We Reviewed 10 Best Timely Alternatives for Creative Agencies in 2024

Timely is an automatic time-tracking software that records your billable hours in the background without any manual effort. 

It's great, but it may not be a fit for you because:

• Its task tracking tool is only an add-on feature and Timely doesn't have other features creative agencies need. 
• It doesn't integrate with any payroll solution, so if you're looking for a tool that can track your time and manage your payments, it's not your best choice. 
• It only records the time you spend on the application you're currently using. So, if you tried to multitask during a meeting, Timely would not record the total time you spent there. 

I reviewed 10 Timely alternatives that can help you track and bill your clients based on the hours you put in. 

10 Best Timely Alternatives for Creative Agencies in 2024

These are 10 Timely alternatives, with features that can improve team collaboration, client feedback, and agency branding. 

1. ManyRequests 

ManyRequests is a time-tracking solution for creative agencies. 

It integrates directly into a client portal and lets you manage project time while working on a task. 

Here are the features that makes it the best Timely alternative: 

• Time Tracking Feature 

ManyRequests tracks the time each team member spends on a task and reflects directly on the task’s details. 

This means your client can see the tracked time as your team works, if you allow them.  

Time tracking on ManyRequests is also straightforward through two easy ways: 

• Actual time tracking: Your team member can start and stop a timer before and after working on a task. It automatically records how much time they spend and syncs it to the project. 

It looks like this: 

The Play symbol at the upper right corner starts the Timer. Once the timer starts, it stays at the top of the page till you switch it off. 

• Manual Time Tracking: This feature helps you log manual hours into a timesheet if you couldn’t start or stop the clock. Timesheets are editable (you can round it up or down), and you can edit entries for auditing purposes. 

Both methods link to every task and helps you bill better. 

• Client Reporting System 

ManyRequests has two client reporting systems— real-time reporting and a downloaded PDF version. 

The real-time view connects time directly to project status. 

You can see how many hours your team logs and what tasks they spend it on. 

The highlight is that your client can also see it. 

If your client needs to see a compiled timesheet, the ManyRequests timesheet automatically shows a detailed or summarized version of the logs. 

If your client wants the timesheet as a file, you can download the PDF version and send it as a file. The client can also access this file from their client portal.  

ManyRequests also connects these hours to the dollar rate. 

Every hour tracked links to the project's dollar values based on your rates (which you’d typically set while designing your Service catalog. 

Seeing the active hours and equivalent cost can help you generate accurate invoices and reduce administrative errors.  

• All-in-one client management 

Besides tracking time spent and sharing reports with your clients, you can do much more with ManyRequests. 

ManyRequests is a client portal and project management software for your agency. 

Your clients can make task requests, send precise feedback on tasks, check the project status of their active tasks, and see any updates through the messaging feature. 

ManyRequests is also a white-label client portal so you can brand it with your domain, logo, colors, and other design elements. 

Clients can see everything about their project, including the hours, the team working on it, and the project's status, from their own portal. 

It looks like this: 

You don't have to subscribe to other apps with ManyRequests. It has everything you need, including CRM, invoicing and billing, design annotation feature, service builder, and client portal in one platform. 

ManyRequests Pros

1. The time tracking feature integrates into the client portal. This means you can track hours, manage your team, and communicate with your client on the platform. 
2. Time entries can be edited, so one mistake doesn't ruin your report. 
3. You can automatically assign tasks to your team and track the task to completion from the portal. 
4. Your clients can also see active projects from their portal. 

ManyRequests Cons

1. There's a limited free trial. ManyRequests' 14-day free trial may not be enough to get accustomed to the platform. 
2. You can only export the timesheet report in a PDF format.

ManyRequests Pricing

Starter pack: $99/ monthly for 2 members. 

Core: $149/ monthly for 5 members. 

Pro: $399/ monthly for 10 members.

Enterprise plan with custom pricing for a large team with over 25 members. Reach out to Robin to discuss a customized plan for your large team. 

You can add an extra member for $40/seat for all categories. 

2. Clockify

Alternative for small businesses and freelancers looking for basic time-tracking features. 

Clockify is a Timely alternative that lets you track the time spent on projects and organize tasks for your team. It’s popular because of features like: 

• Auto Tracker

Clockify's auto-tracker feature records how much time you spend on other apps and websites without manual input. 

This means that you can switch between apps while working, and Clockify would automatically track the time you spend on those apps. 

It starts tracking after 10 seconds of inactivity, and you can customize it to adjust sensitivity settings. 

• Project Management 

Clockify lets you create projects and break them into smaller tasks. 

Assign those tasks under the project file to your team members, and when they track their time, it automatically connects them to the right project and task. 

You can also track billable and non-billable hours on each task. 

