Time tracking software for remote teams

Remote and hybrid teams lose visibility when they leave the office. ManicTime restores it — automatically capturing work activity, tracking office vs. remote time, and giving managers clear workload data without turning tracking into a surveillance tool.

Start free trial

Common challenges for remote and hybrid teams

Managers lose workload visibility when teams go remote

Without passive signals from the office environment, it becomes harder to see who is overloaded, who is struggling, and whether work is distributed evenly.

Manual timesheets are unreliable and easy to forget

Remote workers juggle home distractions, async communication, and shifting priorities. Asking them to fill in detailed timesheets daily adds friction without improving accuracy.

It is unclear whether people are more productive in the office or at home

Teams and managers often have strong opinions but no data. Without location-aware tracking, hybrid work decisions are based on intuition rather than evidence.

After-hours work and burnout signals go unnoticed

Remote workers often extend their days without realising it. Managers have no way to spot this until performance or morale is already affected.

Employees worry about being monitored unfairly

Heavy monitoring tools damage trust. Teams want to know what is tracked, why, and that personal boundaries are respected.

How ManicTime helps remote and hybrid teams

ManicTime captures work activity automatically so teams do not need to maintain manual logs. Managers get reliable workload data while employees retain control over privacy and tracking boundaries.

Capture work automatically without manual input

ManicTime records app usage, document activity, and work timelines in the background. No timers to start, no sheets to fill in at the end of the day.

See exactly how much time is spent in the office vs. remotely

The Workplaces feature uses network IP rules to automatically detect whether a team member is working from the office or remotely. The Workplaces Report then shows total and day-by-day breakdowns of time across locations — giving teams and managers real data to inform hybrid work decisions.

Give managers reliable workload visibility

Managers can review attendance, working hours, overtime, and project time for distributed team members without depending on self-reported updates.

Spot overwork and burnout signals before they escalate

ManicTime surfaces sustained long days, after-hours work patterns, and attendance deviations — so managers can act before burnout or disengagement sets in.

Respect employee privacy with transparent controls

Employees can see exactly what is tracked, pause recording with off-the-record mode, and limit what is shared with the server. Tracking is transparent, not covert.

What remote teams track with ManicTime

Remote and hybrid teams use ManicTime to track the full range of distributed work:

Project and task work
Client communication and meetings
Async collaboration and document review
Deep focus and uninterrupted work blocks
Internal admin and reporting
After-hours and weekend activity
Office days vs. remote days
Attendance and start/end times
Overtime and work deficit tracking
Leave and absence management

This gives both managers and employees a clear, shared view of how distributed work is actually happening.

Why remote teams choose ManicTime

Office vs. remote productivity data

The Workplaces feature automatically detects work location using network rules and generates reports showing how active and productive time is distributed between office and remote environments.

No manual tracking burden on employees

Automatic activity capture means remote workers do not need to start timers or fill in sheets. Time data is accurate without adding reporting overhead to already busy schedules.

Manager visibility without surveillance

ManicTime gives managers meaningful workload and attendance data without installing screen-capture tools or invasive monitoring. Employees understand what is tracked and remain in control.

Early signals for overload and burnout

Consistent patterns of long hours, fragmented days, or after-hours work are surfaced automatically — giving managers a chance to intervene before performance suffers.

Privacy controls employees actually trust

Off-the-record mode, configurable tracking schedules, and transparent data sharing settings give employees confidence that personal time stays personal.

Related features

Office vs. remote workplace tracking

Automatically detect whether people are working from the office or remotely using IP-based rules, then compare time and productivity by location in the Workplaces report.

Learn more ->

Automatic time tracking

Capture work activity without timers or manual entries — especially important when remote workers are managing their own schedules.

Learn more ->

Privacy controls

Give employees transparency over what is tracked and control over what is shared — building trust in distributed work environments.

Learn more ->

Built for teams that need visibility without compromising trust

ManicTime has been tracking team work since 2008. Over 1 million downloads, 13,000+ customers, and 200,000+ licenses — including remote-first companies, hybrid teams, and distributed organizations that need reliable work visibility without invasive monitoring.

Remote work made it harder for managers to understand workload and attendance — but heavier monitoring tools made it worse by damaging employee trust. ManicTime takes a different approach: automatic tracking that captures real work data while giving employees full transparency and privacy controls.

The Workplaces feature goes further by answering a question every hybrid team has: are people more productive in the office or at home? Using network-based location detection, ManicTime automatically tags work by location and generates reports that show exactly how time is distributed — no guesswork, no manual location logs.

That combination of visibility for managers and control for employees makes ManicTime a practical fit for distributed teams that want real data without surveillance culture.

FAQ

Give your remote team the visibility it needs — without the surveillance
ManicTime tracks work automatically, shows office vs. remote productivity, and puts privacy controls in employees' hands.
Start free trial
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.
Listen now
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.
We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience. By continuing to use this site, you consent to our use of cookies.