Feature	When I Work	QuickBooks Time
Shift scheduling
Time clock and attendance tracking
Team messaging
Labor forecasting (multi-location tier)
GPS-verified time clock
Project and job costing
QuickBooks Online payroll sync
Mobile clock-in/out

Overview

When I Work and QuickBooks Time are both used for Time & Attendance, but they take different approaches to the problem. If you want the broader category picture first, see our Time & Attendance category page — this page goes deeper on the head-to-head.

Tool	Starting Price	Rating	Best For
When I Work	$2.50/user/mo	4.4/5	Small businesses with hourly teams wanting affordable scheduling plus time tracking
QuickBooks Time	$8/user/mo + $20 base	4.5/5	QuickBooks Online users wanting GPS time tracking synced directly to payroll

Pricing Compared

When I Work has the lower published starting price ($2.50/user/mo vs $8/user/mo + $20 base), making it the more accessible entry point on paper. Beyond the headline number, weigh what's actually included at each tier — a lower starting price is only a genuine advantage if the entry tier covers what your team needs on day one.

What Each One Actually Solves

When I Work's core strength is "Shift scheduling." Reviewers point to "4.4/5 G2 rating from 361 reviews" as a standout reason teams choose it, though: Multi-location forecasting and labor-sharing tools require the higher $5/user/month tier

QuickBooks Time's core strength is "GPS-verified time clock." Reviewers point to "4.5/5 G2 rating from 1,439 reviews" as a standout reason teams choose it, though: Requires an active QuickBooks Online subscription (from $38/mo) on top of the per-user time-tracking fee

Who Each Is Actually For

When I Work's own positioning: "Small businesses with hourly teams wanting affordable scheduling plus time tracking." QuickBooks Time's own positioning: "QuickBooks Online users wanting GPS time tracking synced directly to payroll." If your team's priorities line up more with one description than the other, that's a stronger signal than price alone.

Our Verdict

If "Small businesses with hourly teams wanting affordable scheduling plus time tracking" describes your situation, When I Work is the more directly-targeted option. If "QuickBooks Online users wanting GPS time tracking synced directly to payroll" describes your situation instead, QuickBooks Time is the better starting point. Both are legitimate, actively-used products in Time & Attendance — the right choice depends on which of the two fit-descriptions above actually matches your team, not on which is more well-known. This verdict is based on publicly available research, not first-hand, hands-on testing of either platform.

Frequently Asked Questions

When I Work is rated 4.4/5 and QuickBooks Time is rated 4.5/5 in our research. Treat close scores as roughly equivalent — the bigger differentiator between these two is feature fit and pricing model, not a fractional ratings gap.

When I Work has the lower published starting price ($2.50/user/mo vs $8/user/mo + $20 base), making it the more accessible entry point on paper.

Most tools in Time & Attendance support data export/import for a migration, but expect setup and change-management work either direction — confirm current migration support directly with each vendor before committing.

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