Remote work has become a permanent part of business life. By 2025, over 30 million Americans, roughly one in five workers, are outside traditional offices. For business owners, this creates a pressing challenge: how do you keep teams productive and accountable when you can’t see them in person
The answer lies in combining technology with transparency. Tools like GPS-enabled time clocks, IP address checks, and geofencing software can verify location and hours.
Paired with regular check-ins, clear policies, and respect for privacy, these methods keep monitoring legal and ethical.
But tracking employees also brings tough decisions. What’s allowed under the law? How much oversight is too much? And how do you hold people accountable without eroding the trust you’ve built?
This guide walks you through proven methods, software options, and best practices for tracking remote employees in 2026.
Remote employee monitoring is the practice of tracking where and how employees work when they’re outside a physical office. It isn’t about spying. Instead, it’s a mix of tools and practices designed to confirm attendance, verify location, and make sure paid hours reflect actual work.
For example, a dental office with remote billing staff might use a time clock app that records GPS location at clock-in while a construction company could rely on geofencing to confirm crews arrive at job sites.
Monitoring can take several forms, depending on company goals:
When implemented thoughtfully, remote monitoring provides reliable payroll data, ensures compliance, and keeps projects on schedule, while still showing employees that their privacy and time are respected.
Managing a remote team comes with unique challenges. Without face-to-face interactions, it’s harder to see who’s working, how projects are progressing, and whether deadlines will be met. That’s why many employers rely on tracking tools, not to micromanage, but to bring clarity and accountability into daily operations.
Here are the key reasons businesses choose to track remote workers:
At its core, tracking remote employees isn’t about control; it’s about clear expectations, visible work, and shared accountability.
Regardless of industry or company size, the core idea behind remote employee monitoring is simple: collect reliable information about work activity and location, then use it to improve accountability and decision-making. The way that information is gathered depends on the tools a business chooses and the level of oversight it needs.
Most systems work in three stages:
Understanding how monitoring works is only part of the picture. You also need to distinguish between tracking productivity and attendance, since each approach serves a different goal.
When you’re managing remote employees, it helps to separate tracking productivity from tracking attendance. The two often get lumped together, but they answer very different questions.
Both support a healthier business but serve different purposes.
Once you understand how monitoring works, the next question is whether it’s truly necessary for your business. Before rolling out any system, weigh the benefits against the potential drawbacks. Tracking can bring real benefits, but it also comes with potential drawbacks. Weighing both sides will help you decide how much oversight is appropriate for your team.
The bottom line: tracking remote employees can be a valuable tool, but it should be applied thoughtfully.
Is it legal to track remote employees?
The short answer is yes, in the United States, employers are generally allowed to track remote employees. But legality doesn’t give you a blank check. There are rules and responsibilities you need to follow if you want to stay compliant and maintain trust with your team.
Several laws shape what employers can and cannot do when monitoring remote workers. While the rules vary by state, there are a few key areas you should understand before rolling out any tracking system:
For small business owners, the key takeaway is simple:
Following these guidelines keeps you compliant and signals to your team that monitoring is about equity, not control
Employers are allowed to track a variety of work-related data. The key is to focus only on information connected to business operations and to avoid crossing into personal or off-hours monitoring.
The most common type of monitoring is attendance tracking. Employers can record when employees start and end their shifts, take breaks, and log total hours worked. For example, time clock apps like OnTheClock provide digital timesheets that make payroll accurate and prevent disputes about hours.
Employers can also verify employee location during shifts, especially for jobs that require presence at specific sites. GPS-enabled devices, geofencing apps, and IP address checks are common methods. A construction crew might clock in on-site through a mobile app, while a remote call center may require staff to log in from a registered home address.
If employees use company-owned devices such as laptops, phones, or tablets, employers are legally allowed to monitor activity on those devices. This may include browsing history, app usage, and file access. For example, IT teams often track downloads to prevent malware or monitor email usage to ensure compliance with data protection policies.
Not every business needs the same level of oversight. Some teams thrive with goal-based systems, while others require more structured time tracking to stay compliant and organized. The right method depends on your company’s culture, industry, and the type of work being done.
Monitoring remote employees can be done in a way that’s both effective and respectful. The key is to treat tracking as a tool for clarity and fairness, not control. With the right process in place, you can ensure accountability, protect your business, and maintain employee trust. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you set it up the right way:
Start by asking yourself what you want to achieve. Are you trying to confirm attendance, protect sensitive data, or improve project management? A clear purpose will guide your decisions and prevent you from collecting unnecessary information.
Before rolling out any system, check the laws that apply to your business. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), state-specific notice requirements, and data protection laws may all come into play.
Write down your tracking policies and share them with employees. Include what data will be collected, how it will be used, and who will have access. Adding these details to your employee handbook or contracts builds transparency and avoids confusion.
Choose software that matches your goals and scale. A five-person team may only need a time clock app, while a larger organization might benefit from integrated project management and attendance tracking. Look for tools that balance functionality with ease of use.
Let your team know why tracking is being introduced and how it benefits them. For example, accurate time tracking ensures fair pay and prevents disputes. Open conversations can reduce resistance and build trust.
Don’t just collect information, use it to make smarter decisions. Look for trends that highlight workload imbalances, bottlenecks, or inefficiencies. Share insights with employees to show how data is being used constructively, not punitively.
