ethic is the top skill companies are looking for in new hires in 2025.

ADP

10. Sales skills 

Sales skills, like persuasion, negotiation, and relationship building, aren’t something only a sales team needs. Whether you work in HR or project management, you constantly ‘sell’ your agenda and influence others. 

By learning how to build better arguments, present concepts, overcome objections, and mediate conflicts, you’ll always remain an indispensable asset (and someone who can comfortably justify their value for the company). 

11. Teamwork

Working together well as a team means smooth work handovers, fast issue resolution, more effective decision-making, and better team outputs. As workflows become more complex and organizations more distributed, employers seek out better team players. The demand for this went up by 49.98% over the last year. 

Because people skills are going to come more to the center of individual career growth, and people-to-people collaboration is going to come into the center more for company growth.

LinkedIn VP Aneesh Raman

Technical skills

The demand for tech talent will outstrip the supply until at least 2026. Companies continue to have difficulties with hiring for cybersecurity, technical support, cloud computing, AI and ML, and big data analytics.

Green jobs in the renewable energy sector are also growing twice as fast as the available worker supply. Only 1 in 8 workers globally have one or more green skills employers need today and in the future. 

Based on the industry predictions, the following technical skills will remain in high demand in the long term.

12. Artificial intelligence (AI)

AI is hands-down the hottest skill on the market as companies continue to invest in new machine learning analytics models, industrial robotics solutions, and generative AI assistants. 

Postings for AI jobs are growing 3.5x faster than for all jobs. For every AI job posting in 2012, there are now seven job postings in 2024. 

PwC

Countries like Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, the US, and the UK, among a dozen others, have already added AI skills to their occupations shortage lists. 

What’s more interesting, though, is that skills sought by employers are changing at a 25% higher rate in roles most exposed to AI. No, it doesn’t mean everyone should learn ML and DL basics. However, more workers will need to get comfortable with critically reviewing algorithmic data or interacting with various ‘copilot’ apps. 

13. Digital literacy

Digital literacy is the capability to confidently use different modern technologies in your day-to-day work. For example, use digital workplace applications, know how to configure and when to use a VPN tool, or how to do online research in the era of fake news and deepfakes. 

92% of job posts already include requirements for digital skills alongside more traditional competencies. But not all workers have them.  

As part of a UK Consumer Digital Index 2024 study, Lloyds Bank measured how different employee groups perform on 20 essential digital work tasks, such as setting privacy settings, accessing a payslip online, or using digital productivity apps. 

While 82% of participants had some of the essential digital skills for work, only 48% could complete all 20 tasks. Interestingly, 63% of 55+ can’t do all 20 tasks, but so do 48% of 18- to 24-year-olds. One in five tech workers didn’t complete all tasks — and so did 43% of people with a Master’s or PhD degree. 

Those who lack digital literacy will be at a severe disadvantage when it comes to competing for jobs and business opportunities by 2030, whatever career path they decide to follow.

Bernard Marr

14. Software development

Software development is a broad set of competencies for creating, designing, deploying, and supporting software systems. It is yet another occupation where talent demand keeps skyrocketing, to the point that some 62% of leaders believe they’ll never have enough tech staff to deliver on all planned initiatives. 

BairesDev found the most in-demand skills for developers in 2025  will be core technical knowledge of React, .NET, Python, Node, and Java — mostly used in full-stack development.

However, the fastest growing skills in demand also include Flutter (+302%) for mobile app development, Terraform (+222%) for data infrastructure management, and Angular (+206%) for front-end web app development. 

15. SQL

Structured Query Language (SQL) is a common programming language for database management. As corporate data reserves grow and more companies invest in data analytics, this technical skill is highly sought after and well paid! The median base pay for SQL developers in the US is $116,881 per year, and that’s without any other employment benefits and perks. 

16. Finance

Business model transformations and new product development require substantial investments. Yet, corporate profits are down in many industries due to inflation, reduced sales volumes, and thinner profit margins. 

Who can help with those problems? People with strong financial skills. The Institute of Financial Operations and Leadership named financial analysis, automation expertise, and fraud prevention among the most in-demand skills for 2025. 

17. Python

Python continues to be one of the most popular programming languages for software development. It’s also the ‘star’ in big data analytics and machine learning projects. So naturally, the demand for Python chops is high. It was the ‘most desired’ programming language in 2024, according to StackOverflow.   

18. Java

Java is another popular programming language for web applications and Android app development. It consistently ranks among the top five most popular coding languages, along with Python and the C family of languages on the TIOBE Index.

Although Kotlin is gaining popularity among Android developers, Java skills will still be vital for working on Android projects in 2025. Basic and advanced Java programming skills will remain indispensable for any enterprise environment. 

19. Data analysis

Data analysis indicates your ability to collect, interpret, and draw decisions from data. In business today and in the future, data analysis and data management skills are essential for getting key business insight from a vast pool of data.

Data analytics skills have consistently dominated the market, with a 52% increase between 2019 and 2024, accounting for 8% of global job postings in 2024. Not just for prolific data scientists but also for a variety of roles in finance, marketing, technology, and operations, as well as good data analytics skills. 

44% of companies need more people with data analysis skills. 40% of junior employees want to sharpen it over the next year. 

Workforce Skills Gap Trends 2024

20. Web design

Web design will remain an important skill in 2025 and beyond, as any successful business needs to have a digital presence.  The field, however, is rapidly evolving. Web designers are now expected to have a wider skill set covering UX, 3D motion design, and augmented reality. Voice interface optimization and AI chatbot integration are also something web designers are expected to know. 

21. JavaScript

JavaScript (JS) is the language of front-end development. Along with its two siblings, HTML and CSS, JavaScript forms the core of standard web technology. It’s one of the few programming languages that works with all popular browsers. It’s also one of the few that can be used for front-end, back-end, and full-stack development, plus server-side programming. Because of its versatility, JS remains an in-demand skill. 

22. Cloud computing skills

Cloud computing basically means a system where all computing — from storage, software, networking, and intelligence — happens in the cloud. For businesses, cloud computing is a good infrastructure choice because it’s scalable, flexible, and cost-effective. 

As cloud adoption continues, companies keep searching for experienced cloud engineers, architects, and administrators. The most in-demand cloud computing skills include knowledge of AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform ecosystems, API knowledge, database management, DevOps, CI/CD, network management, cloud security, and storage optimization. 

98% of companies consider attracting cloud engineering talent as a top priority for their organizations in the coming year. 

The Cloud Skills Report 

23. UX/UI design

UX design is all about creating seamless user experiences by understanding exactly what users want and designing interfaces that fulfill those needs. UI design, on the other hand, focuses on creating interfaces with an aesthetically appealing visual design. The two are connected at the hip. You can’t succeed with a functional product lacking visual appeal or a beautiful one with a complex learning curve. 

It’s not just hip startups that recognize this. The UK government is on a hiring spree and plans to hire 2,500 tech and digital design roles by June 2025. Banks like JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley also established new dedicated UX divisions to lead digital banking experience transformations. And more UX/UI jobs are emerging in sectors like healthcare, insurance, and education. 

24. Operations

Operations management is the process of planning, controlling, and supervising processes and delivery. The goal of operations management is to increase corporate productivity — and that’s what most businesses are after.

68% of businesses say improving operational efficiencies is their main priority for growth. 

To achieve it, they’ll need people with good analytical thinking, great project management skills, and niche technical expertise. In the logistics sector, ‘skills and people shortages’ are the main blockers to digital transformations. The healthcare industry has a similar problem. 

Professionals with a working knowledge of process improvement techniques, change management, workflow automation, and data analysis will remain in high demand in the labor market. 

25. QA testing

Quality assurance (QA) is a critical component of any software development cycle. QA engineers identify bugs, security flaws, and interface inconsistencies in software, ensuring their product quality remains high.

Cybercrime remains on the rise, and AI poses new data security risks. In response, companies are double-down on hiring QA staff. Between 2022 and 2023, the demand for software quality assurance analysts and testers in the US is expected to increase by 20%.

New skills on the horizon for 2025

Some brand-new skill sets have also emerged in response to the market changes, and they are rapidly gaining demand among employers.  

⚙️ Prompt engineering

Prompt engineering is one of the hottest new AI jobs that doesn’t require strong technical chops. Prompt engineers design and fine-tune generative AI model commands to ensure the algorithms provide relevant, safe, and meaningful user outputs. 

Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are powerful but not all mighty. They’re prone to hallucinations — nonsensical, erroneous, or no-existing outputs. The algorithms have also been known to produce biased results on topics ranging from politics to ableism. That’s problematic as most people don’t fact-check the provided information. It’s the job of prompt engineers to meticulously test Gen AI algorithms and create guidelines for using them responsibly. 

