Review of the Best Employee Monitoring Software – TimeBee

Blog Review of the Best Employee Monitoring Software TimeBee Feature Image

Every day, we get on the internet and see a new app claiming to be the “best.” How truthful is that, though? Not much, we can all say confidently. 

Employee monitoring software programs are no different. One fake review here, a flashy ad there, and users find themselves in a bottomless pit of “marketing.”

So, what do we do about it? It is not like 80% of companies monitoring their employees can opt out of it. The solution is plain and simple.

Let the experts do their job and critically review monitoring software that has gained traction over the years. For that very reason, our target today is TimeBee, an app popularized as the most reliable solution for real-time tracking and detailed insights.

In this review, we will figure out the number of boxes TimeBee checks and whether it can be a good fit for your organization.

What is TimeBee?

TimeBee claims to be a monitoring solution for all kinds of employees, be it on-site, hybrid, remote, or in-office. The app focuses on employees’ activity during office hours by logging their time and data usage directly from their devices.

All the logs collected by its desktop app are then synced with its web dashboard, which displays all the details and analysis in a unified manner.

As per TimeBee, regardless of your needs, it is a one-size-fits-all solution because it offers a handful of customization options and comprehensive tracking.

Is it all true, though? You have to see for yourself.

Features of TimeBee

We have to primarily focus on the features offered by an employee monitoring software when reviewing it. The depth of features and their functioning decide whether an app is worth investing in.

Therefore, let us look into the logs collected by key features of TimeBee and their performance over time.

1. Time Tracking:

TimeBee works towards automating employee time and attendance logs with its one-click timer. Employees can simply clock in and clock out of their workday to stop their monitoring. 

Within the app’s dashboard, employers can then see the time tracked by each user, group, and the whole organization, plus their break time.

For attendance reports, each user’s start time and end time are provided alongside the work hours and other relevant tags. The tags like late arrival, early leave, etc., seem to make monitoring more convenient.

Moreover, to ensure accurate logs, if inactivity is observed for a particular amount of time from a user’s end, they receive an alert, and the app stops recording time.

2.  Activity Reports:

Since 80% of employers wish to monitor employee internet usage, TimeBee facilitates it through its various activity records.

TimeBee also tracks users’ internet and overall laptop activity to detect new apps and websites and allow the employer to mark them as productive, unproductive, neutral, or unrated.

Then, depending on how long a user spends on an app or website, plus its rating, their overall productive and unproductive time is calculated with AI-driven technology.

Alongside this, employers can also see the productivity trends of each employee over a quarter from TimeBee’s quarterly performance reports.

3. Screen Monitoring:

While I found the screen monitoring option to be a bit invasive in TimeBee, I appreciate that each user had the option to turn it off completely or set a frequency that suits them best.

Once running, the app takes screenshots of each user’s active screen at regular intervals and uploads them to the web dashboard with timestamps.

4. Progress Reports:

I liked the details TimeBee added at this point because most monitoring apps tend to stop here. Instead, the monitoring app offers progress reports for each project and its respective tasks.

TimeBee enables users to log their time on various projects. It then consolidates the time spent by each user on a project’s tasks to help employers visualize a project’s progress.

The time spent is further multiplied by the user’s hourly rates to automatically calculate a project’s cost. Overall, the insights can be very helpful for employers to better understand operational costs and allocate resources properly.

5. Payroll and Invoicing:

The reason TimeBee claims to be “advanced” is because of its payroll and invoicing software. When I went about testing its efficiency, I found it to be performing consistently.

For payroll calculation, the monitoring app automatically calculates the total earnings of each employee by using their time worked and assigned hourly rates. To add flexibility, there is an adjustment option too for bonuses and other compensations.

However, employees working with different clients cannot have the same external rate. For that, there is a separate client dashboard. Within the dashboard, each employee is assigned a different rate from the internal one, which is then used to calculate a client’s bill.

The profit produced by each employee is then calculated by using their external rate against their internal rate and the hours they put into a client’s project.

