Why so many teams start with Excel

Most companies already have Excel, it costs nothing extra and everyone can use it. An Excel spreadsheet for project time tracking is quickly set up, and free templates are available to download, for example our Excel time tracking template. For a single person or a very small team with few projects, that can be enough. What matters then are clear rules on who enters what and when, and one central file. The chaos starts once more employees, more projects and more reporting come into play.

7 problems with project time tracking in Excel

Even with the best Excel template for project time tracking, these problems show up sooner or later:

• Multiple files and versions. Each person keeps their own list, or everyone edits the same file one after another. In the end the entries no longer match and nobody knows who changed what.
• Time gets forgotten or entered late. Excel doesn’t remind anyone. If hours are only entered at the end of the month, people often remember only rough numbers.
• Formulas break. A shifted row or a wrong time format is enough for totals to stop adding up. This often only shows when hours and invoices no longer match.
• Reporting takes time. How many hours went into a project or a client? The data has to be added up again every single time.
• Time and absences are kept apart. Vacation and sick days are in a different list. Getting an overview of who is working on what and who is away takes painstaking compiling.
• Access is hard to control. Anyone who can open the file can usually see everyone’s time entries.
• It doesn’t scale. What works for 5 people turns into a permanent headache at 30.

What Excel really costs: an example calculation

Excel doesn’t need any additional software. But the time spent around it costs plenty. Here is an example calculation (you can adjust the assumptions to your situation):

• 20 employees each spend 10 minutes per week entering time late and reconciling it. That’s about 3.3 hours per week and roughly 14 hours per month.
• On top of that come 4 hours per month for reporting and adding up the totals.
• Together, that’s just over 18 hours per month.
• At an assumed internal cost of €45 per hour, that comes to around €830 per month, or roughly €10,000 per year.

How absence.io solves these problems

• Files, versions and growth: Everyone records their working hours in one place. There are no copies and no competing versions, and new employees and projects can be added easily.
• Forgotten time: With the time clock on desktop or in the app, employees record their time while they work and assign it to a project and client. That way nobody has to reconstruct hours from memory at the end of the month.
• Broken formulas and time-consuming reporting: Totals are calculated automatically. The structured export shows who worked how many hours on which project, and you can create it at any time.
• Time and absences: absence.io also manages vacation and other absences. In the team calendar, you can see at a glance who is on vacation, off sick or on a business trip, and when requesting an absence, you can name a substitute right away. With the project status, you can also see where your projects currently stand.
• Access: You decide who can see recorded time and who can’t, instead of everyone who opens the file seeing everything.

How to switch from Excel to project time tracking software

1. Review your existing lists: Which projects and clients do you have, and who currently maintains what?
2. Set up projects and clients: Decide in advance how you want to structure your projects and clients.
3. Involve your team from day one: The benefit only appears if everyone really works with the software. That’s why the old Excel lists shouldn’t keep running in parallel.

Conclusion

Excel is rarely a good long-term solution for project time tracking. Once several employees and projects come together, versions, late entries and reporting cost more time, and with it more money, than the spreadsheet saved at the start. If you manage project time, absences and employee records in one piece of software, you no longer have to piece everything together.

With absence.io, you can try project time tracking free for 14 days or book a demo to see how it works.

You might also be interested in:

• HR Software for Agencies and Consultancies: Time, Leave and Expenses
• absence.io vs. Personio: features and pricing compared
• Outlook Vacation Management: What Works and What Doesn’t
• How to Convince Your Boss to Buy HR Software: 5 Reasons

The post Project Time Tracking in Excel: The Most Expensive Free Tool appeared first on absence.io - The smart HR platform.

That’s exactly what project time tracking is for. In this article, you’ll learn how it works, when it pays off and what to keep in mind when introducing it.

What is project time tracking?

With project time tracking, working time is assigned to a specific project or client. That way, it’s always clear how many hours were worked on which project, which matters for invoicing or post-project costing, for example.

Project time tracking and working time tracking: the difference

Working time tracking records when and for how long someone worked. Project time tracking adds what they worked on. The two are connected, and if you record them separately, you track time twice. It’s best to have both run together in one software.

