Why You Should Upgrade From Online Timesheet Software
Tracking employee hours with spreadsheets or paper timesheets is like using a flip phone to take a photo — sure, it works, but it won’t give you the clearest picture.
While manual time tracking systems suffice as a short-term or quick-fix solution, they quickly create bottlenecks. Because they’re not centrally synced or easy to interact with in real-time, they open the door to inaccuracies (like payroll), inefficiencies (like added admin time), and even manipulation (like time theft).
No matter your industry or vertical, you don’t need slip-ups with labor costs or compliance, especially in an inflationary global market.
Online timesheet software helps mitigate these risks at the source. While they’re a great starting point, timesheets aren’t the complete solution you may think they are. Here, we’ll break down what’s included in timesheet software, what isn’t, and what your organization really needs for a comprehensive time and attendance strategy.
What is online timesheet software?
Online timesheet software takes all the conveniences of digital timesheets — cloud-based, real-time, no paper trails to track down — and configures them to your organization’s unique needs, all in one place.
Managers can use timesheet apps to monitor attendance, spot issues, and approve timesheets without digging through email attachments or printed logs. Typical features may include:
- Clock-in/clock-out functionality
- Break tracking
- Project or client tagging
- Automated calculations for total hours and overtime
- Streamlined approval, editing, and review functions
- Options to export to payroll providers
However, where online timesheet software stops, time tracking software continues.
Why free online timesheet software isn’t enough
“Do I really need all this extra stuff? I just need to get a process in place right now.”
It’s a valid question, and one that many organizations ask early on. If you’re still working with paper timesheets or spreadsheets, free software can be a great starting point. But as your workforce grows in size and complexity, or you’re looking to mature your operations, most free tools fall short where it matters most.
When it comes to an online timesheet app, you get what you pay for. Here’s why going with free may do more harm than good for your organization:
Limited features = limited insight
Most free online timesheet software sticks with basic in/out logging. While they may help you track time, you’re left looking out for the details on your own, like missed breaks or overtime thresholds. Simplicity comes at the cost of surface-level insights, increasing the odds you miss something more valuable.
Getting stuck with inefficient systems
Even with digital timesheets, you still need a responsible party to:
- Export data for payroll
- Double-check hours for compliance
- Manually chase down missing or incomplete entries
Free online software can lock your HR or payroll team into low-leverage tasks that full-time tracking software could eliminate entirely.
No scalability or support
Free tools rarely offer upward mobility, so what you see is what you get. As your needs grow — new locations, more employees, tighter compliance — “free” starts to lose its luster as your software becomes a ceiling instead of a solution.
Security and compliance grey areas
Uncertainty isn’t optional when you’re working with employee data, trying to stay audit-ready, or ensuring adherence to labor laws. Most free tools come at the cost of lowered data encryption, access control, and compliance standards.
Using these tools may unintentionally increase your risk of errors, noncompliance, or security lapses—none of which are “free” to fix.
Free online timesheet software might cover the basics, but if you’re serious about accuracy, efficiency, and compliance, you’ll quickly outgrow it. Full-featured time tracking software is an investment for your organization to run smoother, smarter, and with fewer surprises.
What is time tracking software?
Online timesheet software is often confused with time tracking software. While there can be overlap, online timesheet software generally falls under the broader category of time tracking software.
The key difference? Timesheets largely focus on when and how long employees work (timekeeping). Time tracking software may layer in additional features for project management, scheduling, and/or reporting for a proactive time strategy.
Think of it like this — if online timesheets are the foundation, time tracking software is the whole house, giving you timesheet app capabilities plus:
- Sending alerts for overtime or compliance thresholds
- Managing leave, absences, and accruals
- Providing managers insight into workloads and projects
- Tracking billable vs. non-billable hours
- Automating payroll or integrating with existing tools
While you might start by looking for an online timesheet software, most organizations actually need capabilities that only a time tracking solution can provide.
Benefits of switching from online timesheet systems to time tracking software
Full disclosure, TCP is a time tracking software company. We are interested in helping organizations like yours upgrade from timesheets. However, we’ll never push or sell on software if we don’t think you’ll get outsized benefits from switching.
That said, here are seven reasons why upgrading to time tracking software might be a better fit than paper timesheets, plain digital spreadsheets, or timesheet apps.
1. Reduce payroll errors automatically
Manual timesheets — whether paper- or spreadsheet-based — invite miscalculations in total hours, overtime, PTO, shift differentials, and holiday pay.
According to the American Payroll Association, “Manually keying anything into a system nowadays is an outdated practice. It is also time-consuming and prone to human error.” In fact:
- 80% of paper timesheets have errors that require correction.
- Companies using time tracking software are 44% less likely to make payroll mistakes.
- Automating timecard calculations can reduce processing time from 7 minutes to just 1 minute per card.