The top skills for prompt engineers include strong verbal and written communication, basic knowledge of natural language processing (NLP) methods, analytical thinking, attention to detail, and a great deal of patience. But the gig pays well. The average prompt engineer salary is $182,781 per year in the US. 

⚠️ AI risk management

AI has a transformative impact on many workplace processes, aiding workers in everything from content generation and data analytics to financial fraud monitoring and autonomous manufacturing. But AI systems also come with inherent risks. 59% of IT leaders identify AI as a potential threat as it increases cybersecurity, data privacy, intellectual property infringement, and environmental risks. 

Regulators also recognize the existential risks poorly designed AI systems pose for society, ranging from major financial losses to pervasive misinformation. Europe has developed an AI Act designed to reign in AI risks through compliance requirements for operators. The US lawmakers introduced over 700 bills to regulate its usage. 

To stay compliant, organizations now seek experienced AI risk managers who can help ensure AI system security, explainability, and transparency.

Common duties include risk and impact assessments of adopting or integrating various AI solutions, risk mitigation plan development, ensuring compliance with responsible AI standards and applicable regulations, and cross-domain work with different business units on proper adherence to these. 

🖊️ Consultative selling

Consultative selling puts relationship building at the center of the sales process. Instead of giving the traditional pitch of “great product features,” “low price,” or “good value for money,” consultative selling focuses on learning about the customer’s needs first. 

Instead of pushing for a solution, consultative sellers listen to the problem and educate the prospect about different options (not just from their brand). The goal is to provide customers with just enough information to make an informed decision, which enables trust and loyalty in the long term.

To succeed in collaborative selling, you’ll need strong active listening skills, high emotional intelligence, and good customer relationship management skills. 

Salespeople don’t typically like the hardcore pitch tactics we’ve been taught. They’ve got to do it, or at least they think they have to until they discover options like this. Sales should be about having real conversations, not forcing a product down someone’s throat.

Matt Easton,  Sales Coach and Founder of Easton University

🧑‍💻 Virtual collaboration

Remote work is the present and the future (because most talents won’t be shoehorned back to the cubicle). With that, virtual collaboration will remain a must-have skill. But it will evolve in new ways.

Almost everyone already knows how to use video conferencing tools and digital workplace apps for async and real-time collaboration. But far fewer people have the skill sets to build a strong virtual rapport and effective team processes without resorting to meeting madness, or helicopter management. 

Digital workplaces now require more people who know how to balance async and real-time communication, independent and collaborative digital work, high process efficiency, and the necessary quality gates. 

Great remote managers recognize that presenteeism doesn’t equal productivity (and vice versa). They manage results and outcomes rather than employees’ logged desk time or activities. They continuously build. They cultivate a team understanding of how different priorities work together to produce the intended product on time and efficiently.

You have to trust your employees in a remote team. Letting go of your own control issues might be the biggest challenge in leading a remote team, especially if you started out with a more ‘traditional team.’

Annika Helendi, Toggl Plan

🌳 Sustainability

Sustainability means ensuring our decisions today won’t compromise future generations’ ability to live fulfilling lives in safe, green environments. The global transition to more sustainable business practices — regenerative agriculture, renewable energy usage, and electric transportation — requires heaps of new skills.

In-demand green job skills include:

• Technical skills required to adopt or implement new sustainability technologies, processes, and products to reduce energy, materials, and water consumption. 

• Soft skills linked to sustainable thinking, acting, and influencing others to adopt better behaviors and practices. 

Green talents are in demand in every sector, from the construction and utility industries to the technology, information, and media industries. The share of jobs requiring green skills increased by 60% as AI gained further traction and companies added data center capacities. 

LinkedIn identified some of the hottest green skills on the global market right now:

Supply chain decarbonization	Sustainable management
Environmental due diligence	Environmental protection
Sustainable building and retrofitting	Water & wastewater design
Renewable energy transition	Climate change mitigation

Job seekers with these green skills or titles see a 54.6% higher hiring rate than the workforce overall. In the US, this rises to 80.3% higher, with Ireland 79.8% higher, according to the company. 

By 2030, one in five jobs will lack the green talent to fill it. By 2050, this gap will balloon to one in two jobs.

LinkedIn

How to hire top talent with today’s most in-demand skills

With skills testing, of course! 😏

Skills testing puts the focus on candidates’ actual capabilities and through demonstration of their skills, highlighting the top talent in your recruiting funnel.

While Toggl Hire is a full-cycle hiring platform, our skills assessments are our standout candidate assessment feature. Create a customized skills test by job title in a few clicks and automate the (otherwise laborious) hunt for those with in-demand skills. Our testing engine contains more than 18,000 questions created by subject matter experts!

Try Toggl Hire now so your new hires will be ready to tackle the world of work today and be prepared for what’s ahead in 2025 and beyond. You can sign up for free, so there’s no reason not to test it out.

These days, top talent gets hired fast — or at least they expect to (and they should!). This means that, in 2025, to attract and retain top candidates (and get them on board before your competitors can), you’ll need to optimize your hiring processes to make them quick and effortless for both the hiring team and candidates.

There are several ways to save time and increase hiring efficiency, but in the year ahead, candidate assessment tools are slated to be a popular way to source, assess, and hire the best talent while helping your HR team improve operational efficiency (honestly, assessment tests are already a top way to source great talent while improving other recruiting metrics…but that’s beside the point).

To ensure you don’t get left behind as your competitors embrace hiring technology the right way, we’ve compiled a list of the very best candidate assessment tools in the market, complete with all the information you need about their pricing, top features, and best use cases.

TL;DR — Key Takeaways

• Candidate assessment tools help hiring teams assess various types of skills, including technical, job-related, and soft skills.

• Using these tools in your hiring process has many benefits, but primarily, they help hiring teams save time and money on screening and provide a better candidate experience.

• When choosing your candidate assessment tool, consider various important factors, such as what skills you want to test for, the integrations you need, the number and type of templates, and more.

• Toggl Hire is one of the best candidate assessment tools for skills testing. The full-cycle hiring tool offers robust candidate assessment features, including 200+ types of tests from our skills test library, plus other helpful tools like a candidate pipeline, homework assignments, and more.

What are candidate assessment tools?

Candidate assessment tools are hiring tools designed to help recruiters assess the soft and hard skills of job applicants. These tools help HR professionals screen candidates and their skills early on in the hiring process. That way, they only spend time on the most qualified candidates at the later stages, such as interviews and take-home tasks.

Some use cases include:

• Reducing a large pool of applicants from hundreds or thousands of candidates to a handful of the very best ones that meet your standards

• Using soft skills tests to find out which of the top-performing candidates have the most well-rounded skill set

• Using standardized tests to ensure there’s no hiring bias

• Testing a set of skills using a pre-built assessment test from a library for skills your hiring team is unfamiliar with or might not have the internal expertise to create a skills test for

• Reducing the time to hire and improving the candidate experience by shortening the application time to minutes instead of hours at a time

• Reducing the reliance on cover letters and resumes as hiring tools (or replacing them entirely…because 36% of people openly admit to lying on their resumes) in favor of what’s more important—the skills needed to get the job done!

As you can see, any company with a role to fill can benefit from using a candidate assessment tool. But these aren’t the only benefits of implementing talent assessment software in the early stages of your hiring pipeline.

7 benefits of using candidate assessment tools

Traditional hiring processes are clunky, obsolete, and take too long — and that’s true for both the candidates and the businesses looking to hire them. Employee skill testing is an efficient way to streamline the hiring process, improve your key HR metrics, and keep the candidate experience stellar.

Some pre-employment assessment tools excel at helping with specific points of the hiring process or with certain pain points, so jot down which of these benefits is the most important for you so you can compare the tools more effectively later when we walk you through each one individually.

1. Efficient candidate screening

On average, a job opening receives 118 applications. It’s time-consuming to go through every application in detail, and that’s assuming you only get 118 applicants. Toggl teams typically receive thousands of applicants per job posting, for example.

Pre-employment assessment tools allow you to automate the initial candidate evaluation and reduce internal headaches or time sucks. You choose how high to set the threshold for your applicants, and instead of submitting a resume, candidates complete a test, which means you only have to spend time on the best applicants who score above your threshold (we usually recommend 80%!).

It also reduces the manual task of sifting through applications. Using a pre-employment assessment test as the first step of the hiring process saves immense time for your hiring team and allows you to dedicate it to the most promising candidates later in the process.

2. Objective, data-driven hiring

Hiring managers are people, after all, and people are prone to mistakes. They want to hire the best candidates, but a lot of time, unconscious biases come into play.

Your hiring team can unknowingly favor candidates with a certain background, race, age, ethnicity, or even hobby. Assessment tests nip this problem in the bud, allowing you to see the candidates’ test results first before seeing their names, faces, ages, or previous employment history.

