A No-Nonsense Review of Clockify

Keeping track of time and managing operations efficiently is crucial for construction companies. Clockify is time-tracking software designed to help your business do exactly that.

This no-nonsense review will explore Clockify’s benefits for your construction business and explain how it can help optimize your day-to-day activities. From tracking employee hours to managing projects, Clockify promises to simplify complex tasks.

Let’s explore the app’s features and advantages to figure out if it’s the right tool for your construction business.

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What Is Clockify?

Clockify, launched in 2017 by COING, has quickly become a leading time-tracking software solution. The company recognized the need for a robust, user-friendly tool to help businesses manage their time and resources more effectively. Today, Clockify serves millions of users across various industries.

Clockify offers a comprehensive suite of features designed to cater to diverse businesses. At its core, the app allows users to track work hours, monitor project progress, and generate detailed reports.

These capabilities make it an invaluable asset for admins who need to oversee multiple projects, manage teams, and ensure accurate billing. Beyond time tracking, Clockify provides tools for scheduling, expense tracking, and team collaboration.

Let’s take a closer look at its features now…

Clockify Overview

Clockify has a generalized approach to time tracking, which informs its key features:

• Simple, intuitive interface for logging hours 
• Project management tools to organize tasks and deadlines 
• Detailed, customizable reporting and analytics 
• Real-time team collaboration tools 
• Expense tracking and monitoring tools

Clockify excels with its comprehensive feature set, but some users find its project management tools and integration capabilities lacking.

Clockify’s strength lies in its user-friendly interface and robust reporting capabilities, which stand out against similar software in this space. The simplicity of Clockify’s time tracking ensures minimal disruption to daily tasks, while detailed reports offer valuable insights for decision-making.

Overall, Clockify provides a balanced blend of essential features.

Let’s take a look at the onboarding process…

What it’s Like to Get Started With Clockify

Getting started with Clockify is straightforward. You can create a free account on the app’s website, and there’s no need to add a credit card until your 7-day trial ends.

Clockify doesn’t prompt you with any onboarding or personalization questions. Their trial period is also rather short, so I assume they want you to have as much time as possible using the software.

You have two options to get help learning Clockify.

The first option is to schedule a call with their customer support for an introduction to Clockify.

To do this, navigate to the top of your dashboard and click “Request a Demo.” Personally, I would have appreciated a video walkthrough or self-guided tutorial. However, this demo works if you’re willing to jump on a quick call.

The other option for onboarding help is to use Clockify’s “Chat” option, which is connected via Pumble. To do this, you have to sign up for a separate Pumble account.

After signing up, you’ll be taken off of the Clockify site and redirected to Pumble’s dashboard, which feels clunky. There’s also a chat box embedded in the Clockify app, but it’s separated into threads, and it’s not clear where to go to ask for help.

Neither of these options helped me very much, so I started poking around on my own.

Let’s check out the web app experience…

The Web App Experience – Easily Customizable

Clockify has a fairly standard interface in line with other time tracking software.

You can click the prominent “Start/Stop” button in the top right corner to begin tracking your time. All other features are organized in tabs on the left.

One of the first things you’ll notice is that these features are highly customizable. You can move them around by dragging and dropping, depending on their order of importance to your business.

Overall, I liked how responsive the web experience was. All the features were easy to find (and easy enough to use). The dashboard isn’t outstanding to look at, but everything can be organized effectively.

Let’s see if the mobile experience is the same…

The Mobile App Experience – Simple, But Effective

Like most employee time-tracking apps, Clockify has a companion mobile app, which is built for your front-line team:

It’s easy to set up the mobile app, but the features are quite limited (which is to be expected). On the mobile app, the accessible features are time tracking, calendar view, expenses, time off, and reports.

There’s not much to see on the app until you start inputting schedules, projects, etc. However, once you start to get everything set up, your employees will be able to see an overview of their schedules at a glance.

