When searching for the best time-tracking software, it is important to not only consider what it offers and how much it costs but also look at the features that set it apart from others. We all know that not all time trackers are created equal. Therefore, it’s important to stack up and determine which among the contenders is worthy enough to be given a try.
We must not forget to consider our personal feelings. The final decision you make will affect your personal feelings and impact the productivity of your team.
Time Doctor is one of the most popular apps in today’s productivity market. It has both teams and single users in a stupor for its task- and time-monitoring capabilities. But has it caught us the same way? Read this comprehensive review to find out.
For those of you who prefer a more visual experience, here is a video review from Frank on his YouTube channel Franklin Rivera. To get a comprehensive overview of Time Doctor, you may still want to check out our article below.
A Closer Look at Time Doctor Time vs Reality
Time Doctor is a time-tracking and project-monitoring platform best suited for large or small businesses, teams who work remotely, and freelance professionals. The tool’s range of features and tools is designed to assist teammates and individuals in improving their productivity by 22% on average.
Launched in 2012, around a decade earlier already, Time Doctor has slowly gained a large following, becoming a popular time management tool among companies everywhere, whether they’re established or just starting in the industry. It has also become a hit among freelancers who often work for multiple clients thanks to its convenient client portal feature.
Time Doctor has accumulated a user base that exceeds 250,000 over its 20-year history. Among those who’ve used the service for time and employee management matters include Apple, Ericsson, Better Business Bureau (BBB), Verizon, Boost Media, and Thrive Market.
Time Doctor is well-known for its time and activity tracking functions, as well as advanced capabilities such setting reminders to remind you when the timer should be started and stopped. These features alone may be enough for the platform to position itself way ahead of other time management apps. However, it is unable to do so because of its lack of consistency in user useability.
We believe Time Doctor can be a great addition to any team or individual looking to increase their productivity. Keep reading to know more about what else this one-of-a-kind platform has to offer and how well each of them works! Time vs Reality
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The Pros
- Time Doctor is most well-known for its easy-to-use, time- and activity management tools and functions.
- It includes outstanding features like pinpoint-accurate reports, idle alerts and automatic reminders.
- The user-friendly and extensive client portal makes it easy for freelancers to interact with clients.
- It allows for a large and seamless integration with third-party platforms.
The Cons
- Its messy user interface makes navigating through the platform quite different for most users, especially first-timers. Time vs Reality
- Despite its potential, its mobile apps don’t provide the same flexibility as the desktop and web versions.
- It doesn’t offer smooth switching between the web-based client and desktop apps, especially if you’re both the administrator and the user.
- Only the web extension or desktop app can access the time tracking function.
Plans and Pricing
Before we move on to everything else, let’s talk about the plans and how much they cost first. Time Doctor currently has three paid subscription tiers. Each tier offers a unique set of tools and features that get more expensive as they become more complex.
Pricing will increase depending on how many users are added to a team. Let’s check out the following three available plans in the Time Doctor platform.
- Basic – $70/user per year or $7/user per month
Time Doctor’s Basic tier includes access to the platform’s core features, such as time and activity tracking, task and project management, and unlimited screenshots. You can only access them if the web extension or desktop application is downloaded. You can only store one month of data.
- Standard – $100/user annually or $10/user monthly
Standard plans allow you to access advanced features such as tracking your team’s apps and URLs, the payroll tool, reporting and 60 additional integrations with third-party applications. The Standard plan also has a new time limit for its customer support hotline, which is now limited to three days instead of 24 hours.
- Premium – $200/user annually or $20/user monthly Time vs Reality
The premium tier offers the most comprehensive of all three. Subscribers to the Premium tier have access to all the Time Doctor features. They can explore the client portal and take screen recordings.
Paying annually will get a complimentary charge for the first 2 months. Time Doctor doesn’t offer a free plan. However, each of the three plans offers a limited 14 day trial that allows you to try it out and decide if it is the right tool for you.
> > Click Here to Try Time Doctor Now < <
The User Interface
Despite being filled to the brim with robust time and activity management tools, Time Doctor may be highly notorious for its clunky and poorly-designed take on the user interface and experience. It can be a pain to navigate the platform. This is especially true if you are just starting to explore the dashboard and other features.
Many users of Time Doctor, for instance, have had difficulty accessing the various functions. Many users have complained about the inability to centralize their data within the app, which would have saved them a lot of time. Users can access the time tracking feature via the web extension or desktop app. The website version only has project management, reporting, as well as other admin features. This is why switching between the portals is easier – it’s not possible to do this with other time management platforms.
