Honest Review:
BigTime

Automated built-in invoicing and customisable timesheets but it is expensive with poor customer service.

Written by Asim Qureshi
By Asim Qureshi, CEO Jibble

May 30th 2023

As a CEO of a time tracking software company I need to know what my competitors are up to. That means I’m often researching about and/or playing around with their products, you know, it’s part of the job. Here, I share my findings of that research, giving credit to those competitors where credit is due and being honest about which products I believe you really need to avoid. And so, there you have it, this review, and in it, I try to be honest, fair, and insightful…

This review covers:

Overview

Hey, I am here to shed some light on BigTime, a cloud-based expense and time-tracking software that helps companies manage their employees’ time and team expenses.

Thanks to its real-time data, BigTime can provide you with insightful decision-making support and analyze current strategies without having to go through multiple databases at the end of each month. Another good thing – users have the option to initiate the timer before filling out the required timesheet details. And once their shift is over, they can alter and organize their timesheets using various customization options. It also has a built-in invoicing feature, saving you time and hassle. Plus, it integrates with popular tools like QuickBooks and Xero.

But, sadly, its mobile app has received criticism for being faulty, and the user interface is complicated. Not to mention, the app is full of bugs and crashes, making it counterintuitive. To top it off, the software comes with a steep price tag of US$20/user/month and poor customer service. These factors explain BigTime’s substandard reviews on the Google Play Store and App Store.

BigTime dashboard interface of timesheets

What Users Like

  • Quick invoicing 
  • Runs smoothly without lags
  • Time and expenses available in one place
  • Rapid software upgrades

What Users Don’t Like

  • Application crashes frequently 
  • Does not sync quickly across all users
  • Complex options create a less user-friendly interface
  • Poor customer service

Let’s Talk Pricing!

BigTime has three standard plans to choose from, Express, Pro, Premium, and Custom Plans. Details of the four are given below:

Express: At US$20/user/month with a minimum of five users; the Express plan is BigTime’s least expensive plan (although still quite expensive compared to other software in the market!). Includes limited features for project accounting, research management, and in-class support.

Advanced: At $35/user/month, the Advanced Plan offers features for project accounting, management, business intelligence, and in-class support.

Premium: At $45/user/month – yikes! – the Premium plan includes all premium features of project accounting, management, collaboration, business intelligence, and more. 

Custom Plans: BigTime also offers custom plans if the predefined ones don’t work out. The price is defined based on the requirements and features that you select.

Standout Features of BigTime 

1. Reports and Analytics 

BigTime’s software generates real-time project profitability reports that aid businesses in making strategic decisions related to performance and profits. Employers can monitor everything in one place without clicking on multiple tabs to obtain results. 

The software also allows for a more in-depth analysis, but the overview is just as beneficial. Since these results are unique to every employee, BigTime ensures their privacy along with the accuracy of results. Additionally, there are various view options, such as grid or line item views. 

Display of reports and analytical charts

2. Shift Management

Another notable BigTime feature is customizable timesheets. The software allows users to alter fields and organize everything according to their liking. Lookups are also simple and quick as searching for names, billing codes, and other categories are available. 

Moreover, users can launch timers anywhere and always fill in the names and details later on when putting timesheets together. This makes managing shifts more efficient and even encourages users to get things done faster. 

Dashboard showing shift divisions with team member names

3. Invoicing

BigTime has a window for invoicing, which automates the hectic task. It offers various calculators and advanced options like industry-specific billing, rates, and tax tables that managers can modify according to their professional requirements.

On top of that, employers can alter the PDF view so that the final product sent out to employees looks precisely as planned. 

Invoice generated by BigTime

4. Project Management 

BigTime’s real-time project management dashboard displays everything about current projects in one place. It allows an employee to check on new updates and employers to stay ahead of project health with the help of actionable insights.

Additionally, the dashboard helps with budgeting by tracking estimated vs. actual costs and keeping real-time track of time and expenses. As for progress, employees can input details after their shifts, so the entire team and manager are in the loop. 

Dashboard showing project budgeting and task completion

Selected Positive User Feedback: 

  • “Easy to track time and expenses – seamless integration!” Jared H. (Source Play Store)
  • “Been using this for a few years now. Great for simple interactions.” Andrew R. (Source Play Store)
  • “I like that I can manage all aspects of a project in one place.” Joseph P. (Source Play Store)
  • “BigTime is a good program for tracking time, expenses, etc. Integrates with QuickBooks seamlessly. I use the app on the go, and it works great.” Sumith (Source Play Store)
  • “I do my project management work on my laptop when using BT, but the mobile app works well when all I need to do is record time for those projects.” Rachel S. (Source App Store)
  • “Invoicing is also a breeze because of the platform’s user-friendly interface. I can view all of my projects and team members on this platform, and we can all manage everything together.” Jessica D. (Source Capterra)
  • “BigTime is (…) user-friendly accounting software, and the functionality is fast.” Mahmoud O. (Source Capterra)
  • “(…) they are one of the only programs that sync into QuickBooks Desktop.” Nani W. (Source Capterra)
  • “Ease of use for time reporting, expense tracking, invoicing, and tracking job sites.” Lori B. (Source Capterra)
  • “The web interface works well and is very intuitive to use. Since it is cloud-based, you can access it from any web browser.” Alex K. (Source Capterra)
  • “I love the ability to be able to track my team’s time for invoicing. Having the ability for all the time tracking, invoices, and payments all in one place is helpful as well as being able to access remotely at any time.” Sarah T. (Source G2)
  • “BigTime makes time entry easy for our engineers and makes reporting easy for our office manager. I also like the clean appearance of the data on the summary screens/dashboard.” Lauren P. (Source G2)
  • “It is easy to configure and integrates well with QuickBooks. We can configure a single resource with multiple cost rates and bill rates. Highly configurable.” Nathaneal A. (Source G2)
  • “When we needed technical assistance, we could always obtain it, and the software upgrades were rapid and straightforward.” Carlotta R (Source G2)

