If you manage a remote team, you understand how difficult it is to discern what team members are working on—or if they are working at all. Requesting frequent updates can make you appear as a micromanager and be distracting to your coworkers. Time Doctor stands itself as a dependable time tracking and productivity tool, as seen by a review from a delighted user.
Time Doctor and other tools can assist you in better knowing what team members are doing during work hours. They also enable you to detect and eliminate bottlenecks and time-wasters. In this article, we are going to give a review of what Time Doctor is, the pricing plan, the pros and cons of Time Doctor, features and customer service.
What Exactly Is Time Doctor?
Time Doctor is a powerful staff performance management and productivity tracking application used by both large corporations and small businesses to boost overall productivity. Additionally, firms with a remote work style, as well as freelancers, can track their performance using mobile (Android) and desktop applications (Windows, Linux, and Mac).
Employee work hours can be tracked down to the second with this time monitoring application. You may also keep track of how much time you spend on different tasks, projects, and clients. Time Doctor uses this data to generate various real-time reports such as attendance, chronology, activity summary, and so on.
Plans and Pricing
Time Doctor features three programmes and a 14-day free trial that does not require a credit card. Time Doctor costs more than alternative time and attendance solutions, such as Buddy Punch and OnTheClock. Users who pay annually receive two months of service free, lowering the cost.
The least-priced plan tracks time and activities but lacks integration. Depending on the size of your organisation, the mid-tier package may be a better fit because it combines customer relationship management software, payroll and communications capabilities. The highest tier provides the most visibility into productivity with its infinite groups. This tool helps you establish groups for each project or customer, delivering granular details regarding productivity on a given project, task or job.
Time Doctor service plans include:
#1. Basic
The Basic package costs £8 per user per month or £80 per user with annual billing. It features time and activity tracking, unlimited screenshots and task and project management. Users can create one group or department, and Time Doctor stores data for one month.
#2. Standard
The Standard edition costs £10 per user each month, or £100 per user with a yearly prepayment. It includes everything from the Basic plan, plus app and URL tracking, integrations, email notifications and payroll options. Time Doctor keeps data for six months and allows users to create three groups or departments.
#3. Premium
A premium subscription costs £14 per month per user or £140 per year per user. It includes all of the features of the Standard package as well as VIP support, video screen capture, and an internet connectivity report. Users can create an infinite number of groups or departments and store data indefinitely.
User Interface and Features
Time Doctor includes many of the same capabilities as the other time and attendance software we tested, as well as a few extra functions found in the top employee monitoring software.
#1. Time Management
Employees can track their time as they work once Time Doctor’s software is set up. We enjoy how the system can record employee time even when the team member’s device is down. This isn’t an option available to all competitors, but it can be useful for mobile teams or personnel with restricted or intermittent internet access.
#2. Employee Hour Tracking With Time Doctor
The Time Doctor tracks how much time employees spend on each of their projects or tasks. Time Doctor also includes screen recordings and screenshots, which chronicle what team members are working on at any given time. Having physical documentation of what employees do during work hours might help you prove and understand how time is spent.
#3. Tracking of Jobs and Tasks
Employees may now report how much of their workday is spent on certain projects or tasks, which allows you to manage employee activity, bill clients for work time, and even plan staffing for future projects. Job tracking is also useful for identifying time waste and opportunities for improvement or future training.
#4. Payroll Management
Although Time Doctor does not provide payroll services, it interfaces easily with top-rated payroll software such as Gusto. After recording employee hours using Time Doctor, the system can organise the data into timesheets that can be simply sent to your payroll platform. This integration method seems to be very conventional to us. Time Doctor supports manual changes in addition to automated timesheets. We particularly enjoy that Time Doctor allows you to choose between different pay periods and currencies for employee payments.
#5. Alerts and Reports
Time Doctor may track a variety of employee statistics, including time and online and app activity. This information is useful for payroll, invoicing, and budgeting. Administrators can access thorough reports, as well as optional screenshots and time reports, to gain a better understanding of how employees spend their time. Distraction alerts are a function that is exclusive to Time Doctor. These alert employees when they have been inactive or distracted for an extended period and serve as a reminder to get them back on track to be productive.
Data Management
Time Doctor’s data entry is divided into projects or departments depending on how you intend to use the tool, and then into jobs within each project or department. The software allows you to create permanent tasks that will appear on your dashboard at all times. These tasks are accessed by clicking on the infinity symbol icon. This is useful for businesses when employees conduct repetitive jobs and do not want to go into the system and create new tasks every time they want to be tracked.
The software can track any data placed into it and pull it into whatever report you generate using its seven pre-built reports. Time Doctor also offers a “Poor Time Use” report, which records how much time your employees spend on social networking, news websites, and any other websites you find inappropriate.
Unfortunately, this feature does not tell you if employees were doing something constructive on another screen; thus, employees who like to listen to the news while entering data will be labelled as time-wasters even if they completed their tasks. Time Doctor did not provide me with a list of all the websites it considers to be time-wasters, but it did include Facebook and YouTube in my test account.
If you want to micromanage your micromanagement powers, you can send Time Doctor a list of time-wasting websites, and the business will make this tough system even worse. To protect employees, when they click on a “Poor Time Use” website, a pop-up window appears asking if they truly want to view the video or visit that website.
You can pay employees for work entered into the system by connecting your Payoneer, PayPal, and TransferWise accounts to Time Doctor. These are non-coded integrations that require you to enter your user names and passwords. You can schedule payments for any length of time you like. Rates can be changed or fixed-rate payments might be used.
