Hubstaff Review 2021: Time Management For All

Time management is imperative for businesses that have goals and targets to meet. However, trying to get employees on board with using new tech to manage time can be challenging. There are many options out there, and I have personally tried a few. When I heard about Hubstaff and its clean functions, I was interested in finding out how it works in practice. Here is my Hubstaff review, including screenshots from inside the app. Read my review to see if it will work for your business or individual enterprise.

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Detailed Hubstaff Review: Does it Work?

According to Dr Donald E. Wetmore from the Productivity Institute, the average worker uses 13 different methods to control and manage their time. This statistic doesn’t seem surprising when we have smartphones, watches, fit bits, smartwatches, clocks, the list goes on. So if time tracking could be made simple, it would naturally eliminate a lot of wasted time and stress.

This simplicity is where Hubstaff comes into its own. My initial impression was that it really is simple and easy to use. I will be the first to admit that I am not a high-level techy person, so I always look for the easiest and quickest option with tech. I found it incredibly easy to use.

Hubstaff Has a Clean Design

Below you will see a screenshot of the main Dashboard page for Hubstaff, and already it gives you a taste for what is ahead. As you can see, it is clean and easy on the eye. There are no bright colours or drastic artwork which could distract you. Immediately you can see where everything is, which is reassuring if you are using it for the first time.

This set up is ideal for onboarding new people to an app like this, as it will not take up valuable time training staff.

You can see on the Dashboard at a glance, your Weekly Activity, Recent Activity and Reports. When you start to use the different areas in Hubstaff, everything becomes populated, and you can create your reports, etc.

Main Areas On The Hubstaff Dashboard

There is a handy sidebar on the Dashboard that is easy to navigate. The different sections in this area are:- Activity, Timesheets, Reports, To-dos, Invoices, Schedules, Time-Off, and Expenses.

Below this, on the same side menu, you have Admin features: Projects, Members, Teams, Clients, Integrations, Payments, Settings, and More Features.

Hubstaff Review: Using Hubstaff for Time Tracking

The website details that over 40,000 businesses have already increased productivity and profit by using Hubstaff. I was keen to get started and see how Hubstaff works in practice. After all, a Hubstaff review would not be accurate without giving it a test run.

As a freelance blogger and writer, I opted to create a writing project I had for a client.

It found it was very straightforward to track time. It was as simple as pressing a button to start and stop it.

I was aware it was recording my time for the first few minutes, but this soon passed. By the time I had my first break, I had completely forgotten it was recording my time.

This experience proves that the tracking system does not affect your work experience or productivity. Quite the contrary, it enhances it.

By the end of my project, I felt my time had been more controlled and efficient. This app is excellent if you want to stop distractions and be more productive in your work.

Inviting Team Members to a Project

It is simple to invite team members to join Hubstaff via email. You can also see their current status and if they have downloaded the app etc. This constant update of information continues throughout Hubstaff in different areas of the app. It never feels “too much” as the communication is clear and feels necessary at each stage.

It is easy to find information about anything and quickly.

Projects and Hours Worked

You can create as many projects as you want and allocate yourself and team members to the different projects. When somebody records some work on the app, it automatically updates in the system. You can access the hours worked on each project at your fingertips, who is doing which project, etc.

If your business has different schedules, you can set these shifts in the app for each team member.

You receive an email notification if somebody has not started their shift.

This notification is convenient if you need to monitor attendance for different projects. It can also ensure that the correct amount of time is calculated for each project, as it only records completed work.

Hubstaff Review: Feedback From a Colleague

I also added a colleague on to the system and gave them no prior information about the app. I wanted to see how it worked for them. Interestingly, they also had a similar experience to myself. His first impressions were,

“It has a very nice user graphic and also is user-friendly. Easy to navigate and saves time.”

I think you would be hard-pressed to find anybody who would find this app difficult to use.

To-Dos Paradise for Time Management

I love to-do lists and have always made them since I was little. I also like giving To-Do lists to others 🙂 Years ago I was like the post-it queen with lists on post-its everywhere. Then several years ago, I progressed to daily planners, and they have been beneficial.

So, when I saw the To-Do list section in the app, I was ecstatic. 

You can set up a To-Do for any day of the week, and once your team members are on the system, you can allocate them to the individual To-Dos. You can also integrate the To-Do section with other project management and CRM tools. So, useful if you already have some system in place. Once the To-Do is complete, you receive a notification.