Time Doctor users also need to be helped with the overall design and look. The website-based dashboard lacks key features that would make it easier to use, except for the desktop app. It also needs the diversity of data graphs used for reporting – sure, and the bar graphs are great and all, but what about the circle graphs? You might also like pie graphs. Line graphs, perhaps?
Time Doctor’s interface and design are already a problem. We’ll be reviewing that in a moment! However, despite their combined lackluster appeal, they’re not strong enough to fully soil the experience of tracking work activity, which the platform was designed for in the first place. Some users don’t even mind the UI issues at all, while others have learned to adjust quickly to it over time. Time vs Reality
There is still hope that Time Doctor’s UX and UI issues could be fixed in the near future. For now, however, new users will need to learn the platform’s inner workings.
Key Features Included in Time Doctor
Now, let’s dive deeper into some of the features and tools you may want to explore if you log in to the Time Doctor platform.
Project and Data Management
Time Doctor’s project management capabilities allow individuals and administrators to create tasks and group them in a matter of seconds. Admins may also utilize this feature to assign their employees tasks to offload and maximize their teams’ productivity. Although you can set up standalone tasks, you may group them if you’d like into larger projects to keep things tidy and organized – a great idea for big companies whose stability relies on numerous departments beneath them.
Time Doctor knows that a clear workboard is a great way to get things done. With that in mind, admins may opt to limit access to select tasks or projects by assigning them to only a specific employee or group of employees within the team. Do you want to check out who’s working on the task or project now? You may monitor their progress through the dashboard by checking how long they’ve been working, among other things.
Time Doctor is unlike other time management tools. Users can create permanent trackable tasks that they can easily edit, delete, or modify without the need to add one each day. Those who work around repetitive tasks will no longer need to face this burden every time – all they need to do is change them to permanent status! Time vs Reality
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Time Tracking and Alerts
As already established, Time Doctor’s signature time-tracking tool can only be accessed through either its desktop application or Chrome web extension. Despite not being available in the web dashboard, its capabilities are surprisingly well-versed enough to make it stand independently. It’s easy to use – simply add the task to which you are assigned and then click the start button to track your progress. It’s that simple!
As the timer plays out throughout your task, all your actions and activity will be recorded in the background. These actions and activities will be recorded and saved to the dashboard. Administrators can then access the dashboard to monitor their employees’ progress. You may do it the same way if you are working alone.
One unique trait of Time Doctor’s time-tracking tool that we can’t help but appreciate is allowing users to customize their set-up according to their liking until they’re content enough to work well. This includes the reminders feature, where the software automatically reminds you when to start or stop your work hours. Another is the “idle time” function, in which users can convert the duration in which they haven’t been working and reassign it to work hours.
If no sign of user activity is detected after a few moments, the timer will automatically bring it to a stop. If you spot something similar and have gone to attend other things, you can manually click the play button in order to restart tracking. You can also pause the timer if you need to take a break from work. If you need space to take a proper break and don’t want to resume or stop the timer on your own, Time Doctor lets you incorporate time intervals between your daily tasks.
Time Doctor may be able to track your work hours and progress online, but did you know that it could do the same offline, too? Time Doctor, like other time-monitoring apps like Hubstaff, can track your activities and record the hours spent on your task, even without an internet connection. Time vs Reality
Monitoring Website and App Usage
It’s not just the amount of hours that Time Doctor is keen on monitoring, as it also applies to the other desktop apps you’ve visited, the websites you’ve explored, and even the keystrokes and mouse movements you’ve made as you work. The platform will immediately pause if it detects that your mouse cursor or keyboard is still stationary for longer than a set time and it will stay there until you do something.
It’s often difficult to determine if someone is productive until you know what they have been doing. If they’ve been focusing on their tasks, that’s a sigh of relief. If they’ve been procrastinating by going to other platforms that divert from what they’re supposed to do, that’s a completely different story. No matter if you’re strict or relaxed with it, Time Doctor allows users to check which kinds of websites or applications their fellow teammates have used during work hours and how long they’ve glued their eyes to them.
Time Doctor has a number of monitoring features that allow admins to easily see if employees are wasting their time or attending to a task. This feature can be used to identify if the URL or application name, and the status it is in, are some of the many. Admins or managers, specifically, may take this chance to set the productivity rating of each platform to any of the three ranks:
- Productive if it serves the purpose of a project/team as a key driver for its tasks.
