Install Clockgauge Host on a computer in the office, create your owner account and add people, each of whom gets a one-time code. They install the employee app, enter the code, read what is recorded and agree, then start a timer and choose a project and task. The Host updates as they work.
Before you start
Choose a Host computer that stays on during working hours and is backed up. The Host keeps the database and shows the dashboard.
Tell your team before you start: what is recorded, why, who sees it and how long it is kept. See how to explain time tracking to your team.
Steps
- Install Clockgauge Host and create your owner account with a password of at least ten characters.
- Add people. Each gets a one-time code.
- Set up a few clients, projects and tasks and choose who can track on them.
- Each person installs the employee app and enters their code.
- They read the consent screen, which lists what is recorded and what is never recorded, and agree.
- They start the timer, choose a project and task and work. Check the Team page on the Host.
Check that it worked
The person appears as online and tracking, with activity updating through the day.
After a few minutes a screenshot is taken, and the employee is told.
If something goes wrong
- The employee app cannot find the Host. In the office, both must be on the same network. From home, see remote access.
- The code does not work. Codes are one-time; create a new one.
- Someone declines consent. Tracking does not start without consent.
What to do next
Read the employee time tracking page, set up clients, projects and tasks and write a policy from the template.
A first-week plan
- Monday: install the Host, create your owner account and add two people as a pilot.
- Tuesday: set up a few clients, projects and tasks and assign the pilot people.
- Wednesday: the pilot staff install the app, read the consent screen and start timers.
- Thursday: look at the Team page and a first report together with them.
- Friday: adjust settings, such as screenshots per window, blur and retention, then add the rest of the team.
Settings to decide early
- How many screenshots per ten-minute window (the default is two).
- Whether to blur screenshots so text is unreadable.
- How long to keep screenshots (the default is 30 days).
- Who gets which role: Owner, Manager, Payroll or Viewer.
Write your choices into the policy you share with staff.
Questions people ask
Is it free to try?
Yes. One host and one employee are free.
Where is the data?
On the Host computer.
Try Clockgauge
Clockgauge is an employee and freelancer time tracker that runs on your own computer: timers, consented random screenshots, activity levels, clients, projects and tasks, budgets, payroll balances and reports, paid once instead of per user per month..