While I was tinkering with Clockify, I found that you can also set all entries under a particular project as billable by default, add your hourly rate, and Clockify then calculates your project costs based on tracked time and budget. 

• Idle detection

Clockify's idle detection spots when you've stopped using your computer. 

If you had to leave your computer for a few minutes and you didn't stop the timer, Clockify records that time as idle. This can affect the calculations though because if you’re a software developer or a designer working on a separate, bigger computer, the app will not capture all the time spent because you switched devices. 

• Clockify Pricing

Free: $0

Basic: $4.99 per seat monthly 

Standard: $6.99 per seat monthly 

Pro: $9.99 per seat monthly 

Enterprise: $14.99 per seat monthly 

Productivity suite: $15.99 per seat monthly

Clockify Pros

1. Has a free version
2. Free versions can take unlimited users 
3. Its paid plans are competitive.

Clockify Cons

1. It only provides basic time tracking and invoicing features, which may be unsuitable for big agencies.
2. You may find it difficult to create a detailed report with Clockify.
3. You can’t track time without internet access. 
4. It doesn’t have advanced project management features. 

3. Harvest

Basic time tracking for small agencies and freelancers.  

Harvest doesn't offer as many features as one would want, but its intuitive interface is its superpower. 

It follows a simple process— you can set up projects,  track time spent, create a timesheet, and create an invoice with the data. The following features makes it a solid Timely alternative: 

• Time-tracking 

Harvest tracks time in two ways. The Timer method tracks time with a click— you would have to log in to the timesheet and click start and stop before and after your task. 

You can also manually input your hours later, especially if you forgot to start the timer or you worked offline. You can track time from your mobile phone, desktops, or browsers and use the Google Calendar integration to refer to events on your calendar while filling your timesheet. 

• Reporting 

Reporting is categorized into four tabs. You can filter your timesheets by client, project, tasks, or team members. 

Each category shows detailed information on how many hours your agency used on a task or project within a timeframe. 

You can filter the timeframe to show you weekly, semi-monthly, monthly, quarterly, yearly, or all-time reports on time tracked by your agency. 

• Integration 

Harvest integrates tools like Zapier for automation, HubSpot for CRM, Slack for communication, Google Drive for file storage, and QuickBooks for accounting. 

It also integrates with Stripe and PayPal to improve payment processes. 

Harvest Pros

1. Harvest has a simple and user-friendly interface 
2. You can access many integrations from the software 
3. Its features are basic and can be used by any team or organization.
4. It has a free plan.

Harvest Cons

1. It's too basic. If you need an advanced time-tracking tool with key features like task management and client portal, you might want to choose ManyRequests instead. 
2. There's no time-tracking dashboard. 

Harvest Pricing

Pro: $13.75 per seat monthly 

Premium: $17.50 per seat monthly 

Free: allows 1 seat and 2 projects. 

4. Toggl Track

Simple task-tracking tool for agencies

Toggl Track is another Timely alternative with an intuitive user interface and a simple approach to time tracking. Some of its features include: 

• Automated Time Tracking 

Toggl Track records your time automatically as you work between different apps and tasks. 

It logs your activity in the background when you navigate to other tabs — you don't need to start or stop timers manually. 

It also keeps any data it tracks completely private on your device. 

Toggl will only share this data when you convert it into entries. 

You control which activities become billable entries for clients or reports, and you don't have to worry about sharing unintended timesheets with your clients. 

Toggl's automation works through keyword mapping. 

It scans your window titles for keywords you set up and links them to specific projects. 

If your client's website appears in your browser title, Toggl may prompt you to track that time to their project plan. 

• Idle time

Toggl alerts you about idle time when you step away from your keyboard. 

You decide whether to discard that time or save it as a new time entry. 

• Reporting

Toggl generates three kinds of reports:  

Summary tracks total time entries. 

Detailed shows each time you made an entry and all the information on it. 

And you can also check your weekly reports in the Weekly section. 

You can filter these reports by client, project, and user, and you can also export them in multiple formats. 

Toggl Track Pros

1. It tracks time offline.
2. You can use it on different devices.
3. It has a basic task management feature.

Toggl Track Cons

1. It doesn't integrate with any native payroll solution.
2. There's no scheduling tool.
3. Admins cannot edit timesheets submitted, which can lead to a lot of back-and-forth between you and your team. 

Toggl Pricing

Free: $0

Starter: $10 per user every month. 

Premium: $20 per user every month. 

Enterprise: Custom pricing. 

Read our  Toggl vs. Clockify comparison here.

5. Hubstaff

Best for tracking remote team members.

Hubstaff is one of the few time management tools, besides ManyRequests, that has a dashboard and some project management features. 

This makes sense because Hubstaff is designed for remote teams and freelancers. 

Hubstaff generates automated timesheets that your agency can use to manage payroll. 

