Best Billable Hours Tracker Software To Choose From
Key points
- It’s essential for many agencies to track billable hours in order to accurately bill their clients for the time spent on work.
- Thanks to billable hours tracker software, they can both track their time and easily forward the data to an invoicing software.
- When choosing a billable hours tracker, it’s essential to ensure that it fullfills all your needs, from generating reports to pricing.
Client billing might just be one of the most important aspects of a business. On one hand, you want and need to bill your clients for your hard work. On the other hand, you want to build trust with them and avoid any potential conflicts over payment.
And then there’s the issue of how to actually structure your billing process, including what rates to charge and how often to bill. To top it off, you also need to know how much your employees and/or contractors work. Knowing this allows you to bill your client accurately. At the same time, you don’t want them to feel like you’re looking over their shoulders, micromanaging every task.
It all feels like a maze of competing demands and it can be overwhelming at times. Luckily, there is an easy solution to that problem: billable hours trackers.
In this post, I’ll introduce you to the best ones, and what criteria to use when choosing the right one for your business.
What is a billable hours tracker software?
A billable hours tracker software is a tool that helps you track hours you will bill your clients. The important note here is that these type of time trackers help you separate non-billable hours (e.g., time your freelancers might spend on internal meetings, working on other clients, etc.) and billable time.
Ideally, the tool integrates with your client billing software to make things easy for you. After all, the billing software is most likely connected to a payment gateway that allows you to invoice the billable hours, and get paid for them.
Which is the best software to track billable hours?
There are many apps to track your time out there, but some of the best tools include the following.
Timeular
Timeular is a comprehensive time-tracking tool with an array of features designed to improve productivity and efficiency.
One of its most important features is the automated time tracking. This feature automatically tracks app usage and fills in timesheets, eliminating the need for manual entries and providing a more accurate account of how time is spent. This can be particularly beneficial for teams, as it ensures that everyone is on the same page regarding time usage and project progress.
The platform also comes with a robust leave tracking system. This allows you to better manage employee time off in one centralized location. Whether it’s vacation, sick leave, or personal time, everything can be tracked and managed with ease. This not only simplifies the process of managing leave but also provides a clear overview of who is available at any given time.
Timeular also features billable tracking. This feature ensures that every billable hour is accounted for and invoiced correctly. By tracking billable time and adding billable hourly rates, businesses can ensure they are maximizing their profitability.
Pros
Timeular offers great reporting capabilities that can be instrumental in gaining client approval and fostering long-term trust. These reports provide detailed insights into time usage, project progress, and profitability, allowing businesses to make data-driven decisions and improve their operations.
Another advantage of using Timeular is the potential to increase billable hours. By accurately tracking billable time, agencies can ensure they are invoicing for all the work they do (not just rough estimates). This can lead to increased profitability and better financial management.
Cons
While Timeular offers many benefits, it may not be suitable for all businesses. For instance, smaller teams or solo freelancers might find some features unnecessary.
It’s also worth noting that while the tool is designed to enhance productivity, it requires users to adopt new habits and workflows, which may take some time. Additionally, based on user reviews, there may be room for improvement in terms of customer support.
Pricing
Timeular offers three pricing tiers: Personal, Personal Pro, and Team. The Personal package is €8 per month and includes basic features like tracking, tagging, and notes. The Pro package costs €12 per month and includes additional features like unlimited integrations, data export, and priority support. The Team package is €16 per month and it includes advanced features like shared activity tracking, automatic time tracking reminders, and even a dedicated customer support agent.
G2 rating: 4.5/5 stars from 64 users
Capterra rating: 4.6/5 stars from 368 users
Traqq
Traqq is a time tracking application designed to cater to the needs of both remote and on-site teams. It offers four key features: time tracking, employee monitoring, team management, and team analysis & reporting.
With Traqq’s time tracking feature, you can accurately keep an eye on the work hours of your employees. The tool automatically logs billable time and uploads it to an online timesheet, providing detailed insight into how time is spent. This feature also includes smart alerts and notifications to ensure every billable minute is recorded and saved in your account.
The employee monitoring feature allows you to ethically monitor staff performance via screenshots and screen recordings, activity levels, and app and URL usage. To protect privacy, all screenshots and video recordings taken by the app are blurred, and workers have full access to review and delete their screenshots along with the recorded work time attached to them. Additionally, if any adjustments are needed, users can utilize a video editing tool, either after or in between these steps, to further customize their recordings.
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The team management feature enables you to manage all your staff by dividing people into groups. You can create as many groups as needed, give them custom names, and add users to groups. This feature aids in comparing performance stats and spending between departments and groups to optimize profitability.
Lastly, the team analysis & reporting feature provides detailed performance statistics and accurate online timesheets. This allows you to measure and analyze the performance of everyone on your account, generate, schedule, and export multiple insight reports based on recorded time, activity levels, app usage, idle time, and amounts earned.
Pros
Traqq offers a high level of transparency and accountability, making it an ideal tool for managing remote teams. The time tracking feature ensures that every minute worked is accounted for, leading to accurate billing and payroll.
The employee monitoring feature is designed for privacy concerns. Screenshots and video recordings are blurred, keeping passwords and private messages hidden. Moreover, employees have the freedom to review and delete their screenshots, promoting trust within the team.
Cons
While Traqq has many advantages, it may not be suitable for all types of businesses. For instance, companies that don’t work with remote teams might find they don’t need as much employee tracking per se.
