Learning how to track client hours efficiently is key for any business.
Agencies, entrepreneurs, and freelancers all frequently use billable hours to charge clients for the services they provide. But, what are the billable hours?
Billable hours are the hours that you bill clients for and they pay directly. Consequently, they apply only to clients.
They are designed to provide financial compensation for any time spent on individual client cases. Billable hours are, as a result, very lucrative for companies.
How do you track client hours?
In order to collect billable hours, workers must monitor the amount of time they spend on each client’s projects on a daily basis. Therefore, all you need in this case is a powerful client billable hours tracking app.
Below you can find the best tools to help you keep track of client hours.
But first, let’s look at which activities count as billable:
- Planning the project and drawing up timelines
- Conducting research
- Client communication
- Project planning
- Expense made in behalf of the clients
- Phone calls and emails with clients
- Revisions and edits
- Communicating via text messaging and video meetings
So, any time spent working on tasks that are directly related to client’s project is considered billable time.
To make sure you keep track of your billing hours correctly, here are some time tracking tips to follow:
- Determine the hourly rate you’ll charge clients for your work
- Determine the invoicing schedule you’ll follow
- Record your billable hours by project
- Review your time log and calculate your total hours
- Create a Detailed Invoice
Quick software comparison
What is the best app to track work hours?
1. Time Analytics — The comprehensive client management suite
Time Analytics is a client management suite you’ve been waiting for.
This comprehensive client hours tracker allows you to track billable hours, utilization, cost of engagement, and more.
You can track how each client’s projects are performing and easily identify areas where increasing fees or terminating the relationship make financial sense for your business.
Main Benefits and Features:
- Performance management solution – client and project profitability, tracking employee productivity, tracking time utilization, billable and non-billable hours per project
- Time tracker solution- get information on billable and non-billable hours per employee, project (service line), client, and activities
- Cost tracking solution – automatically allocating generated costs to clients, projects, and service lines
- Invoicing assistant – preparing data for the invoice, based on hard facts and time utilization
Free Trial:
Yes, 14 days.
Pricing:
- Free: for up to five users
- Starter plan: $4.99/user per month.
- Optimum plan: $6.99/user per month.
- Premium plan: $12.99/user per month
2. MyHours — All-In-One client hours tracker
My Hours is a cloud-based client time tracking app best suited for small teams and freelancers. Employees can start tracking time on unlimited projects and tasks, generate insightful reports, and create invoices in seconds.
Main Benefits and Features:
- Creating unlimited projects and tasks
- user-friendly and intuitive interface.
- Tracking in real-time
- Manually adding time logs or resume tracking on existing time logs
- Managing time on-the-go, via mobile and tablet devices
- Generating detailed time reports
- Customizing invoices for clients
Free Trial:
Yes, 30 days.
Pricing:
- Free
- Pro — $6 user/month
3. Desktime – Stay Organized and In Control
DeskTime allows freelancers, colleagues, and team managers to gain a better understanding of what actually happens during working hours. It is a fully automated cloud-based timesheet solution that primarily monitors the productivity of teams.
Access to DeskTime has been extended beyond the desktop browser thanks to native mobile apps for iOS and Android platforms.
Main Benefits and Features:
- No manual data entry is required to implement full, accurate tracking Absence
- Calendar for scheduling and planning vacations or sick leave
- Detailed feedback on the applications and URLs visited at specific moments,
- An online overview of employee activities is available anytime
- Offline time can be recorded
- Custom reporting options that can be easily shared, printed, or reported in CSV format
- Generating invoices to clients based on time spent on specific projects
Free Trial:
Yes, 14 days.
Pricing:
Prices depend on the number of users. There is a Lite Free Version for 1 user only.
4. Harvest— Bring Value To Your Clients
Harvest is an online client time tracking app for teams and projects of all sizes.
Businesses can use Harvest for time tracking, cost tracking, project management, tracking billable hours, assigning tasks, invoicing, scheduling, and more.
When it’s time to invoice clients, Harvest allows employees to create an invoice right from the tracked time within the application.
Main Benefits and Features:
- Time tracking – Records hours into a timesheet or start a timer from your desktop, phone, or browser.
- Expense tracking – Take pictures of bills and save expenses for specific projects.
- Integrations – Jira, PayPal, QuickBooks, Trello, and Xero.
- Invoice clients – Easily turn hours into invoices and send them to your clients
- Powerful reports – Use clear visual reports to compare time vs. budget
Free Trial:
Yes, 30 days.
Pricing:
Free plan: up to one seat (user) and two projects
Pro plan: 12$ per seat (user) per month
5. TrackingTime — A Functional Time Tracker
This simple time tracker software for freelancers and teams will allow you to track, analyze and manage work time efficiently.
Keep track of progress and billable hours for your projects, and track time anywhere, from any device.
Export and share detailed reports with your clients in just a few clicks.
Main Benefits and Features:
- Time Cards- Control employee attendance, breaks, extra time, and time off
- Online timesheets- For productivity, payroll, invoicing, budgeting, billing, and more
- Professional reports – Export and share with your clients in just a few clicks
- Powerful charts – Visualize your time data and improve your work
Free Trial:
Yes, 14 days.
Pricing:
- Free $ 0 — Up to 3 users and 3 projects
- Pro $ 5 — Per user / monthly, billed anually
6. TopTracker — Effortless Client Time Tracking App
TopTracker is a time tracking tool with screenshots and invoice processing with no-fee payments.
It is ideal for remote teams and individuals and it enables them to effortlessly track progress with transparent and intuitive reports.
Main Benefits and Features:
- Free Invoicing and Payments
- Effortless Time Tracking From Any Device
- Centralized View Of All Projects
- Detailed Productivity Reports – Real-time summaries of your productivity
- Full Privacy Control – Clients can define tracking controls for managed projects
Pricing:
TopTracker is entirely free.
7. Accelo – Automating Professional Service Operations
Accelo combines the key needs of your sales, project management, and collaborations in one platform for SMEs.
It helps you to gain insight into the performance of your entire business so that you can easily deliver the work your clients love.
Main Benefits and Features:
- Automatic Email Tracking – Capturing all client emails, storing them centrally where your whole team can find and use them
- Google Apps and Exchange Integration – Sync your contacts, appointments, tasks, and more with Google Apps or Exchange
- Dynamic Scheduling and Timesheets – Updating schedules automatically when estimates or deadlines change
- Social Integrations – Integration with Twitter and LinkedIn
- Secure and Easy to Use – All access to Accelo is encrypted
Free Trial:
Yes, 14 days.
Pricing:
- Projects — $39 per user /month — plan, execute and deliver client work
- Sales — $39 per user /month — create and nurture client relationships
- Retainers — $39 per user /month —manage the ongoing contracts effortlessly
- All-in-One ServOps — $79 per user/month — get everything you need to manage your operations
Conclusion
If you want to improve your key performance indicators and bill your clients, while still providing a great client experience, keeping track of hours is a must.
With one of these client hours tracker, your billable hours doesn’t have to be tricky. But, before you decide to use any of them, make sure it suits your business needs.
Start managing your time
FREE 14-day trial – no credit card required