And they can do this on PC, iOS, Linux, Android, or Mac. Your team can also track their time online with the Web app or Chrome tracker. Other features of this Timely alternative includes: 

• Time tracking 

Hubstaff records work hours automatically. 

It takes a screenshot of your team member’s screen three times every 10 minutes so you can see their active and idle times. 

You can see these screenshots in the Activity section of the Hubstaff dashboard. 

It calculates your keyboard strokes and mouse movements during the tracked time, so it's easy to notify you of idle time. 

For every second you move your mouse, Hubstaff labels you as active, and inactive if otherwise. Psyche. 

• Project Management 

Like any project management tool, you can create projects, assign tasks, and set budgets for projects in Hubstaff. 

The Hubstaff dashboard shows task progress and time spent on each project. It also integrates with tools like Asana, Trello, and Jira for more advanced project tracking. 

• Time Off Management 

You can set different leave types like vacation, sick days, or holidays. 

Your team can also submit time off requests. The system then tracks these leave balances and shows you who is available and who is not. 

Pros

1. Hubstaff is easy to use
2. It has project management features, so it's easier to assign and track time on one platform.
3. Works on mobile, desktop, and web apps.

Cons 

1. Some people might find the screenshot feature intrusive and uncomfortable.
2. Mobile apps don't allow administrative tasks, even tasks as minute as approving a time-off request. 
3. There's no work break in a Starter plan. You'll have to pay more. 

Hubstaff Pricing

Hubstaff monthly subscription, with a minimum of 2 teams, includes: 

• Starter: $7
• Grow: $9
• Team: $12
• Enterprise: $25

6. Time Doctor

Monitors employees to improve productivity and workflow. 

While Time Doctor is primarily a time monitoring tool, it has some impressive project management and reporting features. These are: 

• Time Tracking 

Time Doctor tracks time online and offline. 

If a team member is taking a break, Time Doctor notifies them that they've been inactive for a while, and if the user doesn't respond, the system assumes they've logged off and stops tracking. 

The system transfers these data onto the timesheet, so you can see how much time your team spends working on a project. 

• Project Management 

Time Doctor links time entries to specific projects and tasks. 

You can see how long each task takes and the team members working on it— it's also a good way to know which members waste time on projects and who does their work efficiently. 

• Reports and Payroll

Time Doctor reports every detail of your team's activities. 

You can see their website visit, time usage, app usage, attendance report, hours tracked, and optional screenshots. 

It shows how much time in hours and minutes employees spent on assigned tasks, how they spent their time on apps during these periods, and screenshots of their screens. 

Time Doctor Pricing

Basic: ($8/user/month): Time tracking and activity monitoring

Standard: ($14/user/month): Adds time approvals and break tracking.  

Premium ($20/user/month): Includes client access and executive dashboard 

Enterprise: custom pricing 

Time Doctor Pros

1. Team members can use Time Doctor offline.
2. It sends distraction alerts.
3. Integrates with payment platforms. 

Time Doctor Cons:

1. Employees may find Time Doctor's screenshot and monitoring features invasive, as this user on Reddit does. 

7. Tick

Best for basic time tracking and project budget features. 

Tick is a time-tracking software and Timely alternative for individuals and agencies. It tracks time on client projects and the tasks involved in these projects. 

These are some of its features: 

• Time Tracking

Tick uses timers to track work hours. 

You can run one timer for your whole day or set multiple timers for different tasks on your phone, computer, or Chrome browser. 

Tick calls their Timesheet a Time Card. 

Once you're done with a task for the day and you stop the timer, you select the project, select the task, and punch in your time. 

It'll also ask you to enter notes about the work you did. 

Tick also shows when you spend too much time on a task, but it doesn't have a break timer. You'll need to create separate tasks to track the breaks you take in between tasks. 

• Reporting

Tick generates reports by team members or clients. Admins can see each team member's logged hours or how much time a task takes.  

The report shows you: 

• Time spent on each client's projects
• Individual employee work hours
• Budget progress for all projects

The report expands with one click, so you don't need to create new reports or refresh pages to see more details. 

Tick Pricing

Tick's pricing is by project. 

If you're working on one project, you get a free plan. You’ll pay extra if you add more projects, as much as $79 per month for a 60 projects plan.

Tick Pros

1. All subscription plans allow unlimited users.
2. Tick's timers are reliable. 

Tick Cons

1. UI looks outdated
2. Not the best option for large teams

8. Time Camp

Automated tracking solution for businesses of all sizes 

Time Camp automatically tracks your agency's working hours, breaks, clock-in and clock-out times. 

Let's check out some of its features: 

• Automatic Time tracking 

TimeCamp fills timesheets automatically by tracking your work in real time. 