- If it serves no purpose and is therefore inefficient, it will be a time-waster
- If it is neither productive nor unproductive, it will be considered neutral.
These three productivity statuses are assigned to any website or app and can be adjusted to be limited to one user, group/team, or company. The ability to track website activity and customize productivity statuses per user makes it highly convenient for teams who work in jobs requiring a strong focus on specific tasks, like content writing, for instance. For what it’s worth, Time Doctor may be lucky this time to have this crucial function included, unlike other time-tracking software. Time vs Reality
Activity Screenshots and Screen Recording
Remember when we told you about Time Doctor being able to record your tracked time and activity in the background while they’re posting the data to the web dashboard for admins to see? Its built-in screenshot capabilities are there for this reason.
Admins can set a specific time interval for automatic screen capturing across their project/team, whether it’s fixed to 10 minutes or 30. If they please, they may also opt to select any of their teammates who should be allowed access to this feature.
Each image is equipped with additional information on the level of keystroke and mouse cursor activity as a way to determine user productivity. Premium subscribers have unlimited access to screenshots. Those who subscribe to Time Doctor’s Standard and Basic plans have unlimited access to screen shots. However, premium users can record video screens. Instead of taking pictures of the computer monitor, the platform records three minutes’ worth of work activity in action.
There may be rare instances in which someone from a project/team may be at risk of a breach of privacy caused by serious circumstances. To protect their safety, they might be permitted to delete screen recordings or screenshots within the Time Doctor platform. This will likely lead to the deducting of the work hours on the recording date.
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Productivity Reporting & Analysis
Time Doctor lets users view, edit and save pre-built reports. Each contains data and insights collected by the software during their tracked work hours, all presented in the form of decent visuals and summaries. Users can request reports to determine which time management and productivity practices are working well and which ones need to be improved.
You have so much to journey through with Time Doctor’s report collection. Its Web and App Usage report, on the one hand, lets you see how many hours you’ve spent and how active you’ve been on any website or app that’s classified as productive. The Poor Time Use report shows how long you have sat on sites that have been flagged inappropriate for work. However, issues have arisen, especially from multi-screen work set-ups where one could jam to their favorite playlist on one screen while they get to their task on another. Poor Time Use includes the ability to open pop-up windows to block certain websites. This means that if someone goes to YouTube, they will be immediately reminded if they wish to continue or return to their task.
The Timeline report displays all of your hours tracked in chronological order. It is divided into two colors: yellow for manual time recording and blue for automatic. The Project and Tasks report shows hours spent on tasks and/or projects. Finally, the Activity Summary allows you and your admin to view your total work hours and all percentages from all reports. Time vs Reality
Time Doctor’s reporting tools are impressive, but some users don’t like the process of creating them. First, most reports are formatted in a clunky way, which can impact how they’re exported. Second, XSL and CSV are the only two options Time Doctor has made available and nothing else – some may be simply okay with that, but others won’t like this lack of export file diversity as much.
White-labeling and Client Access
Time Doctor is the one thing that solopreneurs and freelancers love the most. They can share their progress with clients even though they don’t have a Time Doctor account.
You may find it helpful to know that the Client Portal feature of the platform allows you to accept commissions from many clients.
Simply send the link to the portal directly to your clients. Once they have access to it, they can see how long you’ve been working, how many tasks you completed, and even the archive of screenshots and reports. You have complete control over what your clients see through the Client Portal, which results in smooth, tasteful interactions.
If you own and manage a well-established business – and have enough money to pull it off – you may also take advantage of Time Doctor’s white-labeling feature by integrating its tools with your own branding.
Payroll
You want to pay your employees according to how much time they have dedicated to their tasks. You can do that within the Time Doctor platform through its built-in payroll feature. You can turn on payroll deep within the settings of your web dashboard and your team will be automatically billed. You may pay your teammates based on tracked hours or on a fixed-rate basis.
Time Doctor’s payroll software supports all currencies. You can ask employees to send their salaries through PayPal, Payoneer or TransferWise. For batch payments, you can export your payroll information to a CSV file if you work for a larger company. Multiple payments are sent at once.
