Time tracking software you can show a works council
zeitfair is time tracking software for teams that need accurate hours for payroll, billing and planning — and that need to show their working-time records to anyone who asks. Timer, mobile app or desktop agent, ArbZG-grade break and rest checks, and corrections that cannot be changed quietly.
- Timer, mobile app or desktop agent
- Breaks, rest periods and overtime checked automatically
- Corrections need a reason and are permanently logged
Three ways to capture
Start a timer, stamp in from the phone, or let the desktop agent record the application and project you are working in. Whichever route you take, it lands in the same record.
Working-time rules checked for you
Breaks, rest periods, maximum daily hours, Sunday and holiday work. Deviations are flagged with the rule they relate to, before they become a dispute.
Projects, clients and billable time
Attribute every hour to a project, a client or a task. See where the work actually went and bill from the same data you report on.
Corrections with a reason, always
Edits need a reason and are written to a hash-chained audit log with the before and after values. Nobody can quietly change a record.
Time tracking software is usually judged on the timer. That is the part nobody argues about. The parts that decide whether a business keeps using it are the boring ones: whether the record is complete, whether the working-time rules are checked for you, and whether anyone can quietly change a number.
What time tracking software has to get right
Completeness. A record that only captures some of the working time is worse than no record, because it looks authoritative. zeitfair captures start, end and duration of every working period, including night and weekend work, and flags the cases that need a look.
Automatic rule checks. Nobody wants to audit their own compliance. Breaks, rest periods, maximum daily hours and Sunday work are checked on every entry and flagged with the rule they relate to. See the time tracking guide for how each rule works.
Corrections that cannot disappear. A change to a recorded hour needs a reason. The reason, the timestamp, the person and the before/after values go into a hash-chained audit log. That is what makes the record usable in a dispute — and what makes it hard for anyone to quietly rewrite history.
Self-service. People trust a system they can read. Every employee sees their own hours, balances, corrections and reports, and can export them at any time.
Three ways to capture time
The timer. Start it when the work starts. It is the fastest path and it produces the cleanest data.
The time tracking app for the phone. A progressive web app: open it in the browser, add it to the home screen, stamp in and out. No store download, no device management, and it works for people who are rarely at a desk. See timesheet app for the mobile flow in detail.
The desktop agent. For teams that want less manual work, the agent can record which application is in the foreground and which project it belongs to. It is opt-in per capability, it shows a visible indicator while it runs, and it never records keystroke content.
Analytics that survive a works council
The most common reason time tracking software gets rejected is not the data — it is the reporting. A table that ranks people turns a recording tool into a disciplinary instrument, and the team reacts accordingly.
zeitfair therefore reports by project, by client and by team. Team-level analytics are suppressed below a configurable minimum group size, default five, and you set that number together with your works council. Where individual efficiency scores are enabled, they are computed from recorded facts, they show the numbers behind them, and no automated decision is ever taken about a person.
Built for the teams that have to prove their hours
Three groups use zeitfair most often, and for three different reasons:
- Agencies and consultancies need billable hours per client and project, and need the export to match their accounting process.
- Works councils need a system where the record is complete and the corrections are visible, because that is what the working-time record has to be.
- Field and craft businesses need working time captured reliably across shifts, including time that is not neatly attributable to a project.
The GDPR time tracking guide covers the legal side in more detail, including what to put in a works agreement.
The checklist for comparing vendors
- Does it capture the full working day, including night and weekend work?
- Are breaks, rest periods and maximum hours checked automatically?
- Are corrections possible only with a reason, and are they immutable afterwards?
- Can employees see and export their own data?
- Are team analytics gated by a minimum group size?
- Is the hosting in the EU, and is there a DPA you can conclude online?
- Does it work without a device per employee, or does every person need a phone or a terminal?
- Can you export everything when the retention period ends?
Getting started
Create the workspace, pick the country and region, invite the team, conclude the DPA. The legal and privacy texts are in the workspace, ready to read. Most teams are recording accurately within a day.
Start free on your own and see whether the records hold up on their own.
Updated November 5, 2026
Frequently asked questions
What is time tracking software?+
Time tracking software records how working time is spent, so a business can pay, bill and plan against real hours instead of estimates. It usually comes as a timer, a mobile app, an automatic desktop agent or a combination. The difference between good and poor time tracking software is not the timer — it is whether the records are complete, whether working-time rules are checked automatically, and whether corrections are visible.
What should I look for in time tracking software?+
Eight things. Complete daily records including shift and night work. Automatic checks of breaks, rest periods and maximum hours. Corrections only with a reason. An audit trail that cannot be tampered with. Employee self-service so people can see and export their own data. Team analytics gated by a minimum group size. EU hosting with a DPA. And a way to export or delete everything when the retention period ends. zeitfair does all eight.
Is a time tracking app enough, or do I need hardware?+
A time tracking app is enough for most teams. The mobile app is a web app — open it in the browser, add it to the home screen, stamp in and out. The desktop agent covers the desk. Hardware time clocks are still bought for factory and retail floors where a shared terminal makes more sense than phones; for office work they add a device to maintain and a queue at the door.
How much does time tracking software cost?+
The free plan covers one user. Pro is €9.90 per person per month and includes everything; yearly billing is 15 % cheaper. You can start free, invite the team later and move up when you need to.
Does time tracking software have to monitor employees?+
No, and it should not by default. Recording hours is not surveillance. If you do enable activity capture — applications, window titles, screenshots — it is a separate switch per capability, it shows a visible indicator while it runs, the affected person has to consent, and a works agreement has to cover it. Everything else stays plain time and project data.
Does it work for shift and night work?+
Yes. Rest periods, maximum daily hours and Sunday or holiday work are checked and flagged with the rule they relate to, so night and weekend work is visible in the record rather than buried in an average.
Can employees see their own data?+
Yes — their own hours, balances, corrections and reports, plus a full export on demand. Team analytics only appear above a configurable minimum group size, which is also the setting your works council will want to see.
Where is the data stored?+
In the EU, in Frankfurt. You conclude the data processing agreement online before you capture anything, employees can export their own records, and the audit log shows who changed what and when.
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