Selected Negative User Feedback: 

  • “Limited functionality. Fields often do not work, so expenses need to be done on the computer and cannot be completed in this app.” Samuel M. (Source: Play Store)
  • “The app is buggy. I’m always having to log out and log back in. Today it just keeps crashing when I try to take a picture of a receipt.” Jeff K. (Source Play Store)
  • “Issues, where submitted hours are not submitted, have caused late paychecks. Needs more information on the timesheets and expenses page that at least says if it’s been submitted and/or approved.” Helio (Source Play Store)
  • “Missing features, miss-loaded constantly, some items can only be viewed in landscape. Customer service is poor. Has syncing issues across all users.” Brain L. (Source Play Store)
  • “App has had crashing issues for about a year. The latest update is supposedly a fix, but a year of requiring this app to record time to be paid by my employer has been awful.” Carl F. (Source Play Store)
  • “The time tracking is inconsistent, especially if you’re logging time from your PC and mobile. The app doesn’t sync well at all.” Raenalot (Source App Store)
  • “Mobile App is very limited and has a lot of glitches.” Lori B. (Source Capterra)
  • “Poor customer service. Because there are so many options, it is a bit confusing. It is not a plug-and-play program.” Laura P. (Source Capterra)
  • “The wide range of terminology used in the software is confusing and causes errors to be made during implementation. Examples: Start Date and End Date … without these terms being defined, you would think that the start date is the day the work should begin, and that End Date is the DUE DATE.” Rhonda R. (Source Capterra)
  • “Data import from previous systems can be cumbersome with the user citing data not matching up after the import.” Benjha M. (Source Capterra)
  • “BigTime can be a bit overwhelming due to the vast number of options you can customize. I think start-up packages tailored towards specific industries could help new customers get the basics functioning quicker.” Aaron L. (Source G2)
  • “I chose not to use the BT wallet to receive payments due to the nature of the fees and how the unequal amounts are deposited to QB.” Ron S. (Source G2)
  • “Creating a large number of tasks has proven time-consuming, buggy, and not very intuitive. I also wish that the workflow dashboard had better features.” Emily W. (Source G2)
  • “Complex options. The onboarding process needs work. Their billing starts on day one — before I even logged in — and once logged in, you understand that the setup is a bear. (…) But the BT staff are no help.” David W. (Source G2)
  • “Implementation and data importation were lengthy and has complex options, and we ran into a few snags with our data. It would be helpful if the Big Time Academy included some videos about Data Imports to prepare the user admins to prepare their data to reduce possible problems.” Racheal C. (Source G2)
  • “Our company just changed to BT. There is currently no way to save an expense from my mobile device. Doesn’t sync quickly between all users.” Chris C. (Source Play Store)

    Ratings from Other Reviews

    (As of 04/08/2023)

    • App Store: 3.0/5
    • Google Play Store: 2.9/5
    • Capterra: 4.6/5
    • G2: 4.5/5

    Final Thoughts

    Let’s talk about BigTime – an expense and time tracking software. 

    BigTime allows businesses to manage cash flow and time management. With its real-time reporting feature, companies can track their employees’ performance and project profits with ease. And if you’re someone who loves customized timesheets, you’ll be happy to know that BigTime offers this feature too. It has a user-friendly interface, with project management capabilities and an in-built invoicing functionality that assists with taxes and industry-specific billing. Additionally, the ability to launch a timer without entering details is convenient but the software still leaves a lot to be desired. 

    BigTime’s mobile app has a meager rating of 2.9 and 3 on Google Play Store and App Store, respectively. To put it bluntly, the mobile app is not up to industry standards for an efficient time tracking solution. It faces frequent crashes and has a nonintuitive user interface, which is frustrating for users on the go.

    Furthermore, at a high price of US$20/user/month and poor customer service, BigTime is severely unsuitable for organizations looking for an affordable and dynamic time tracking solution for workers on the go. 

    So, if you’re someone who wants a robust, all-in-one solution to manage your organization’s expenses and time, either at a desk or on the go, then you might want to look elsewhere.  

    Check out other honest reviews of Jibble's competitors