This allows for better, more objective decision-making and helps you hire based on skills rather than gut feeling.

3. Enhanced predictive analytics

The traditional hiring process has a major flaw—you can’t predict someone’s job performance based on their resume, cover letter, or interview. While pre-employment assessment tools aren’t foolproof either, you can assess someone’s ability to complete certain on-the-job tasks by testing their skills.

For example, a cognitive ability test can reveal a candidate’s problem-solving skills. A technical test assessing certain coding skills would also provide insight into a potential on-the-job performance.

4. Improved hire quality

Some people are great at crafting compelling resumes, and others are great interviewers. When it comes down to it, you don’t want to hire either of those — you want a great performer.

Pre employment assessment tools let you test a candidate’s soft skills, verbal ability, physical ability, you name it. They allow you to hire better people and save money in the short and long run, which is a pretty big deal when you consider that hiring the wrong person can cost you as much as $17,000.

5. Consistent evaluation criteria

Whether using physical ability tests, cognitive ability tests, emotional intelligence tests, or something else, job assessments ensure that each applicant is treated fairly regardless of their background or job experience.

Using these tools ensures you’ll have a fairly standardized process in place to ensure that every candidate has the same chance of getting the job.

6. Time and cost savings

Remember when we said the average job opening attracts 118 applicants?

Calculate the internal cost of reviewing over 100 applications. Consider the hours and days required for your HR team to dedicate time to each application. This is the most time-consuming part of the recruitment process, as many candidates don’t even have the basic skills necessary for the role.

Pre-employment tests automate and optimize the bulk of the candidate screening. With Toggl Hire, for example, you can choose from a library of 200+ pre-made tests to assess the candidate’s skills. To weed out unqualified candidates, set a pass threshold as high or low as you want.

Doing so allows you to save considerable time and money, which you can devote to detailed profile reviews, interviews, etc., for only the best candidates.

7. Improved candidate experience

83% of candidates say a negative candidate experience could change their minds about a role or company, so it’s crucial that candidates find the application process as effortless as possible (and if you can showcase your company culture in the process, it’s a win-win situation!).

Skills assessment tests improve the candidate experience by streamlining the entire process. A standard employment test takes about 15 minutes for the candidate and allows them to show off their hard-earned skills, as opposed to asking them to spend hours editing their resumes and writing cover letters (yuck).

Moreover, traditional hiring rewards people who are great at preparing resumes rather than those who are skilled at their job. Assessment tests give everyone a chance to show what they’re capable of rather than how skilled they are at writing assignments or editing CVs in Canva.

Types of online assessment tools

Online assessment tools offer various features and tests for numerous skills — coding skills, learning ability, numerical reasoning, job performance, personality, and much more. Depending on your needs, you should choose one that offers the most relevant pre-employment assessments for your business.

Cognitive ability tests

Cognitive ability tests assess a candidate’s cognitive skills, including logic and reasoning, problem-solving, critical thinking, abstract thinking, communication, and more. No matter the role you’re hiring for, testing for cognitive skills in addition to technical ones is a smart idea, as cognitive skills are crucial in any department and at any level.

Job knowledge tests

Job knowledge assessments test if the applicant has the practical skills to do the job, testing for more technical skills tests, such as coding tests, QA skills tests, SEO skills tests, social media manager skills tests, and others. These tests are extremely practical and can be predictors of job performance.

Skills assessment tests

Skills assessment tests refer to any type of test you offer candidates that test skills — soft, hard, technical, etc. For example, JavaScript coding tests can show you how well a candidate can understand and write code, and you can combine that test with a soft skills assessment to test leadership and management abilities if hiring for a Senior Software Developer role.

Emotional intelligence tests

Hard skills are important, but proper hiring decisions require a thorough assessment of a candidate’s soft skills, too, and emotional intelligence tests measure how well a candidate can recognize emotions in others as well as manage their own. If you’re hiring for a customer-facing role or one that requires heavy collaboration, testing for emotional intelligence is crucial.

The 16 best candidate assessment tools

Ready to use candidate assessment tools? We’re so glad we’ve convinced you! Figuring out what you need from a tool is the first step to choosing the right one. Once you have a general idea of what you’re looking for, it’s helpful to compare features, pricing, and more — which is exactly what we’ve done for you below.

1. Toggl Hire

While Toggl Hire is a full-cycle recruitment platform, which means it helps teams hire from the job description to offer, it’s also one of the best skills-based hiring tools because it comes with hundreds of pre-built skills assessment templates for different jobs.

However, it stands out as a top choice because it also helps you make hiring decisions more quickly and efficiently and saves time and money for your business by combining hiring tests, video interviews, homework tasks, interview scorecards, and a candidate pipeline all in one place.

Pricing: There are no hidden costs or fine print—you pay the same price every month, and if you enter a hiring freeze, you can freeze Toggl Hire. A free plan is available, and paid plans start at just $199 per month (when billed annually).

Sounds like exactly what you’ve been looking for? Get started today for free!

2. Codility

Hiring for technical roles? Create assessments specifically for technical developer roles with Codility. This talent assessment tool supports over 40 different coding languages and has a bank of questions created and vetted by expert programmers.

However, due to the complex nature of the coding tests, they often take longer for candidates to complete (anywhere from 30 to 120 minutes). This might be seen as a drawback for some, especially if your goal is to improve the candidate experience by streamlining the hiring process.

Pricing: This is one of Codility’s major drawbacks, as the pricing isn’t very transparent. You have to contact the support team to find out how much it costs. Online reviews note that it starts at $5,000 per month, making it one of the pricier options on this list.

Check out this page to compare Toggl Hire with Codility.

3. Vervoe

Vervoe offers features similar to Toggl Hire, like personality templates, video interviews, candidate scorecards, ATS integration, and a public API useful for integrating assessment tests natively into existing web pages or other platforms.

However, Vervoe lacks certain modern HR features. For example, there’s no visual hiring pipeline or automated screening features, and you can’t create a vetted candidate pool. Also, there’s currently no free plan.

Pricing: Plans start at $19 per month (when billed annually), making it one of the more affordable tools on this list.

For more info on how Vervoe compares to Toggl Hire, check out this page.

4. TestGorilla

With TestGorilla, you can create your own custom tests or choose from a library of questions for different roles and work-related tasks. You can also invite candidates to take tests straight from your existing ATS through email or by sharing a direct link.

Like Toggl Hire, TestGorilla also provides candidates with real-time feedback and internal teams with candidate analytics. However, TestGorilla does not have job templates or a visual hiring pipeline.

Pricing: A free plan allows you to create up to five free tests. Paid plans start as low as $75/month when billed annually.

For a detailed comparison of TestGorilla vs Toggl Hire, view this helpful comparison.

5. HackerRank

If you want to fill developer roles, HackerRank is one of the obvious choices to go for, as it includes over 35 programming languages, a public-facing API, and plenty of ATS integrations. Plus, the tests are fairly easy to create.

Unfortunately, HackerRank does not support iOS and Android skills tests, which is odd for an app that tests development skills. If you’re specifically looking for these technical skills tests, you’ll have to use another platform.

Pricing: HackerRank is pretty pricey at $100/month for one user and ten tests. However, even their most basic plan comes with leaked-question detection and plagiarism detection.

Read more about HackerRank features versus Toggl Hire for testing technical skills here.

6. iMocha

This AI-powered tool has over 200 different taxonomies, 1,500+ job profiles, and over 2,500 different hard and soft skills you can test for. It also boasts a comprehensive suite of tools for talent management and talent acquisition.

The biggest drawback of using iMocha for candidate assessment is that you can’t see the full hiring funnel, and the user experience isn’t as seamless as other tools on this list.

Pricing: Like a true enterprise-level tool, you have to contact sales to get a quote. There is no free plan, but there is a free trial.

We covered everything you need to know about iMocha vs. Toggl Hire here.

7. TestDome

Built to assess programming skills, TestDome offers more than 150 different types of tests and allows you to create custom tests easily.

Cool, useful features include advanced anti-cheating measures, such as webcam proctoring, copy/paste protection, double IP detection, and more (whether this is a positive checkmark for this tool or something that could potentially scare candidates off is up to you to determine).

Pricing: You pay per candidate who applies for a job, with pricing starting at $7 per candidate.

8. Adaface

From coding to psychometrics and personality tests, Adaface covers a wide range of use cases. In total, there are 500+ different skills you can test for, meaning it has one of the most robust skills test libraries of all the candidate assessment tools on this list.

With anti-cheating measures, such as questions that are not “Googleable” and webcam proctoring, Adaface is ideal for ensuring you hire great performers, not cheaters. However, it lacks a user-friendly and optimized backend that can help manage the entire candidate pipeline.

