Monitoring Employee Computers: 5 Free Tools for Small Businesses

The popularity of employee monitoring software is at its peak - 96% of remote companies use it, and 85% of in-person workers are subject to some form of monitoring. 81% of businesses that implemented tracking software saw an increase in employee performance. Monitoring software can record and analyze employee activity and help identify and address productivity issues. As a result, employers can manage these issues early and reduce costs associated with lost productivity, employee turnover, and legal liabilities.

Collected productivity data can reveal knowledge gaps, allowing the creation of targeted training and development programs.

Finally, monitoring employee computer activity can help detect and prevent security threats, such as unauthorized access or data breaches.

The advantages of monitoring employee computers are hard to underestimate: addressing productivity and security issues is vital for companies of all sizes. While larger companies have more resources to choose a suitable solution, small businesses often cannot afford employee monitoring software due to high license and operational costs and complex implementation.

This article reviews five free or affordable tools for monitoring employee activity on computers suitable for small businesses.

CleverControl is an advanced solution for monitoring employee computer usage. Its basic functionality includes keylogging, screenshots, Internet activity and search query tracking, social media usage monitoring, capturing clipboard events and printer tasks, webcam and sound surveillance, and more. The software also offers time-tracking functionality. It automatically tracks attendance and captures the workday start and end, total work hours, and active/idle time by employee, team, or the entire company.

CleverControl then analyses the collected data and presents productivity statistics: work time, application, web and social media usage dynamics, top-used sites and apps, and more. The recently added AI Scoring feature will estimate each employee's performance and highlight unproductive patterns with the help of artificial intelligence.

CleverControl allows you to monitor employees' screens in real time - you can watch streams from their computers as if you were sitting in front of them. The program can also stream video from the computer's webcam, turning it into a simple but effective surveillance system.

Advanced features of CleverControl include screen recording, call recording, and face recognition.

You can receive data reports on your online dashboard, which you can download for offline viewing. Additionally, you can schedule daily, weekly, or monthly reports by email.

CleverControl is perfect for small businesses as its one solution combines comprehensive employee monitoring, time tracking, and basic data protection functionality. Thanks to this, companies can get an all-in-one tracking solution, cut costs on software, and forward precious resources to growth and development.

The solution offers a free 14-day full trial, affordable prices, starting from $4.70 per PC/month, and discounts.

Advantages

• All-encompassing software for detailed monitoring of employee computer use and attendance

• Easy and quick installation does not require technical knowledge

• User-friendly interface and flexible remote settings

• Multiple administrator subaccounts with lower permission level

• Self-monitoring: employees can see their productivity statistics and analyze it

• Site blocker

• Available for Windows and macOS

• Affordable pricing and discounts

Disadvantages

• No free plan

DeskTime is a time-tracking software designed to help increase productivity and improve workflow, suitable for businesses of all sizes and individuals. It automatically tracks all computer activity, eliminating the need to fill in timesheets and reports. If the work goes offline - for example, a team meeting or lunch with a client - the employee can add it to the report manually to make sure this time is accounted for. Managers can plan employee absences, such as vacations, days off, sick leaves, etc., and mark them in the calendar for a quick overview.

DeskTime allows managers to plan shifts and notify employees when they are supposed to work and for how many hours. Employees can also submit shift requests with preferred dates and times.

DeskTime's features are not limited to time-tracking only - the software records websites and apps employees use throughout the day, with timestamps and duration of use. Each website or app is marked as productive, neutral, or unproductive. Based on this data, the program provides individual performance stats, such as the total amount of productive time and productivity and effectiveness levels. These reports help reveal top performers and slackers.

Additionally, DeskTime can capture screenshots and the names of the documents, email subject lines, Slack channel names, etc., and track exactly how much time goes into each project and task. This way, you can be sure everyone is focused on their assignments.

Reports are updated in real time and can be downloaded for archives or further analysis. The tool can integrate with popular project management and calendar apps, such as Trello, Jira, Google Calendar, and more.

The free version of DeskTime is limited to time, apps & URL racking only. Full functionality will cost you from $7 per user per month.

Advantages

• Accurate automatic timesheets simplify payroll

• Tracking how much time is spent on a task or project

• Project management and calendar software integrations

Disadvantages

• The free version has limited features and may not be suitable for teams

• The full version can be expensive

• Lack of detailed employee activity tracking

Traqq is another time-tracking solution suitable for individuals and businesses of any size. Its functionality includes automatic and manual time tracking, recording active and idle time, and work time statistics. Traqq sends reminders to employees who forget to turn on or off their timer so they do not miss billable hours.

