clockodo
German time recording built for the legal obligation - European alternative based in Germany
Quick Overview
| Company | clockodo |
|---|---|
| Category | Time Tracking Software |
| Headquarters | Osnabrück, Germany |
| EU/European | Yes - Germany |
| GDPR Compliant | Yes |
| Main Features | German labour law compliance, Working time recording, DATEV export |
| Pricing | Per user, per month |
| Best For | German employers who must record working time by law |
| Replaces | Harvest, Clockify, QuickBooks Time |
Detailed Review
clockodo is a German time tracking service that treats working time recording as the legal duty it now is in Germany, rather than as a productivity feature. It covers both sides: billable project time and statutory working time records.
What Makes clockodo Stand Out
Since the German courts and the EU Court of Justice made systematic recording of working time mandatory, employers need records that satisfy an auditor, not just an invoice. clockodo handles break rules, overtime accounts, absences and the documentation obligations — the part international tools leave to the customer.
What the Software Does
Time recording per employee and per project, working time accounts with break and overtime rules, absence and holiday management, billable rates and invoicing exports, plus DATEV export for the payroll and accounting handover.
European Data Protection and Works Councils
clockodo is based in Osnabrück and built specifically around German labour law. That is a category of product a US vendor cannot really localise into, because the rules are the product rather than a configuration option.
Timesheets are employee data, and in much of Europe that pulls in more than the GDPR: works council agreement, purpose limitation, and strict limits on anything resembling behavioural monitoring. A vendor built inside that framework tends to ship defaults that keep you on the right side of it.
Pricing
Per-user monthly pricing in two tiers, with the working time and absence management in the higher one. Free trial without a card.
clockodo vs the US Alternatives
Against Harvest, Clockify, QuickBooks Time, the European difference is less about the timer and more about what surrounds it: statutory working time rules, accounting exports the local bookkeeper accepts, and a much narrower appetite for surveillance features that would be unlawful to switch on here anyway.
Who Should Use clockodo
clockodo suits German and Austrian employers who need working time records that hold up, and who bill project time from the same data.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Built for the statutory working time obligation
- Break, overtime and absence handling
- DATEV export
- Project time and billing alongside it
- German company and hosting
- Free trial without a card
Cons
- German and Austrian focus
- Interface functional rather than polished
- Less suited to non-German employers
- Working time features sit in the higher tier
Alternatives to clockodo
Looking for other European time tracking tools? Here are the alternatives worth comparing:
Frequently Asked Questions
clockodo is based in Germany and operates under European data-protection rules including the GDPR. Timesheet data is employee data, so it stays under European jurisdiction rather than under US legislation.
clockodo is based in Germany. We list European time tracking tools because timesheets are employee data and, in much of Europe, a works council matter as well.
Time recording per employee and per project, working time accounts with break and overtime rules, absence and holiday management, billable rates and invoicing exports, plus DATEV export for the payroll and accounting handover.
Per-user monthly pricing in two tiers, with the working time and absence management in the higher one. Free trial without a card.
clockodo is a European alternative to Harvest, Clockify, QuickBooks Time, with European working time rules and accounting exports handled as core behaviour.
This is the question to ask of any tool in this category, and the answers differ sharply. Toggl Track deliberately has no screenshots, keystroke logging or activity scoring. Timeular captures activity locally on the employee's own machine. TimeCamp offers automatic capture that needs a clear legal basis and usually works council agreement before you switch it on.