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The right time tracker depends on what you need to manage: shared staff-and-volunteer time allocation across grants and programs, or volunteer-focused event signup, shift check-in, and hour reporting. Start with the records and reports your organization needs, then compare tools against a real workflow rather than choosing a universal “best” app.
What is volunteer time tracking software?
Volunteer time tracking software records service activity so an organization can find and report hours. A useful record connects a person and date to a specific event, shift, program, grant, task, or location. Depending on the tool, hours may come from a check-in, a volunteer’s self-entry, or a timesheet maintained by staff.
That recordkeeping need is related to—but not identical with—tracking paid employees’ time. A nonprofit allocating staff and volunteer hours among grants may need consistent project codes, budget reporting, and exports. A volunteer coordinator may instead need signup, scheduling, attendance, and easy self-service hour entry.
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Choose a workflow before choosing software
Shared staff and volunteer timesheets
Choose this direction when the central job is allocating work across grants, programs, tasks, or functional categories. Check whether staff and volunteers can use the same attribution structure, whether one time entry can be split across funding sources, and whether reports can be exported for finance workflows.
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Volunteer events, shifts, and hour entry
Choose a volunteer-first platform when coordinators need to recruit people for events or shifts, record attendance, and let volunteers submit hours for service that was not captured by event check-in. Verify how the system handles partial shifts, corrections, approval, and duplicate entries.
Both workflows
Some organizations need both. A single product may cover enough of each workflow, but do not assume that event attendance automatically produces grant-ready staff allocation, or that a timesheet tool provides volunteer recruitment and shift management. Map the handoffs between systems if you use more than one.
What are the top platforms for tracking volunteer hours?
These four options emphasize different workflows. This comparison summarizes vendor-published feature descriptions; it is not an independent test of usability, security, accessibility, or results. Confirm current features and plan limits with each vendor.
| Platform | Emphasis and hour capture | Reporting and grant context | Question to test in a demo |
|---|---|---|---|
| actiTIME | Staff and volunteer time, grant/program allocation, budgets, and reports. Hours can be entered through browser, mobile app, or weekly timesheet and assigned to a program, grant, or task. | Reports can be grouped by program, grant, team member, work type, or location; CSV export and time/cost and budget reporting are described. | Can staff and volunteers record time against the same grant/program structure and export records in the format finance needs? |
| POINT | Volunteer-oriented event hours and impact statistics. Event check-in adds hours, and volunteers can manually enter hours for other experiences. | Events can be tagged for grant-related activity; the vendor describes automatic statistics and export of group data for corporate partners. | Can check-in handle your event or shift rules and distinguish hours by program or partner? |
| vHours | Volunteer scheduling, service history, and mobile hour logging; the vendor says volunteers can check in and log hours using its mobile apps. | The vendor lists grant-ready reports for some sectors. API access is described for Agency and Enterprise tiers. | Do the current integrations and plan limits fit your existing database and roster size? |
| LiveImpact | Volunteer signup, scheduling, check-in, group tracking, and portal hour entry. Kiosk/mobile check-in and volunteer-submitted hours are described. | The vendor describes customizable summary and detailed reports, including volunteer-hour reports. | Can signup, scheduling, check-in, communications, and reporting fit your program without modules you do not need? |
Can I use a volunteer app as a volunteer hour tracker?
Yes, if its hour-entry method and records match your use case. An app that captures event check-ins may work well for scheduled service, but it may not cover hours volunteered outside organized events. A timesheet or portal may capture those hours, but require volunteers or coordinators to enter them. Ask to see the exact flow on a volunteer’s device and in the coordinator’s report.
For a practical demo, use one real example: a volunteer signs up, attends only part of a shift, submits or accrues hours, a coordinator corrects or approves the record, and a grant or board report is produced. Check that the final report retains the person, date, and relevant activity or funding category.
Will a time tracker meet Form 990 recordkeeping needs?
The IRS Instructions for Form 990 Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (2025) say to report the number of full-time and part-time volunteers, including volunteer members of the governing body, who provided services during the reporting year. If books and records do not track that number, the instructions permit a reasonable estimate on a reasonable basis. An organization may explain its method on Schedule O and include volunteer service hours and types.
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This guidance does not establish that a particular time-tracking product satisfies every reporting need. The IRS instructions also say volunteer services are not noncash contributions for Schedule M’s noncash-contribution reporting. Do not treat a software feature that estimates the economic value of volunteer time as proof that those hours can be booked as a charitable contribution or claimed as a tax deduction.
Do not assume a tracker files or certifies Form 990 for you. actiTIME says its records can support functional expense allocation and be exported to accounting or tax-preparation software, but it does not generate the form. For a later filing year, check that year’s IRS instructions.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to evaluate a time tracker
- Define who records time. List the paid employees, volunteers, group leaders, event coordinators, and administrators who will enter, review, or use records.
- Choose the attribution unit. Decide whether an hour belongs to an event, shift, program, task, grant, location, or functional category. Determine whether a single entry must be split among grants.
- Pick a capture method people will use. Compare coordinator-entered logs, weekly timesheets, mobile apps, browser portals, and check-in stations. Ask whether volunteers can record service that happens outside scheduled events.
- Specify review and correction controls. Identify who can approve or change an entry, whether the system keeps an understandable edit history, and how it handles duplicates and partial shifts. Comparable details are not established for every product in the vendor descriptions, so verify them directly.
- Map reports to actual obligations. Test a grant-specific total, board report, annual report, employer volunteer-program report, or Form 990 volunteer count—whichever matters to your organization. A total without the required date, activity, or supporting record may not be useful.
- Check portability and integration. Confirm exports and compatibility with your current CRM, accounting, and grant systems. actiTIME documents CSV export and QuickBooks Online, Zapier, and API options; vHours lists selected integrations and API access on higher tiers. Verify current availability and fit.
- Ask about operational terms. Confirm current pricing, volunteer and administrator limits, onboarding, accessibility, privacy and security, data export and retention, and what happens after a trial or cancellation.
What will save volunteer coordinators time?
Software saves administrative effort only if it reduces work across the whole process, not just the act of entering hours. During a demo, measure how many steps a volunteer and coordinator must take, and check whether the report can be produced without copying or reconciling data by hand.
- Can event check-in capture the right person, date, and shift without a separate duplicate log?
- Can volunteers self-enter hours for activity that has no scheduled event?
- Can a coordinator correct or approve an entry without losing a usable record of what changed?
- Can you filter or export hours by the program, grant, event, group, or time period you report on?
- Can the organization retrieve its data in a usable format if it changes systems?
Trial lengths, free tiers, prices, integrations, and feature availability can change. Vendor pages reviewed describe a 30-day actiTIME trial and a permanent free version for up to three users, POINT’s free nonprofit tools, and a 14-day vHours trial; these details are not a side-by-side pricing audit. Check each vendor’s current terms before choosing.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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