Honest Review:

QuickBooks Time

By Asim Qureshi, CEO Jibble

June 1st 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
• What Users Like
• What Users Don’t Like
• Pricing Plans
• Standout Features
• Positive User Highlights
• Negative User Highlights
• Ratings from Other Reviews

Overview

QuickBooks Time (formerly Tsheets) meteoric growth was on the back of its strong integration with QuickBooks, which explains why QuickBooks’ owner, Intuit, bought them in 2017 for US$340m, gradually aligning it even closer with the family and eventually changing its name to Quickbooks Time. Given this, it should be no surprise that it’s the natural choice for users of QuickBooks’ accounting products.

QuickBooks Time, an employee time tracking and shifts scheduling software, allows employees to manage office-based teams as well as mobile workers, but its real strength has always been the latter. With GPS tracking and geofencing, the software offers a really decent web dashboard, mobile app, and time kiosk that enables real-time monitoring of employees and their actions on-the-go. PTO tracking, team scheduling, time kiosk, project tracker, and API interaction with third-party applications are just a few other features in QuickBooks.

Quickbooks Time is an absolutely solid product, hats off, particularly if the goal is to track time for payroll, but it does have the kind of issues you’d expect from it being a cog in the massive Intuit machine. The product isn’t really developing quickly anymore, I’d argue that it not only feels dated but is just that, customer support isn’t great, and it’s pretty darn expensive with pricing starting at US$8/user/month plus a US$20/month base fee – ouch!

What Users Like

• Real-time GPS tracking and geofencing 
• Mobile app for time tracking and scheduling 
• Web dashboard, mobile app, and time kiosk
• Actionable reports and insights
• Streamlined payroll management
• Great QuickBooks integration
• A very solid product

Find more on what users love about QuickBooks Time.

Pricing Plans

QuickBooks Time has two pricing plans, Premium and Elite, both of which come with a generous 30-day free trial.

Premium: At a base fee of US$20/month and an additional $8/user/month, this plan includes a shift and break scheduling facility, along with live reports of employees. It also allows integration with QuickBooks. The software is offering a 50% discount for the first 3 months.

Elite: At a base fee of $40/month and an additional $10/user/month, this plan includes geolocation, mileage tracking, and the ability to track the progress of current projects. Available at a discounted price of $20/month for the first three months.

But before you plan on signing up, here are some things you’ve got to look out for with QuickBooks Time’s pricing plan.

Standout Features of QuickBooks Time

1. PTO Tracking

PTO tracking allows users to streamline “time off” tracking, and it’s pretty cool. It allows for bulk time off for days when most employees are on holiday. The tracker also lets users choose if employees can submit time-off requests by the hour or enter the time themselves without requiring approval.

With office-based teams and workers constantly on the move, requests can be submitted through the app or the web dashboard. Once approved, the time off is displayed in the calendar. Managers can create custom notifications to keep team members informed throughout the request approval process.

2. GPS Tracking

TSheets has been one of the pioneers of employee GPS tracking which allows employers to track the location of all clocked-in workers and their active status, and here QuickBooks Time really shines. It provides details about where each employee is at any point and helps in deciding which employee is the closest to a vacancy on site.

GPS tracking also helps streamline work records – employers can set up a geofence to remind employees to clock in and out when entering and leaving the workplace. This GPS feature suits remote and mobile teams, businesses with multiple locations, and the service sector.

3. Team Scheduling

Quickbooks Time’s team scheduling feature offers a convenient way to assign shifts and create schedules. The user interface allows users to drag and drop shifts and schedules to calendars. I love that it’s easy to use and intuitive.

A separate “Who’s Working” window lets users track which employees are working and determine which ones are available for a quick task. The software also allows users to make instant changes to the schedule when needed and alert teams immediately with notifications about the change.

4. Time Kiosk

The time kiosk digital punch clock is for an employer looking to manage the on-site attendance and working hours of all employees with the same device. Employers can provide employees with their own pin codes and add the location to each timesheet so it’s easy to track. 

To guard against misuse, companies can enable photodetection which detects and rejects employees based on their photos. The kiosk can also help create detailed reports by allowing users to categorize data by task, job, employee, and more. 

The API integration also allows third-party developers to access Toggl Track data to create powerful applications that comprehensively overview the time spent on a given task or project.

5. Project Tracker 

The project tracker allows project managers to keep track of ongoing projects and employees working on them. They can break down a project into different tasks and create deadlines along with workable schedules for employees.

This feature helps team managers stay up-to-date on project progress by calculating the budget and actual hours worked against estimated hours. The activity keeps employees updated on the current project, and real-time reports can be generated at all stages of the task at hand. 

Selected Positive User Feedback: 

• “Reporting is good, integration with QuickBooks and Gusto (our payroll service) works. GPS geotagging helps prevent techs from stealing time.” Elizabeth H. (Source: g2)
• “It is simple to accurately manage our employees’ time, both in the field and in the office. It lets us know the employee’s location at the time they clock in, so no more attempts to get paid for the time they were not actually on the job site.” Gennyfer C. (Source: g2)
• “I appreciate the fact that the data-sheet is in QuickBooks Payroll.” Niko T. (Source: g2)
• “It now has the ability to monitor your location as well.” Devendra B. (Source: g2)
• “I liked the estimates and invoicing part. I could work a 2-hour job and have the client sign the invoice on my phone.” Jonathan (Source: SoftwareAdvice)
• “The synchronization with QuickBooks was important and works well.” (Source: SoftwareAdvice)
• “Payroll reports and manual time entries are easy – Allows you to cost your jobs easily and helps you understand how your margins on your jobs are.”  Noura (Source: SoftwareAdvice)
• “The product makes time tracking easy and gives me the ability to accurately account for all of our time spent on various projects.” Jerry (Source: SoftwareAdvice)
• “One program for everything is a relief and takes away the stress of operating multiple different programs for each thing.” Savannah (Source: SoftwareAdvice)
• “This is hands down the best way to have to punch a time clock. It’s super easy to use and set up, keeps a fair and accurate track of your hours…” Joseph Stengal (Source: Play Store)
• “(…) company that’s on the move a lot. Quick and easy way to record hours.” Anthony Gardner (Source: Play Store)
• “(…) QuickBooks time is precise, there’s nothing that I need to fix or try to make it… better.” Hugo O. (Source: Capterra)
• “I liked that the time clock worked even when there was minimal cell service/ no wifi.” Allison K.  (Source: Capterra)
• “I can use it with my QuickBooks payroll and my employees can track their time and manage their missed clock in & outs themselves.” Shelly T. (Source: Capterra)

Final Thoughts

Listen, QuickBooks Time makes sense if you’re ok with the price and you’re tracking the physical location of employees, and if you’re using QuickBooks, it becomes a darn good choice. Scheduling is solid, time tracking is great, and payroll integrations are usually smooth. And its project tracker and time kiosk feature work on both mobile and PC, which gives it an edge compared to the rest.

However, following Intuit’s acquisition, QuickBooks Time isn’t quite what it used to be, or rather the others have caught up fast. The lack of progress, outdated UX, and not-so-great customer support, along with plenty of reports of the mobile app lacking stability, and relatively high pricing, in all it’s a lot harder to justify going with QuickBooks Time than it was a few years ago.

Saying that, anyone looking to track time needs to at least check out QuickBooks Time. It’s a very solid product, and that’s all that many companies looking to track time need.