// guide
Time tracking for remote teams: a buyer guide
Use timers or manual entries when remote work happens away from the computer and people can name the client or task as they go. Use automatic activity capture when the work is computer-based and your team will review and correct the record before it counts.
Either way, check supported devices, who can see the data and how long it is kept, then trial the workflow on real workdays before rolling it out.
By Charles · Published · Updated
// choosing a workflow
Should your team use timers or automatic capture?
Timers and manual entries
Timers suit teams that can name the work as they do it. Harvest, for example, lets an account record entries as a duration or as start and end times, and can require a note on every entry, according to its timesheet settings documentation.
The weak point is memory: a forgotten timer becomes an estimate. Agree when entries are due and how a late entry gets corrected.
Automatic activity capture
Background capture gives computer-based teams a record to review instead of relying on timer habits. Toggl offers this as an opt-in desktop feature called Timeline that stays private to the person, who can turn its events into time entries.
Chronologue records apps, sites, window titles and activity levels while a person is signed in to the desktop app, then writes a daily narrative from it. Its AI answers point back to the activity behind each claim. See the full list of recorded data.
For a closer look at the tradeoffs, read manual vs automatic time tracking.
// side by side
How do the two workflows compare?
| What to check | Timers or manual entries | Automatic activity capture |
|---|---|---|
| How time is recorded | A person starts a timer or enters hours and names the task. | An app records computer activity in the background while it runs. |
| Best fit | Work away from the computer, or work people can assign to a client as they go. | Computer-based work where people forget timers or switch tasks often. |
| Common gap | Forgotten timers and hours entered from memory. | Meetings, calls and offline work that the computer record does not explain. |
| What review looks like | Check entries for missing days and notes before approval. | The person checks the record against their day and explains gaps before approval. |
| Data to agree on first | Which notes and projects people must enter. | Which apps, sites, titles or screenshots are captured, who can see them and for how long. |
// review and correction
How will people review and correct their time?
Plan the review before you pick a tool. Neither a timer entry nor an activity record is ready for payroll or a client until someone has checked it.
- In Harvest, the Week timesheet view can only add and edit entries when the account tracks time by duration, so the timer mode you pick changes how people fix entries.
- In Toggl, Timeline events stay with the person, who creates time entries from them in the desktop Calendar view.
- In Chronologue, timesheets are reviewed and approved by pay period. Owners and admins can correct how an app or site is rated for a person, a team or the workspace, and can delete a single screenshot or a whole day.
An activity record shows computer use, not output. Chronologue does not prove productivity; read activity levels vs productivity before using activity in performance conversations.
// supported devices
Which devices does your team work on?
List every device type before a trial. A tracker that does not run on someone’s computer leaves them on manual entries anyway.
- Toggl lists Timeline in its macOS and Windows desktop apps.
- Chronologue runs on Apple silicon Macs with macOS 13 Ventura or later. Windows is coming soon but is not available today, and there is no mobile app yet. The Chronologue vs Time Doctor comparison lists platforms side by side.
If part of your team works on Windows or mainly away from a computer, Chronologue does not fit them yet.
// access and retention
Who can see the data, and for how long?
Access rules and retention matter more for automatic capture, because it records more than a timer does.
- Toggl says other workspace users, including admins, cannot access a person’s Timeline, and its servers keep only the last 90 days.
- In Chronologue, each person can see their own timeline and screenshots, and owners, admins and managers see what their role allows. Screenshots are kept 90 days at most. Activity and timesheets are kept while the workspace is active and deleted 30 days after it is cancelled.
The organization that sets up a Chronologue workspace decides what is collected and why. Chronologue does not guarantee that a rollout complies with the laws or contracts that apply to your team. Read the Chronologue privacy policy and share it with the people you plan to track.
// suggested trial
How do you run a representative trial?
Pick representative people
Include each role and device on the team, plus at least one workday with meetings, focused work and time away from the computer.
Agree the rules first
Tell people what is recorded, who can see it, whether screenshots are on and how long data is kept before anything is installed.
Compare the record with the day
Ask each person to check the record against the work they remember, explain gaps and correct what is wrong. Note how long the review takes.
Approve one real period
Run a full approval cycle so you see the work a manager does each pay period, not only the first day of data.
Count the full cost
Compare seat minimums, billing periods and the time spent reviewing records, then decide whether to keep the workflow.
This is a suggested process, not a product feature. Check seat minimums, billing periods and trial terms on the Chronologue pricing page.
Sources
- Harvest Help Center: Timesheet settings, checked 30 October 2026.
- Toggl Support: The Timeline feature, updated 24 July 2026, checked 30 October 2026.
- Chronologue features, download page and privacy policy, checked 30 October 2026.
Vendor documentation describes each vendor’s own product and can change. It does not establish comparative accuracy.
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