In Microsoft Teams, there are different ways to track time. We compare timeghost and shifts from Microsoft Teams in this post. Both are time tracking systems, but they differ in some aspects.
In this blog article, we’ll take a closer look at these two tools and analyze their pros and cons to decide which option is best for your business.
timeghost in Microsoft Teams and Shifts in Teams – an overview
| timeghost | Microsoft Teams Shifts | |
| Mobile app | ✅ | ✅ |
| Export function | ✅ | ✅ |
| Come-Go | (available soon) | ✅ |
| Integration in teams | ✅ | ✅ |
| Target hours | ✅ | ❌ |
| Budgeting | ✅ | ❌ |
| Billability | ✅ | ❌ |
| Evaluations | ✅ | ❌ |
Mobile app
Shifts in teams
Both systems offer a mobile version. Many employees now work on the road or from home offices and are therefore not always present at the workplace. A mobile app allows these employees to record their time worked anytime, anywhere, improving the accuracy of time tracking and reducing the risk of errors.
The Microsoft Teams Shifts mobile app allows you to record your work hours by start/stop/break. A cool feature that allows you to record a working time within a few seconds.
timeghost App in Teams
The timeghost mobile app offers somewhat more extensive functions. In addition to the possibility to create time entries quickly and from anywhere, you can also evaluate them according to projects, users, tasks, etc. filter. Basically, the mobile app from timeghost offers you almost the same functions as the desktop version. So all functions that are marked with a check mark in the table above can also be used in the mobile version of timeghost.
Export function
The recorded working times can be easily exported in both applications. The working times are displayed in different tables and folders so that you can evaluate them quickly and use them for payroll accounting, for example.
Come – Go – Function
Come – Go in Microsoft Teams Shifts
In Shifts in teams, you can clock in and out normally. This will record your working time in the background. Additionally, you can record break times and clock out at the end of your workday.
Come – Go in timeghost
The Come-Go function is currently under development and in the final stages. The cool thing about this feature is that the software automatically records the start time of your working hours as soon as you open timeghost for the first time. The same happens with the end time of your work, when you open timeghost for the last time of the day. The aim of this feature is on the one hand the new evaluation possibilities for employees. Above all, we want to make it easier for users to record their working hours with just a few clicks using the clock-in clock-out function, thus making timeghost an even more effective time tracking tool for all users.
Integration in teams
The integration of both systems in Microsoft Teams saves you from constantly switching between different applications. You can download the timeghost app for Microsoft Teams directly from the AppSource Store download. You can easily access the Shifts app in Teams by clicking the three dots in the Teams sidebar.
Target hours function in timeghost
The target hours function allows you and your team to set the duration of working hours and check whether these target hours have been reached. In timeghost, the timer will show you if you have already reached the hours and how much time is left to complete the hours. You constantly keep track of your working hours. On the right side of the screen, above the time entries, you can see the target hours and whether they have been reached or not. The screenshot is from our beta version. The feature will soon be available for all timeghost users.
Budgeting in timeghost
Set budgets for your projects. You can choose whether the budgeting should be task-based or in the form of a manual time budget. When creating manual time budgets, you can also create alerts that keep you informed throughout the project.
Budgeting projects will help you especially if you manage several projects at the same time and want to keep track of your budget.
Billing capability in timeghost
With the billability in timeghost, you can distinguish between “billable” and “non-billable” when recording your working times. The billable times are then displayed in the profitability in timeghost.
Which tasks you should post as billable or non-billable is ultimately up to you to decide. This article from Freshbooks summarizes quite well which tasks are “billable” and which are “non-billable”.
Evaluations
Evaluations in Microsoft Teams Shifts
In order to be able to carry out evaluations in Shifts, it is necessary to export the time entries to Excel. There are various evaluation options available in Excel, but you have to do them manually. However, you do not have any evaluation options within the Shifts application.
Evaluations in the timeghost app
The evaluation options within the timeghost app are of course more extensive. A separate area has been created in timeghost in the sidebar for the evaluations. In it you can evaluate all working hours. In the timeghost dashboard, you can use various filters to display exactly the working times that you would like to query.
You will be shown the corresponding working times and you can also export them to Excel or as a CSV file.
Conclusion
As a conclusion, the following can be said: If you want a pure time recording that only includes a come-go function and can export the time entries, Microsoft Teams Shifts is the right choice.
However, if you are in charge of several projects and customers and want to have a constant overview of your working hours, then timeghost is the right choice for you. Besides the simple recording of working hours, you can increase your productivity in the long run and constantly get new features within the app that make it even better.
Try timeghost 14 days for free
With the 14-day free trial version you can test all advantages of timeghost for free and get a first impression of the software. Book also a non-binding live demowhere we will show you all the features in detail and see how you can best use timeghost for your business. We look forward to seeing you!
Get the timeghost app for Microsoft Teams
All you have to do is install the timeghost Teams app directly from the AppSource Store install in the application. You can find instructions here. The timeghost app includes all the features you know from the web client, and since you use your Office 365 account to access timeghost, you’ll be ready in seconds.