How to tell you need project time tracking

Agency, consultancy, IT service provider, law firm or engineering office: as soon as time is a major part of what you sell or spend, the question of project hours comes up. These situations are typical:

• You bill by effort and the hours have to be collected every time. Time is spread across different Excel lists, scraps of paper or employees’ heads. Before the invoice can go out, you have to ask around and add everything up.
• You bill a flat fee and don’t know in the end whether the project paid off. With fixed prices, the invoice is set from the start. Whether the effort matches it only shows in the time actually tracked.
• Quotes are based on estimates. Without the experience from past projects, every new quote is estimated and roughly calculated all over again. That leads either to jobs that don’t pay off or to quotes that are too high.
• Several projects run in parallel and the overview is missing. Who is working on what, how far along a project is and who is away during the hot phase is hard to keep track of without a central system.
• Clients ask how the effort breaks down. Without documented hours, it’s hard to justify invoices without discussions.

How absence.io solves these problems

• Collecting hours: With project time tracking, you set up projects and clients, and your employees record their working hours directly for them. The hours are assigned to the right project and client from the start. With a structured export that you can create at any time, you see who worked how many hours on which project.
• Flat-fee billing: Even with flat fees, your employees record their time for the respective project. In the export, you see how many hours were actually spent and can compare them yourself with your agreed price.
• Calculating quotes: The hours per project and client are recorded in a structured way. After completion, you can evaluate how much time a comparable project actually took and have a solid basis for the next quote.
• Keeping an overview: For each project, you can set a status and show where you currently stand. absence.io also manages vacation and other absences. In the team calendar, you can see at a glance who is on vacation, off sick or on a business trip, and when requesting an absence, you can name a substitute right away. That way you know who is away while you plan a project, not only when a deadline is coming up.
• Answering client questions: With the hours recorded by client and project, you can document the effort clearly when a client asks.

Project time tracking in Excel

For a very small team with few projects, a well-maintained Excel spreadsheet can be enough. Many start this way, for example with an Excel time tracking template.

At the latest, Excel reaches its limits in these situations:

• Several employees enter time in different files and the versions don’t match.
• The hours have to be added up manually per project and client at the end of the month.
• Vacation and sick days have to be taken into account separately.
• There is no overview of who is working on what and who is away when.

Then it’s worth switching to software in which time is assigned directly to the right project.

What to look for in project time tracking software

These questions help you with your choice:

• Simplicity: Can time be recorded quickly on the side in everyday work? Only what is simple gets used by everyone.
• Interplay with absences: Are vacation and sick days in the same system, so that time and absences fit together?
• Scope: Do you need a full project management tool, or is lean time tracking for project management enough?
• Setup and cost: How quickly is the software ready to go, and is the pricing transparent?

How to introduce it successfully

• Define projects and clients: Decide in advance how you want to structure your projects.
• Agree on common rules: When and how is time entered?
• Involve the team from day one: The benefit only appears if everyone works with the software.
• Use the reports: Regularly look at how many hours go into which projects. You’ll learn from that for your next quotes.

Conclusion

Project time tracking makes effort visible and billing much easier. It pays off wherever several projects run and hours have to be backed up. If you manage project time, absences and employee records in one software, you also save yourself the hassle of piecing things together from different lists.

With absence.io, you can try project time tracking free for 14 days or book a demo to see how it works.

You might also be interested in:

• Outlook Vacation Management: What Works and What Doesn’t
• absence.io vs. Personizer: features and pricing compared
• HR Software for Agencies and Consultancies: Time, Leave and Expenses
• HR Software for Law Firms: Leave, Time & Expenses

The post Project Time Tracking: How to Track Project Hours Easily appeared first on absence.io - The smart HR platform.

absence.io is a great fit for agencies and consultancies that want to manage time tracking, absence management, employee records and expenses in one intuitive piece of software, without enterprise overhead. Transparent pricing from €2.99 per user per month, no minimum contract term, and ready to go in just a few hours.

Typical challenges in agencies and consultancies

Even though every agency works a little differently, the same patterns keep coming up:

Invoicing means massive effort every single time. Before an invoice can be sent to a client, hours first have to be painstakingly collected and added up. This usually happens under time pressure at the end of the month and costs the person responsible a lot of time.

With absence.io‘s project time tracking, you can create projects and clients, and your employees book their working hours directly to them. At the end of the month, the collected hours per project are clearly displayed. The project status also shows you where each project currently stands.

Project hours, vacation and expenses are stored in different places. Every area has its own Excel file. Anyone who needs the full picture first has to piece the data together by hand.

With absence.io, project time, absences, expenses and employee records live in one place. In the team calendar, you can see at a glance who is on vacation, off sick or on a business trip. When someone requests time off, they can name a substitute right away. That way you know during project planning who will be missing in the hot phase, and not only when a deadline is looming.

Nobody is officially in charge of HR. In most agencies of this size, there is no dedicated HR department. Vacation requests, project hours and expenses end up with office management or the managing director.