Integration with Third-Party Services
Time Doctor offers a wide range of integrations to various third-party platforms. These integrations are primarily focused on work, business, and productivity. Time Doctor has over 60 integrations to make it simple for you and your team to manage their work together in one interconnected ecosystem.
Such includes connections with project management platforms like Asana and Trello, payment services like PayPal, work messaging apps like Slack, and CRM platforms like Salesforce. A public API tool is also available to integrate with other apps. This can be used if you know something about coding or you and your teammate are good at it.
The Time Doctor Mobile App
Time Doctor’s desktop software is available for download on Windows, Mac OS, and Linux OS computers. The latest web extension, however, is only available on Google Chrome. The time-tracking software offers unlimited access to its users through their smartphones. Time Doctor currently offers two mobile apps versions. You can download them both on the Apple App Store or Google Play.
No matter how you look, you may be able to track your work hours and progress even if you’re out of the office. The classic version of the app allows you to view all tasks in a project and track your team’s location through GPS. This is on top of the basic tools for time tracking and the limited dashboard settings.
The latest version – Time Doctor 2 – has more or less the same functionalities as the previous iteration. The only differences that set the two apart are that 1) TD2 is only compatible with Android devices, and 2) you won’t get to explore other features aside from time tracking – a noteworthy downgrade from TD Classic.
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How Safe and Secure is Time Doctor?
You may be questioning whether Time Doctor is worth using as a time management tool. It is possible that its surveillance tools may keep track of your activities, even if you temporarily pause your timer to take a break. Although the aspect of a 1984-esque work scenario may seem intimidating, we’re glad to tell you that your activities as the timer stops will not be tracked and saved to Time Doctor’s cloud-based database. It’s 100% not spyware material, so you’re in good hands.
We’d like to reiterate that your work activity may be tracked through screenshots and recordings, and we’d also like to add that there is a webcam shot feature that project managers may use to see their teammates right in front of their eyes…
Okay, maybe the thought of that may be quite concerning, especially for some who are protective of their privacy, but don’t worry – not all admins want to use this, so there’s a good reason why the webcam shots and screengrabs are optional and can be enabled or disabled depending on how the admin user feels.
As Time Doctor promises that all your activity and likeness will not be force-shared in vain, the same sentiment can be applied to the payment information typed into the platform by you or your teammates, which will then be automatically deleted after a short while for the sake of privacy.
Time Doctor further takes up drastic security measures to ensure that every user’s account isn’t easily breached. This includes strong password policies and 2FA protection. All data stored within the platform is protected by strong SSL encryption with maximum security. Plus, since Time Doctor is cloud-based, expect all your stored data to be backed up regularly. In the case of a power or internet outage, you may have them recovered shortly, so your progress won’t be lost.
The bottom line: Do you use Time Doctor?
Time Doctor is a time management tool that can be used by freelancers and professional teams. It offers both the simplicity of a task management system and the sophistication of an advanced time tracker. This creates a harmonious balance between them.
Although the range of dynamic features in this app has left us speechless, we still found the experience to be awe-inspiring. However, it would have been much better if the UI and UX were more clear, less cohesive and lacking in functionality in mobile apps. There was also a lack of report graphics options and, to a certain extent, a disorienting UI. These problems may have hindered other users as well as us from enjoying the experience to its fullest. Others don’t mind, though, because it does exactly what it was designed to do: track time.
We believe Time Doctor is able to hold its own, even though it doesn’t offer the same ease of use as other apps. Besides, every time management platform shines uniquely, right?
FAQ Time vs Reality
How do I contact Time Doctor’s customer support team?
Time Doctor’s customer service hotline can be approached either through e-mail or live chat. There is currently no phone support option provided. If you have a pressing matter that you need to resolve, and you feel the best way to do this is by calling the hotline. You will be notified by the hotline and can reach them any time.
You won’t find any tutorials or tips for Time Doctor anywhere else.
Though there are YouTube videos and how-to articles from independent creators that have already discussed it in full detail, Time Doctor does offer its users an alternative through its dedicated help center, where most of the information included comes from the team behind the platform themselves.
To apply for a Time Doctor paid plan, do I need credit card information?
You don’t have to sign up with your credit card for the limited 14-day trial. If you are done with the trial period, you can bring it up again to purchase a Time Doctor subscription.
Does Time Doctor comply with HIPAA?
Yes. Time Doctor adheres to the standards and rules of the US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Even though it can technically be used for a vast range of niches, industries, and professions, the platform can be a solid addition to healthcare teams.