Automatic time tracking

Features /

4.6/5 Reviews

Your time wouldn't track itself? It will now.

The TimeTac desktop app tracks work hours automatically in the background – based on your calendar, apps and activity. Your timesheet fills itself. Accurate, complete, and ready without lifting a finger.

 

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Automatic time tracking
Automatic time tracking solution banner showing seamless background activity detection without manual logging on computer and devices
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TimeTac daily calendar view showing automatically pre-filled time entries, color-coded by activity type with detected apps and duration
TimeTac daily view displaying automatically detected work activities as color-coded time entry suggestions ready for confirmation
TimeTac daily calendar view showing automatically pre-filled time entries, color-coded by activity type with detected apps and duration
TimeTac daily view displaying automatically detected work activities as color-coded time entry suggestions ready for confirmation
Working hours recorded in 2025
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No time for time tracking? We will take care of it for you.

With TimeTac, your time tracking runs automatically in the background – precisely, with fewer gaps, and without extra effort.

Time tracking that takes care of itself, so you don't have to.

Start TimeTac in the morning. While you work, it tracks everything in the background – apps, documents, websites. By end of day, your timesheet is already there. Just confirm it.
Man leaning back relaxed in chair at bright office desk, free from manual time logging burden with TimeTac automatic background tracking

Never log work hours from memory again

Every app and browser tab you worked in – detected automatically, with exact start and end times. See a clear timeline of your actual workday in the calendar, then confirm what applies with one click.
  • Built from what you actually did – not what you think you did
  • Time entries pre-filled with exact start and end times
  • Active apps and browser tabs detected automatically in the background
Woman seated at computer workstation managing automatic time entries through TimeTac, eliminating timesheet gaps and manual tracking effort

No more gaps in your timesheet – without any extra effort

Every app and browser tab you worked in gets proposed as a time entry in your calendar. You decide what gets logged. The rest stays private.
  • Fewer estimation errors – time entries are built from actual activity, not memory
  • More billable hours captured – because nothing gets forgotten
  • Time entries pre-filled and ready – confirm with one click
GDPR privacy and data security certification badge indicating TimeTac automatic tracking keeps personal data local and private

Full control, full privacy – your data stays yours.

Detected activity never leaves your device – nothing is sent to the TimeTac server. You also control which apps and websites are never tracked.
  • Local data storage – nothing uploaded to the server
  • Each team member activates the feature individually
  • Personal exclusion list for apps and URLs
TimeTac desktop application running on laptop displaying automated time tracking dashboard, analytics reports, and automatic work hours detection

Automatic time tracking starts with the desktop app.

Choose your operating system, download the app and let TimeTac handle the time tracking from there.

Track time the way you want.

Multiple time tracking methods – choose what fits your day-to-day work.

terminal smart
Ready to go right away

Delivered preconfigured
and ready to use immediately.

On the go

One tap when entering or
leaving – and time is tracked.

terminal advanced
Intuitive to use

Ready to go without training –
everyone clocks correctly right away.

Tamper-proof

Track tamper-proof with fingerprint or chip
.

TimeTac app for mobile time tracking shows live status of employees and running project time
Track anywhere

Clock time via smartphone
– in the office,
on the go or
from home.

Location verification

Clock time via GPS & geofencing –
legally compliant and with no rework.

Also offline

Track time seamlessly,
even without an
internet connection.

app mobil right
iOS & Android

Free on the App Store &
Google Play, incl. Apple Watch.

Everything in one app

Times, leave, projects –
no switching tools.

Time tracking in the browser on laptop without installation
No installation required

Start directly in the browser –
on any PC, Mac or tablet.

Device-independent

Windows, Mac, Linux –
runs anywhere, no setup required.

Always synced

Bookings visible immediately –
for employees and HR.

laptop right
Ideal at your desk

Track time with a click,
without an app or terminal.

Full feature set

Times, projects, leave –
full functionality in the browser.