Pricing: Plans start at $180 per year, which allows you to assess 15 candidates. This can get really expensive, really fast, if you hire large volumes of candidates.

9. Glider AI

If you have a small team or want to free yourself from busy work, you can let AI take care of the bulk of the work with Glider AI, a hiring tool that uses AI chatbots to interact with candidates, ask them questions, have phone screening interviews, and much more.

Pricing: Unfortunately, pricing is not publicly available on the Glider website. Reviews from Capterra note that a free trial and a free plan are available, with paid plans starting at $299/month.

10. Harver

Harver helps hiring teams create a full-funnel hiring process — from testing to interviewing, reference checks, and everything in between. One of the coolest things about this platform is that it’s available in 29 languages. Harver claims that 31 psychologists evaluate the skills tests before they go live.

Pricing: You can book a demo to learn about Harver’s pricing, but online sources state that you can expect a cost of up to $5,000/month.

11. Bryq

Bryq states that they can help you improve your quality of hire by 81%, reduce your time to hire by 51%, and get you a 119% boost in DEI. The process is unique in that you start with your own employee performance or existing job roles and, using the AI builder, create assessments in minutes.

To help find the best talent, Bryq uses a chatbot-style assessment that is easy for the candidate and feels more like a conversation. However, this means there are no soft skills tests (such as overt integrity tests), just job-related tests specific to a role.

Pricing: You have to get a demo to learn how much Bryq costs.

12. Canditech

Use Canditech to test everything from soft and hard skills to job-related skills for roles both technical and non-technical. Unlike many other tools on this list, Canditech promises an all-in-one screening platform to help you go from hundreds of applicants to making an offer quickly.

Pricing: Perhaps the biggest drawback is that many of the best features are locked in higher pricing plans. The basic package starts at $90/month for one assessment, but if you want an ATS integration, it’ll set you back $200/month.

13. HR Avatar

Grab one of the 400+ available tests in HR Avatar to assess candidates’ job-related hard and soft skills. With this tool, you can create not only custom tests but also custom video interview scripts.

Once you’re done shortlisting, you can perform reference checks and video interviews, all within the same software. While those features are great, users complain the platform is hard to use and buggy at times.

Pricing: Plans start at $50 for just one candidate, making this a very expensive choice for teams hiring at scale.

14. Pymetrics

If you have the technical part of talent assessment sorted, Pymetrics can help you assess soft skills. This AI-powered app uses complex soft skills tests to determine if a candidate is the right fit for you — aka, whether they’ll vibe with the company culture and play well with your existing employees.

Pricing: Public pricing isn’t available, and the company has a one-star rating on Capterra for “value for money.”

15. ThriveMap

Categorized as a “pre-hiring tool,” ThriveMap helps businesses fight employee attrition. It’s designed specifically to help you build realistic job previews and create a “day-in-the-life” experience for your applicants.

While helpful for various aspects of candidate assessment and pre-employment screening, if you’re looking for personality tests, cognitive ability tests, or anything similar, ThriveMap isn’t the best choice.

Pricing: Public pricing isn’t available, but the company’s pricing page says its plans are “tailored to your hiring requirements and objectives.”

16. Test Invite

Create personality tests, language tests, aptitude tests, and more with Test Invite. What’s cool about this platform is that you can create your own bank of questions to personalize your skills assessment tests for your roles and business goals.

Aside from basic skills testing tools, Test Invite offers pretty basic features and doesn’t offer many types of templates to choose from. Their anti-cheating measures include webcam recording, screen recording, browser lock, and more. While that may sound attractive, it could scare more candidates off than attract them.

Pricing: Plans start at $37.50 per month.

What to look for when choosing a candidate assessment tool

With this list of pre-employment assessment tools in front of you, you might be confused as to which is best. After all, they all offer pre-employment assessment capabilities, right? True, yeah. But here are some features any great assessment tool should have.

Extensive skills test library

You shouldn’t have to create your own pre-employment tests from scratch. Great hiring tools come with a library of different hard skills, soft skills, and personality tests custom-built for various roles that you can grab right off the shelf and adapt to your needs.

Time-saving automation

What’s the point of choosing a new hiring tool if you can’t connect it to the rest of your recruitment technology stack? Any truly great tool should come with an ATS integration, recruiting CRM integration, video interview tools, and more.

Anti-cheating measures

As you can see, many tools on this list have anti-cheating measures, and they’re becoming increasingly important in the digital business world. Companies that want the best candidates should use tools with built-in anti-cheating measures so applicants can’t copy and paste answers just to boost their scores.

Anti-AI measures

AI is helpful for most modern-day jobs, but ideally, candidates should show their own knowledge and ability and not that of ChatGPT. Great assessment tools have built-in features that can recognize if the content is AI-generated.

Reporting capabilities

Once the assessments roll in, your hiring team should be able to generate a report with the top-performing candidates and their results. At a glance, reports allow you to see overall performance and how the majority of applicants performed.

How to incorporate talent assessment tools into the hiring process

Pre-employment testing is usually just one part of the recruitment process. Once you’ve chosen the right tool for the job, you need to ensure it works with the rest of your tool stack. Here’s how to do just that.

Application screening

Go from 100 to 10 candidates by using talent assessment tools. Set your test score threshold and automatically push top-scoring candidates through to the next round.

Video interviews

Talk to candidates before they reach the interview stage to make better hiring decisions. With pre-recorded video interviews, you can see what the candidate’s communication style and skills are like without having to schedule a separate interview or call.

Final selection

Use pre-employment tests as guidelines to help with your hiring decisions. If you’re considering more than one candidate, consider their soft skills or personality test results before making the final call.

Start making data-driven hiring decisions

Candidate assessment tools are one of the quickest ways to improve hiring for everyone, from the candidates and your hiring team to your boss (who will definitely care about whether you made a good hire and how that impacts the business’s bottom line).

Improve the candidate experience, make better hiring decisions, and move your hiring process to the 21st century by choosing the right tool — Toggl Hire. We might be a little biased, but using our candidate assessment features, your hiring decisions won’t be.

Start using Toggl Hire today completely free and take advantage of our custom-built assessment templates.

What good is a journey without a destination? Sure, you might get to see a few things and go for a ride, but ultimately, the destination is the purpose.

This is one of the key principles in Stephen R. Covey’s influential book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It relates to his second habit, “Begin with the End in Mind.” The premise is that with a clear goal and purpose, you can define and tackle actions that will help you reach that goal. In other words, you stop wandering aimlessly and get a clear sense of direction.

Today, we’ll explain what “begin with the end in mind” means in practical terms and how you can live this motto, too.

TL;DR — Key Takeaways

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a book by Stephen R. Covey where he outlines how to become more efficient in your personal and professional life.
• To begin with the end in mind means to envision a clear goal before starting so you can find out which steps to take to reach your destination.
• To effectively begin with the end in mind, first understand the end result, write a personal mission statement, and use SMART goals.
• The remaining six habits tie into the second one by forcing you to consider the small steps that build your path to the overarching end goal.

First…what are The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People?

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, published in 2004, is a popular book by Stephen R. Covey. For the past 20+ years, it’s been a popular resource for anyone who wants to solve problems in their own life, whether professional or personal.

1. Be proactive. Take responsibility for your actions instead of blaming external circumstances. You’re in charge of your own life and shape it by making conscious choices. The idea is to act first before being acted upon.
2. Begin with the end in mind. Define a clear end goal to work toward so you live purposefully and prioritize actions that make a difference.
3. Put first things first. Prioritize tasks based on importance instead of urgency. Carefully choose those tasks that align with your long-term goals.
4. Think win-win. In relationships, look for situations where every party involved can benefit somehow. This fosters collaboration, trust, and shared success.
5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Lead with empathy, igniting your active listening skills and thinking carefully before you respond.
6. Synergize. As a team, you can achieve more than an individual.
7. Sharpen the saw. Invest in becoming a better version of yourself physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Practice these habits day-to-day, as it’s the only way to stay resilient and continue growing.

What does it mean to begin with the end in mind?

The second habit is arguably the most important for those who seek to reach their goals more quickly and easily. Once you envision a clear goal you want to achieve, you can create blueprints for specific actions necessary to get there.

For example, your end goal is to save $10,000 in 2025. To achieve it, you need to:

• Create an annual and monthly budget
• Determine how much you want to save and stick to it
• Set aside a certain portion of your monthly income
• Ask for a raise at your current job
• Find side gigs to earn X income per month

Covey’s second habit can be applied in professional and personal life and in a variety of situations, from something as life-altering as changing a career path to smaller things like choosing a new pair of sneakers.

This habit is powerful because it brings intentionality to decision-making. Making choices can be death by a thousand paper cuts. How often have you decided not to go anywhere because you don’t know what to wear?