Creating Clients on Hubstaff

As you can see on the screenshot below, creating clients on the app is super easy. Also, as there are so many integrations with Hubstaff, if you have a considerable client base already, you can easily connect it up to populate this area.

If you have a set budget for a client or a set hourly rate, you can input these for individual clients.

Also, handling the accounts for clients is a doddle. You have dedicated sections for invoices and expenses, which you can allocate to the appropriate client and project. In the invoice section, you can quickly see what stage you are at with each client. The stages break down into:

• Draft
• Sent
• Partially Paid
• Paid

This process is excellent for your accounts department. Or if you are a small business or solopreneur, it can save you time and give you clarity if maths is not your thing!

Hubstaff Review: Integrations

Integrations are so important today. Luckily with Hubstaff, they have quite cleverly taken this into account. There are currently 21 integrations and counting. You can integrate it with Asana, Gitlab, Trello, Zoho Projects and Salesforce, to name just a few of them. You can see on the screenshot below all of the options.

In-Depth Reports and Support Videos

One of the things I loved about Hubstaff was the reports. You can go to the Dashboard and instantly see an overview of all the projects and how they are performing. If you love reports, you will also love Hubstaff. You can request further in-depth data that can help you monitor time even further.

A time tracking app must be good at time management but also save you time. Hubstaff’s overall set up helps you to do that.

If you are not a tech whizz, like me, you can find some super handy support videos throughout the app. They are short and quick, and I found they were very insightful. I never had to contact support about using the app as if I could not figure it out myself, and there were handy video tutorials not far away!

Interactive Emails

You also receive many “interactive emails” that I found very encouraging. These range from a Daily Work Summary for yourself, your team, efficiency stats, budget costs, etc. Here is some content, taken from one of the emails, so you can see what I mean.

Efficiency pro!

Your activity for the day was over 50%. Great work!

(Keep it up to get on a hot streak.)

Check out your Hubstaff dashboard to view all of your achievement badges.

Some of the emails come with catchy artwork. These help to make work feel less like work and more like fun. Which ultimately can also make you and your team more productive and efficient.

Hubstaff Review: The Cost of Hubstaff

With all the different functions and capabilities, you would expect that this time tracking app would be expensive. However, the various packages are quite reasonable for what you get. They also offer a 14-day free trial, which is excellent if you like to test something before buying it. Aside from the free trial, you have four different packages.

Different Accounts

• The Free account has time tracking and different activity levels. However, it has limited screenshots and payments.
• The Basic account has the same as the free account but also has unlimited screenshots. It also includes one integration, 24hr support and per-user settings. It is $7 per user a month, and there is a minimum of two users. So you pay $14 per month for two users.
• The Premium account has a stack of extra features on top of the basic account. It is only a few dollars up from the basic and is $10 per user per month, but again is based on a minimum of two users, so works out to be $20 per month for two users.
• The Enterprise account has everything from the premium account plus some VIP features. It is $20 per user a month, based on two minimum users, so is $40 per month for two users.

If you opt to pay for the year on any of the paid accounts, you get two months free!

Hubstaff Review: In Summary

My overall impression of Hubstaff is that it is very user-friendly and easy to use. My colleague also backed up these thoughts. It seems to be one of the more modern time tracking apps out there and has many integrations to fit all businesses. Great for small and large companies or even solopreneurs.

Here is a list of the things I liked about it.

• Easy to use
• Clean interface
• Fantastic report functions
• Cheap for the number of features you can use
• Lots of integrations
• Ultimately saves time

It is worth pointing out a couple of things that I found a little fiddly.

Screenshots are taken of your computer and colleagues when you are tracking time. This system didn’t annoy me, but if you were to use it for your business and track employees, it would be good to inform them beforehand. You can point out that it is not “big brother” as the app improves productivity. That can only be a good thing for employees and employers! We all want to be more effective and productive.

The second point is the grey font colour. While I found the overall visuals, artwork and text very clean and friendly, there are some areas where the light grey font is a little too light. However, I wear reading glasses, so it could just be me! Considering these are the only two areas I noticed that could be an issue (my colleague found none), it was still a positive experience overall.

Time Management Made Simple

The free 14-trial is worth trying out, and after the trial, the price is very reasonable for the different packages compared to others on the market. You can click on the picture below to give the trial a go. Good luck and happy time tracking!