A convenient feature of the mobile app is the ability to create projects even if you can’t access a desktop immediately.

Another thing to keep in mind: Your employees won’t be able to input time off requests until you set a time off policy, which must be done on a PC.

More construction companies trust Workyard for time tracking

Discover why

Clockify Key Features

How Clockify Actually Tracks Time

Tracking your time on Clockify is straightforward.

Start by logging into your account and navigating to the “Time Tracker” tab. Here, you’ll see a simple interface with a “Start/Stop” timer button prominently displayed.

Click “Start” to begin tracking your time on a specific task. You can also enter details like the project name, task description, and tags for better organization.

If you need to edit an entry, click on the time entry in your log and adjust the details as necessary. You can also switch to the Calendar view for a more detailed look at your weekly activities.

How to Use Clockify for Project Management

Clockify’s project management tools are simple but efficient.

Start by navigating to the “Projects” tab, where you can create and manage your projects. Click the “New Project” button to set up a project, then enter details like the project’s name and client. You can also assign a color to each project for easy visual identification.

Once your project is set up, add tasks by clicking on the project name and selecting the “Tasks” tab. Here, you can create specific tasks, assign them to team members, and set hourly rate and cost rates.

Use the “Status” and “Forecast” features to mark important deadlines and track progress toward project completion.

In Clockify’s “Schedule” view, you can add deadlines and milestones. This helps you see at a glance what needs to be done and when.

To keep everyone on the same page, use the “Team” tab to assign roles and permissions, ensuring that each team member has access to the information they need.

Reporting and Analytics in Clockify

Clockify’s reporting and analytics tools provide in-depth insights into your team’s productivity and project progress.

To start, navigate to the “Reports” tab, where you can generate various types of reports, such as Summary, Detailed, and Weekly reports. These reports can be customized to display specific data, such as time entries by project, task, or team member.

The Summary report provides a high-level view of total hours worked, billable vs. non-billable hours, and project progress. This overview helps you quickly assess your projects’ overall performance.

For more granular details, the Detailed report breaks down each time entry, allowing you to analyze individual tasks and identify areas for improvement. The Weekly report provides a visual representation of hours worked over a week, helping you spot trends and adjust workloads as needed.

Clockify’s dashboard offers real-time analytics, displaying key metrics such as total hours tracked, top projects, and the most active team members. Use the filters to refine your data by date range, project, or user, enabling precise analysis.

Additionally, you can export reports in various formats, including PDF, CSV, and Excel (XLS), for further analysis.

How Clockify Supports Team Collaboration

Clockify’s collaboration tools are designed to enhance team coordination and streamline communication, making it easier for you to manage projects effectively.

The “Team” tab is the central hub for managing team members. Here, you can invite new members via email and assign them to specific projects or tasks. Each member can have customized permissions, ensuring they only access relevant information.

One of Clockify’s standout features is the ability to assign tasks to team members directly within the project interface.

This feature allows you to delegate responsibilities clearly, ensuring everyone knows their roles and deadlines. The “Notes” section within each project enables real-time communication, allowing team members to discuss specifics, share updates, or seek clarification without switching to another platform.

Clockify’s real-time tracking feature ensures all team members can see updates as they happen. When someone logs time or completes a task, it’s instantly reflected across the platform, keeping everyone on the same page.

Additionally, the software’s integration with tools like Slack further enhances collaboration by sending notifications and updates directly to your team’s preferred communication channels.

Expense Tracking with Clockify

Clockify’s expense tracking provides a powerful tool to monitor and manage your project costs effectively.

To start tracking expenses, navigate to the “Expenses” tab within the Clockify dashboard. Here, you can log various expenses related to your projects, such as material costs and labor charges.

When you click “Add Expense,” you can enter detailed information, including the expense name, amount, date, and category. You can also assign each expense to a specific project or client, ensuring that all costs are accurately allocated.

Additionally, Clockify allows you to attach receipts to each expense entry, making it easy to keep all relevant documentation in one place.

