As a fundraiser, you are responsible for building relationships with donors, raising funds, and contributing to your nonprofit’s impact. Mundane administrative tasks like filling out timesheets, tracking expenses, and logging project hours can take up so much of the time that you would rather spend actually fundraising.
The good news is you can minimize the time you spend doing admin by optimizing your workflows and leaning on time-saving, smart tools to take on these tasks.
For example, Fundraising KIT is a fundraising analytics tool that provides insights about your donor, forecasts your fundraising revenue, tracks your nonprofit KPIs, and builds easy-to-read reports—and you’ll barely need to lift a finger.
By automating these tasks, and more, you and your nonprofit team can save time work more efficiently towards achieving your goals. More so, nonprofit time tracking tools can save you time by digitizing, automating, and simplifying tasks that would usually take up so much of your day-to-day work.
These tools can perform key tasks ranging from budget allocation to project management, and this article discusses all you need to know about time tracking as a fundraiser.
This article will discuss the following:
Save Time and Meet Fundraising Goals with Fundraising KIT
Fundraising KIT enables fundraisers to identify patterns and trends in their donor data so they can adjust their fundraising strategies accordingly and raise more funds. With Fundraising KIT, you can gather insights about your donors and spend more time engaging in donor relationship-building activities that will get you results.
What to Consider When Choosing a Nonprofit Time Tracking Tool
When choosing the best time tracking tool for your nonprofit, you should consider what your priorities are. Are you looking for a specific time management feature, such as a digital log, or would you prefer an all-in-one tool?
Here are five things to consider when choosing a nonprofit time tracking tool:
1. Customization
Just about every time tracking tool will allow you to track how long you’ve spent working on a specific task, but they all vary in how they do this.
Some tools are more flexible than others, allowing you to customize overtime tracking or log your time by project instead of by day. Meanwhile, other tools have added timesheet functions such as automatic time tracking based on the websites and domains you visit or allowing timesheets to be sent automatically to supervisors for approval. Depending on the nature of your time tracking needs, you can choose a tool that works for you.
2. Reporting Functionality
What will you want to do with the logged time after it has been recorded? Is it purely for internal tracking? Or would it be used to create reports at the end of the quarter? If you want to use those timesheets to create reports for funders, board members, or grant applications, you should consider getting a nonprofit time tracking tool with a built-in reporting function.
3. Estimates and Forecasting
By tracking where your team is spending their time, you can gauge how much time and resources future projects will take. This feature can be beneficial when applying for grants, presenting to funders, and even for your team’s internal planning. Some nonprofit time tracking tools allow you to do this, while others don’t. So, you have to decide if this is something you would want from your tool of choice.
4. Price and Budget
How much are you or your nonprofit organization willing to spend on this? In an ideal world, you would probably have a time-tracking tool with multiple features that checks all your boxes, but that is simply out of reach for many nonprofits. Find out how much you can spend, prioritize the features you must have, and see what fits your budget. That said, many tools listed in this article offer free trials or nonprofit discounts, so you may find one that works for you.
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9 Time Tracking Software for Nonprofits
1. TimeCamp
TimeCamp is known for its simple, easy-to-use time tracking functionalities, including monitoring tools usage and project profitability. However, the one-click time tracking feature is their main differentiator.
TimeCamp scans the domain names of the web pages you visit and groups them into categories so you can gauge your productivity levels. It also integrates with several tools like Salesforce, Asana, and Outlook to monitor time spent on each tool. While there are no nonprofit discounts for using TimeCamp, there is a free plan with limited features.
2. WeWorked
WeWorked is an online timesheet app and time clock for punching in and punching out virtually. It primarily helps you and your nonprofit team track timesheets, run reports, and calculate billable projects based on these timesheets. WeWorked offers a free trial and an affordable pricing plan that may work well for your team.
3. ClickTime
ClickTime has built a timesheet tracker specifically for nonprofits. The tool allows you to track timesheets but goes above and beyond by offering several features, including resource planning, budget tracking, and forecasting. You can also use this tool to track grant application and funding processes and pipelines because these features are specifically built-in for nonprofit users.
ClickTime’s reporting functions allow you to create insightful reports for funders, board members, and other stakeholders. As you can expect, such a comprehensive tool comes with a higher price point, but nonprofits can take advantage of ClickTime’s 50% discount.
4. Cashboard
Cashboard is a time tracking and invoicing solution that allows you to track timesheets, invoices and automatically manage your budget all-in-one space. Uniquely, you can toggle between a daily, weekly, and project-based view of timesheets. Cashboard’s pricing is less flexible than some competitors and geared towards freelancers.
5. Quickbooks Time
If your nonprofit organization already uses Quickbooks, you should consider its built-in timesheet tracker. With this tool, you can track timesheets, invoices and schedule tasks in the same space to manage your financial records. More so, you can use this tool to perform complex overtime calculations, use GPS locators, and report on projects. Quickbooks doesn’t offer a 30-day free trial and discounted nonprofit pricing upon inquiry.
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6. ClockShark
If you are looking for a digital clock-punching tool, ClockShark might be an excellent option for you. It allows you to manage employee scheduling, track time spent on tasks, and identify which activities take up most of your team’s hours. It also integrates with many tools for accounting and payment, such as Quickbooks and Xero. While there is no nonprofit pricing available, there is a free trial that you can take advantage of.
7. actiTime
actiTime is a project tracking tool with powerful time tracking capabilities. You can use actiTime to track how much time employees are spending on tasks and within projects. With its budgeting functions, actiTime allows you to figure out how much time and money it takes to complete a project.
More so, it allows for reporting, billing, and invoicing all in the same place and integrates with other tools using Zapier and API. ActiTime has a nonprofit discount which is available upon inquiry.
8. Toggl
Toggl is a simple and intuitive tool that packs a lot in. It allows you to track time automatically on all devices with a start/stop button. It is specifically useful for project managers and fundraisers who need to create budgets, track progress, schedule team activities and report performance. It has a robust library of integrations and offers discounts to nonprofits.
9. Harvest
Harvest is a digital timesheet that allows you to track and report on time spent on tasks. It is one of the most affordable options on this list, with a free trial and nonprofit pricing.
Talk to a fundraising expert today to learn more about how Fundraising KIT can quickly and easily help your nonprofit raise more for your cause.
A time tracking software can ease the administrative burden that your team feels by automating time tracking, digitizing timesheets, and allowing for an informed project and budget planning process. There are plenty of options available, and depending on your team’s needs, you are sure to find the right fit.
If you are after a simple, hassle-free digital timesheet, maybe Harvest is the right fit. If you are looking for a tool that will also guide your project management, ActiTime may be a better fit. Or maybe your nonprofit organization runs on Quickbooks, and you would like to keep everything in one place. The point is there is a tool for you.
No matter the tool, tracking your time will save your team time. And with a tool like Fundraising KIT, your fundraising team can be even more efficient and effective with the way they manage, analyze and gather insights from your donor data. Altogether these tools will make your organization more productive and impactful.
Ally Smith
Content Writer at Fundraising KIT
With a passion for nonprofit innovation, Ally has spent her career helping build community capacity and supporting social innovation as a customer success manager turned, youth worker, turned social researcher.
After leaving the tech start-up landscape, she pursued a Master’s in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership and has since supported nonprofits to innovate and grow. A Canadian ex-pat and social entrepreneur based in Edinburgh, she enjoys hiking, baking bread in a panic, and pursuing the full Scottish experience- rain and rugby included!
