Grindstone Time Tracking Review: Does it Still Work? 2024

Are you a freelancer or a small business owner trying to tighten up your operation and conserve your resources?

Finding the right time-tracking software can help you improve time management and streamline your business processes with little (or no) added cost. The good news is there are plenty of time-tracking apps to choose from.

Let’s take a look at Grindstone, a modest time tracker that is simple for even non-techies to use. We’ll review its key features and take an honest look at its flaws.

In this Grindstone time tracking review, you can judge the benefits and then decide if it is the right time-tracker for you.

Key Takeaways

• Grindstone is a free tool to help you keep track of assignments, boost productivity, and reach your business goals.
• Grindstone specializes in its productivity features like idle tracking, and Pomodoro timer and its project management features.
• The time tracking feature is flexible and easy to use with manual adjustments, and quick entry functionality
• This tool is ideal for freelancers, small teams of consultants, and professionals in need of a clean simple, easy to use and reliable time tracker, with reporting tools to improve the hours allocated to your team.
• We don’t like the fact that it hasn’t been updated in some time, lacks mobile access and not available on Mac OS.

What Is Grindstone?

Epiforge Software rolled out its first edition of Grindstone Time Tracker in 2008, and the latest 4.0 version came out in 2017.

Although Grindstone doesn’t have the wide customer base of other time-tracking programs, this desktop app can still provide many valuable insights to further your business goals.

Here are a few of the perks you can expect with Grindstone:

• Start and stop timers for multiple projects
• Log time under both project and client names
• Generate weekly and monthly reports
• Prioritize projects with upcoming deadlines
• Track employee hours
• Communicate with a team and manage employee schedules

Let’s explore some of Grindstone’s best features in-depth.

The Benefits and Best Features of Grindstone

Grindstone is a good time-tracking software that targets your business’s pain points by revealing how employee time is spent. Armed with this invaluable data, you can restructure priorities and employee schedules to meet your company’s needs most efficiently.

Grindstone’s timers, charts, and project goals can help keep your employees on track and boost their morale as they watch their progress.

Grindstone is simple to use and has many valuable assets for freelancers and small businesses.

1. User-friendly interface

Grindstone’s intuitive interface allows you to track time and set priorities for all time entries. You can set up as many timers as you need and switch between them with ease.

2. Organize your workload

Grindstone’s project management software is designed to keep your workload organized. Add multiple criteria to each data entry such as client names, project titles, date range, etc. Then, search for your projects using these taglines.

You can also create lists of clients and projects and assign work items or task associated with that client or project so you stay even more organized.

Prioritize your projects

This time-tracking software helps you prioritize your projects so you can work on the most important assignments first. Projects that are close to a deadline have an alert symbol at the top of your list so you can see at a glance what to work on next.

You can also set goals by allotting a specific amount of time for one project.

3. Generate timesheets and track billable hours

Tracking your time as you work makes timesheets easy to generate. This recorded time easily translates into billable hours. Search your hours by week or by month to create timesheets. Then, print out or export the automatically generated timesheet.

Use quick entry functionality

Grindstone offers shortcuts so you use less of your valuable time managing timers and more time meeting deadlines. The quick entry functionality allows you to use a simple search to find the time entry you need.

Create manual time entries as needed

Although Grindstone’s timer runs automatically in the background as you work, it also allows you to update the work items and time slices on your timesheet. You can edit the time entries manually by deleting unnecessary entries or adding non-computer activities as appropriate.

Project managers can view the amount of time spent per project and control which work reports employees are allowed to edit. You can use this reporting for hourly billing.

4. Encourage employee productivity

Grindstone is a productivity tool to help you stay on top of your workload by detecting idle time and encouraging employees to take regular breaks.

Detect idle time

The timer automatically pauses when it detects that you are away from your computer. When you return, you have the option to ignore the pause or categorize it as working time under a different heading.

These detailed reports allow managers to organize workloads and create more accurate timesheets.

Take breaks

Grindstone’s Pomodoro-style timer also encourages you to take breaks at regular intervals. You will see a notice pop up on your screen with a reminder at regular intervals that you set. Breaking up online time with natural pauses can boost employee morale and increase productivity.

Toggltrack, one of our other favorite time trackers, also uses a Pomodoro timer. So both of these tools stand out as productivity focused.

5. Foster team communication

Grindstone’s paid plan allows team members to be on the same page by opening up lines of communication. Employees can see the different tasks that need to be completed and work together toward deadlines.

The team’s administrator can manage communication by making projects private or visible to all. They can also monitor employees’ timers as they work to stay on top of progress.

