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39 Comments

As a freelancer or consultant, what do you use to keep track of the time you spend on a project?

I'm trying to find out what are some of the most popular time tracking apps used by freelances and consultants.

  1. 4

    I'm neither but still use Toggl to know how much time I allocate on different tasks :)

  2. 3

    I don't track time, always get projects with a fixed price. Deliver top-notch work, with proper communication and always as fast as possible. Do these, you will be all right.

  3. 2

    Emacs org-mode has good tools for this, especially with add-ons like https://github.com/unhammer/org-mru-clock. But overall, it's probably a much better idea not to do time tracking at all and just keep track of tasks and charge per days of work.
    After a lot of projects I found that not every activity is easy to track at all, so by doing time tracking you risk to miss a lot of time you actually spent on valuable stuff (for example - "resolving conflicts in your team" could be very valuable but is not billable and sub-tasks related to that are really hard to track because in most cases those are not deliverables).

  4. 2

    I love Clockify as it is the best time-tracking tool option for individuals and teams.

  5. 2

    I use Bonsai. The app itself is meh but I need their late fee calculation

  6. 2

    I use https://wakatime.com/ as I spend most of the time coding, set it up once in VS Code and kinda forget it's there but it's definitely valuable and interesting seeing how much time I'm spending on different projects, sends a weekly report via email and you have your dashboard as well

    1. 2

      I also use WakaTime, great tool! The biggest benefit as you said is you setup it and forget about.

  7. 2

    I used Toggl Track for a long time, then I stopped tracking time altogether once I got the numbers settled on how many hours on average I need to work on a specific project and quoting a fixed price based on that.

  8. 2

    I also use https://toggl.com. 🤩
    Really easy to use (with the Mac App). Also reminds you, if you forgot to start or stop tracking and at least for my use case (working as freelancer for different clients) I can use it for free!

    1. 1

      Wow, I wish my employer would use this instead of Clockify!

  9. 2

    I ended up not finding what I wanted and then built my own, but I am reasonably sure that my user case differs to yours. My projects tend to be either fixed price or hoping to generate an income. So I just needed time tracking, income and expenses.

    In any case, looking forward to seeing what the other people post!

  10. 2

    I like Bonsai, besides having time tracker widgets to bill against specific projects and clients, they have templates for proposals, contracts, etc.

  11. 2

    I use Toggl - simple yet effective

  12. 1

    I like to use clickup. It acts as a hub for all of my freelance tasks and it helps me make sure that I schedule and complete every needed task. They have a time tracker built in, but I don't use it (I'm using upworks time tracker). https://clickup.com/

  13. 1

    I track time with my personal Google Calendar for all clients. Easy to manage, set up a meeting, attach Agenda and recap, and share a calendar for clients to check my calendar. I use client's various contact tool like outlook, slack, team, chatwork, zoom, Facebook etc. but every communication can stock in Google calendar. Also, it's nice to have Box or dropbox to stock a large materials like a movie file to share a link.
    I can manage by mobile while making a transit to another clients etc.

  14. 1

    I use Clockify to keep track of time.

  15. 1

    I have a basic approach, but it works well for me. I use Zoho Books. I found it helpful because at the end of the month i can create directly the invoice :)

  16. 1

    Thank you for everyone and their replies. That brings me to a follow up question, do you integrate any of your time tracking into your invoicing in terms of automation? Or do you manually setup and create an invoice based on the amount of time spent on a project? Would integrating your time tracking into your invoicing make things easier?

    1. 2

      Hey @BronsonDunbar! ! As a freelancer, I personally don't think it's necessary to integrate a work time tracking tool with an invoicing tool. While it may seem like a good idea to save time and effort, I believe that the final invoice amount should be reviewed and approved by the client before it is issued.

      In my opinion, using the amount of hours as the sole basis for determining the final invoice amount is not always the most accurate method. As a freelancer, I would prefer to use a time tracking tool that helps me optimize my work and identify inefficiencies rather than just proving that the work has been done.

      As a client, I would want to have the option to accept or reject the work based on results, and I would also want to be able to set a maximum amount of hours that I am willing to pay for. Overall, while an automatic integration of work time tracking and invoicing may seem convenient, I don't think it would be the best solution for me or my clients.

      1. 1

        Thank you for your input, it is definitely valuable.

        I guess my approach for integrating time tracking into the invoicing process is if you have client that is on retainer and they are allocated x amount of hours per week or month.

