We Tested ClockShark vs. QuickBooks Time. Here are the Results.

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ClockShark vs. QuickBooks Time (now QuickBooks Workforce): Key Features

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The crucial part of our ClockShark vs. QuickBooks Workforce mobile app (FKA QuickBooks Time) review will be an overview of their main features. We’ve tried both apps and take a lot of screenshots.

Here is what we found out.

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Time Tracking

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Time tracking is the core feature of both software solutions. Having reliable data on working hours without too much hassle for payroll and other purposes is one of the main reasons customers choose time-tracking software in the first place.

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QuickBooks Time and ClockShark track employee time using mobile apps installed on Android or iOS devices. QuickBooks Time mobile app has been relaunched in late June 2023 as QuickBooks Workforce mobile app with some added functionalities.

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Besides Crew Clock, where an employee with such a role can clock in their entire team, both mobile apps allow employees to clock in and out of work, switch jobs, and take a break. 

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However, regarding breaks, QuickBooks Time comes with more options than ClockShark. You can define more custom break rules, allowing you to comply with the more strict legislation, such as the one in California.

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Both Clock Shark and QuickBooks Time also have a Kiosk feature for time card creation. This means the app can be installed on a single device for multiple employees to log their hours in a single workplace. Both apps use facial recognition technology to prevent buddy punching, the most common form of employee time theft, ensuring an employee is at work when clocking in and out.

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Using the mobile time clock, timesheets are automatically created and available for managers and admins to approve. By opting for an accurate time tracking app, you can completely eliminate manual work and forget about paper timesheets or spreadsheets - apps handle such tasks like a breeze.

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GPS Tracking

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What sets ClockShark and QuickBooks Workforce (FKA QuickBooks Time) apart from other time trackers is its GPS location tracking feature, making them preferred choices for businesses with remote teams working in dispersed locations. 

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If the location tracking option is turned on, both software capture the employee location when they clock in and out from work, but they do so continuously during working hours.

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We decided to give the apps test 20 minutes to see what they would come up with. Here is what we found.

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So, ClockShark recognized I had left the worksite, capturing one more location. Between these two locations, the app simply drew a line.

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Let’s see how  QuickBooks Workforce mobile app performed.

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I was surprised to learn that, based on this data, I have practically never left the place.

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So, for comparison purposes, let’s see what I was doing during those 20 minutes.

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Walking around the block. That’s it.

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However, both ClockShark and QuickBooks Workforce seem to fulfill their purpose - they will record GPS points when there is a punch and give a more general overview of your employees' locations during working hours. They will do so even if the employee has no internet signal and is offline and synchronize data afterward. 

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But, if you need more accurate and precise GPS tracking data for your field services, we must say that there seem to be better choices. We’ve made a comparison article dedicated to the 5 best GPS trackers, so you check it out for more detailed results.

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Geofencing

Both ClockShark and QuickBooks Workforce have a geofencing feature, allowing you to create  virtual boundaries around your worksites or other relevant locations and automate specific tasks or actions.

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You can set both apps up to notify your employees when they enter or leave the geofenced area, reminding them to clock in or out or switch jobs.

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In ClockShark, you can find the geofencing settings under the additional options when creating or editing a job. You can also use these settings to restrict the job to certain employees.

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In QuickBooks Workforce app, formerly known as QuickBooks Time, you will find geofencing options placed under managing customers, where you can also choose who you will assign the customer to and set the geofencing radius. You can also use geofencing to notify your employees of jobs nearby, which can come in handy.

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Both QuickBooks Time (now QuickBooks Workforce) and ClochShark will let your employees clock in or out offsite, but they will alert you and flag their timesheet entries. However, when trying to clock in out of the geofenced area, QuickBooks Workforce offers employees two options: to clock in when they arrive or to clock in onsite and explain why. 

Who’s Working

Using their data, both apps offer a visual overview of all the employees who are currently available in a single dashboard. In QuickBooks Workforce, FKA QuickBooks Time, this dashboard is called Who’s Working, while in ClockShark, it goes by Who’s Working Now.

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The similarity goes far beyond the name - your screen will show you who is where and working on what job.

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However, such a feature is invaluable to businesses with field employees, helping them monitor the progress or assign jobs much easier.

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Mileage Tracking

Even though a GPS-tracking app, ClockShark doesn’t keep track of employees’ mileage. So, if reimbursing your employees for mileage or cutting down your mileage costs is important for your business, QuickBooks Workforce FKA QuickBooks Time has a fair advantage.

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QuickBooks Workforce  did fairly well-tracking mileage, it logged 3.68 miles.

However, although the deviation wasn’t significant,  the route it recorded wasn’t entirely the one I took.