6. Keep information secure

As you manage several employees, it is important to keep private information secure. Grindstone protects employee passwords and keeps team communication secure through the app.

Grindstone Pricing and Plans

Grindstone is a straightforward time-tracking software option with two main pricing plans: the free starter plan and Grindstone Sync.

Grindstone’s Free Version

Grindstone’s free plan has no time limit. You can use it temporarily or forever! This plan allows you to track time, record project notes, and create performance metrics so you can keep your business on track and eliminate wasted hours.

Grindstone Sync

Grindstone Sync is a plan that costs $5 per user and allows you to manage a team of employees. As the administrator, you can set goals for projects and control what information employees can change on their time records. The Grindstone team server lets employees communicate and collaborate on shared projects.

This project management software can be useful as your business grows and schedules become more complex. Grindstone offers a free trial of this paid plan so you can see if it is a good fit for your business.

Who Should Use Grindstone Time Tracking?

Grindstone is a good tool for freelancers, students, and small businesses. This friendly time management tool runs in Windows and is simple to use. 

Freelancers can use it to track their personal goals and prioritize projects for clients. Team managers can optimize the hours in a day by creating reports and charts for a broad view of how time is spent.

Grindstone can also help small businesses streamline team workloads by providing secure communication and project collaboration.

Grindstone is a free tool to help you keep track of assignments, boost productivity, and ultimately reach your goals.

Customer Reviews and Case Studies

Grindstone has a smaller customer base than other time-tracking software in today’s market. However, users expressed both warm words and honest criticism.

Here are some of the unfiltered pros and cons of Grindstone Time Tracker.

Pros

• Easy to install and works seamlessly it works with Windows.
• Friendly user interface tracks hours offline and takes note of idle time.
• Creates summaries and monthly reports for better project management.
• The paid version allows you to sync with other team members and track employee projects in real-time.
• Capable of recording billable hours by client or project.
• Encourages employees to take a break at set intervals with its Pomodoro timer.
• Grindstone sync makes it possible to work with remote teams.

Cons

• Not currently available on smartphones or web-based.
• Lacks recent software updates.
• Limited integrations.

How Does Grindstone Compare to Competitors?

Grindstone’s time-tracking software offers many valuable insights into how your business spends its time and how you can improve overall efficiency. However, other apps such as Toggl Track, Rescue Time, and Harvest offer similar benefits.

So, how does Grindstone stack up to the competition? Let’s compare.

Toggl Track

• The free versions of Toggl Track and Grindstone are very similar. You can track time, create charts, and sort data entries by project, date, or client. 
• Toggl Track allows you to track time via an iOS or Android mobile app, web browsers, or desktop computers. However, Grindstone is rooted in Windows and does not currently work on smartphones.
• If you expand these time-tracking programs to manage multiple users, Grindstone costs about half the price per user compared to Toggl Track. Grindstone allows you to add unlimited users to its plan at a flat rate of $5 per user, while Toggl Track’s price range varies. However, Toggl Track has more complex workplace solutions and offers more plans and add-ons than Grindstone.
• Grindstone is best for a single user or a small business, while Toggl Track is a popular choice for single users up to mid-level companies.

RescueTime

• RescueTime closely resembles Grindstone Time Tracker. However, this RescueTime is more flexible, working with Windows, Apple OS X, Linux, Android, and ChromeOS systems. While Grindstone cannot currently be found in mobile app stores, you can access RescueTime from your smartphone.
• Both Grindstone and RescueTime are committed to keeping sensitive data secure.
• Both apps use a “light system touch” and don’t delve too deep into employees’ personal lives. For example, these time-tracking devices do not use GPS, control personal cameras, or log keystrokes.

Harvest

• Harvestand Grindstone Sync are cloud-based time trackers that help with time management. However, Harvest is better known for its billing software, budgeting, and invoicing capabilities.
• Harvest is available for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android, while Grindstone currently relies heavily on Windows.
• Both provide visual charts and reports to summarize how time is spent. However, Harvest also converts expense tracking into invoices.

Final Verdict

Grindstone allows you to track time and manage employee work hours. I enjoyed trying out this time tracker by Epiforge software and found it is truly user-friendly. It is simple to create entries, acknowledges idle time, and sends reminders to restart the timer so you don’t lose hours. You can easily sort projects and create charts for better resource allocation.

This free forever app can be a great solution to keep freelancers on track and also works well for businesses. However, its application is limited to Windows and is currently inaccessible via mobile phones.

Grindstone can be a great time-tracker for starting out. However, as your business grows, I’d recommend checking out other time trackers that can handle professional invoices, complex employee schedules, and HR tools.

Looking for more options? Check out our reviews on Homebase and Toggl Track!

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