Remote working has become as common as working in an office. And the availability of various software has made it even more feasible for an entire team to work remotely in perfect harmony.
But how do you choose the best software for your remote company?
In this article, we’ll list the top 15 remote working software that can help your remote team work efficiently, along with their key features, pricing, and user ratings. We’ll also cover the three key benefits of using remote work tools.
This article contains:
(click on the links to jump to that section)
- Top 15 Remote Working Software
- Time Doctor for Productivity and Time Management
- Asana for Project Management
- Slack for Instant Messaging
- Zoom for Video Conferencing
- Google Workspace for Document Collaboration
- iSpring Learn LMS for Remote Employee Training
- Xero for Invoicing and Payments
- PukkaTeam for Virtual Team Building
- 1Password for Password Management
- Officevibe for Gauging Employee Satisfaction
- Chrome Remote Desktop for Remote Computer Access
- Krisp for Noise Cancellation During Calls
- Loom for Creating Video Walkthroughs
- Evernote for Notes and Ideation
- Forest for Reducing Distractions
- 3 Key Benefits of Remote Working Software
Let’s get started.
Top 15 remote working software
Since the pandemic outbreak, remote working has become a business necessity. And while most businesses made this transition overnight, they have been facing significant challenges.
According to Hubstaff’s 2021 Remote Project Management Report, nearly 46% of remote employees admitted to a lack of communication, and 41% struggled with motivation.
Having the right set of remote working tools can help you address these challenges.
Here’s a list of the top 15 remote working software to pick from:
1. Time Doctor for productivity and time management
Time Doctor is a robust time tracking and performance management tool used by major companies, like RE/MAX and Ericsson, as well as by small businesses, like Thrive Market, to boost employee productivity and efficiency.
Key features
A. Time tracking
The Time Doctor app tracks the time spent by all employees during work hours, and you can view the tracked time with the help of accurate timesheets.
Unlike other complicated time tracking and employee monitoring apps, Time Doctor is extremely easy to use.
In manual mode, you simply need to start and stop the timer as you begin and end your work.
You can also choose to automatically start the timer when you turn on your computer. This tool version has no user interface and runs silently in the background. This ensures you don’t miss logging any time entry, letting you focus on the task at hand.
B. Advanced reports
Time Doctor generates various advanced reports, which give useful insights regarding your employee’s performance and productivity.
Some of these reports include:
- Activity summary report: View your employees’ active, unproductive, and mobile time.
- Hours tracked report: Shows the total time tracked by the app and manually added time.
- Web and app usage report: See the time spent on websites and apps according to their productivity ratings.
- Timeline report: Indicates each user’s start and end times for each workday.
- Project and tasks report: Provides the time required for each job and project.
C. Productivity ratings
For accurate monitoring, Time Doctor enables you to categorize websites and apps as ‘productive,’ unproductive,’ and ‘neutral’ for individuals and teams.
It then monitors the time spent on individual apps and websites so that you can have a clear understanding of the time spent by your remote employees.
The advantage?
You can categorize time spent on Facebook as ‘productive’ for the social media marketing team but ‘unproductive’ for everyone else!
This feature helps make the productivity reports more meaningful and accurate.
D. Screencasts
Capturing screencasts is an optional feature in Time Doctor.
If it’s enabled, it allows you to monitor an employee’s screen activities even more efficiently.
With this functionality, you can:
- Set the intervals for the screenshots or screencasts.
- Download screencasts.
- Delete or blur images and videos with sensitive information.
E. Integrations
Time Doctor integrates with more than 50 software, including project management and help desk tools. This feature helps track employee hours and productivity across your favorite workplace apps.
Some of these software tools include:
- ClickUp
- Basecamp 3
- GitHub
- Jira
- Microsoft Office To Do
And many more.
Pros
- Supports manual time-editing.
- Has offline time tracking functionality.
- Offers an automatic mode that lets you track time without selecting a task.
- Has a desktop app for Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms.
- Offers a mobile app for Android devices.
- Available as a powerful Chrome extension.
- Integrates with project management apps like Trello, Jira, etc.
- Pay employees directly via integrations with Payoneer, Transferwise, etc.
- Strict privacy and data protection policies.
Pricing
Time Doctor offers a 14-day free trial (no credit card required). The basic plan starts as low as $7/user per month.
User ratings
- G2: 4.4/5 (260+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (390+ reviews)
2. Asana for project management
Asana is a cloud-based project management tool and team collaboration software that helps teams with task management and organization.
Key features
- Provides real-time status updates of projects.
- Schedule and prioritize tasks for better workflow.
- Communicate with internal (teammates) and external (vendors, clients) members.
- Offers cloud storage for all documents, project details, etc., for easy remote collaboration from any device, including Android and iOS apps.
- Track time spent on tasks in Asana with the Time Doctor integration.