6. Other Functionalities:

Apart from the features, I felt that TimeBee worked on improving its user experience, too. For this matter, I tested out its filters, notifications, and integration abilities. The app offers user, group, and time filters for easier data navigation throughout its dashboard. Using the filtration options, I could see specific logs and also export them in CSV or PDF format.

For more consistent reports, TimeBee also includes an alternative option of email notifications. Upon selecting the logs I wish to receive via email, the scope (user/group/organization), and the frequency of reports, I kept receiving the email reports regularly.Another functionality that worked well on TimeBee was its ability to integrate with project management software and other tools for smoother operations throughout an organization.

Benefits of TimeBee

After reviewing the app’s features, I found it only fair to present TimeBee’s benefits in a clear and factual manner. So, below, you will find the discussion of various aspects of TimeBee that I thoroughly enjoyed.

1. In-depth Insights:

I found the logs provided by TimeBee to be very comprehensive. Not only that but also the way the data from one feature accurately flowed into another for deeper analysis was unique to TimeBee.

With all the details at hand, I believe the app can be a helpful tool for increasing productivity and streamlining workflows.

2. Automation Abilities:

I further enjoyed the fact that TimeBee did not require much of my input. Rather, the app ran in the background of my laptop and automatically logged the data required without missing any crucial details.

As a result, the automation offered by TimeBee is quite helpful for enabling employees to focus on more important tasks around the organization.

3. Cost-effective Solution:

With all the features included in TimeBee, I was expecting the app to require a hefty initial investment, but rather than a fixed plan, its custom pricing made the payment easier and more affordable.

Moreover, this flexibility makes it a more scalable solution that allows employers to add more remote and on-site users to their organization without individual subscriptions. 

4. Built for How People Actually Work Now:

Today’s teams don’t always sit under one roof, and that is not a bad thing. With 80% of experienced workers now preferring flexible work setups, it makes sense for companies to adopt tools that don’t depend on physical presence. TimeBee supports this shift by working just as smoothly across remote, in-office, and hybrid teams. 

No matter where your employees are logging in from, the app tracks their activity with the same level of accuracy. This flexibility makes it easier for organizations to focus on performance, not location.

TimeBee Cons

While it was nice to review the app and gain proper insight into its functioning, I did find a few aspects to be lacking. 

Rather than offering only custom subscription plans, I believe it should also include some regular price plans for customers’ ease.

Moreover, even though it does offer a trial, the features accessible to it are limited. I believe if the app’s trial were more detailed with all of its features, customers would be more inclined to make a purchase and would have a better experience.

Lastly, while the data was laid out well throughout the dashboard, some settings in it required technical expertise for proper implementation.

FAQs:

Can I use TimeBee for remote or hybrid teams across multiple time zones?
Yes, TimeBee is ideal for remote or hybrid teams working across multiple time zones. Its customizable settings let employers assign user-specific or organization-wide time zones, which ensures all activity logs are accurately timestamped.

How secure is the data collected by TimeBee?
TimeBee keeps employee data secure with an encrypted dashboard that cannot be breached by outsiders. Plus, its role-based access enables employers to restrict data access to unauthorized individuals. As a result, only users with “Admin” access can see employee data, while those with “Member” access can only observe their own logs.

Is TimeBee legal to use?
Yes, TimeBee is legal to use if proper employee consent is obtained. Apart from that, the app also follows key regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and ECPA, which ensure the lawful handling of employee data and responsible app usage. 

How should I introduce TimeBee to my employees?
To introduce TimeBee to your employees, you must properly communicate the goal of monitoring to them. Moreover, you must address any concerns related to micromanagement and the app’s functioning. By making employees feel involved, you will be better able to reduce prejudices and make TimeBee more acceptable to them.

Is It Worth Using TimeBee?

With the whole discussion behind us, my overall impression of TimeBee was that tools like this can improve employee retention and the overall work culture in terms of transparency. Its robust features, real-time updates, and comprehensive logging abilities make it a reliable employee monitoring software.

However, the data TimeBee offers can also make employers lose sight of and rely too heavily on it for employee performance. 

Instead, it is important that, alongside its implementation, employers also listen to the 60% of employees who believe that fair compensation is a good motivator for better performance.

Always remember recognition first, criticism later.

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