Instead of wasting time making the right decision, the end goal dictates your choices. Distractions are minimal, and you can work faster since you have a clear vision of the outcome and you’re not bothered by making smaller decisions and milestones.

How to begin with the end in mind

Intentionality is excellent in theory, but many people struggle to apply it in real life. Below, we outlined some easy steps you can start with right now.

Understand the end result

Which of these two goals sounds easier to achieve?

1. Get fitter next year.
2. Lose 10kg by June 1. Be able to run five kilometers without significant difficulty. Have clean bloodwork by December 1.

The second goal is measurable, tangible, and easier to visualize.

Wanting “success” is one thing, but defining what that success means for you is crucial for effective goal-setting and crushing that goal. You’ll work toward the goal deliberately instead of shooting in the dark and hoping you hit something.

Write a personal mission statement

A personal mission statement is a short declaration of your purpose, values, and guiding principles. According to Covey, you can do this in just a few short steps.

• Reflect on your life’s purpose. Ask yourself questions such as “What do I want to accomplish in life (personally and professionally)? What values are most important to me? How do I want to be remembered by family, friends, colleagues, and my community?”
• Visualize your ideal life. Covey suggests imagining your own funeral or a significant event, such as a retirement party. Ask yourself what you would want others to think about, your biggest contributions, your roles in their lives (parent, leader, friend), and what legacy you want to leave.
• Define the roles you want to take on in life. For example, parent, partner, leader, mentor, and others. For each role, consider the principles you want to uphold and the goals to track.
• Identify your core values and principles. List the principles you want to live by, such as treating others with kindness. And notions such as compassion, integrity, growth, or creativity that resonate with you.
• Draft your mission statement. Combine all the items above into a cohesive and clear statement.

Use SMART goals

SMART goals can be applied everywhere. From crushing your KPIs at work to situations in the real world, such as paying off a car loan. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound, which are the elements of every effective goal.

Here is what it looks like in practice:

• Specific: Save money for a downpayment for a house this year.
• Measurable: I need $50,000.
• Achievable: I can save an additional $500 monthly on regular expenses and pick up a side job or two to make another $500.
• Relevant: It supports my decision to become a homeowner by the age of 40 and pay off the property by retirement.
• Time-bound: Achieve by December 31, 2025.

When your goals are SMART, your vision becomes clearer, and you’re better aligned with the second habit. The same goes for whatever your goals are.

What about the other six habits of highly effective people?

All seven habits of highly effective people work together to help you become the best version of yourself.

• Be proactive sets the foundations for maximizing efficiency by encouraging you to take responsibility and control your choices instead of blaming others.
• Put first things first focuses on the end goal so you can ignore short-term pleasures. For example, avoiding distractions such as doomscrolling on social media to help you achieve the bigger goal and do proper deep work.
• Think win-win forces you to collaborate with people who align with your values and purpose. It emphasizes collaboration and trust, which are all necessary for habit two to work well.
• Seek first to understand is all about communication and understanding others. You must connect with others and gain support for your goals to begin with the end in mind.
• Synergize amplifies habit two by using teamwork and collaboration. When you combine diverse perspectives and talents, you can create new, better solutions as you work toward your goal.
• Sharpen the saw gives you the resilience, clarity, and energy to pursue your end goal continuously. When you take good care of yourself, you ensure you’re aligned with the purpose from habit two.

How Covey’s habits apply to project management

Like real life, Covey’s seven habits work equally well in project management. The second habit means starting with a specific and clear goal in mind so everyone on the team knows what success looks like.

For example, if you aim to launch a new feature that solves a pain point for a subset of your target audience, you can break it down into deliverables and milestones. Everyone on your team knows what success entails, which steps to achieve it, what the target audience expects, and, ideally, who takes on which part of the workload.

Other habits, such as “Think Win-Win,” tie in nicely with project management. For example, each team member can think about the best coworker or department to collaborate with to achieve said goal. In our case, product management collaborates with customer success to translate customers’ needs into story points to develop the new feature.

Franklin Covey’s advice on time management

When you begin with the end in mind, you envision the goal the moment you start, helping you carve out the steps to success.

Another key part of Covey’s framework is time, as described in Covey’s time management matrix. To master your time, you need to prioritize important but not urgent tasks and focus on your long-term goals. This minimizes distractions and ensures that whenever you work towards your goal, time is spent intentionally and meaningfully.

In other words, molding yourself to Covey’s second habit means nothing without efficiently managing your time. To crush your personal and professional goals and truly begin with the end in mind, start with the second habit to build a strong foundation.

And when you need help managing your time, sign up for a free Toggl Track account.

The numbers aren’t in for 2024 yet, but 2023 was a record-setting year. 1,914 CEOs left their positions, marking a 55% increase from the previous year.

But what would you do if your CEO resigned tomorrow? How would that impact your team’s strategy? Although you’d replace them eventually, the interim might be confusing, demotivating, and blisteringly unproductive.

Succession planning is how teams avoid this blurry interim. It allows organizations to maintain operational success during transition periods, as key employees leave and new leaders step up internally.

TL;DR — Key Takeaways

• Succession planning is a long-term strategy designed to prepare promising internal talent to fill key positions when senior leaders leave an organization.
• It is a highly collaborative operation coordinated by HR and senior leadership.
• Benefits of proper succession planning include business continuity, employee retention, organizational stability, and boosted morale.
• Build a great succession planning process by identifying key roles, candidates for succession, creating talent development plans, and monitoring program success over time.
• Toggl Hire can help you build a strong succession plan by hiring top-quality talent from the get-go.

What is succession planning?

Succession planning is the process of preparing people to take over critical roles in your organization so your business doesn’t lose momentum in the case of a planned or unplanned departure.

You know when your phone asks you to back up your data? It wants to ensure you don’t lose your important photos and files if your device crashes.

Businesses also “back up” important roles in the company by preparing people to eventually fill them. That’s succession planning in action. It keeps companies resilient and adaptable and avoids the vulnerabilities that arise from a lack of leadership or power vacuum (you remember Game of Thrones, right?)

Is HR in charge of succession planning?

HR works in collaboration with leadership to outline and execute a succession plan. HR builds the scaffolding, providing the necessary structure and tools. Leadership drives the vision and execution.

HR’s responsibilities may include:

• Identifying candidates for succession
• Building and implementing talent plans
• Measuring progress and providing regular feedback
• Instilling a culture of career development for all employees

Leadership’s responsibilities may include:

• Determining the strategic direction and future needs of the organization
• Identifying the organization’s critical positions and the skills required to succeed in those roles
• Priming employees to commit to their personal and professional development

The benefits of effective succession planning

49% of businesses consider succession planning a top priority. With all this talk we’ve been hearing of a talent shortage recently, it makes sense to retain top talent wherever you can, and an effective succession plan is a key part of that.

Here are the specific benefits you can expect when you commit to this process.

Ensure business continuity

If your marketing assistant quits, chances are you can replace them pretty quickly and easily. Even if you don’t, it’s probably not going to affect your bottom line immensely. But your Director of Marketing is a different story. Leaving key vacancies open could lead to downtime, inefficient operations, lost opportunities, internal turmoil, confusion, and instability.

Grow and retain high-potential talent

Growth opportunities are one of the most important factors in an employee’s decision to stay with a business. This is even more pronounced in Gen Z workers, who value progression 36% more than other generations.

If you want to retain your high-potential employees, offering talent development programs could be the way to go. They help employees build skills and confidence through mentorship, training, and growth opportunities. They also help managers separate the wheat from the chaff, those who are intrinsically motivated and those who aren’t.

Improve employee engagement and retention

Showcasing long-term opportunities can build trust and motivation among your employees. The second-most common reason for quitting a job (behind pay)? Lack of advancement, development, or career opportunities.

Organizations have picked up on this. With 90% of companies concerned about employee retention, a 2024 LinkedIn report found learning opportunities to be the best retention strategy for talent. Encourage a culture of career reflection and projection among your employees. This will help you understand their aspirations and better position you to support them along their career path.

Facilitate knowledge transfer

When you lose someone in your business, you lose the invisible frameworks they created in their heads: the speed with which they can find what they need, the creative solutions they crafted to access different dashboards, and the efficiencies that come with working with the same tool stack day in and day out.

No matter how skilled the next person is, there will be a ramp-up period where they get accustomed to the set-up of the Drive folder or the naming system in Hubspot.

While this kind of knowledge might just be the cost of a role transition, other kinds of knowledge transfer can be systematized. Mentoring relationships or training plans can reduce skills gaps during transitions by systematically documenting knowledge sharing and creating repeatable and scalable plans that ensure employees are equipped with the necessary skill sets to succeed in new roles.