Clockify’s expense reports offer a comprehensive overview of your spending. By generating an “Expenses” report, you can filter data by date range, project, or category, giving you a clear picture of where your money is going.

This feature helps you identify cost-saving opportunities and ensure that your projects stay within budget.

Integrating Other Business Apps With Clockify

It took me a minute to find out how I could set up integrations in Clockify (this is where a short tutorial would have helped). Once I found where to go, the integration process was fairly straightforward.

Start by navigating to three dots next to your company name, then “Workspace Settings.” Here, you’ll see a tab called “Integrations.”

Here, you’ll see a list of five apps you can integrate with: Quickbooks, Pumble, Jira, Google Calendar, and Outlook Calendar. There’s also an option to integrate with 50+ more apps using the relevant browser extension.

According to its website, Clockify integrates with many project management, communication, and productivity tools, including Asana, Trello, Slack, and Monday.com. It also syncs with popular accounting software like FreshBooks, which is particularly useful for managing invoices and financial reports.

The app’s integrations are designed to be user-friendly.

For instance, connecting Clockify to Asana allows you to track time on tasks directly within the Asana interface. Similarly, integrating with Slack means you can start and stop timers and receive notifications about time tracking activities without leaving your chat platform. These integrations ensure time tracking becomes a natural part of your existing workflow rather than an additional task.

Clockify Might be a Good Fit for You If…

Clockify is a widely-used time-tracking app that can support businesses in many different industries. However, it may be better suited for your business if…

• You prefer browser extensions for your time tracking. 
• You need to generate customizable reports for project analysis. 
• You need to assign tasks and track team activities in real time.
• You need to monitor project expenses alongside time tracking.

However, if none of these describe your situation, you might look elsewhere.

You Might Not Want to Use Clockify If…

There are some drawbacks to using a general-purpose time-tracking app when you have industry-specific needs. These limitations might make you consider other options.

Clockify might not be a good fit if…

• You need native integrations with construction-specific software. 
• You need GPS tracking for location-based time logging.
• You need to track various tasks or projects per worker.
• You’ll need regular hands on customer support.

More construction companies trust Workyard for time tracking

Discover why

Clockify Cost/Pricing

Clockify offers a range of pricing plans designed to accommodate teams of different sizes.

While not advertised prominently on their website, Clockify does have a Free plan, which includes unlimited tracking, projects, and users. This makes it an attractive option for startups and small businesses looking for a cost-effective time-tracking solution.

For those needing more advanced features, Clockify provides several paid plans, including:

• Basic 
• Standard
• Pro 
• Enterprise

The “Basic” plan adds features such as project templates, administrative roles, and time rounding.

The “Standard” plan includes features like time audits, custom fields, and bulk edit capabilities.

For businesses requiring more robust options, the “Pro” plan offers features such as scheduling, GPS tracking, and invoicing.

For large organizations, the “Enterprise” plan includes all the features from the lower-tier plans, plus advanced options like control access, single sign-on (SSO), and custom subdomains.

Clockify also offers a 7-day free trial for its paid plans, except the “Enterprise” plan. This trial allows you to explore all premium features without committing to a subscription.

Clockify offers discounts if you pay annually.

Clockify Reviews

Online reviews of Clockify highlight several key aspects of the software.

Generally, users appreciate its user-friendly interface and how easy it is to get started. Many commend the free version, noting it provides ample features without needing to upgrade.

However, many users point out limitations, such as the lack of GPS tracking and advanced project management features.

Additionally, while Clockify’s integrations are extensive, occasional syncing issues do occur.

A recurring theme in Clockify’s written reviews seems to be its lack of usability on mobile devices. 

iOS user D. says the app needs better mobile functionality…

Great App… needs better iPad support ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Love the app… many cool features. Only complaints are: 1) needs landscape mode to make iPad version usable. Supporting only portrait mode means us keyboard users effectively can’t use it unless we disconnect the keyboard and 2) entering could be a little easier if there was a filter where one could enter only time related to a single project.