Traqq analyzes each employee's activity levels throughout the day by tracking mouse movements and keystrokes. It displays the daily activity data as a color-coded chart where green represents high activity hours, yellow - normal activity, and red - low activity hours. This chart allows you to monitor employee productivity at a glance, see peaks and drops, and analyze reasons for the decline.

Traqq alerts employees when they are idle for a long time to help them get back on track. Vice versa, if an employee is overworking, Traqq will remind them to take a break to avoid burnout.

The software offers basic monitoring of employee activity on the computer. It captures all apps and websites the employee spends over 10 seconds on and shows the top 3 apps and websites every 15 minutes. All activity is displayed as a color-coded pie chart and the list of top 10 sites and apps.

Traqq allows monitoring to be limited to specific days and hours. This feature works best for remote employees who work on personal devices and want to maintain their privacy. It also prevents unauthorized overtime and helps avoid employee burnout.

All time and activity reports are available on the online dashboard, where they can be viewed, downloaded, and shared by email. You can share the data with multiple managers or employees, helping them analyze and evaluate their performance.

All of Traqq's features are available for free for up to three seats. Larger teams can get a Premium plan for $7 per user/month.

Advantages

• Detailed timesheets with productivity dynamics

• Offline time-tracking

• Supports Windows, macOS, and Linux

• Multiple administrator subaccounts with different permission levels

Disadvantages

• Does not monitor employee computer activity in detail

• No integrations with project management and budgeting software

ActivTrak is an employee-centric privacy-first monitoring system that delivers deep analysis of productivity patterns. It collects limited data about employee app and website usage, such as the name of the app/site, duration, URLs, and optional screenshots. ActivTrak does not record actual keystrokes, video from a screen or webcam, or other user activity details. The collected data is categorized as productive/unproductive, focus/multitasking, email/meeting/social media, etc., and analyzed by the system. As a result, you see detailed charts of various productivity aspects, such as productive time, focus hours, and multitasking hours. You can compare these stats between teams and reveal underutilized and overloaded teams. The statistics let you explore productivity dynamics and how remote or hybrid work affects it, distractions, work patterns, and employees on the verge of burnout.

ActivTrak has flexible settings, allowing you to manually categorize activities as productive/unproductive, and set productivity goals and schedules to avoid monitoring outside work hours.

ActivTrak is free for up to three users; however, its features are limited to time, apps, and website activity monitoring. If you want to track employee productivity and receive full insights, you can choose from several plans starting from $10 per user/month.

Advantages

• In-depth AI-based productivity analysis

• Integrations with third-party business and calendar apps

• Delivers measurable ROI in a few weeks

• Focus on employee privacy and gathered data security

Disadvantages

• The interface and statistics are complicated and confusing for many users

• Does not provide detailed reports of user actions, leaving room for employees to fake activity

WorkTime is an employee computer monitoring software with time and productivity tracking features. It can record login and logout times, monitor attendance with a breakdown into remote and in-office work, track active/idle time and overtime hours, and even has an attendance leaderboard! These features help reveal habitual latecomers and early leavers, detect and prevent overtime fraud, and maintain office discipline.

WorkTime has basic employee productivity monitoring functionality. It records all used applications and visited websites, categorizing them as productive or unproductive, and provides a productivity report that updates in real time. Other reports list the most used social networks, URLs, and employees who spend the most time online with the duration of use. Internet usage reports can show statistics by employee, department, or the entire company.

Monitoring time spent on online meetings is an interesting feature that provides insights into how much work time they take and how they affect productivity. As a result, you may optimize meeting practices, removing the unnecessary calls and making the necessary ones more effective.

The free version of WorkTime is available for up to three employees. This version offers limited reports on apps and web usage, logs, and activity summaries. The data is stored for two weeks, and only one admin can access it. More features are available in Basic, Premium, and Enterprise plans, starting from $6.99 per employee/month.

Advantages

• Time, productivity, and attendance statistics with leaderboards

• Site blocker

• Detects employees who browse job sites

• Distraction score

Disadvantages

• Interface design could be improved

• Interface design could be improved

Monitoring employee computer activity can not only boost productivity but also see where work time goes. Analyzing how the staff allocates their work time, revealing distractions and ineffective resource usage helps small businesses build efficient processes, experiment with workflows, and choose the best patterns.

Employee monitoring brings the most value when it is implemented openly and transparently. The team should know what information is collected and why. The productivity reports should be used to support employees, reveal their weak spots, and advise how to improve, not to punish them. These simple practices will help avoid unnecessary stress, trust, and privacy issues.