As a CEO of a time tracking software company, my team and I are constantly looking at the best B2B software to know what’s going on in the market. That means we’re often researching about and/or playing around with their products; you know, it’s part of the job. Here, I share my findings from that research on the best Michigan-compliant time tracking options, giving credit to those products where credit is due and being honest about which products I believe you really need to avoid. And so, there you have it, this review, and in it, I try to be honest, fair, and insightful. I hope it helps you make the right decision…
Overview
In today’s fast-paced business world, time is an invaluable asset. For organizations striving for success, optimizing time management can be the key to staying ahead of the competition. Enter time-tracking software – a digital ally designed to revolutionize how businesses track, manage, and optimize employee time.
Michigan also recognizes the significance of time tracking. Employers in Michigan must adhere to specific regulations to ensure fair labor practices. According to Michigan law, employers must maintain accurate records of hours worked, including meal breaks and rest periods, to guarantee employees receive proper compensation. Non-compliance with these regulations is a recipe for disaster. It could lead to legal ramifications for your business. Nobody wants that.
If you’re a Michigan-based business, time-tracking software is a necessity. Thankfully, the market is brimming with innovative time-tracking software solutions explicitly designed to address these challenges. To save you time and effort, we have extensively researched and compiled a comprehensive list of the six best Michigan time tracking software options available today.
By utilizing these Michigan-compliant time tracking software, you can streamline your company’s workflow while ensuring fair labor practices. It’s a win-win!
What are Michigan Time Management Laws?
In the United States, we have federal laws to ensure employees’ time at work is properly managed, protecting their rights and ensuring they receive fair pay for their hard work. These laws act as guidelines for employers, keeping them accountable and preventing any form of mistreatment or unfair treatment.
One of the key federal laws for time management is the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). It plays a crucial role in setting hourly wage rates, determining overtime pay, and requiring employers to keep accurate records of an employee’s working hours. Employees who work more than 40 hours/week are entitled to receive overtime pay that is 1.5 times their regular hourly rate. However, specific job categories, like executives and professionals, may be exempt from overtime pay based on their job description and salary.
Another important federal law is the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which governs time management in the workplace. It provides qualified employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for important family and medical reasons. Employers are required to maintain employees’ health benefits during their leave and ensure they can return to their previous or equivalent positions when they come back to work.
Employers who violate federal time management laws can face serious consequences, including fines, back pay, and damages as deemed by the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.
| Michigan Minimum Wage | $10.33 per hour |
| Michigan Overtime Laws | 1.5 times the rate of regular pay after working 40 hours in a workweek |
| ($15.50 per hour for minimum wage workers) | |
| Michigan Break Laws | Meal breaks not required by law |
| Rest period of 30 minutes required after 5 consecutive hours of work |
If you want to dig into further legislative details, take a look at our detailed Michigan Labor Laws article.
What are the 6 Best Michigan-Compliant Time Tracking Software?
The definitive list
1. Jibble
Now, I know it might seem a little bold to put our very own product on the top of our list but trust me when I say that Jibble is truly a game-changer in the world of time-tracking software.
Jibble is an all-in-one solution that covers time tracking, attendance management, project tracking, and payroll integration. Employees can clock in and out using Jibble’s convenient kiosk or track time via mobile or desktop.
We know that Michigan has some strict rules about overtime. You need to keep accurate track of overtime hours and compensate employees according to the rates set by FLSA. To make compliance with this easier, Jibble lets managers set overtime rules. You can set the rate for daily overtime, and if it’s in your company policy, you can also set rest day and holiday overtime rates.
Breaks aren’t mandated by Michigan law, but if you have minor employees, they are entitled to a 30-minute minimum break after more than five work hours. For this, you can set custom break policies on Jibble.
All time tracked, including breaks and overtime, is automatically logged into Jibble’s timesheets. You can export this data into reports for recordkeeping and payroll. There are payroll integrations on Jibble to make the process much more streamlined and accurate.
On top of all of this, Jibble also has GPS tracking, facial recognition, and PTO management to ensure flexibility and security in tracking working hours. You won’t have to worry about time theft ever again.
If all of this doesn’t make Jibble an excellent solution for Michigan business, then I don’t know what will! But don’t just take my word for it. Jibble has earned its place as the highest-rated app on top review sites like G2, App Store, and Play Store.
What Users Like
- 100% Free
- Easy to set up and use
- Accurate time-tracking
- Allows users to set up overtime and break policies
- Excellent customer support
What Users Don’t Like
- The automatic timesheets feature works too well (it might make you feel guilty for procrastination!)