The desktop app Window, Mac, or Linux titles as you work. 

When it spots your keywords (like "Google Docs" or "Asana") on your tab, it assigns time to the right project— you work and TimeCamp tracks.

TimeCamp also tracks:

• Start and end time for tasks. 
• Efficiency levels
• Time off 

It converts these data to payroll reports and team attendance, so you see exactly when your team works and what they work on. 

• Timesheet

You can input time tracked into your timesheets in many ways. You can use the:  

• Day view;
• Calendar view;
• Week view for bulk entries;
• Copy entries from previous days

Once your team members submit their timesheets, you can view their records and approve or reject them.

• Reporting 

TimeCamp uses four report types: 

1. Summary Reports: Show total time on tasks.

2. Detailed Reports: Display individual time entries with timestamps and notes.

3. Daily Reports: Group each user's time by day.

4. Pivot Tables: Let you create custom reports by choosing columns and rows.

You can also check your team's performance by days or tasks, track expenses, know your employee location data, and separate billable hours from non-billable hours from these reports. 

• Integration 

TimeCamp integrates over 30 tools directly, including project management tools like Trello, Monday.com, and Salesforce. 

Pricing 

Starter: $1.99 monthly per user

Premium: $3.99 monthly per user

Ultimate: $5.99 monthly per user

Enterprise: $14.99 monthly per user

Free: $0 with timesheets and unlimited users. 

Time Camp Pro

1. TimeCamp has a free plan for unlimited users
2. Billing rates can be customized.
3. User-friendly interface 

Time Camp Cons

1. Lacks advanced tools, like visual timelines and task dependencies. 

9. Desk time

Time & productivity tracking app for companies & freelancers. Some of its features include: 

• Time-tracking 

You can track time manually or automatically. For the latter, 

• Download the desktop app; it automatically starts or stops tracking time when you switch your computer on or off. 
• If your computer is idle for more than 3 minutes, TimeCamp assumes you're unavailable and records a break Time. 

• Scheduling 

You can create schedules to help your team know when they're supposed to work and what they're working on. 

If you set a deadline that's not comfortable, they can ask for more flexible time, and it's up to you to approve or otherwise.

Desk Time has an Absence calendar feature for your team to log partial absences and explain why they won't be available. 

• Reporting

DeskTime software gathers and analyzes all hours tracked by your team working on projects and converts them into ready-made charts and graphs. 

You can use this report to learn about your best performers, what tasks take up a lot of time, and how to bill for them. 

DeskTime Pricing 

• Free: for freelancers. 
• Pro: $7 monthly per user. 
• Premium: $10 monthly per user
• Enterprise: $20 monthly per user for large organizations. 

DeskTime Pros

• Many users find Desk Time easy to use. 
• Reports are well-detailed. 
• Impressive scheduling features 

DeskTime Cons

• Screenshots feature in higher paid plans may freak your team out. 

10. EverHour

Simple employee monitoring tool for companies. 

EverHour is a Timely alternative that helps you keep a close tab on all your active team members. Because of a feature like time off, it’s probably best if you have employees than to use it to manage freelancers. 

• Time Tracking with Time Clock App

EverHour uses the clock app to monitor: 

• Employee work hours
• Clock-in and clock out times
• Project budgets and deadlines 
• Time off and breaks. 

It needs some setting up though, but is relatively easy to do. 

• Reporting 

EverHour has five reporting types: 

• The monthly timesheet reports show the time your team logs daily, weekly, biweekly, and monthly. It’s good for invoices. 
• Project Milestone Report to analyze time using two criteria. 
• Sprint Review Report to track project progress for team meetings. 
• Time by Tag Report to group work hours by categories. It shows billable hours, non-billable time, and invoice amounts.
• Time and Task Progress Report: lists the tasks your team works on and how much time they spend on it. 

You can export these reports in PDF, Excel, or CSV formats— through emails or download them for meetings. 

EverHour Pricing 

• Free for simple time tracking without integrations. Free for 5 users, maximum. 
• Team: has all the packages and more for $10 per user monthly for a minimum of 5 users. 

EverHour Pros

1. Integrates efficiently with project management apps
2. It has a user-friendly interface 
3. Tracks time accurately 

EverHour Cons

• It doesn't have an Android app— which is a bummer. 
• It cannot track time offline. 

Wrap-up

These 10 Timely alternatives are great, but in the end, you only need one time-tracking tool with features that can improve your team's productivity. 

If you only need time-tracking features, you may prefer Harvest, and Hubstaff is a great choice if your team is remote and in different locations. 

If you need a time-tracking app with a client management feature, choose ManyRequests. It helps you collaborate better with clients, team members, and plan capacity based on each team member’s availability and how fast they work. Sign up for a 14-day free trial to see what ManyRequests offers.