Time tracking software for nonprofits

Nonprofits need accurate time records showing how staff hours were allocated across grants, programs, and general operations. ManicTime captures staff activity automatically, so funder reporting and compliance documentation are based on real data, not reconstructed estimates.

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Time tracking challenges nonprofits face

Grant compliance requires time records that are hard to produce

Many grants require documentation of how staff hours were allocated across funded programs. Without systematic tracking, those records are pieced together from memory — which creates risk during audits.

Staff split time across multiple programs and funding sources

A program manager might spend Monday on a federally funded initiative, Tuesday on a foundation project, and Wednesday on general operations. Accurate allocation across those categories is difficult without an automatic record.

Reporting overhead takes time away from mission work

Manually maintained timesheets and end-of-period reporting take significant staff time — time that could go toward the programs funders are actually paying for.

Leadership needs a clearer view of how staff time is allocated

Executive leaders and boards often need to understand how staff time is split across programs, operations, and fundraising. Reliable allocation data makes those conversations more grounded and useful.

Inaccurate time records create audit risk

Reconstructed or estimated timesheets fail audits. Funders who require signed certifications of time allocation need records grounded in real activity — not end-of-month guesswork.

How ManicTime helps nonprofits

ManicTime captures staff activity automatically throughout the workday. Staff can review what was recorded and allocate time to the appropriate grant, program, or funding category — producing defensible records without the overhead of manual timesheets.

Build an accurate activity record automatically

ManicTime records applications, documents, and work sessions throughout the day without requiring staff to log every task. The record exists whether or not someone remembered to fill in a timesheet.

Allocate time to grants and programs in one review

Staff review their captured activity and tag time to the appropriate grant, program, or funding source. Auto-tagging rules can handle recurring work patterns automatically, reducing daily effort.

Generate reports ready for funder review

ManicTime's reporting tools let organizations pull time allocated per grant, per program, or per staff member across any date range — producing the documentation funders, finance teams, and auditors need.

Reduce the reporting burden on staff

Automatic tracking replaces daily timesheet maintenance with a brief end-of-day or end-of-week review. Staff spend less time on admin and more time on program work.

Deploy with appropriate privacy controls

ManicTime's tracking schedules and data-sharing settings ensure staff activity outside work hours stays private, and the level of detail shared with administrators can be configured to match organizational policy.

What nonprofit staff time ManicTime helps allocate

Nonprofits need to attribute staff time across a wide range of work categories:

Direct program and service delivery
Grant-funded project work
Administration and operations
Fundraising and donor relations
Board meeting preparation and support
Reporting and compliance documentation
Community outreach and partnerships
Staff training and development
Volunteer coordination
Communications and marketing

Clear time allocation across these categories makes funder reports accurate and board conversations more informed.

Why nonprofits use ManicTime

Defensible time records for grant compliance

Automatic tracking produces a real activity record that staff allocate to funding categories — giving auditors and funders documentation grounded in what actually happened.

Accurate split across multiple grants and programs

Staff who work across several funded programs can allocate their time accurately to each — without guessing how many hours went to which initiative at the end of the month.

Less time on admin, more on programs

Replacing daily manual timesheets with a brief activity review reduces reporting burden — freeing staff time for the program work funders are supporting.

Better reporting for leadership and governance

Generate clear breakdowns of how staff time is allocated across programs, operations, and fundraising — giving leadership and boards a more reliable view of organizational effort.

Keep staff data on your own infrastructure

Organizations with data governance requirements can deploy ManicTime Server on-premise or in their own cloud — keeping all time records under their own control.

Related features

Automatic time tracking

Capture staff activity without daily timesheet maintenance — building an accurate record that can be reviewed and allocated to funding categories.

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Grant and program time allocation

Review captured activity and assign time to grants, programs, or funding sources in a simple weekly or daily workflow.

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Funder and board reporting

Generate time allocation reports per grant, program, or staff member across any date range — ready for funder review or board presentation.

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Built for organizations where time records serve compliance, not just billing

ManicTime has been tracking professional work since 2008. Over 1 million downloads, 13,000+ customers, and 200,000+ licenses — including nonprofits, public institutions, and grant-funded organizations that need time records grounded in real activity.