Additionally, the tool requires users to adopt new habits and workflows, which can take time. Also, depending on the nature of the work, some employees might feel uncomfortable with the monitoring feature.
Pricing
Traqq comes with three pricing tiers: Premium Starter, Premium Teams, and Enterprise. The Starter package is free, the Premium one is $7/ month, and the Enterprise package is custom (so you will have to contact them for more information).
G2 rating: 5/5 stars from 103 users
Capterra rating: 4.9/5 stars from 91 users
Time Analytics
Time Analytics is a comprehensive tool designed to help businesses track and manage time efficiently. It offers several features, including time tracking & employee timesheets, team, project & client reporting, and client time billing.
The time tracking & employee timesheets feature allows for one-click tracking across projects, efficient management of all time entries, and setting billing and pay rates for your team. This helps automate cost allocation and reduce administrative work.
With the team, project & client reporting feature, businesses can track billable hours and billing efficiency, gain insights into the profitability of each project and client, identify missing profits, and eliminate micromanagement. This leads to a fair adjustment of client fees and contractual terms.
The client time billing feature enables businesses to keep proof of performed work, assures transparent client invoicing, and easily export invoicing data. This increases client satisfaction and fosters trust.
Time Analytics also has integrations and add-ons that cater to various industries, including accounting, tax and audit, law firms and attorneys, marketing, consulting, healthcare, HR, recruitment agencies, and more.
Pros
Time Analytics is a comprehensive tool, as it brings together all the features you might need from a time tracker. All of these features can have a positive impact on both your business and how your clients perceive and work with you.
Additionally, the tool comes with a user-friendly interface, making it easy to navigate and integrate into your workflow.
Cons
The pricing for Time Analytics might be steep for startups with more employees. Furthermore, not everyone needs the full range of features, and it provides a fairly comprehensive collection of features even on their cheapest package.
Pricing
Time Analytics offers two pricing packages: Starter ($4.99 per user per month) and Optimum ($6.99 per user per month). The main difference between the two is that the Optimum package provides access to more advanced features and tools, like invoicing (for time billing), revenue and profit reporting, email reminders, and customized onboarding.
G2 rating: 5/5 stars from 4 users
Capterra rating: 5/5 stars from 7 users
Everhour
Everhour offers an array of features designed to enhance productivity and streamline time tracking for businesses.
The first key feature is a task management hub, which allows you to create tasks, organize them into sections, and add time estimates.
Live work tracking is another major feature that Everhour provides. With this feature, users can see who is currently working and on what tasks, promoting real-time visibility into work progress without disrupting employees’ workflow.
Everhour’s timesheet compilation feature presents a structured view of the time each team member spends on tasks. Managers can easily approve timesheets, ensuring accurate accounting of work hours.
Budget monitoring is a crucial component of Everhour, allowing users to see all project budgets on a single page. This feature helps teams stay ahead of financial surprises by continuously monitoring progress.
In-depth analytics is another important feature that Everhour comes with. It allows you to customize reports, apply filters, format data, and even set up automatic email delivery. This feature supports data-driven decision-making.
Lastly, the billing and payments feature makes it easy for users to create invoices based on tracked time and expenses. Everhour also integrates with QuickBooks, Xero, or FreshBooks, facilitating seamless billing and payment management.
Pros
Everhour’s integration with popular project management apps like Asana, Trello, Jira, and others is a significant advantage. This feature allows users to track time directly within their familiar workspace.
The detailed reports and analytics provided by Everhour also enable users to make informed decisions based on accurate data analysis.
Real-time visibility into work progress is another substantial benefit offered by Everhour’s live work tracking feature. This feature enhances team collaboration and productivity.
Cons
Despite its many advantages, Everhour might not be the perfect fit for all. Some users may find Everhour’s pricing higher compared to other time tracking software options.
While Everhour offers integration with various project management apps, there may be compatibility issues or limitations with certain features or functionalities of these apps.
Pricing
Everhour comes with two pricing tiers: a free plan (which allows you to track time at a basic level, and which is intended for freelancers) and a paid one (at $10/ month, providing you with all the features Everhour offers).
G2 rating: 4.5/5 stars from 165 users
Capterra rating: 4.7/5 stars from 401 users
Billable time tracker FAQ
How do I report consulting hours?
The simplest way to report consulting hours is by using a billable hours tracker that helps you separate billable and non-billable hours and measure the exact time you and your employees spend on client-related tasks.
Which is the best software to track billable hours
There are many very good software apps you can use to track billable hours. Some of the best ones include Timeular, Traqq, Time Analytics Software, and Everhour. They have very good reviews on both G2 and Capterra, come with useful features, and are quite cost-savvy too.
What do lawyers use to keep track of billable hours?
Most often, lawyers will use software to keep track of billable hours, so they know how much to bill each client. Popular options include Traqq and Timeular.
How to choose the best billable hours tracker for your business?
There’s no right or wrong answer here: what you find useful and suitable might not be a great option for another business (and the other way around.)
Some basic criteria to use when choosing your billable hours tracker include:
an actual billable hour tracking feature
a user-friendly interface
the ability to customize and generate reports
availability of a mobile and desktop app
integrations (make sure it integrates with your client billing portal)
affordable pricing
Remember that the best time tracking app for agencies is one that fits your unique needs, budget, and goals. Do your research, involve essential stakeholders in your decision, and try out different options before committing to one.