Achieving organizational stability

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. Being proactive about your succession planning creates a more resilient company — one that doesn’t stumble in the face of crisis or change.

Stability protects operations and also creates a culture of confidence and adaptability. As a result, companies are better positioned to innovate and lead in their industry. After all, how you do one thing is how you do everything. So, companies proactive about succession planning are likely also proactive about jumping on new opportunities as they arise.

The risks of avoiding succession planning

Neglecting succession planning can lead to all sorts of undesirable outcomes:

• Delayed decision-making: The loss of a leader in key positions can create a leadership vacuum, where it becomes unclear who’s calling the shots. This can delay important decision-making, and result in operational inefficiencies.
• Loss of top talent: Turbulent times can tank employee morale, leading even your best performers to leave, or at least consider it.
• Increase in recruitment costs: A hasty recruitment campaign to replace the lost leader can take a lot longer than replacing them internally with a strong succession plan. This increases recruitment costs, time to hire, and can even impact quality of hire if decisions are made rashly.
• Uncertainty and confusion: Without a clear succession plan, confusion and fear can easily spread among employees. This can cause further conflict, miscommunication, and power struggles.

Let’s take the example of Blackberry. Thorsten Heins stepped down as CEO in 2013 after six years at the company. He passed the baton to John Chen, a veteran Silicon Valley executive. However, a messy succession plan resulted in the termination of 4,500 employees and a net loss of nearly $1 billion.

Don’t be Blackberry. Plan accordingly.

How to build a great succession planning process

Getting started with succession planning can feel overwhelming, which is why we’ve broken it down into a step-by-step process for you. Remember to tailor your succession planning strategy to your business’s needs and developmental goals.

Step 1: Identify critical roles

Not all roles are suitable for succession planning. Focus on leadership positions or roles requiring specialized skills. You’ll need to outline the core competencies of these roles — both hard and soft skills.

It can be useful to standardize the criteria you use to identify these roles, such as operational impact, strategic influence, or urgency to fill.

Step 2: Assess current talent

Next, you’ll want to analyze your current talent pool to identify high-potential employees who could be molded into future senior leaders. Several tools are available here, including skills gap analysis, employee evaluations, or 360-degree feedback from performance reviews.

Step 3: Pinpoint high-potential employees

Not all high-potential employees are made the same, but here are some common-denominator traits to look for in internal talent:

• Consistently high performing
• High emotional intelligence and soft skills, indicating leadership potential
• Adaptability in the face of new challenges
• Drive and ambition — consistently seeking out learning opportunities, mentorship, and growth
• Cultural fit — deeply aligned with the company’s vision, values, and mission

You can also use something like a 9-box grid to map out traits and performance.

Draw up a successor profile that includes their strengths, weaknesses, skills, experience, and career goals. This will serve as a baseline for step 4.

Step 4: Develop personalized growth plans

By understanding where your potential successors are now, you’ll effectively chart a path to where you need them to be. Outline an individual development plan to support their growth.

This is the “action plan” of the succession planning process and should clearly specify development activities and milestones designed to bridge any skills gaps identified during the assessment phase.

These activities may include training programs, mentorship, or job rotations, but they should always be tailored to the employee’s needs.

Step 5: Transfer knowledge effectively

By that, we mean systematize everything. Succession planning is such a resource-heavy activity that it doesn’t make sense to repeat actions you can automate. Build in some standard documentation practices and mentoring curricula to keep institutional knowledge flowing smoothly to future leaders. Ideally, they should cover knowledge transfer of both hard and soft skills.

Step 6: Align with corporate strategy

Succession planning should directly reflect the company’s vision for long-term success. When selecting and developing future leadership, keep future market or industry demands in mind. For example, you might equip the next generation with in-depth generative AI training or cultural sensitivity workshops to navigate an increasingly global and remote workforce.

Step 7: Monitor and measure progress

Check in regularly on your succession plan’s performance. Set up some KPIs — like tracking promotions, leadership readiness, number of successors per key roles, and retention rates.

For example, this could look like:

• Enhance succession readiness: Within six months, identify at least three qualified successors for each critical role, creating a solid talent pipeline.
• Reduce time-to-fill: Decrease the average time-to-fill by 20% over the next year for key roles.
• Improve employee engagement scores: Boost employee engagement by 15% in the next annual survey.

Step 8: Reassess and adapt regularly

Make iterative improvements a natural part of your performance management strategy. This will help you account for industry changes and company growth. Staying flexible is the key to remaining relevant to team members, development opportunities, and leadership skills.

Step 9: Get buy-in from leadership

Succession planning without buy-in from senior stakeholders will fall flat. They need to be engaged in the process, offering input and support to maintain the plan once it has launched.

Get leadership involved early on. Hook them by speaking their language — reduced risks, stronger leadership teams, and how streamlining this process will hit their strategic goals. Ask for their input during key stages, like development planning and successor selection, to get their skin in the game.

Step 10: Invest in the right tools

Delegate as much heavy lifting as you can to succession planning tools. Career path templates, performance management tools, or talent development software can take a load of manual, repetitive tasks off your plate. They save time, identify potential leaders, track progress, and provide development opportunities while offering better team insights.

Tips for getting succession planning right (and mistakes to avoid)

There’s no such thing as one-size-fits-all succession planning. But there are some best practices you should follow.

Pair succession planning with talent management

Merging succession planning with other talent management initiatives like leadership development can create a cohesive employee experience.

For example, this might look like an ambitious marketing manager who has participated in various leadership development programs over the years, such as communication skills, assertiveness training, and mentorship from the Global VP of Marketing.

When a more senior role opens up, this marketing manager is named as a potential candidate for succession. Preparing them for the role won’t be such a jump since they’ve been “studying” it for years already.

Use a succession planning template

As a human resources leader, a succession plan is a continuous process, so create a template for it as you iterate on it over months or years. This will save you time while standardizing the succession process and ensuring no details are overlooked.

Think long-term

Don’t just project the next 1-3 years — think 5-10 years ahead. Like a soccer club that replaces outgoing players with their own trainees, invest in employee development, and stay in the loop about any emerging technologies. This prepares your team, ensuring they’re ready to take the field when opportunities arise.

Measure the right succession planning metrics

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Tracking metrics like retention rates, engagement scores, and promotion readiness can identify strengths and weaknesses in your succession plan. Average employee tenure, voluntary turnover rate, and Employee Net Promoter scores are a good place to start.

Hire top talent for successful workforce planning

A good succession plan starts at the hiring stage. Hire people who add strategic, long-term value to your company. Solid external recruiting efforts will make succession planning easier and smoother. After all, the best leadership pipelines include a balance of external hires and internal promotions.

Toggl Hire helps you identify high-potential candidates who align with long-term objectives. How? Our talent assessment features, including skills tests, video interviews, and rapid candidate screening, mean you don’t have to sacrifice quality of hire for speed ever again.

Follow us on LinkedIn to learn more about these types of strategies!

Asana is one of the world’s most popular project management tools, complete with flying unicorns and other celebration creatures that whizz across the screen as you blitz through your to-do list.

More than 150,000 organizations worldwide use Asana to manage their workload, improve efficiency and profitability, and delight customers. And what better way to influence all of those things than tracking time?

Asana added a built-in time tracker to its software in 2022, allowing users to add time entries for tasks and projects. A few years on, the dust has settled, and we’re asking — is it any good? Or….should you use external time trackers for Asana tasks instead? Our quick guide helps you decide for yourself.

TL;DR — Key Takeaways

• Asana is a project management platform with a native time tracking app and integrations with third-party time tracking platforms.
• The native Asana time tracking features are limited and only allow manual time entry, which can cause issues with accuracy and reporting. They are also only available in the Advanced plan at $24.99 per user/mo.
• A large selection of third-party time tracking apps sync with Asana, such as Toggl Track, Everhour, Hubstaff, Clockify, and Harvest. Some are free, some are paid, and all offer extended functionality compared to the native Asana app.
• Toggl Track is the best way to track time in Asana because of its ease of use, detailed reporting, customizable workflows, two-way data sync, and affordable pricing plans.

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Disclaimer: This is our app. With over 5 million users across 120 countries and 1,500 reviews on G2 alone, we believe we’re one of the best time tracking apps out there. We hope you do, too!

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Understanding Asana’s native time tracking features

To activate time tracking in Asana, head to a new project in your dashboard and click “Customize.” You can then add a custom field for the project. You want to choose two options:

• Estimated time
• Actual time

These fields will now appear on each task and subtask within that project.

In the “Estimated time” field, you enter how much time you think a task will take in hours and minutes. In the “Actual time” field, you manually enter how much time a task took.

Users can retroactively fill in how much time they worked on a task. But this causes several problems.

