Selection guide

Time tracking in a very small business: what is really needed

Up to ten employees, a time tracking system that records the start, the end and the breaks, makes corrections traceable and runs without an implementation project is enough. The record-keeping duty applies here too. The ministerial draft of 18/06/2026 does, however, provide a permanent exemption from the electronic form for micro-businesses with up to ten employees.

As at: September 2026

What applies at this size, and what does not

The duty to record working time exists regardless of the size of the business. It follows from section 3(2) no. 1 ArbSchG, as the Federal Labour Court ruled on 13/09/2022 (1 ABR 22/21). There is no formal requirement today: handwritten is permitted.

The ministerial draft amending the Working Hours Act of 18/06/2026 would prescribe the electronic form but provides staggered transition periods for it and a permanent exemption for micro-businesses with up to ten employees. That is a draft and not applicable law; anyone advertising a "duty from 2027" today is selling a plan as a statute.

Regardless of that, section 17 MiLoG applies to mini-jobs and to the industries from section 2a SchwarzArbG: the start, the end and the duration within seven calendar days of the work, kept for two years. That duty knows no size threshold.

What a small business really needs

The list is shorter than the providers' pages suggest. Four points carry it, everything else is extra.

  • Recording where the work happens: an app on the phone, web recording at the computer, or a terminal at the door where not everyone has a work phone.
  • Corrections that leave a trace. Anyone changing something afterwards has to remain identifiable, and that is exactly what a spreadsheet does not deliver.
  • Leave and illness in the same place, otherwise the hours account becomes unusable at the month-end close.
  • An evaluation the tax adviser understands, as Excel or CSV.

The cost question with small numbers

Per-head prices are almost always cheaper at this size than packages and base fees: a base fee of 19.50 or 29.95 euros a month is spread over few heads and therefore weighs particularly heavily. A provider with a minimum purchase from five or ten people is effectively out of the question for a business with six employees.

  • askDANTE

    Entry price
    a free plan, otherwise from 4.50 euros/user
    Price public
    yes
    Compliance checked
    yes

  • clockin

    Entry price
    from 3.59 euros/user on a 24-month term
    Price public
    yes
    Compliance checked
    yes

  • Clockodo

    Entry price
    from 4 euros/user, without a personnel file
    Price public
    yes
    Compliance checked
    yes

  • Crewmeister

    Entry price
    from 1.50 euros/user, modules extra
    Price public
    yes
    Compliance checked
    yes

  • Timebutler

    Entry price
    from 29.95 euros a month
    Price public
    yes
    Compliance checked
    yes

  • TimeTac

    Entry price
    from a 19.50 euro monthly base fee
    Price public
    no
    Compliance checked
    yes

  • timr

    Entry price
    from 8 euros/user, from 20 people on request
    Price public
    yes
    Compliance checked
    yes

  • MetronHR

    Entry price
    from 5 €/user, no minimum number
    Price public
    yes
    Compliance checked
    yes

As of 15/09/2026, source as above. Base fees and minimum purchases are in the price column, because at this size they are what tips the balance.

When Excel is still enough and when it is not

A spreadsheet satisfies the record-keeping duty formally as long as the start, the end and the breaks are in it. Its problem is not the form but what happens afterwards: it can be changed without anyone seeing it, and in a dispute over overtime it therefore proves nothing.

In practice the tipping point lies where collecting and typing up costs several hours a month, or where for the first time somebody needs an evaluation that is not already in the spreadsheet.

Further reading:Federal Labour Court, order of 13/09/2022, 1 ABR 22/21 · Section 3(2) no. 1 ArbSchG, section 16(2) ArbZG · Section 17 MiLoG, section 2a SchwarzArbG · Ministerial draft amending the ArbZG of 18/06/2026

Information about competitors comes from their publicly available pages and can change. This is not legal advice; for a specific case in your business it is better to ask someone with a licence to practise.

Frequently asked questions

What we get asked about this most often.

Yes. The duty under section 3(2) no. 1 ArbSchG applies regardless of the size of the business, since the Federal Labour Court order of 13/09/2022. No form is prescribed today; handwritten is permitted.

The ministerial draft of 18/06/2026 provides a permanent exemption from the electronic form for businesses with up to ten employees. That is a draft; it is not in force. The duty to record at all is unaffected by it.

At per-head prices between 2 and 8 euros, that is 10 to 40 euros a month. Providers with a base fee or a minimum purchase are considerably above that at this size, because the fixed amount is spread over few heads.

Formally yes, as long as the start, the end and the breaks are recorded. In practice it can be changed afterwards unnoticed and is no use as proof in a dispute over overtime. With a growing number of employees it also costs more time than a licence costs.

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