Pricing
Offers a free plan for basic project management. Paid plans start at $13.49/user per month.
User ratings
- G2: 4.3/5 (8000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (10,000+ reviews)
A good alternative for the Asana project management software is monday.com, which offers features like the Gantt chart. A Gantt chart gives you a birds-eye view of the project’s progress.
3. Slack for instant messaging
Slack is an online business team communication platform for quick and organized internal conversations.
Key features
- Create dedicated channels for team members, conversations, projects, etc.
- Offer a Slack Connect feature to support remote collaboration with teams at other companies.
- Has built-in voice calls, video calls, and screen sharing features.
- Integrates with 2000+ apps like Google Drive, Trello, etc.
Pricing
Offers a free version. Paid version starts at $3.20/user per month.
User ratings
- G2: 4.5/5 (29000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (21000+ reviews)
4. Zoom for video conferencing
Zoom is a video communication software that provides video and audio conferencing, as well as other virtual team communication tools.
Key features
- Allows you to record the video calls as full-length videos.
- Enables screen sharing with other members in the video chat.
- Offers a whiteboard feature for real-time collaboration over video calls.
- Lets you schedule regular virtual meetings (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc.).
Pricing
Free for personal virtual meetings (up to 100 participants for up to 40 minutes). Paid plans start from $14.99/month per host.
User ratings
- G2: 4.5/5 (40000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (11000+ reviews)
Skype is a popular alternative to this tool. Suitable for small teams, Skype offers similar video conferencing features like Zoom.
5. Google Workspace for document collaboration
Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite) is a collection of different business tools like Gmail, Drive, Chat, Google Docs, Google Drive, etc. These tools can help your remote team create and collaborate seamlessly.
Key features
- Create presentations, spreadsheets, and documents.
- Provides secure remote access for all documents from any remote desktop, mobile, or tablet.
- Supports file sharing to allow members to view, download and collaborate on any document.
- Automatically stores all file updates on Drive so that everyone always accesses the latest version.
Pricing
Plans start at $6/user per month.
User ratings
- G2: 4.6/5 (39000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (11000+ reviews)
If you generally use Microsoft Office tools like Excel, Word, etc., Microsoft Teams is another powerful remote collaboration tool.
6. iSpring learn LMS for remote employee training
iSpring Learn is a Learning Management System (LMS) that allows you to train new employees, especially those who are remote.
You can use this tool to create a uniform knowledge base for all employees and help them learn more about your operations.
Key features
- Assign learning material to different users.
- Provides different filters (team, country, job title) to assign content accordingly.
- Allots courses automatically to selected members (for example, onboarding courses for recruits, etc.)
- Lets you manage and track all the training modules through an ‘events calendar.’
Pricing
Starts at $3.66/user per month (billed annually for 100 users.)
User ratings
- G2: 4.6/5 (20+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (100+ reviews)
7. Xero for invoicing and payments
Xero is a cloud-based accounting app for small and medium-sized businesses. It’s a SaaS platform that enables easy file-sharing of your business data (costs, profits, payments, etc.)
Key features
- Comprehensive solution for invoicing and tax filing.
- Integrates easily with bank accounts and bank transactions.
- Collaborate with accountants and other employees in real-time.
- Provides add-ons like Xero Payroll, Xero Expenses, etc.
Pricing
Plans start from $12/user per month.
User ratings
- G2: 4.6/5 (460+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.3/5 (2000+ reviews)
8. PukkaTeam for virtual team building
PukkaTeam is a remote work software that can help teams connect better as it lets you check in on a team member while working remotely.
Key features
- Availability notifications to let you know which team member is available to talk.
- Integrates with Skype and supports one-click video calls.
- Supports custom status updates to let your team members know what you’re working on.
- Works straight from your web browser and doesn’t need app installation.
Pricing
Plans start from $7/user per month.
User ratings
- G2: NA
- Capterra: NA
9. 1Password for password security and management
1Password is a password management app that eliminates remembering all your passwords. The app can store all your passwords in an online password vault and secure remote access to key information.
Key features
- Offers an easy and safe way to share logins, passwords, credit cards, and more among trusted people.
- Can automate filling website forms based on your saved login data.
- Syncs password data between all your devices, giving you access to your passwords on every device.
- Monitors the web for security breaches and unauthorized or unattended access through a feature called Watchtower.
Pricing
1Password’s paid plans start from $7.99/user per month.
User ratings
- G2: 4.7 (1,100+)
- Capterra: 4,7 (1,600+)
10. Officevibe for gauging employee satisfaction
Officevibe is a handy employee engagement software to provide remote support and boost team management.
It helps you learn more about your remote workforce by sending them short surveys about remote workplace challenges.
Key features
- Provides ready-to-use one-on-one meeting and employee survey templates.
- Lets your team answer pulse surveys and give managers anonymous feedback.