Time Doctor now connects with services like Google Calendar, allowing you to track time by adding a Time Doctor tracking button within the Google app. Time Doctor also integrates bidirectionally with services such as Asana, Trello, and Jira. The goal is to make consumers comfortable in their familiar working environment.
Time Doctor Configuration
Unlike a more complex time and attendance system, Time Doctor just takes approximately 10 minutes to set up and three to five minutes to configure employees. You can begin a free trial of the Basic, Standard, or Premium plans, and when it expires, you can enter payment information to continue using the service.
Time Doctor offers free onboarding assistance to businesses with 20 or more users.
Time Doctor’s on-screen instructions for account setting made the process as simple as following a few basic directions. This covers generating projects and tasks as well as entering customer information.
You can also distinguish between productive and ineffective websites and applications. Once finished, send email invitations to your team. Employees use the link to confirm their email addresses and generate passwords. Depending on your company’s policies, your employees may be required to check permissions. Time Doctor comes with on-screen prompts as well as a PDF onboarding manual.
Pros of Time Doctor
Let’s take a look at the review of some of the additional advantages of employing Time Doctor:
- Manual time editing is supported
- Tracks time without requiring the user to select a task
- Strict data protection and privacy policies
- There is a desktop app for Windows, Mac, and Linux
- A mobile app for Android devices is available
- A strong Chrome extension is available
- Easy-to-use settings for employees
- Customer service representatives who respond quickly
- An API is provided for integrating any software application
Cons of Time Doctor
In this article, we have given a review of the powerful features of Time Doctor that can help you simply control employee productivity and performance in your organisation.
However, as with any monitoring tool, it has certain small drawbacks that can occur from poor software usage:
#1. Managers May Use Time Doctor to Micromanage Employees
Managers might use the application to regulate every element of their employees’ daily activities by monitoring their activity second by second. Time Doctor, on the other hand, is intended to assist you rather than micromanage. Your staff are held accountable using Time Doctor. You only need to get into granular detail if you wish to track good or bad performance or if there is a specific training need or performance issue that needs to be addressed.
#2. Employees May Be Encouraged to Work More Hours
In another instance, firms or managers may choose to reward people with the most recorded time. Such expectations might lead to employees working overtime and eventually burning out. To avert such scenarios, anyone may now use time and attendance statistics to discover if employees have worked too many hours and encourage them to take time off.
Time Doctor is now introducing a Work-Life Balance report to assist companies and managers in predicting when employees are showing indications of burnout. This report will assist them in anticipating future work-life balance issues and taking the necessary steps to address them.
#3. Employees May Not Like the Fact That They Are Being Watched
Sometimes workers may be resistant to having their work hours and activities monitored by tools such as Time Doctor. This is frequently because they regard the programme, like other surveillance software, as an infringement on privacy. Time Doctor, on the other hand, focuses on empowering staff to become more accountable and productive. To encourage employees to utilise the software, it provides various employee-friendly features such as manually changing time, disabling screen capture, and more. Furthermore, the tool has rigorous privacy and security regulations in place to safeguard the safety of its users.
Employees can utilise the tracking app data to:
- Recognise their most productive hours
- Determine the primary sources of distractions
- Recognise opportunities for time management
- Determine training options, among other things
That is why, rather than pitching the tool as a monitoring solution, businesses should educate employees on how monitoring their performance can benefit them. The benefits and features of Time Doctor far surpass any worries regarding its use. What makes it even more tempting is its exceptionally low price.
Customer Service at Time Doctor
Time Doctor is a searchable knowledge base that includes detailed how-to manuals, video lessons, and FAQs. Many assistance articles contain animated GIFs that guide you through each step. Time Doctor lacks a community forum and phone assistance, which are popular among time and attendance software suppliers.
Time Doctor users receive unlimited email, chat, and help ticket support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which is superior to When I Work and QuickBooks Time, which offers more limited hours. Users can also talk within the Time Doctor dashboard or via a web browser.
Is It Necessary for the Time Doctor to Have Access to a Computer’s Camera?
Screenshots and recordings are optional Time Doctor tools that require employees to have access to their cameras. A camera is not required if these options are not used.
Can Time Doctor Provide Information About Employee Location?
No, Time Doctor does not have GPS capabilities and does not share location data with employers. However, administrators may need periodic screenshots or screen recordings, which may reveal your location.
Is the Time Doctor Equipped With Project Management Tools?
Administrators can set up clients, projects, and tasks using Time Doctor’s limited project management features. It does not, however, offer in-app collaboration, and in most circumstances, you should use a specialist project management platform.
What Exactly Is the Distinction Between Time Doctor and Time Doctor 2?
Switching to Time Doctor 2 unlocks a slew of additional tools and reports, allowing you to glean even more weekday insights to boost productivity and performance. One of the new features you’ll get to enjoy if you upgrade to Time Doctor 2 is custom email notifications, among other things!
What Businesses Make Use of Time Doctor?
Firms like Ericsson, Thrive Market, and the Better Business Bureau use Time Doctor to give hybrid and fully remote teams the accountability, transparency, and visibility they need to succeed. Managers can use Time Doctor to track when remote staff clock in and exit. Tasks and initiatives for individuals and groups.
Conclusion
Its capabilities, such as time tracking, productivity rating, screenshot monitoring, and so on, can help you easily monitor staff performance. On the other hand, using Time Doctor incorrectly may cause some concern among your personnel.
A thorough Time Doctor review confirms the software’s usefulness in improving workplace efficiency and time management. It’s advisable to go for the 30-day free trial to see how convenient it is for you before subscribing to any plan on Time Doctor.
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