Android user Dave V. also has issues with the mobile app…

⭐⭐⭐⭐
I love this app, and have used it every day for years. The chrome extension is great, but the app suffers from some issues. If I stop a task via the PC, the mobile widget doesn’t seem to realize it and will keep counting. This leads to double entries and incorrect task durations, which could get me in a bit of hot water as I use this for work.

Reviews on Capterra for Clockify, like most apps reviewed on the platform, are primarily submitted by administrative users. On the other hand, mobile app reviews include feedback from both admins and front-line employees who actually use the time-tracking features daily. 

This means that Capterra’s reviews are good for assessing the software’s functionality from an administrative standpoint.

With this in mind, Clockify slightly lags behind its competitor. Many time-tracking apps on Capterra frequently receive average ratings of 4.8 or higher. Clockify is well-regarded, it may not be the top choice for all users.

This may be due to its mobile issues, as Capterra reviewer Manik S. posted earlier this year…

Manik S. says the mobile app causes discrepancies…

⭐⭐⭐⭐
Clockify has become my reliable companion in the world of freelancing. The interface is a breath of fresh air—simple, user-friendly, and perfectly tailored for someone always on the move. Now, let’s talk about the mobile app. It’s good, but not without its quirks. Navigating can feel a bit awkward, and some features seem to play hide and seek, making the experience less seamless compared to the desktop version. Syncing issues occasionally rear their head, causing minor discrepancies between mobile and web data. While not a deal-breaker, it’s akin to having a GPS suggest detours when you’re already running late.

Our Score (and Why We Chose It)

We rate all products the same basic way, using a six-element scoring system on a 1-10 scale, with the selected elements based on a few fundamentally critical factors.

Here’s Clockify’s score across those six elements:

While we’ve covered the reasoning for these scores in the rest article, let’s quickly summarize why we scored Clockify this way:

Clockify’s sign-up and onboarding process is straightforward and user-friendly, allowing new users to get started quickly without a steep learning curve.

The platform’s intuitive interface makes it easy for users to navigate and utilize the various features effectively, even for those with minimal technical expertise.

Clockify offers a comprehensive set of features, including time tracking, project management, and reporting, but some advanced functionalities and integrations with niche software are lacking.

Customer support was OK, and assistance during onboarding was not very helpful.

Lastly, Clockify integrates with a wide range of popular apps, and the integration process is relatively painless.

Top Alternatives to Clockify

While Clockify offers a robust set of features for time tracking and project management, it’s always wise to explore other options to ensure you’re using the best tool for your specific needs.

In this section, we’ll look at some of the top alternatives to Clockify.

These alternatives vary in features, pricing, and target audiences. Whether you’re seeking more advanced project management capabilities, integrated invoicing, or specific industry tools, there’s likely an alternative that can support your business.

Want to know more about why we chose these apps as the top alternatives to Clockify? Check out our detailed article on Clockify alternatives, which includes more than twice as many apps to consider, as well as our reasoning why the chosen apps are worthy of your consideration:

Top Clockify Alternatives: Other Apps to Consider

Final Thoughts

Clockify is a versatile and user-friendly time-tracking solution, especially for businesses seeking a cost-effective way to manage time and projects.

Its comprehensive free plan, intuitive interface, and robust reporting capabilities make it an attractive option for small to medium-sized teams.

However, the lack of advanced project management features, built-in GPS tracking, and occasional syncing issues with integrations may limit its appeal for some users.

For those in the construction industry or other fields requiring specialized functionalities, exploring alternatives might be beneficial.

Workyard offers tailored solutions with features like GPS time tracking and advanced project management tools. It’s designed to meet the unique needs of construction admins and ensure efficient project execution.

Click the links above to see how it works, or sign up for a free trial of Workyard today to streamline your project management and time-tracking processes.