Employee Scheduling and PTO Management

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Next in our QuibckBooks Time vs. ClockShark comparison is scheduling and paid time off management.

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Both apps have solid scheduling features, enabling you better time management. You can easily create a single or recurring shift for a single or a group of employees and assign them jobs with all the important details. 

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Both apps allow you to use drag-and-drop scheduling, making this task even easier. What we found better In QuickBooks Time, now known as QuickBooks Workforce, is that when you create a new shift or change the existing one, the system will automatically ask you whether you want it to notify employees.

In ClockShark, we haven’t found that the app can do it automatically, but you have to choose the share option each time manually, which is a bit counterintuitive, in our opinion.

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Both ClockShark and QuickBooks Time have a way of setting up shift messaging and reminders, and they can notify the manager if an employee doesn’t show up for a scheduled shift.

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As for the paid time off, both software solutions support this option, simplifying the entire approval process. Employees can ask for days off using their mobile phones without a hassle and get info when their request is approved. Approved time off shows up in the scheduling calendar, which helps managers avoid scheduling conflicts and assigning a shift to the unavailable employee. 

Reporting

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In both  QuickBooks TIme and ClockShark, you can use data apps gathered to generate different reports for various purposes.

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In ClockShark,  you can create Quick Summary Reports and get an overview of labor, summarized by employee, customer, job, or task. Besides Quick Reports, there are more detailed:

• Job & Task reports 
• Employee Reports
• Time tracking reports (such as employee timesheets, reports on PTO,  timesheet alerts, etc.)
• Quotes and Invoices Reports
• Financial Reports

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You can generate useful reports in QuickBooks Time as well. ‍

• Payroll report
• Itemized Total Time
• Schedule reports
• Exceptions (less than x hours worked on a weekday, geofence Timesheet exceptions)
• Exports
• Tracking (GPS points, mileage tracking, hours by)
• Logging and auditing

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However, what we don’t like about QuickBooks Time reporting is that you can’t get a preview of the reports, but you need to download and open them in CSV format.

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Job Management

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Both ClockShark and QuickBooks Time have features that can help you with job and project management. For example, you can create jobs and projects, set their hourly budget, and monitor how the job progresses. The apps will let you know if you are near the budget limit. When the work is done, you can compare the planned hours to the actual hours your employees put in.

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 Both apps have some CRM functionality so that you can keep track of data related to a customer at one centralized location.

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ClockShark also lets you create quotes and invoices from the app, discuss them with your coworkers, and email them directly to customers.

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Integrations

Another important factor in QuickBooks Time vs. ClockShark comparison is their ability to connect with other software - their integrations. Here is a brief overview: 

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ClockShark integrates with

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• QuickBooks Online
• QuickBooks Desktop, 
• RUN Powered by ADP®
• ADP Workforce Now® Next Generation 
• ADP Workforce Now®
• Xero
• Paychex  
• Gusto
• Zapier
• MYOBAccount Right
• Sage 100

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QuickBooks Time also offers a great selection of integrations, including

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• QuickBooks Online
• ADP
• Aero
• Gusto
• Square
• Breezeworks
• PayChex
• Justworks
• OnPay
• Makeshift
• Karbon 
• PaymentEvolution and more

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While ClockShark offers a nice selection of integrations with payroll and accounting software, the list is quite limited. In this context, not having API enabled is another downside we have to mention.

Ease of Use

After using Timeero, which has a similar interface to ClockShark, navigating ClockShark’s web application and mobile app felt intuitive and straightforward - from adding the employees to creating jobs, geofences, running reports, scheduling, etc. I can imagine that a user without experience with similar software would need a bit of onboarding, but the software is quite easy to use on desktop and mobile devices.

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I hoped for a similar user experience with QuickBooks Time but was surprised by too many popping-up windows while using the web app. It just seemed - confusing.

Also, it took me a while to find geofencing options in the first place - it is placed under customer settings, which wasn’t very intuitive to me, so I had to check out the tutorial.

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Things get easier after using it for a while, but using QuickBooks Time has a steeper learning curve and requires onboarding, even with previous experience with similar software.

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Pricing

We’ve analyzed the pricing packages QuickBooks Time and ClockShark offer, and here is what we’ve found.

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ClockShark and QuickBooks Time have the same method of forming prices - a monthly base fee and monthly charges per user. The monthly base fee covers one administrator. 

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Each software has two pricing packages: ClockShark - Standard and Pro, Quick Books Time - Premium, and Elite.