First, there is a lot of guesstimation, and the users typically don’t add the precise time they spent working on something. When you bill clients at $200/hour, a few minutes daily can make a significant difference every month.

Second, adopting this feature can be very slow because this time tracking method isn’t very intuitive. It can be difficult to get employees to track their time this way.

Because of these issues, the reports you produce will rarely be accurate. While it may fit the bill for basic internal time tracking, it won’t meet the standards of many clients and companies requiring more detailed, customized reports.

Perhaps the biggest issue is these time tracking features are only available in the Advanced Asana plan, which costs $24.99 per user/mo, when billed annually.

Advantages and limitations of Asana’s native timer

Asana’s native timer may be good enough for users who require basic time-tracking capabilities. Here are some of its primary advantages and disadvantages.

✅ Pros	❌ Cons
• Ease of use • Seamless integration with other Asana features • Cost-effectiveness (if you are already on the Advanced plan)	• Potential issues with entering time manually • The lack of advanced reports (especially for service providers, as one reviewer states) • No customization options

In short, Asana is a project management app with a time tracking add-on rather than a standalone time tracking app. As such, the native integration covers the basics well, but don’t expect advanced features.

The best time tracking apps to integrate with Asana

While Asana is an exceptional project management app with some native time tracking features, it wasn’t purposely built for time tracking. For advanced users, the native function for Asana projects may lack features for advanced time tracking.

The great news is that due to Asana’s popularity, there are many integrations with dedicated time tracking platforms. Here are some of the best Asana integrations for time tracking you can try in 2025, complete with our personal review of each.

Toggl Track

Toggl Track offers two ways to integrate with Asana. The native integration is available to free users of both apps and allows you to track time for tasks and projects in Asana. To import data from Asana to Toggl Track, you’ll need a paid Toggl Track plan.

Some of the key features of this integration include:

• Automatic data synchronization
• Detailed, fully customizable reporting
• Idle detection and Pomodoro timer
• Browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Edge
• Embedded timer

Everhour

Everhour has a robust integration with Asana that synchronizes information between the two apps. After quick installation, you’ll see Everhour controls embedded in the Asana interface.

Some of the key features for this integration include:

• Regular synchronization of data from and to Asana
• Custom reports with fields of your own choice
• Project budgeting
• One-click timesheets for all employees

Hubstaff

This time tracker comes with a free 14-day trial, during which you can check out the Asana integration for free. It comes with a large feature set, including but not limited to:

• 20+ different report types
• Setting project budgets and hourly limits
• Detailed overviews: apps most used, time spent on projects, and many other customizable reports
• Optional screenshots

Clockify

Clockify offers a generous free plan to explore its Asana integration. However, since Clockify’s sister company has a project management app, its integration is not as robust as some other competitors on this list. Features include:

• Native time tracking in Asana’s interface
• Browser, mobile, and desktop app support (you’ll start timers in one place and stop them someplace else)
• Time reports (but only in the web version of the app)

Harvest

Similarly to Clockify, the Asana integration for Harvest exists, but it’s not the most advanced. Some of your capabilities include:

• Tracking time directly from Asana with a Harvest button
• Importing projects and people from Asana to Harvest

Choosing the best time tracking solution for your needs

Not sure which time tracking platform to integrate with Asana? Here’s a step-by-step guide on what to keep in mind before purchasing.

The team size

If you want to track time in Asana with third-party integration, you’re purchasing a completely new tool. You should determine how many employees will track their time and what kind of pricing plan you fit into.

The project complexity

Depending on what you use your Asana account for, you’ll have different time tracking needs. For example, if you work in an in-house team, you may need a simple start-stop timer and straightforward time reports.

On the other hand, if you run an agency or work in a more complex environment, you may need timesheets, real-time insights on tasks and projects, additional invoicing tools, and more. Research the feature set of the time tracking app, and, ideally, try the free trial before committing.

Your reporting needs

Depending on who reads your time tracking reports, they’ll need different levels of detail. For example, a simple breakdown of time entries may be enough for a manager who wants a high-level overview of ongoing tasks.

On the other hand, an enterprise or agency client needs time tracking with more granularity, such as tasks and subtasks, a breakdown of billable hours, the type of work done, and more.

The browser extension options

If you work on many tasks daily, jumping back and forth between windows and apps can, ironically, be time-consuming. This is why most good time tracking platforms come with browser extensions. You can start and stop the timer in the browser and choose what type of task you’re tracking time for.

For example, Toggl Track has a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. The installation takes just a few minutes, and you can start using both apps in sync (we’ll even walk you through how to do just that below!).

Practical tips for time tracking in Asana

If you already use Asana and want to make your workflows even better with time tracking, we have some practical advice for everyone, from beginners to pros.

Set up time tracking properly in the native app

When using the native Asana time tracking app, click on “Customize” in the top right corner of a task and choose “Time tracking.” This lets you add “Estimated time” and “Actual time” as a custom field for each task.

Monitor your progress

Regularly compare the estimated and actual times for your tasks. This lets you see if your predictions are off and allows you to make more accurate predictions in the future. As a result, you become better at quoting potential clients, and you avoid scope creep.

Provide training before starting

Your team members may be experts at project and task management in Asana, but they could be new to tracking time.

First, explain the value of time tracking. Most importantly, explain that you’re doing it to increase efficiency and productivity and not to spy and micromanage.

Then walk the team through the integration. Cover how it works, where they can find the reports, who else reads them, and how the learnings will be used for task and work management.

Stay consistent with time tracking

Time tracking only works if it becomes a second-nature habit for your team. Encourage your team to track their time for all types of tasks, from the moment they turn on their devices until they log off.

This lets you find patterns, distinguish between billable and non-billable hours, bill clients more accurately, and much more. If someone on your team forgets to track their time, adding hours manually later on is fairly easy, whether with the native Asana app or integration.

Toggl Track 🤝 Asana

Toggl Track’s integration with Asana is completely free, and you can try it out with a free account on both platforms. It comes with a host of other benefits compared to the native Asana time tracking app.

It’s easy to use, and the reporting capabilities are much more advanced. Toggl Track isn’t just a great fit for Asana, either. It also supports other project management apps such as Trello, Todoist, and Jira, as well as 100+ other online apps.

The bottom line? Asana and Toggl Track are great apps on their own, but combined, they can increase your productivity, efficiency, and profitability.

Sign up for a free Toggl Track account today to see the two apps in action. If you need help setting up the Asana and Toggl Track integration, just follow the instructions below!

Tracking time in Asana with the Toggl Track web app

This is the first of two ways to track time in Asana with Toggl Track. It shouldn’t take more than 60 seconds to get up and running!

1. Create a free Toggl Track account

Head over to Toggl Track and sign up for your free account.

2. Go to the integrations page

Log in to your account and go to the Integrations page in the side menu.

3. Enable the Asana integration

Scroll down to the list of native integrations and click ‘Get started’ next to Asana.

Click the ‘Enable’ button.

4. Log in to your Asana account

Once you’ve clicked enable, you will be asked to log in to your Asana account.

Click ‘Allow’ once you’ve signed in.

Head back to Toggl Track and click on the “Sync Now” button to manually sync users, projects, and tasks to keep your data in Toggl Track up to date. This will push all of your Asana projects and tasks into Toggl Track.

5. Start tracking with Asana

You can then quickly start tracking time on any task within a project right inside Toggl Track.

Tracking time in Asana with the Toggl Track Chrome extension

Toggl Track’s free browser extensions embed a Toggl Track timer into the interface of more than 100 apps, allowing you to track time within the app itself.

With additional features like a pomodoro timer and idle detection, it’s the ultimate tool for maximizing productivity and streamlining time tracking into your workflow without needing to jump between tools. Here’s how you can start tracking time in Asana with it.

Note: This is the exact step-by-step guide for our Firefox add-on.

1. Install the Toggl Track chrome extension

Head to the Chrome web store and add the Toggl Track Chrome extension to your browser. Note that you may be asked to log in to your Toggl Track account.

2. Enable the Asana time tracking integration

Click on the Chrome extension in your browser and then click on the settings icon.

Navigate to the ‘Integrations’ page, check the box next to ‘Asana – app.asana.com,’ and allow access.

3. Start tracking time in Asana

Head over to your Asana dashboard and hit refresh. You should now notice a small Toggl Track icon next to your tasks in Asana.

Click the icon, and a Toggl Track pop-up will appear. Your task name will become the time entry description in Toggl Track, and the project will automatically be filled. The example below shows that ‘SEO Campaign’ is the project.

This will start the timer in Toggl Track straight away. Want to stop the timer for any given task? You have two options.

The first is to click the Toggl Track icon in your dashboard. This will stop the timer instantly for that task.

Or, hit the stop button within the Toggl Track Chrome extension.

