Overview:
Kimai is an open-source, professional-grade time-tracking application designed for freelancers and companies with dozens or hundreds of users. It helps track project times and includes features such as a JSON API, invoicing, data exports, multi-timer and punch-in punch-out modes, and tagging. The application supports multi-user, multi-timezone, and multi-language environments, and offers authentication via SAML, LDAP, or the database.
Core Features:
Multi-user and permissions: Supports multiple users with customizable role and team permissions.
Authentication options: Provides authentication via SAML, LDAP, or the database, along with two-factor authentication (2FA) using TOTP.
Time tracking modes: Includes multi-timer and punch-in punch-out modes.
Invoicing and exports: Offers built-in invoicing capabilities and data export functions.
Advanced reporting: Includes advanced search, filtering, and reporting features.
Rate management: Supports user-, customer-, and project-specific rates, as well as money and time budgets.
Use Cases:
Freelancers tracking time across multiple projects and clients.
Small to medium-sized companies managing time tracking for dozens or hundreds of employees.
Teams that need to track time across different projects, customers, and teams with role-based access.
Organizations requiring multi-language and multi-timezone support for distributed workforces.
Why It Matters:
Kimai is fully open-source and self-hosted, giving organizations direct control over their time-tracking data. Its support for plugins, a JSON API, and various authentication backends (SAML, LDAP) makes it adaptable to different workflows. The application is built to scale from individual freelancers to larger teams, with granular permissions and user-specific rate management.
