Time tracking and time management software at a glance

What time management does

Employees clock in, out and on breaks – at a terminal, in the browser, by app or through project bookings. The system compares recorded hours with working-time models, maintains flexitime and overtime accounts and calculates pay supplements. Absences such as holiday or sickness feed into the accounts. Managers review corrections and approve timesheets.

Working hours must be recorded in Germany; time management provides the evidence and makes breaches of rest periods and maximum working hours visible. Beyond documentation, it produces reports on utilisation, overtime and project effort. In shift operations, comparing planned and worked hours shows how well the planning holds up.

What to look for in time tracking software

Requirements depend heavily on working-time models and places of work. The following points should be clarified:

• Ways of recording: terminal, smartphone, browser or project booking – suitable for office, field and production staff, offline if required.
• Rules: support for flexitime, shifts, trust-based working hours, collective and works agreements without custom development.
• Integrations: transfer to payroll, connections to the core HR system, shift planning and project systems.
• Data protection: GDPR-compliant storage, role-based access, hosting location and works council co-determination.
• Operations: terminal hardware, rollout effort, support and price per employee.

Time Management, Workforce Management or Leave & Absence?

Workforce Management plans shifts in advance, while time management records the hours actually worked; many products combine both. Leave & Absence manages holiday and other absences and is often included as a module. Payroll takes over the evaluated hours for the pay run.