With absence.io, employees submit vacation requests and expenses digitally themselves. Approval takes just a few clicks, and remaining vacation days are calculated automatically. That way, these tasks can be handled on the side, without needing a dedicated person for them.

Enterprise software feels too complicated. Many large HR suites are designed for corporate structures with their own HR department. For small and mid-sized companies, that often means: lots of setup effort, features that never get used, and a price that doesn’t match the value.

absence.io is built for small and mid-sized companies. The software is clear and easy to navigate, setup isn’t an IT project, and your employees find their way around without lengthy training.

When is it time to switch?

Moving from Excel and standalone tools to one central piece of software is always worth it, but at the latest, it’s really time when:

• Your team is growing and the scattered lists are getting harder to keep track of
• Manual invoicing by project or client costs you a lot of time every month
• Compliance requirements keep increasing, such as reliably documenting working hours

Conclusion

For agencies and consultancies that want to manage working hours, vacation, employee data and expenses centrally, in a compliant way and without enterprise overhead, absence.io is the ideal solution.

Curious? Then try absence.io free for 14 days or book a demo in which we show you our intuitive software.

You might also be interested in:

• Pro or Complete Package from absence.io?
• absence.io vs. Personio: features and pricing compared
• Why Enterprise HR Software is often the Wrong Choice
• absence.io vs. Personizer: features and pricing compared

The post HR Software for Agencies and Consultancies: Time, Leave and Expenses appeared first on absence.io - The smart HR platform.

absence.io and Personio compared side by side

Who is absence.io the better choice for?

You need the core HR processes, regardless of team size

Whether you have 2 or 100 employees, if you want to manage absences, time tracking and personnel files in one system, absence.io is a perfect fit for you. Our customers come from a wide range of industries; the following examples are just a small selection: IT service providers, law firms and architecture firms with 4–20 people, or agencies, consultancies and engineering firms with 50–100 employees. absence.io is also the right solution for regulated organizations such as care facilities, education providers or NGOs, where GDPR compliance and a server location in Germany are particularly important. The deciding factor is therefore the features you need, not primarily the size of your company.

You value price transparency

With absence.io, you get clear numbers from the very first second: Starter for €2.99, Pro for €4.99 and Complete for €7.99 per user per month. You can find all the details on our pricing page. You can calculate the costs for your team yourself before you even get in touch with us.

You want to get started quickly, without a long implementation process

absence.io deliberately focuses on the core processes, which is why the software can be set up on your own without a complex implementation process, usually within a few hours. The 14-day free trial runs without entering credit card details, so you can try absence.io without obligation at your own pace.

Who is Personio the better choice for?

You need recruiting and applicant management

If you want to manage not only employees but also the entire application process, from the job posting to the hire, directly in the same system, Personio covers that range of functions.

You need integrated payroll

If you want to handle payroll not through an external interface but as integrated payroll directly in the same system, you’re better off with Personio. With absence.io, recorded times and absences can be exported and passed on to a tax advisor or an external payroll provider.

You have the resources for an implementation process

Personio’s broader range of functions comes at a price: there is no public price list, but an individual quote after a needs analysis, usually combined with a longer contract commitment and a guided setup that takes several weeks. This is mainly worthwhile if recruiting and payroll are actually needed, regardless of whether the team has 40 or 400 employees.

Price comparison in detail

Example: With absence.io‘s Pro plan, a team of 50 employees pays €4.99 × 50 = €249.50 per month for absence management, time tracking and personnel file, with no hidden extra costs. With Personio, the price depends on the individual quote. According to publicly available user reports, however, comparable plans are often more expensive.

Frequently asked questions

Is absence.io cheaper than Personio?

That depends mainly on the features you need. If you need the core HR functions of time tracking, absence management and personnel file, you’ll usually come out cheaper with absence.io, with fixed prices from €4.99 per user per month. Personio doesn’t publish a price list; costs are determined individually and often include an implementation fee. Personio’s broader range of functions, with recruiting and payroll, probably makes it relatively expensive for lean needs. If those functions are needed, however, the price difference becomes less significant accordingly.

Can I switch from absence.io to Personio if my company grows?

Yes, switching is possible. What matters, however, is less the sheer number of employees than whether you actually need functions such as recruiting or payroll. As long as only the core HR processes of absences, time tracking and personnel file are relevant to you, there’s no real reason to switch, no matter how much your team grows.

Does absence.io also offer recruiting features like Personio?

No, absence.io deliberately focuses on absences, time tracking, personnel file and expenses. For recruiting, a specialized solution or a larger HR suite is recommended.