Key Features
- User-friendly attendance kiosk
- Compatible with mobile and desktop
- RFID and NFC attendance
- Customizable settings to fit unique requirements
- Detailed reporting
- Facial recognition and GPS tracking
- Automated timesheets and reports
2. Hubstaff
Hubstaff is a versatile time-tracking app fit for freelancers, solopreneurs, and small businesses. It’s very easy to use; users only need to choose or enter the project and task they’ll be working on, and they can start tracking immediately. There’s also an option for managers to auto-start/stop the timer and specify the start and end times on selected dates. This is helpful if your employees work on fixed-schedule shifts.
Pay rates can be set on the app to ensure you comply with Michigan’s minimum wage of $10.33 per hour. If you have employees exempt from minimum wages, such as outside salespersons, you can customize their rates too.
Hubstaff’s time tracker also keeps tabs on breaks and overtime. You can pre-set overtime policies and weekly thresholds on the app. And for compliance, you can set the weekly overtime pay rate multiplier to 1.5. Break rules can be customized too. You can set fixed durations, frequency, and whether the break is paid or unpaid. Michigan doesn’t have break laws, except for minor employees. But if your company has existing break policies, this feature would be a great way to encourage compliance.
You can look at an overview of the data tracked by Hubstaff through the dashboard or look at further details in reports. These reports can be used for both recordkeeping and payroll. Reports can also be directly exported to payroll integrations like Gusto. Talk about easy payroll processing!
All of these features come at a much more expensive price point, though, compared to competitors. The software could also use some work, as many users have reported spontaneous crashes on the app.
What Users Like
- Easy to use
- Great customer service
- Very customizable
- Comprehensive reports
What Users Don’t Like
- Expensive plans
- Buggy Android version
- Occasional software crashes
Key Features
- GPS Location Tracking
- Payroll Tracking
- PTO and Leave Management
- Payroll Integrations
- Break and Overtime Tracking
Why not check out our full, and of course completely honest, Hubstaff review?
3. Connecteam
Connecteam is a comprehensive employee management and communication software that simplifies business operations. It’s particularly suited for organizations with non-desk employees. With a wide range of features, Connecteam helps businesses enhance productivity and streamline their workflow.
What sets Connecteam apart from other time-tracking software is its Communication Hub, which allows managers to create one-on-one chats, team chats, and channels. This is a great way for them to communicate with their team about project updates and assign tasks.
The time tracking feature in Connecteam is fairly straightforward. Employees can track their time via the kiosk station, desktop, or mobile app. It measures all worked hours plus breaks and overtime. Managers can set hourly rates for each employee as well as the applicable overtime rates. These customizable settings help ensure your employees never go underpaid and clear you of any potential violations.
From the dashboard, you’ll be able to see the real-time activity of the team, how many hours they’ve worked, and how much the billable total is. There are also available reports that you can generate and export to third-party payroll software.
Connecteam is a pretty good choice for Michigan businesses. Fair warning, though, the mobile app crashes frequently, as reported by many users. This may not be good news for those who have remote teams and need a reliable mobile time-tracking app.
What Users Like
- Customizable and user-friendly interface
- Responsive customer service
- Team collaboration features
What Users Don’t Like
- Android app crashes frequently
- Buggy scheduling software
- Emails about claimed shifts aren’t always accurate
- Pricing can be expensive for smaller teams
Key Features
- Shift and Group Scheduling
- Absence & Leave Management
- Automatic billing calculations
- GPS location tracking
- Automated Reports
Why not check out our full, and of course completely honest, Connecteam review?
4. My Hours
My Hours is a cloud-based time-tracking solution designed for small teams. With a user-friendly interface, employees can track work in real-time, manually add time logs, and resume tracking for breaks effortlessly. It measures everything from regular work hours to time off and overtime.
This app especially excels in project management, giving users the flexibility of scheduling and assigning project tasks, logging time for each task, and tracking project expenses. It also reports on project profitability.
Billing rates can be set for each employee to comply with Michigan’s minimum wage laws. This, along with regular work hours and attendance data, is reflected on the timesheet with the tallied billing total. The timesheet can be exported as a report for recordkeeping and processing payroll. Other customizable reports that can be generated through the app are:
- Project analytics
- Time reports
- Attendance and Absences
- Activity reports
While there are some limitations with third-party integrations and interface customization, My Hours remains a suitable Michigan-Compliant time tracking for employee management.
What Users Like
- User-friendly interface
- Responsive customer support
- Good features on the free version
- It makes it easy to switch between projects and tasks
What Users Don’t Like
- Reports could be more flexible
- Issues with third-party integrations
Key Features
- Manual and automatic logging of work hours
- Attendance and absence tracking
- Log expenses to track other costs
- Export timesheets for payroll and in-depth analysis.
