MacOS – Looking for a decent time-tracking application for Mac

applicationsmacossoftware-recommendationtime-tracking

I am a freelance graphic designer and need to track the time spent on projects so I can bill my clients accordingly. There are a ton of services and applications out there but somehow none of them really fits.

Here's what I am looking for:

  • A stable desktop app. I don't want to do my time tracking in the browser.
  • Stop recording when screensaver or sleep mode starts.
  • A product I can buy, not a subscription service. I feel more comfortable and in control if I pay $100 upfront than pay $10 a month
  • An easy-to-use UI that tracks time by client, project and task.
  • Billing support is a bonus, but not necessary.

Here is what I don't need, so if the solution contains it, at least is shouldn't interfere with a simple workflow and efficiency:

  • Not necessary: Smartphone app, team collaboration, cloud.

All I want is a pay-once, stand-alone, well-supported and nicely designed time-tracking app. Do products exist in this space for OSX?

Best Answer

I am listing the apps I have looked at so far. I must emphasize that none of them really solves the problem stated above perfectly.

Here's what I have looked at so far based on my google doc list

  • On the Job looks great, but the developer seems to have abandoned it. At least he does not really fix bugs and is very slow to respond to his user base.
  • Timings light-weight but the UI to create clients, projects and tasks can be confusing. I am testing it right now. A friend uses it and says it crashes sometimes though it has not happended to me yet.
  • Harvest looks good, it does have a desktop client itself and an API that is used by lots of apps. But it is subscription-only which is a no-go for me and costs at least $12 per month.
  • The same goes for Toggl: looks good, but is subscription-based and costs $5 per month
  • iBiz and timeEdition have been discontinued
  • Klok is an Adobe Air app. The UI feels weird. Small typography, limited support for keyboard shortcuts and complex interface.
  • OfficeTime feels like the best match so far but the UI is very cluttered (see this screenshot of the Generate Bill dialog as an example). It feels a bit like a Windows app that has been ported to Mac but I am not sure if that's true.
  • Timecop is a very minimal approach. There is no way to test it without paying the $6.99 price. Has not been updated for 9 months, twitter account has been inactive for 5 months.
  • Tictoc seems very similar to Timecop. No way to test without buying either.
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