Getting Started
Explain ScreenshotMonitor in a few words please
ScreenshotMonitor is a time tracking / screenshot monitoring tool used by freelancers, remote and in-office employees to get a clear picture of time and money spent on each project, client and task. Employees start monitoring using a lightweight desktop application. The tracked time, screenshots, activity level, active applications & URLs, selected projects and task notes – are all uploaded online for both manager and employee to see. See How it works for more details.
Would my employees find it too intrusive?
It is only fair that management knows what their employees are being paid for. An employee who works honestly would not worry. And if they need to attend a personal matter – they can press the Pause button. Unlike other services ScreenshotMonitor allows employees to delete any data that captured the information they would not want to share (along with corresponding time period) so employees should feel much more comfortable knowing that they have control over the submitted data. See Why Screenshot Monitor will always allow employees to delete their screenshots?
Why would I want to use it for my employees – I judge them by results?
Even in jobs that are goal-oriented it may be useful for managers to know where the time was spent. And knowing that they can be monitored disciplines employees and can make them more productive.
My employees primarily work on the phone. Should I use this program?
Screenshot Monitor only allows monitoring the jobs on a computer. If most of it is done without a computer, we cannot monitor it, but employees can enter it as “offline time”
How secure is ScreenshotMonitor?
Keeping our client’s information private and secure is our top priority. Screenshots are uploaded using encrypted SSL connection. Only company manager and employee himself can see his screenshots. The data is stored securely and being backed up. All credit card information is encrypted.
Installation
Do I need to install anything?
A manager can see all of the tracked data (time, screenshots, activity, etc.) on the ScreenshotMonitor.com and does not need to install anything. An employee needs to install a lightweight desktop app on their computer. We have desktop apps for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
What are the installation steps for Ubuntu?
- Download .deb package from https://screenshotmonitor-download.s3.amazonaws.com/linux/ScreenshotMonitor.deb
- Open downloaded file using Ubuntu Software Center
- Install program
- Find ‘Screenshot Monitor’ in installed programs
- Run
Do you have versions for PC, Mac or Linux?
Yes, we have desktop applications for PC, Mac and Linux – just log in and click on the Download link in the menu. Note that the desktop application is used by freelancers (employees) only (to track their time). Managers (employers) do not need the desktop application, but only the website to see the time and the screenshots submitted by their employees.
Manual application installation on Mac
- Download the file: https://screenshotmonitor-download.s3.amazonaws.com/osx/ScreenshotMonitor.pkg
- Copy ScreenshotMonitor.dmg to any folder
- Open ScreenshotMonitor.dmg
- You’ll see the “Screenshot Monitor” folder (the icon of the folder will be the same as for the application)
- Copy “Screenshot Monitor” folder from the ScreenshotMonitor.dmg to the /Applications folder on the Mac
- Click the icon to run the program
Screenshot Monitor API web service integration
It is simple to retrieve tracked time and task notes by employee in JSON format using Screenshot Monitor API web service. Using this data you can integrate Screenshot Monitor with your project management, accounting or other back end processes. Just go to My Account page and see the Screenshot Monitor API section.