Why not check out our full, and of course completely honest, My Hours review?
5. Paymo
Paymo’s focus on time tracking, invoicing, and billing makes it a valuable tool for small to mid-sized businesses. This comprehensive workplace management software and timesheet app offers tools for project management, time tracking, and collaboration.
Michigan businesses will be particularly happy to know that Paymo has a sophisticated leave planner and scheduling system. This makes it easy to account for the different leave types that Michigan requires. Employers can set leave policies, both paid and unpaid. And employees can easily send in their requests via the app. You can also set public holidays across the entire company with just a few clicks.
With a web timer, desktop widget, and active timer, users can create timesheets and generate live reports to streamline workflows. Hourly rates per employee can also be customized to meet the state’s minimum wage requirements.
Did you know Paymo also has a Pomodoro timer? This lets employees set custom breaks throughout the day. Michigan doesn’t have any regulations about breaks, but it’s a good feature to have if your company has its own breaks policies.
While Paymo offers a user-friendly interface, there may still be a learning curve for employees new to time-tracking software. Training and onboarding efforts might be required to ensure smooth adoption and optimal tool usage.
What Users Like
- Several customization options
- Automated timesheets with filters and templates
- Scheduling system
What Users Don’t Like
- Expensive
- Nonintuitive user interface
- Clunky mobile app
- Payment system not suited to international financial software
Key Features
- Customizable timesheets
- Detailed reporting
- Leave management
- Scheduling and shift planning
- Project and task management
Why not check out our full, and of course completely honest, Paymo review?
6. QuickBooks Time
QuickBooks Time provides a user-friendly interface that allows employees to log their working hours and activities easily. They have the option to track their time using the digital kiosk, mobile or desktop app. For those who prefer manual time tracking, there are also timesheets that employees can manually fill in. The timesheet data can then be exported directly to Quickbooks to streamline payroll processing.
You can see all the data on the dashboard, who’s on the clock, where they’re working, and what they’re working on. To ensure you stay compliant with Michigan minimum wage policies, the app also allows you to set custom pay rates for each employee. Overtime hours are also logged and auto-calculated based on the overtime rate you set on the app.
As for time off, Quickbooks Time also has a great PTO management function. Employees can request time off on the notes, selecting applicable time off codes for specific leave policies. They’ll also be able to see how much PTO they have left. No more employees bugging you about their PTO balances!
QuickBooks Time offers all the basic features that you’ll need for labor law compliance but it does come at a higher price point. Is it worth it? Well, you be the judge of that.
What Users Like
- Insightful reports
- Streamlined payroll management
What Users Don’t Like
- Lack of simultaneous tracking for projects
- Overpriced
- Poor customer support
Key Features
- PTO tracking
- Update scheduling in real-time
- Team scheduling
- Customizable billing rates
- GPS tracking
- Project tracker
- Geofencing
- Unlimited live support
Why not check out our full, and of course completely honest, QuickBooks Time review?
What Should You Look For in a Michigan-Compliant Time Tracking Software?
When selecting a time tracking software for your business, there are several key features that you should consider to ensure compliance with Michigan labor laws and optimize time management processes. Here are the most important features to look for:
- PTO Management: A time tracking software with built-in PTO management capabilities enables Michigan businesses to accurately track and manage employees’ paid time off, including vacation days, sick leave, and other types of time off. This feature ensures compliance with Michigan labor laws regarding PTO accrual, usage, and reporting.
- Customizable Billing Rates: Michigan has a standard minimum wage and unique billing rates for minors. A time tracking software that allows customizable billing rates will empower businesses to accurately track billable hours for each employee.
- Overtime Tracker: Michigan labor laws require overtime pay when employees work more than 40 hours in a workweek. A time tracking software with an overtime tracker feature automatically calculates and tracks overtime hours so you don’t have to worry about compliance.
- Detailed Reporting: Detailed reporting features in a time tracking software do more than just offer insights into employee hours. Michigan businesses can utilize these reports to comply with record keeping laws, analyze resource allocation, and make informed decisions regarding workforce management and productivity.
While these features are crucial for compliance with Michigan labor laws, it’s equally important for Michigan businesses to assess their individual needs. Consider factors such as the size and structure of your organization, the industry-specific requirements, and the presence of remote or field-based workers. By evaluating your business’ needs, you can select a time tracking software that not only helps you meet legal obligations but also aligns with your specific needs, improving overall efficiency and productivity.
