Time and billing software for agencies and consultancies
CrmLeaf is time and billing software that turns approved timesheets, completed milestones and recurring retainers into invoices from one system. It combines time tracking and invoicing with credit notes, installment plans, multi-currency and online payments, from $9/user/month.
Built into CrmLeaf's professional services automation (PSA) platform, so agency billing software, consulting billing software and project delivery share one client record instead of three disconnected tools.
- From $9/user/month
- Free trial
- No credit card
- Best for
- agencies, consultancies and professional services firms billing hourly, milestone and retainer work
- Billing models
- time and materials, milestone invoices, recurring retainers
- Automation
- auto-add billable time and expenses to recurring invoices; estimates auto-convert; payment reminders
- Adjustments
- credit notes and installment (EMI) plans
- Global
- multi-currency, named tax rates, 9+ payment gateways plus offline methods
- Add-on
- E-Invoice for compliant electronic invoicing
- Price
- from $9/user/month
How it works
How does CrmLeaf get you from tracked time to paid invoice?
- 1
Track
Log billable time and expenses against client projects
- 2
Approve
Managers approve weekly timesheets
- 3
Invoice
Create invoices from approved time, milestones or recurring schedules
- 4
Collect
Clients pay online; reminders chase the rest
- 5
Adjust
Apply credit notes or installment plans where needed
How do agencies bill retainers, fixed fees and hourly work in one tool?
Most agencies and consultancies sell work three ways at once: hourly or time-and-materials, project milestones, and monthly retainers. CrmLeaf is time and billing software that handles all three from the same client, project and invoice records, so finance does not reconcile three tools at month end.
Hourly / T&M. Consultants log time against billable tasks, timesheets are approved, and the approved billable time is pulled onto an invoice so the invoice matches the hours worked.
Milestone work. When a project milestone is marked complete, CrmLeafbuilds a preview of its approved, unbilled billable work and creates the invoice from it. Amounts come from that work, not a flat milestone price.
Retainers. A recurring invoice repeats on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or annual schedule, and can automatically add the period's uninvoiced billable time and expenses.
Three models, one system
- Billable time flows from timesheet to invoice
- Milestone invoice built from completed, approved work
- Recurring schedule: daily to annually
- Invoice statuses: draft, unpaid, partial, paid, canceled
- Source records stamped so nothing is billed twice
How do you turn approved timesheets into invoices in a few clicks?
Tracked time is billable input, not just a record of effort. Mark a task billable, log time with the timer or a manual entry, submit the weekly timesheet, approve it, then create an invoice from the approved time and send it. Approval is a separate step from invoicing, so nothing unapproved reaches a client.
Billable expenses work the same way. Expenses with receipts, categories and approval can be marked billable and added to an invoice with the Add to invoice action, or attached automatically to recurring invoices.
For the detail of rates and the timelog screen, see billable time and invoicing.
The path from hours to invoice
- Mark task billable
- Log time, submit the weekly timesheet
- Manager approves or rejects with a reason
- Create invoice from approved billable time
- Send the invoice with a public payment page
How can agencies reduce unbilled hours and delayed invoicing?
Unbilled hours and late invoices usually come from handoffs: time lives in one tool, invoices in another, and someone has to remember to bridge them. Putting time, milestones and invoices in one system removes most of those handoffs.
Recurring invoices with auto-added billable time and expenses mean a retainer invoice is assembled on schedule. Milestone invoicing turns a completed milestone into an invoice without re-keying. Payment reminders chase invoices that stay unpaid, and estimates convert to invoices on acceptance.
To size the problem for your own team, read the cost of unbilled hours and the cost of delayed invoicing.
What removes billing delays
- Recurring invoices generated on schedule
- Per-company toggles for auto-adding time and expenses
- Payment reminders for unpaid invoices
- Public payment page with online gateways
- Credit notes for corrections instead of reissuing work
What does quote to cash software cover for a services firm?
Quote to cash is the full chain from a quote to money in the bank. CrmLeaf covers it in one product: estimates with expiry and e-signature that auto-convert to an invoice on acceptance, invoices, payment reminders, online payments and offline payment recording.
Corrections and flexible terms are included. Credit notes can be created, applied to invoices, converted to an invoice and exported as PDF. Installment plans record principal, down payment, interest rate, EMI amount and the schedule.
Where compliant electronic invoicing is required, E-Invoice is available as an add-on.
Quote to cash in one flow
- Estimates with line items, discounts, taxes and e-signature
- Accepted estimate becomes an unpaid invoice
- Credit notes: apply, convert, PDF
- Installment plans with down payment and schedule
- E-Invoice is a paid add-on, not core
Can you invoice international clients in their own currency and take payment online?
Agencies and consultancies often bill clients in several countries. CrmLeaf lets you select the currency per document, apply named tax rates per line item, and use an exchange-rate integration with base-currency reporting. See multi-currency and tax.
Clients pay from a public payment page through Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay, Paystack, PayFast, Mollie, Authorize.net, Flutterwave and Square. Offline methods such as bank transfer, cash and cheque can be recorded too. Gateway credentials are held per company, so you use your own merchant accounts.
Built for cross-border billing
- Currency chosen on each invoice
- Named tax rates per line item
- Exchange-rate API integration
- Per-company gateway credentials
- Every payment recorded centrally against the invoice
Comparison
Why use time and billing software instead of spreadsheets plus a separate invoicing app?
Spreadsheets and a standalone invoicing tool work until volume grows. The gap is the handoff between hours logged and money invoiced.
| Billing task | Spreadsheets + separate invoicing app | CrmLeaf |
|---|---|---|
| Hours to invoice | Export or re-key timesheet totals into the invoicing app | Approved billable time is added to the invoice directly |
| Milestone billing | Track milestone status in a sheet, then build the invoice by hand | Completed milestone generates an invoice from its approved billable work |
| Retainers | Recurring invoice, with extra hours and expenses added manually | Recurring invoice can auto-add each period's billable time and expenses |
| Double billing risk | Depends on someone marking rows as billed | Billed records are stamped with the invoice |
| Quote to invoice | Copy the accepted quote into a new invoice | Accepted estimate auto-converts to an invoice |
| Corrections | Reissue or edit invoices manually | Credit notes: apply, convert or export as PDF |
| Payments and reminders | Separate gateway and manual follow-up | Gateways, offline recording and payment reminders in one place |
FAQ
Common questions about time and billing software in CrmLeaf
Use a single system where tracked time, project milestones and recurring invoices all produce invoices from the same client record. In CrmLeaf, approved billable time can be added to an invoice, completed milestones generate milestone invoices, and recurring invoices run on a daily to annual schedule, so you do not need a separate invoicing app for each model.
Related
Explore billing in more depth
Bill every hour, milestone and retainer faster
Set up billable time, a milestone invoice and a recurring retainer inside your free trial. Plans from $9/user/month.