ClockShark Pricing

Standard: $40 monthly base fee + $8/mo per user

This package includes features such as:

• Time and attendance tracking
• GPS tracking
• Job and task tracking
• See Who’s working
• Drag and Drop Scheduling
• Geofencing
• Manager roles and approvals
• Third-party integrations
• Alerts and notifications
• File and Photo Sharing
• Invoices and Quotes
• Job budgeting with alerts
• Alerts and notifications
• Kiosk Time Clock with facial recognition

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Pro Plan: $60 monthly base fee + $10/mo per user

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ClockShark’s Pro Plan includes all the features of the Standard plan and some more advanced features:

• Paid time off
• Multi department office controls
• Advanced job costing controls
• Clock Out Questions

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For annual subscriptions, you can get ClockShark for a discounted price during the first three months.

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A 14-day free software trial is available to test the app and see whether it fits your needs.

QuickBooks Time Pricing

QuickBooks Time has the same method of forming prices as ClockShark: a monthly base fee covers one admin and monthly charges for the user. There are two pricing options:

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Premium:  $20 monthly base fee + $8/mo per user.

The lower priced package includes basic time tracking features, such as:

• QuickBooks Workforce mobile app with GPS
• Streamlined payroll and invoicing
• Job and shift scheduling
• Customized reports
• See Who’s working
• Time off management
• Alerts and notifications
• Photo attachments
• Time Kiosk

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Elite: $40 monthly base fee + $10 /mo per user

Includes everything from Premium, plus:

• Mileage tracking
• Track project progress to plan
• Project estimates vs. actuals
• Project activity feed
• Timesheet signatures
• Geofencing

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New users can get 50% discounted monthly fee for the first three months. To check out QuickBooks Time, a 30-day free trial version is available. No credit card is required.

ClockShark vs. QuickBooks Time: Pricing Sum Up 

It seems that ClockSharks offers more tracking and management features and functionalities at entry-level pricing packages. The major downside to the QuickBooks Time entry package is that it doesn’t include geofencing and all the related functionalities, so businesses looking for this core GPS tracking feature will have to choose the Elite plan.

As for the mileage tracking, that is QuickBooks Time’s advantage over ClockShark it is also included in the Elite Plan, starting at $40 plus $10, which is pricey. There are more affordable software solutions that offer a similar set of features. For comparison, Timeero’s most popular Pro plan includes all the essential GPS time, location, and mileage tracking features, including geofencing. The pricing starts at $8 per user, with no monthly fees.

ClockShark vs. QuickBooks Time (now QuickBooks Workforce): Which App Should I Choose for My Business?

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When it comes to managing your field employees, both ClockShark and QuickBooks Time have great features, including real-time GPS tracking, geofencing, scheduling, reporting, etc. You can read our separate ClockShark Review and QuickBooks Time review to learn even more details on these apps.

However, choosing between the two depends on your business's specific needs. Make sure to consider pricing, user-friendliness, and customer support before deciding. Also, don't forget to read user reviews to learn about their customers' experience. 

Still, if you're open to exploring other options, you should check out Timeero. Like QuickBooks Workforce, Timeero offers time, location, and mileage tracking at a more reasonable price and without monthly base fees, which makes s great difference to small businesses with just a few employees. To learn more about how Timeero compares with these apps, read our Timeero vs. ClockShark and Timeero vs. QuickBooks Time reviews.

Plus, as all three apps come with free trial periods, you can give them a test ride and see which app best fits your business.

ClockShark vs. QuickBooks Time (now QuickBooks Workforce): FAQ

Does ClockShark work with QuickBooks?

ClockShark provides QuickBooks integration. It can connect to QuickBooks Desktop and Online, meaning you can transfer some data for payroll.

Does QuickBooks Have Time Clocks?

QuickBooks Time comes with QuickBooks Workforce mobile app for both Android and iPhone devices that can serve as your employees’ time clock even when they are on the fly. Alternatively, a Kiosk option can be used on a single device by multiple employees who work at the same workplace.

What Time Tracking Works with QuickBooks?

Timeero is a popular employee time, location, and mileage tracker, that works with QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop.

What is the Best Time-tracking Software for QuickBooks?

Because of the ease of data shared from one app to another, QickBooks Workforce FKA QuickBooks Time is the obvious choice for QuickBooks users.

However, many other great GPS tracker apps, such as Timeero, integrate with QuickBooks and share data for payroll and accounting easily.

What is the Cost of ClockShark?

ClockShark’s monthly costs start at a $40 base fee + $8/mo per user. For more details, check their website for pricing.

What are the Differences Between ClockShark and QuickBooks?

While both apps are employee GPS tracking SAAS  that capture employees’ hours and location, the main difference is that QuickBooks Time also tracks mileage.

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