Time tracking software reduces error potential by automatically calculating total hours, overtime, and exceptions. It also alerts you to discrepancies before they become payroll problems.
2. Save time by eliminating manual processes
Every hour your team spends chasing down missing timesheets, manually keying in hours, or double-checking totals is time they aren’t spending on work that drives value.
This affects:
- Managers who waste hours verifying and approving time.
- HR teams who spend excessive time on data entry and payroll adjustments.
- Employees who lose trust when errors affect their paychecks.
Timesheets can also slow down operations. The American Productivity & Quality Center (APQC) found it can take 5–10 days to resolve a single payroll error in low-performing organizations. With time tracking software, you avoid this problem altogether.
3. Support distributed teams
When you operate across multiple job sites, manage remote or hybrid staff, or support mobile field teams, manual timesheets compound risk. Inconsistent formats, delayed submissions, and a lack of real-time insight can lead to payroll delays and compliance issues.
Meanwhile, cloud-based time tracking:
- Centralizes all-time data
- Enables mobile clock-ins with geotagging
- Gives managers real-time visibility across locations
Whether your workforce is on-site, remote, or blended, time tracking software keeps everyone on the same page — without operating like it’s still 2003 with spreadsheets and paper forms.
4. Maintain compliance and audit readiness
Manual systems can leave you vulnerable to risk if you’re in a compliance-heavy industry like healthcare, construction, hospitality, or the public sector.
Time tracking software mitigates this risk by helping you:
- Automatically flag violations (missed breaks, excessive hours, overtime rules)
- Maintain audit-ready records for Department of Labor, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or grant reviews
- Control access to sensitive payroll data, helping meet privacy and security requirements
For example, TCP’s solutions are TX-RAMP Level 2 certified (TimeClock Plus, Humanity, Aladtec), SOC 3 compliant (TimeClock Plus, Humanity, Aladtec, ScheduleAnywhere), and meet NIST 800-53 security standards — so your data is protected, and you worry less about your compliance posture.
5. Enhance accessibility of employee timesheets and records
Accuracy is the baseline expectation for your employees. Accessibility is how you deliver the best time tracking experience, giving them visibility and control over their time and pay data.
With self-service features in a time tracking system, employees can:
- View their hours, accruals, and PTO balances
- Submit leave requests
- Verify and correct time entries before payroll runs
… all without having to work through multiple stakeholders in HR or a convoluted ticketing system. This level of transparency reduces anxiety in the payroll process for both you and your teams, improving satisfaction and accuracy by reducing pay-related surprises.
6. Shift from reactive to proactive time tracking
Manual time tracking is almost always a game of catch-up. You notice errors after they’ve already impacted your schedules and your payroll. You attempt to fix overtime after it has been worked. Your deadlines have already slipped once you spot them in the timesheet.
Time tracking software puts you ahead of your problems instead of just documenting them.
Real-time dashboards, alerts, and reports give you visibility into trends as they happen. You can catch issues before they snowball — overtime limits, clock in/clock out inconsistencies, hour discrepancies on projects, etc. Proactive time tracking equates to fewer fires being put out at the end of every pay cycle and more informed decisions at every level of your organization.
7. Reduce the mental load of managing time
Time tracking shouldn’t be a second job for anyone on your team. But limiting yourself to online timesheet software means employees still might have to remember and log their hours, while you hope nothing gets lost in the process.
Even if they’re digital and convenient, you’re still stuck combing through timesheets to review. And when you have to fix a problem, you’re locked in back-and-forth threads to resolve problems.
Time tracking software steps up where timesheet apps can’t. Features like automated reminders and one-click approvals go beyond improving time management, creating a system for reclaiming cognitive capacity. And every hour saved on time tracking is an hour your team gets back to focus on the work they’re hired for.
How to switch from online timesheets to time tracking software
Timesheets are necessary when calculating pay, generating invoices, and managing projects. But online timesheet software has its shortcomings, and it’s impossible to build a mature time and attendance strategy based on their capabilities alone.
Switching from simple online timesheet templates or spreadsheets is the first step in taking control of your time tracking. Time tracking software incorporates timesheet capabilities — so managers don’t have to track down every employee’s timesheet or waste time manually logging data — without the limitations of standalone timesheet apps.
If you’re ready to learn exactly what you should be looking for, check out our article for everything you need to know about employee time tracking software.
TCP Software’s employee scheduling and time and attendance solutions have the flexibility and scalability to suit your business and your employees, now and as you grow.
From TimeClock Plus, which automates even the most complex payroll calculations and leave management requests, to Humanity Schedule for dynamic employee scheduling that saves you time and money, we have everything you need to meet your organization’s needs, no matter how unique. Plus, with Aladtec, we offer 24/7 public safety scheduling solutions for your hometown heroes.
Ready to learn how TCP Software takes the pain out of employee scheduling and time tracking? Speak with an expert today.