TimeTac Tracker time tracking cube for recording project times by turning
Simply turn

Track project time with a
hand movement.

Never forget again

Sits visibly on your desk
and reminds you to track.

Up to 8 activities

Assign each side individually
to a task.

Side view of the TimeTac time tracking cube for project time tracking
6 months of battery life

Charge once –
no need to think about it for months.

Stay in the flow

No clicking, no searching –
work without interruption.

NFC sticker for time tracking via smartphone tap
Clock with one tap

Hold your smartphone up to the NFC sticker,
chip or tag –
clocked instantly.

Tamper-proof

Bookings only possible directly on site
– reliably documented.

Precisely assigned

Automatically assign times to the
right location or
project.

Removable NFC sticker with break symbol, flexibly deployable and usable even without an internet connection
Flexible to use

Attach to machines, doors
or meeting rooms
.

Even without a network

Offline-capable, automatic
synchronisation in the background.

Do you still have questions? Please feel free to contact us!

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Frequently asked questions.

Automatic time tracking detects the apps and browser tabs active on your computer and turns them into proposed time entries. Instead of reconstructing your day from memory, you see a clear timeline in your calendar – what you actually worked on and when. Review the suggested time entries, confirm what applies, and your timesheet is done. In TimeTac, automatic tracking runs via the desktop app for Windows and macOS.
Once you activate automatic tracking in the TimeTac desktop app, it runs quietly in the background. It detects which app or browser tab is active and logs it with an exact start and end time in a dedicated column in your calendar. From there, confirm what applies with one click – all fields already pre-filled. Anything you don’t want to keep, ignore it or exclude it from tracking permanently. All detected data stays on your device and is never sent to the TimeTac server.

Open the TimeTac desktop app and go to your profile. Switch to the ‘Automatic Tracking’ tab and enable ‘Allow Automatic Tracking’. Tracking starts immediately.

On macOS, the app requires a one-time accessibility permission. A system dialog will walk you through the steps. On Windows, the Windows Defender Firewall will ask for network access. Both are one-time only and take less than a minute.

Each person activates the feature for themselves – no admin required, no company-wide rollout.

Manual time tracking relies on memory. When work hours aren’t logged in the moment but filled in at the end of the day or week, estimation is inevitable. The result: lost billable hours and inaccurate project budgets.

Automatic time tracking documents based on real activity. Time entries come pre-filled with exact start and end times. Apps and websites you’ve excluded from tracking never appear again. The time spent on timesheets drops significantly – and the accuracy of your data goes up.”

Automatic time tracking works best for knowledge workers – people who work primarily on a computer and whose time can be mapped through app usage and browser activity. Think IT, consulting, marketing, legal and research.

For teams that bill project time to clients, the benefit is particularly high: detected activity can be logged directly against projects and tasks – no estimating, no filling in from memory.

For roles without significant computer use – field work, trades, production – the feature is less suitable. TimeTac covers those with other tracking methods: terminal, NFC and geofencing.

Automatic time tracking in TimeTac is rule-based: the app detects active apps and browser tabs and logs them as entries in your calendar. What gets tracked is transparent and traceable – no black box.

AI time tracking is a broader term that means different things depending on the provider. Some tools suggest project assignments automatically based on calendar and activity data. Others learn from your booking habits over time.

Covered earlier too. Final version was:

“Yes. When confirming a detected activity into your calendar, you can assign it directly to a project or task. The entry opens with all fields pre-filled – just select the project and confirm.

Automatic tracking is available in both the work time tracking and project time tracking modules of TimeTac.

Yes. Automatic tracking in TimeTac runs on Windows and macOS. The TimeTac desktop app must be installed first.

On macOS, a one-time accessibility permission is required so the app can detect the active app and browser tab. On Windows, the Windows Defender Firewall will ask for network access on first launch.

Linux and the web-based TimeTac app are not supported by this feature.

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