Tracking should evolve with your business. Review your system quarterly or annually to make sure it still aligns with your goals, complies with laws, and maintains employee trust. Adjust when necessary to keep the process fair and effective.
Not all monitoring tools are created equal. The best software balances accountability with ease of use, giving managers the information they need without overwhelming employees. When evaluating your options, here are the features to prioritize:
Time tracking is the foundation of any monitoring system. It records when employees clock in, clock out, and how many hours they work. This ensures payroll accuracy, helps prevent time theft, and gives you a clear picture of attendance patterns. For example, a digital time clock can automatically log hours so you’re not chasing down paper timesheets.
Some tools provide insight into which applications and websites employees use during work hours. This can help identify productivity drains or security risks, such as frequent visits to unauthorized sites. Transparency is key here, always let employees know what’s being tracked and why.
Beyond raw time data, productivity analysis tools evaluate how employees spend their hours. You might see which tasks take the most time or which projects are falling behind. This helps managers rebalance workloads and identify areas where extra support or training may be needed.
More advanced platforms can capture screenshots or even record screens at intervals. While these features give a detailed view of activity, they can also feel intrusive if used improperly. If you consider this option, make sure employees understand when and why screenshots are taken, and limit usage to roles where it’s absolutely necessary.
Many monitoring tools now integrate with project management systems like Trello, Asana, or Monday.com. This lets you connect time data with actual deliverables, giving managers a real-time view of progress toward deadlines. It also helps employees organize tasks and stay focused on priorities.
Data is only useful if you can act on it. Reporting and analytics features turn logs into insights, showing trends in attendance, productivity, and project progress. A weekly or monthly report can highlight inefficiencies, track performance, and guide smarter staffing decisions.
Even the best tools can backfire if they’re used poorly. To make tracking work for both your business and your employees, it’s important to set clear boundaries and lead with transparency. Here are the best practices to keep in mind:
Always be upfront about monitoring. Tell employees what you’re tracking, why it matters, and how the data will be used. Written notice, through contracts, policies, or onboarding documents, sets expectations and reduces misunderstandings.
Tracking should stop when the workday ends. Monitoring outside of scheduled hours can feel intrusive and may raise legal issues. Focusing on work hours only shows employees you respect their personal time.
Whenever possible, keep monitoring limited to company-owned devices. This makes it easier to separate personal and professional activity, reduces privacy concerns, and ensures that business data is secure.
Laws, tools, and team needs can change quickly. Make it a habit to review your monitoring policies every few months. Update language where necessary, and invite employee feedback so the system feels fair and current.
Monitoring is meant to support, not control. Use the data to confirm hours, prevent errors, and improve workflows, not to micromanage. Balancing accountability with confidence builds a healthier remote culture, and stronger results.
When you introduce tracking, it’s easy to think only about business benefits, payroll accuracy, compliance, or project visibility. But for employees, monitoring can feel very different. Understanding their perspective helps you roll out systems that build trust instead of resistance.
From the employee’s point of view, tracking has both positives and challenges:
The takeaway for managers: employees want accountability too, but they need reassurance that tracking is about fairness and clarity, not control. When you explain why you’re monitoring, keep the scope reasonable, and highlight how the system benefits them, you’ll strengthen trust instead of creating tension.
Remote employee tracking doesn’t have to be complicated or controversial. When it’s done with clear goals, legal awareness, and respect for employee privacy, it becomes a tool for clarity and fairness rather than control.
The key is balance. Use tracking to confirm hours, support compliance, and keep projects on schedule, but avoid practices that feel invasive or unnecessary. Communicate openly, keep policies transparent, and always limit monitoring to what truly matters for your business.
In the end, tracking isn’t about surveillance, it’s about running your business with confidence. Use the right tools, set clear expectations, and explain the benefits openly. Done well, monitoring turns into a system that prevents payroll errors, safeguards compliance, and helps your team stay focused on results.
Yes. While federal law doesn’t always require notice, several states (like Delaware, Connecticut, and New York) legally mandate that employers inform workers before monitoring begins. Even when not required, providing written notice is the best practice. It builds trust, sets clear expectations, and reduces the risk of legal disputes.
Generally no. Employers can monitor company-owned devices and accounts, but tracking personal phones or laptops crosses serious privacy boundaries. Unless there’s explicit employee consent, monitoring personal devices is both legally risky and damaging to morale. The safest approach is to limit tracking to company-issued hardware and software.
The “best” depends on your business size and needs. For simple time tracking, tools like OnTheClock or Toggl are affordable and easy to use. If you also need task visibility, Asana, Trello, or Monday.com combine project management with accountability. Larger teams may prefer all-in-one platforms like Hubstaff or Time Doctor, which include GPS, productivity tracking, and reporting features. The key is choosing software that provides the right level of oversight without overwhelming your employees.
Privacy laws set limits on what you can track and how you use the data. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) allows monitoring on company systems but not personal accounts. State laws may add notice requirements. And data protection laws like CCPA require transparency about what information you collect, how long you store it, and who can access it. In short: track only what’s necessary, communicate clearly, and keep data secure.
The biggest legal risks come from violating privacy laws, like recording conversations without consent (wiretapping) or monitoring personal devices. Other risks include discrimination if monitoring is applied unfairly, and potential ADA violations if tracking penalizes employees for health-related breaks. Always consult with legal counsel to ensure your monitoring policy is compliant with federal, state, and local laws.