How long does it take to set up absence.io compared to Personio?

absence.io can usually be set up in a few hours via self-service. With Personio, a guided implementation process lasting several weeks is common due to the larger range of functions.

Conclusion: the right choice for your team

The right choice for you depends on your actual requirements. If you want to digitize the core HR processes of absences, time tracking and personnel file quickly and without a long implementation process, absence.io is exactly right for you. But if you need recruiting or payroll in the same system, you should take a closer look at Personio. In the end, what counts is not how big your team is, but what your software really needs to be able to do.

Curious? Then the best thing to do is to try absence.io yourself.

You might also be interested in:

• Why Enterprise HR Software is often the Wrong Choice
• absence.io vs. Personizer: features and pricing compared
• How to Convince Your Boss to Buy HR Software: 5 Reasons
• Outlook Vacation Management: What Works and What Doesn’t

The post absence.io vs. Personio: features and pricing compared appeared first on absence.io - The smart HR platform.

absence.io and Personizer compared side by side

Who is absence.io the better choice for?

You want personal support

Premium Support from absence.io is included in the price in the Pro and Complete package. Our customer satisfaction is 94.7%, and your questions are answered by real people from our Munich office, with an average resolution time of 0.5 hours.

You care about a well-functioning mobile app

The absence.io mobile app has 4.6 out of 5 stars in the App Store and 4.3 out of 5 stars in the Google Play Store (as of October 2026). Accordingly, handling time tracking and leave requests with absence.io on the go is straightforward and reliable.

You want all three core functions in one plan

Time tracking, absence management and a digital personnel file are something every company really needs. With absence.io, you get all of this in the Pro plan for just €4.99 per user per month. Of course, all of it is GDPR-compliant.

You need expense and travel cost management

In industries with many business meals, company cars or business trips, expense reporting becomes a core function. In the Complete plan, absence.io combines time tracking, leave planning, personnel file and expense and travel cost management for just €7.99 per user per month. If you want to handle these processes simply and intuitively in one piece of software, absence.io is exactly right for you.

Who is Personizer the better choice for?

You want individual modules

With Personizer, you can buy time tracking, absence management and the digital personnel file as individual modules. If you’re currently only looking for time tracking, you can book just that function with Personizer. As described above, however, every company has to deal with all three of these topics.

You want a free basic plan

Personizer offers time tracking, leave planner and personnel file with their respective basic features free of charge, permanently. However, reporting, automatic break deductions and more are part of the paid version.

Different product structures

absence.io and Personizer have different product structures. With Personizer, you can book the 3 functions as individual modules. For example, you can book time tracking and the digital personnel file for a total of €4.70 per user per month. Priority support can be added for €20 per month. Prices get lower with a longer contract term.

absence.io offers 3 different plans. The Pro plan includes time tracking, absence management and the digital personnel file for €4.99 per user per month, including Premium Support. absence.io also offers a 10% discount with a 12-month term.

A cost example for a team of 50 employees that needs time tracking, leave planning and a digital personnel file:

• absence.io (Pro plan): €4.99 × 50 = €249.50 per month, no minimum term, including Premium Support and single sign-on.
• Personizer (3 modules combined + Priority Support): €3.70 + €3.00 + €1.00 = €7.70 × 50 + €20 = €405 per month, no minimum term.

Depending on which features you’re looking for, you’ll come out cheaper with either absence.io or Personizer. If you want all 3 core functions, absence.io is always cheaper, even if you skip Priority Support with Personizer and commit to 24 months.

Conclusion

Both solutions are aimed at small and medium-sized companies and cover the 3 core functions: time tracking, absence management and the digital personnel file. With absence.io, you get these in the Pro plan for €4.99 per user/month (with monthly cancellation), including Premium Support, and with Personizer in a combination of 3 individual modules for €7.70 per user/month (with monthly cancellation). Both offer premium support: with absence.io it is included in the Pro and Complete plans, with Personizer you can add it for €20 per month. absence.io also offers expense and travel cost management. In the end, the two solutions are very similar. Which one is the better choice for you depends on what your company specifically wants.

Curious? Then the best thing to do is to try absence.io yourself.

You might also be interested in:

• Why Enterprise HR Software is often the Wrong Choice
• How to Convince Your Boss to Buy HR Software: 5 Reasons
• Outlook Vacation Management: What Works and What Doesn’t
• Pro or Complete Package from absence.io?

The post absence.io vs. Personizer: features and pricing compared appeared first on absence.io - The smart HR platform.