It’s as simple as that! Remember, if you don’t have an account already, it’s free to get started with both Toggl Track and Asana. If you have other questions about time tracking integrations or how Toggl Track integrates with other software, check out the Toggl Community.

Time tracking gets a bad rap — and honestly, it’s easy to see why.

When misused or poorly implemented, it can feel like micromanagement at its worst, creating frustration and distrust among employees. No wonder so many people cringe at the thought of tracking their time.

But here’s the thing…time tracking itself isn’t the villain. When done right, it’s a powerful tool for fostering productivity, fairness, and balance in the workplace. The secret lies in avoiding the common pitfalls that can turn it into a nightmare.

Understanding where it goes wrong and how to address those issues can bring clarity, efficiency, and fairness to your workplace. Here’s how to do just that.

Why is time tracking bad in some cases?

We might ruffle some feathers with this, but it’s honestly only bad when you use it as a tool to spy on employees. Toggl takes a pretty strong anti-surveillance stance, and several problems can arise from improper implementation.

Simply put, the way certain businesses capture and use time data is what’s problematic. Some are downright outdated and silly. For example, paper timesheets and manual time tracking on an Excel spreadsheet are tedious and error-prone. They can turn time data collection into a thankless chore.

There are many reasons why time tracking goes bad, like data misuse, micromanagement, lacking support, and technical issues. Let’s take a look at some of the top cases in more detail. 👇

1. Micromanagement and overemphasis on productivity

Time tracking is a great tool for seeing how your employees spend their time during the workday. However, when people managers use time data and employee surveillance features to monitor their employees excessively, creativity is stifled.

It also fosters distrust and a lack of autonomy, leading to increased stress and reduced morale. Furthermore, monitoring employee activity isn’t a good gauge of productivity, as appearing busy is not the same as being productive.

Instead, focus on results and output and track time to understand how long tasks and projects take to complete. This will give you valuable data to improve your project management processes.

Inflexibility

Strict time tracking rules make it difficult for employees to have agency over their time management. They are forced to stick to certain work hours, which is especially restrictive for those in roles that require creative thinking and problem-solving.

These roles also suffer when employee surveillance features that monitor computer activity are utilized. Employees may appear inactive while working through a problem in their heads or on paper. 

Allow employees to work flexible hours to avoid inflexibility killing productivity and morale. This enables employees to manage their time and get work done when they’re most productive. It also benefits working parents, team members with health conditions, and student employees.

Stress and burnout

Employees who are constantly monitored report worse mental health, higher levels of tension and stress, and more cases of the workplace negatively impacting or harming their mental health.

Rigid time tracking also leads to employees padding their time entries by falsifying the data or remaining at their desks, faking busyness after completing tasks. This negates any benefit of gathering time data as it is inaccurate. Plus, the employees could be spending this time on other things.

Regularly check in with your employees about workloads and stress levels and offer mental health support and resources. Create a safe space for employees to reach out if they are struggling.

Promote a healthy work-life balance and discourage working overtime. Employees shouldn’t feel they must conform to hustle culture to be seen as good employees.

Overemphasis on quantity over quality

When managers focus solely on the amount of time spent on work instead of the quality, they encourage bad, inefficient work habits that contribute to reduced productivity.

Encouraging a results-oriented work environment by setting clear quality benchmarks and key performance indicators allows employees to take their time and ensure the highest quality of work.

Implementing this strategy alongside reasonable time tracking metrics lets you balance quality and quantity. Ensure you regularly review and adjust your metrics to align with goals.

2. Privacy, trust, and legal concerns

Time tracking tools with activity monitoring and employee surveillance features invade personal privacy as they can capture personal data by monitoring non-work activities. 

They also foster a feeling of distrust between employees and management, contributing to a hostile work environment. At worst, employee monitoring tools can lead to legal issues when sensitive data is captured.

Here are some more details about these issues and how to avoid them.

Lack of trust

Excessively tracking and monitoring your employees damages trust and employee morale and creates a toxic work culture. This eventually contributes to increased employee turnover and difficulty retaining talent.

Instead, opt for a non-invasive employee time tracking solution like Toggl Track and involve employees in the decision-making process when creating time tracking policies.

Be transparent and regularly communicate about time tracking, the benefits, and best practices to build trust and get everyone on board.

Misuse of data

The benefits of time tracking are severely diminished if your management team doesn’t know what to do with the data, misinterprets it, or uses it for the wrong purposes.

Data misinterpretation or misuse can result in unfair performance evaluations, incorrect conclusions, and biased decisions, so ensure your managers are trained in ethical data usage and interpretation 

Regularly auditing time tracking practices and data usage and implementing checks and balances helps ensure fairness and accuracy across the board.

Legal and compliance issues

Some methods of employee monitoring and data collection are illegal in certain jurisdictions or require strict disclosures and prior consent. Implementing a time tracking system can be a minefield, especially with globally distributed remote teams.

To stay on the right side of labor law and regulations, consult with a legal expert to ensure all time tracking software, practices, and policies are compliant.

3. Inappropriate application and one-size-fits-all approach

Failing to consider the unique needs and workflows of the different teams and roles that make up your organization and using a standardized time tracking method can result in employee dissatisfaction and inaccurate time data. Here are a few key issues to avoid.

Lack of customization

Time tracking systems without customization features are non-inclusive and may not meet the specific needs of different roles, projects, and individuals. This can hinder time tracking adoption and lead to inaccurate data and frustration on both sides.

Opt instead for customizable time tracking software. Work with your staff to tailor the system to their requirements. Continually review and improve the system to ensure it fits various projects and tasks.

Failure to align with company culture

A time tracking tool that doesn’t align with company culture and values can result in resistance and a lack of employee engagement.

Bring employees into the discussion around time tracking and ask them to help develop and refine time tracking practices. This will help promote a positive view of time tracking as a tool for growth and improvement, not micromanagement and control.

Technical issues

A poorly implemented time tracking system that doesn’t properly integrate with the existing tools in a tech stack can be prone to errors and glitches that cause frustration and inefficiency. When this goes unresolved, it slows productivity down.

Ensure the time tracking software you choose is reliable and user-friendly. Do your research and look at reviews from real customers to give you a better idea of how the tool works and if it’s a good fit for your business.

Train and update your staff regularly on the time tracking system, and have a dedicated support team to tackle any technical issues that arise promptly.

4. Lack of training and support

As with any new tool or system, employees may struggle with time tracking if they’re not adequately trained. This can result in misuse or underuse of the system and even complete failure to track work time.

Misunderstanding of purpose

Employees may be less likely to use it correctly if they don’t understand the benefits and purpose of tracking time. Improper use of time tracking tools skews the data and results in inefficiencies.

To ensure your employees record accurate time entries, communicate the reasons and benefits clearly. Provide examples of time tracking benefits for the employee and company, like increased profitability, improved work-life balance, and better management of future projects.

Resistance to change

Any kind of change in business can be met with resistance if not properly managed, which makes proper implementation of new systems like time tracking tools much harder.

To avoid this becoming a bigger issue, ensure you have a thoroughly thought-out change-management strategy to ease the transition. Involve employees in the process and address their concerns openly as they arise.

This is another opportunity to reinforce the benefits of effective time tracking and mention any success stories other similar companies or teams have had in implementing time tracking.

Lack of ongoing support

Offering one-time training is not enough. Companies that fail to provide continuous support and resources may find their staff struggling to track their time effectively.

Creating a feedback loop helps ensure continuous improvement based on user experience, and establishing a dedicated support team helps address issues quickly so they don’t fester. 

So…is time tracking good or bad?

Time tracking is a great process to implement as long as it’s implemented correctly. It has many benefits for employers and employees, so it’s worth taking the time to research and ensure you use it properly.

Benefits of time tracking

• Increased employee productivity: Time tracking provides visibility into how work time is spent, identifies areas of inefficiency, and spots problem workflows that can be improved. 
• Accurate project estimates: Managers can more accurately estimate time for future projects when they can access time data from past projects, removing much of the guesswork. 
• Better resource management and allocation: With a clear overview of how time and skills are distributed across tasks and projects, resource allocation can be optimized to ensure team members aren’t over- or under-used.
• Improved billing and client management: Tracking billable hours can help justify costs by providing a transparent record of the time spent on client work.
• Reduced bottlenecks and time sinks: Time tracking makes it easy to spot tasks that take too much time so they can be addressed.

Tracking time with Toggl Track is good!

At the end of the day, whether or not time tracking is good comes down to the way it’s used. It’s important to choose and implement a time tracking tool that works for your business properly to avoid problems such as technical issues, misunderstandings, compliance queries, and inflexibility.

Toggl Track is a non-invasive employee time tracking tool that is user-friendly and easy to onboard. Sign up for Toggl Track for free today and start tracking employee time correctly.