For nonprofits, time tracking is not primarily about billing clients — it is about demonstrating to funders, auditors, finance teams, and boards that grant money was spent as promised. That requires records grounded in real activity, not end-of-month estimates that may not survive scrutiny.

ManicTime captures what staff actually do throughout the day and makes it easy to allocate that time to the correct grant or program. The process is lighter than maintaining manual timesheets, and the resulting records are more reliable — because they come from real activity data rather than memory.

For organizations handling sensitive program data or subject to strict data governance requirements, ManicTime Server can be deployed on your own infrastructure — keeping all time records within your own control and security boundary.

FAQ

Give funders and boards time records they can trust
ManicTime replaces estimated timesheets with real activity data — making grant compliance documentation accurate and audit-ready.
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Our customer
opinions
Katie
This software automatically tracks the time you spend on your computer. When you step away from your computer for a certain length of time (set by user), it will prompt you to tag that time. For example, if I'm getting coffee and have a 20 minute chat about the weekend, I tag it as personal. But if I have a chat about an upcoming or existing project, I tag it about that project. For the tasks you do on the computer, it can save screenshots every X seconds (again, set by user), so that you can have a reminder when you go to do your billing what each task was for.
Richard
There is a lot to love about Manic Time. It was easy to use and did way more than I was expecting from it. The reporting was informative. The editing was awesome. Tagging and managing the time tracked is robust, yet simple. It is great at taking the tracking out of time tracking. It just does 90% for you. The last 10% is tagging and validating. It really does an amazing job at showing how much time is wasted on mundane tasks or mindless browsing. I handed in my time to a project manager. He asked how I knew I worked 3.28 hours on a specific task. "Manic Time" was my answer.
Dr Steve Day (podcast)
Time tracking and its importance in business operations are discussed in this episode. Dr. Steve Day shares update on their time tracking policies, including the use of new apps and tools such as ManicTime, particularly focusing on the implementation of screenshot tracking.
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Brenda
I do contract work and manage multiple projects where I bounce between projects on an almost by the minute basis. Once tagging is setup I can easily tag all my activities as I do them and my time accumulates in each project bucket. At the end of the day my timesheet is a breeze. This is the best tool I have found so far for a work style that involves heavy duty multi-tasking. I don't know what I would do without ManicTime. Well designed and thought out product.
Mary
I like this application because with manic time we can verify who does their right job. And we also have better control because we can choose the best workers to increase production works very well and without errors.
Gary
Just renewed my licence for another year Just thought I'd let you know that this is one of the best pieces of software I've ever installed on my computer, free or paid for. I run my own business which principally relies on writing technical reports. ManicTime has made it so much easier to track my time over the various projects and therefore manage my fees and costs. (And your support has been excellent when I have had the odd problem).
Oliver
Just wanted to let you know that I think your software has helped me capture $1000's of dollars in revenue that I just wasn't billing before, as I wasn't doing a very good job of tracking my time. With ManicTime I get it all, and if I were ever to be audited by a client, I could give them every detail. Thanks so much!
Judy
The interface is very intuitive and easy to use. The ability to tag and color-code my work allows me to see at a glance how my day has been going. I can organize and structure things as much or as little as I like. What a great product!
Joshua
ManicTime’s ease of use is unmatched, thanks to its intuitive interface and flexible granularity in time-tracking. The power to dive as deep as you need into data with comprehensive tagging and reporting systems is a significant upside. Its vast number of features like document, application, and activity trackers streamline the process of managing and analyzing time efficiently. Moreover, ManicTime’s advanced search capabilities, coupled with the functionality to annotate tagged time, make it a vital tool for enhancing productivity and recalling information during discussions.
Adam
I like that it tracks inactive time on the computer so that you can remember when you started working and when you stopped, and when you took breaks. Very easy to use, I don't have to remember to log in and the app does everything for me without me even doing anything except installing the program. It shows exactly what page and project you were working on and for how long and when.
Amanda
It provides with useful reports which track and monitor the computer usage of employees, as well as the time spent on each computer program or application. Also the presence of an automatic screenshot feature resulted in an increase in my employees’ productivity. It runs automatically on my computer, great.
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