- Allows managers to respond to the feedback in-app and review survey results.
- Gives you access to curated articles on key managerial skills.
Pricing
Free version supports up to 10 users. Its paid plans start at $8/user per month.
User ratings
- G2: 4.3/5 (630+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (40+ reviews)
11. Chrome Remote Desktop for remote computer access
Chrome Remote Desktop is Google’s remote desktop software tool that gives you remote access to a computer to share files or run programs from anywhere. This remote access software is built on Google’s secure infrastructure and aids real-time remote collaboration.
Key features
- Supports screen sharing for remote team collaboration in real-time.
- Offers features to connect with another computer to give or receive remote support.
- Uses the latest open web technologies like WebRTC to provide secure collaborative features.
- Runs on desktops, Android, and iOS devices.
Pricing
Chrome Remote Desktop is free to use.
User ratings
- G2: 4.3/5 (20+ reviews)
- Capterra: NA
12. Krisp for noise cancellation during calls
Krisp is an AI-powered noise cancellation app that removes background noise and echoes from your remote meetings to leave behind clear human voices.
Key features
- Removes unwanted noise from both ends of a video conference call.
- Helps tune out room and acoustic echo.
- Provides a floating widget that gives you easy access to key features.
- Instantly records audio from online meetings.
Pricing
Krisp provides a free plan for individual remote workers. Its paid plans start from $12/user per month.
User ratings
- G2: 48/5 (130+ reviews)
- Capterra: NA
13. Loom for creating video walkthroughs
Loom is an essential remote working tool that lets you create interactive video walkthroughs to share information with remote workers at any time.
Key features
- Helps with screen and webcam recording to support markups with an overlay of your face.
- Provides engagement insights to see who’s watched your video.
- Lets you add calls-to-action like links to reference resources.
- Offers a desktop app and a Chrome extension.
Pricing
Offers a free plan that supports up to 50 creators. Its paid plans start at $10/user per month.
User ratings
- G2: 4.6/5 (270+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (200+ reviews)
14. Evernote for notes and ideation
Evernote can help your remote team ace project management by letting you take notes and schedule tasks all in one place.
Key features
- Offers a wide variety of templates for all kinds of notes, including marketing, creative writing, brainstorming, etc.
- Provides a web clipper browser extension that lets you clip a webpage without the headlines and ads.
- Supports audio note functionality to help take notes during fast-paced team meetings.
- Works on iOS, Android, and Windows devices.
Pricing
Evernote has a free version that supports a maximum note size of 25 MB. Its paid plans start from $7.99 /user per month.
User ratings
- G2: 4.4/5 (1900+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (7000+ reviews)
15. Forest for reducing distractions
The Forest app aids distraction management by rewarding your team members for not using their smartphones.
Key features
- Supports an app allowlist and blocklist.
- Provides accurate phone usage time tracking.
- Can streamline task management with task categorization features.
- Rewards users with virtual coins that can be donated back to the app to support afforestation efforts.
Pricing
Offers a basic free version. Pro version costs $1.99/user per month.
User ratings
- G2: NA
- Capterra: NA
Let’s now take a step back and look at the important benefits of remote working software.
3 key benefits of remote working software
Remote working software refers to a tool that can help a remote or distributed team create a productive and collaborative workspace.
An excellent remote working tool can carry out employee monitoring and provide useful insights into the productivity of any remote worker. These remote work tools also keep them engaged and committed to the company.
Here’s a closer look at three key benefits of using remote work tools:
1. Time and productivity management
One of the biggest concerns about remote work is tracking your employees’ time.
How do you calculate the time required for a particular task or a project without over or under-reporting?
Time tracking and productivity tools can accurately monitor the time spent by the employees at work. It also allows you to monitor when your employees clock in and clock out for the day.
2. Easy team collaboration
There are various communication tools that are great for remote working.
Instant messaging and video calling tools are quick ways for a remote workforce to collaborate.
These software tools enable members to see who’s working, who’s on a break, or even who’s on leave. It makes it easy for them to know if they can call a specific teammate at that time or not.
Whether it’s a formal business discussion or a personal conversation, these tools promote efficient team communication, irrespective of the time zones.
3. Quick payments
Is there a faster way to pay your remote employees than bank transfers?
Yes, definitely!
Just use invoicing and payroll software to transfer payments to an employee’s bank account directly. These software tools can easily calculate the employees’ salary by merely multiplying the tracked hours with the predefined hourly rates.
Many of these tools also support multi-currency payments, making it extremely convenient for remote teams distributed worldwide!
Final thoughts
Using software for enhancing employee productivity has become the need of the hour.
And it’s all the more essential if you have a distributed workforce.
Use the tools we covered above to have a robust remote work software system or use it as a guideline for creating your own virtual workspace.
May the (remote work)force be with you!
