Time-Based Billing Software: Track Hours & Invoice

Time-based billing means charging a client for the hours you spend on their work, at an hourly rate set in your agreement. It suits work whose size isn't known in advance, such as consulting, design revisions or support.

The invoice is only as good as the time records behind it, so the hours need to be logged as the work happens and tied to the right client and project.

Billed's help article on time tracking says: "You can start the timer anytime to track the time of your projects or daily tasks." and "You have a play and pause button beside the timer." For time you didn't run the timer for, the same article describes adding a new time entry: "Now add the duration of the task in HH:MM format."

Billed's time tracking page says: "Log time for each task as you work, and see how much time goes into each project." It adds: "Billed breaks your time down by day and by week, so a missing entry is easy to spot before you bill."

Billed's time tracking page says: "Invite teammates, accountants and contractors to your Billed account and grant them permissions, so the whole team tracks its time in one place."

Billed's time tracking page says: "Create an hourly rate project, set its hourly rate, and Billed tracks the charge for each task as you log it." and "From the project dashboard you can invoice one task or several at once."

Billed's help article on timesheet invoices says: "Billed allows you to generate invoices against billable time log entries." With the time-log-based invoice type, it says "you will get all the entries of billable time". Billed's mobile app page says: "Start and stop a timer per project from your pocket, then roll those hours straight into an invoice."

Billed's time tracking page says you can "Create timesheets from the time you and your team have tracked to see how the team is spending its time, and export them when a client or your accountant needs a copy." The same page says: "Billed's reports include a time tracking report."

These are sample figures. A consultant works on an hourly rate project at $120.00 an hour and logs three entries in a week: 3.25 hours, 4.5 hours and 2.25 hours. 3.25 + 4.5 + 2.25 = 10 hours, and 10 × $120.00 = $1,200.00.

The consultant invoices the week's tasks from the project dashboard and exports the week's timesheet for the client to check against the invoice. The rate and the hours are examples, not suggested figures.

Not every job suits an hourly rate. For a fixed fee, use a flat rate project. Billed's projects page says: "Track your flat rate projects with Billed." and "Invoice your client for the project from the dashboard whenever you want."

Billed's mobile app page says: "Invoices carry a pay button when Stripe or PayPal is connected, so clients can pay by card the minute they receive it." Billed's invoice software page adds: "When a client pays by check or cash, record it as an offline payment so all your income is in one place." Billed's invoice software page says: "Set a due date on each invoice so your client knows when to pay." Billed's help article on payment reminders says: "You can set a schedule of payment reminders before and after the invoice's due date."