    2. 2

      I use https://www.freeagent.com

      I setup a contract with the hours and rate per day, enter my timesheet and then generate my invoice from the timesheet. It is super simple

    3. 1

      I automate everything with https://www.puzzl.app/ (btw I am the founder and think you would LOVE what we are building). Every user who has run 1 project has already started their second - that's world-class retention.

      We created in-app automation, powerful billing, intuitive chats, custom contract/proposals, and so so much more. Our users are all willing to drop over 60% of their tools for us. Join the future!!

      Join the waitlist - releasing very very soon ;)

  17. 1

    Google Calendar to track hours, then input that into Freshbooks to handle invoices.

    1. 2

      Hey @droobles1337, may I ask how many hours do you spend doing that monthly?

      1. 1

        Sure, 5 - 30 mins per month depending on how many clients I'm working with at the time. I have a console script that grabs the GCal events by color, formats them to what Freshbooks' system expects and posts them, I just need to grab my auth token once I'm logged into Freshbooks.

        It's a weird workflow, but it really works for me. I'm not good at starting and stopping a timer, but I block out my time ahead of time on GCal and work within those blocks, and if I need to reschedule or rearrange I can as needed, or adjust the GCal event if I come in under or over the scheduled time block.

        1. 2

          Freshbooks huh? Never heard of it before, I know only Xero, QuickBooks and Square. Do you know maybe in which market is it popular? I'm actually in a research currently conducting a study on time tracking and question about most needed accounting and payroll integrations is included. We're researching only US market though, so maybe it's not that popular there.

          As it comes to your flow - I'm a fan of "less is more" attitude, therefore I'm avoiding Zaps as possible ;) I love holistic, already integrated tools that are flexible BUT it might be connected to me not being technical a lot :) If it suits you and you're capable of managing integrations on your own, that sounds great!

          1. 1

            It's definitely more stripped down feature-wise than Quickbooks, focusing on invoicing, time tracking, and expenses. I think Freshbooks does come with a timer that you are able to start and stop, and it supports multiple clients, projects, and services. It's worth checking out for sure.

  18. 1

    Hey, I know this might sound like shameless self-promotion, but I can't resist recommending our time tracking tool, Unrubble (https://unrubble.com). We've recently rebranded and are now making a splash in the US market, so our team price is super affordable and freelancer plan (one seat) is going to be completely free (new website is still under construction, so I'd have to apply a 100% discount for your account manually, but it can be done without any problem). We have 14-day free trial without need to add your credit card or any important data, so you may just try it out ;)

    We've got loads of customization options to make tracking time and planning your work more seamless (especially with free mobile app). I also like a lot our reporting features - it's perfect for freelancers who need to share their work time data project by project. Shoot me a DM at [email protected] if you need more information of any kind!

  19. 1

    In my agency we used a shared Google Sheets document, that could be accessed by the client. I created a PDF version every month and sent it to the client with the bill attached.

    Of course a platform, that can measure time is always better!

    1. 2

      How much time do you think you spend doing that monthly? Not trying to proove anything, just looking for a real insight ;)

      1. 2

        Honestly, I think not much. Our employees usually worked on projects for multiple hours a day and there were not much gaps in between the sessions. Maybe they spent 10-15 minutes a day filling out the Google Sheets.

        On each project I spent 20 minutes a month to convert it into a pdf and send it to the customer with the bill attached.

        I think other solutions are better because of the overall user experience and more secure time measuring features, but not because of time optimization.

        1. 2

          Hey @AghHelmut, thanks for sharing your thought! It's great to hear that your team didn't have to spend too much time on tracking time, but I totally get that if you multiply that time by number of clients in larger companies it needs a more streamlined process.

          I'm actually in a research currently conducting a study on time tracking and would love to include your insights in our report. Unfortunately, we're only able to include data from US-based companies at this time.

          If you know of anyone who has experience with time tracking at a US-based company and would be interested in sharing their insights, feel free to hit me up! We're offering $100 for a 1-hour interview and the results will be shared for free in a report.

          Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!

  20. 1

    Hi i have start a projet like this

    1. 1

      Do you mean a project where you track time?

      1. 1

        Yes a small projet need me a notif every day for set if i work write a small description. and at the end of month extract data

  21. 0

    There is nothing to track for freelancing, Just have a skill and start over with it you will find your destination. I started web designing from my first Website https://www.emarkrealty.com and now having a bright journey.

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