It all began one Saturday evening in December as I sat at my kitchen table, scrolling through an accountant's forum. I’ll admit it — I’m a bit of a nerd, happily spending hours reading posts by accountants. One recurring theme caught my attention: They were all frustrated by the lack of a web-based time clock that was both accurate and easy to use.
As I read their complaints, a thought struck me: I could create that for them.
By the very next day, I was already taking action. I started researching the market, analyzing competitors, and diving into coding. That’s when I realized I needed the perfect name — something that clearly reflected the purpose of the tool and was available as a domain. After weeks of brainstorming, I found it: OnTheClock. The name was simple, memorable, and, best of all, the domain was available!
OnTheClock officially went live in early May 2004. I used AdWords and Yahoo advertising to generate some traffic, and on May 8, 2004, we got our first trial signup. It was a big day — the first step in turning an idea into a real solution.
Over the next few months, signups started trickling in — just a few each week. Within a couple of years, hundreds of companies were using OnTheClock. At that time, profitability wasn’t my focus. The goal was simple: to solve a problem for accountants and help small businesses track employee time more effectively.
As the years went on, I added new features and upgraded servers to ensure everything ran smoothly for our customers. By 2009, we reached a new milestone when Ed, our first official team member, joined on a part-time basis to assist with customer support and billing.
“What began as a passion project was starting to take shape.”
Today, OnTheClock is a dynamic, growing company proudly serving 18,000-plus small and medium-sized businesses across the U.S. (and around the world). Our team of dedicated professionals focus on product development, design, marketing, billing, leadership, and, most importantly, providing exceptional customer support.
Despite our growth, our mission remains the same as it was in 2004: to help small businesses operate more effectively, accurately, and efficiently every day.
