Top 12 time tracking software for virtual assistants

Accurate time tracking can help a virtual assistant with client invoicing, project management, productivity tracking, and more.

But there are many time tracking tools in the market, and you may need help to choose one that suits your requirements.

In this article, we’ll explore the 12 best time tracking software for virtual assistants, their features, pricing, and customer ratings. We’ll also explain how to select a suitable time tracking tool and the benefits of time tracking.

Let’s get started.

12 best time tracking software for virtual assistants

A virtual assistant is a remote employee who can help a business owner or manager with their daily administrative tasks, otherwise managed by an in-house executive assistant.

The virtual assistant service list includes the following:

Scheduling meetings.
Email marketing and management.
Social media management.
Accounts management.
Content creation for digital marketing, etc.

Check out our related post on virtual assistants, what they do, and how to hire them.

Due to their remote location, using manual spreadsheets to track a virtual assistant’s work hours or attendance may not be accurate or efficient.

Fortunately, you can log time with online time tracking tools.

Let’s look at the 12 popular time tracking tools for a virtual assistant:

1. Time Doctor

Time Doctor is a time tracking and employee productivity management tool that helps virtual assistants easily record their remote work hours.

Used by small businesses like Thrive Market as well as large enterprises like Ericsson, it automates several repetitive tasks like recording time entries, managing projects and tasks, etc.

Time Doctor supports Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems and offers a mobile application for Android mobile devices.

Let’s take a close look at some more Time Doctor features.

Key features

Here are a few beneficial features of Time Doctor:

A. Interactive and silent time tracking

Time Doctor has an interactive and silent time tracking feature that lets you record your work hours conveniently.

Here’s how you can use the manual (interactive) mode:

Add a new task or select a pre-existing task to track time.
Click Start when you start work and Stop when you’re done or need a break.

If manually turning your tracker on and off every time you start or pause work is a hassle, you can go with Time Doctor’s silent (automatic) tracking feature.

It automatically starts tracking time when you switch your computer on. And since it has no interface, it runs in the background without interrupting your workflow.

B. Idle time tracking

Time Doctor’s inbuilt idle time tracking feature tracks unproductive hours by checking for keyboard and mouse activity.

If it detects no mouse or keyboard activity for a predetermined time, it sends you a pop-up, nudging you to restart work. If you don’t respond to the pop-up alert, the tool assumes you’re not working and stops tracking time.

Note: Time Doctor isn’t a keylogger. It doesn’t record keystrokes or mouse movements but only detects them.

C. Offline time tracking

Offline time tracking lets you track your time even without a functioning internet connection.

Once the internet connectivity gets restored, the tracked time and the screenshots sync to your account automatically.

D. Screencasts

Time Doctor takes screenshots of users’ computer screens at a set frequency.

The screencasts feature offers 3 different settings:

Screenshot: Takes screenshots within a specified time interval.
Video: Captures video that’s divided into 3-minute intervals.
Off: No screenshots or video.

Note: The screenshots can be blurred or deleted if they contain sensitive data like personal information to protect your privacy.

E. Project and task management

Time Doctor offers an effective project and task management functionality to streamline the work.

Managers can create a parent project and divide it into simple tasks. This enables them to track time spent on each task separately.

They can also use the feature to view important project information, like:

Total time spent.
Productivity levels of the team.
Productivity of individual virtual assistants.

F. Work scheduling

Work scheduling enables managers and admins to:

Add or edit multiple shifts at a time.
Add the minimum work hours per shift.
Customize the work schedule according to employee availability.

After it has been activated, work schedules appear in the settings menu and the attendance report.

G. Productivity ratings

Time Doctor’s productivity rating feature helps employers track how virtual assistants spend their working hours. Based on their relevance to the workflow, they can categorize apps and websites as follows:

Productive.
Unproductive.
Neutral.
Unrated.

For example, a digital marketing virtual assistant may have to use social media sites like LinkedIn or Facebook for marketing campaigns. So these websites can be classified as productive.

H. Productivity reports

The tool generates several in-depth productivity reports based on your tracked work hours. These reports give you a better idea of your productivity patterns.

Let’s look at the different reports Time Doctor generates:

Activity summary report: Displays your active, unproductive, manual, and mobile device time for a selected period.
Timeline report: Lets you view how long you spend working and on breaks.
Hours tracked report: Shows your total hours tracked during a specific date range.
Internet connectivity report: Shows the time you spent offline and how much percent it is of the total tracked time for the day.
Attendance report: Lets your manager know if you were present, absent, partially absent, or late for your work shift. It’s only available with the work scheduling feature turned on.
Projects & tasks report: Displays the time you spend working on different tasks and projects.
Web & app usage report: Lists the sites and applications you use during work hours and the time you spend on each.

I. Payroll management

Time Doctor automates the payroll based on billable hours and billing rates.

Employers can integrate the tool with popular payment gateways like Gusto, ADP, Paypal, and Wise to pay a remote employee directly.

Also, it allows employers to add pay rates for each virtual assistant and specify the payment currency.

J. Chrome extension and integrations

Time Doctor’s Chrome extension integrates with several premium tools. Here are some of them:

Project management tools: Asana, Zoho Projects, etc.
CRM tools: Zoho, PipeDrive, etc.
Help Desk tools: Zendesk, Freshdesk, etc.
Communication tools: Podio, etc.

Time Doctor Chrome extension also integrates with Google Workspace so virtual assistants can track the time they spend working on any Google doc or sheet.

Pricing

Time Doctor offers a free 14-day trial plan (no credit card required). Its paid plans start at $7/user per month.

Customer ratings

Capterra: 4.5/5 (460+ reviews)

G2: 4.4/5 (320+ reviews)