Time tracking for professional services

Time tracking software for agencies and consultants

CrmLeaf is time tracking software for agencies and consultants that records every hour against a client project and task, then carries approved billable time into the invoice. It includes a live timer, weekly timesheets with approval and a Work Summary report, from $9/user/month.

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At a glanceFrom $9/user/mo
Built for
agencies billing clients by the hour and consultants who need clean client reporting.
Tracking
live timer with pause, resume and breaks, plus manual entry where a project allows it.
Control
weekly timesheets and manager approval of time logs.
Billing
billable earnings from an hourly rate; time pulls directly into invoices.
Reporting
Work Summary report and Time Log Report; Resource Utilization is an add-on.
Price
from $9/user/month, free trial, no credit card.

What you get

What does time tracking software for agencies and consultants need to do?

Billable time only turns into revenue when it is captured at the moment of work, checked by a manager and carried into an invoice. CrmLeaf covers that whole path in one platform instead of a standalone timer plus a spreadsheet.

Timer with pause and resume

Start, pause, resume and stop a live timer on a task. Interruptions do not become guessed time.

Timelogs per project, task and user

Every entry is recorded against a project, a task and a person, so hours report by client, project or team member.

Weekly timesheets with approval

Submit a week at a time. Managers approve or reject with a reason, with an optional client filter.

Breaks excluded from hours

Record breaks inside a running log; they are left out of tracked and billed time.

Billable earnings from hourly rate

Time on billable tasks computes earnings from an hourly rate, with no separate rate spreadsheet.

Work Summary report

Billable time rolled up employee, client and task, with KPI tiles, charts, drill-down and PDF export.

For agencies

How do agencies track time by client, project and task?

Agencies sell hours across many clients at once, so the timer has to follow people from task to task. In CrmLeaf every time log belongs to a project, a task and a user, so the same entry answers what a client is charged, what a project cost in effort and how a team member spent the week.

Client, project and task timers. Start the timer on the task you are working on, pause when a call interrupts, resume afterwards and record breaks inside the running log. Breaks are excluded from tracked hours.

Retainer hours. Because every log is tied to a project and client, you can compare hours logged this period against the hours a retainer covers using the Time Log Report and Work Summary report. CrmLeaf does not enforce a retainer cap on its own; you read the numbers and decide.

Scope creep. Hours on a project, split by task and person, show where effort is running past the plan. Add the optional Budget Management add-on for budget-versus-actual on a project.

Client / project / taskPause and resumeBreaksHours by task and person

Agency workflow

  • Open the task and start the timer once, rather than several timers on related tasks
  • Pause and resume as work switches between clients
  • Optionally block pausing, so each stretch of work is a separate time entry
  • Stop the timer and add an optional memo
  • Review hours per project before the client conversation

For consultants

How do consultants separate billable from non-billable time?

Consultants need a defensible record. In CrmLeaf the task carries the billable flag, so the classification made when the engagement was planned is the one that bills. Time on internal tasks stays out of the client invoice.

Billable vs non-billable. The Time Log Report splits billable and non-billable hours by person, project and period. Billable earnings are computed from an hourly rate, and billable-amount columns are permission-gated so only the right roles see earnings.

Client reporting. The Work Summary report rolls completed time up by employee, client and task, with KPI tiles for total hours, billable hours, billable percentage and amount. Filter by date range and client, then export to PDF.

Approvals. Submit a weekly timesheet per user per week. A manager approves or rejects with a reason, so approved hours are what reach billing.

Billable flag on taskWork Summary PDFWeekly timesheet approvalHourly rate earnings

Consultant workflow

  • Mark the task billable or non-billable up front
  • Log time with the timer, or manually where the project allows it
  • Submit the weekly timesheet for approval
  • Run the Work Summary report for the client period
  • Export the PDF as the basis for the client conversation

Time tracking and invoicing software

How does time go from the timer to an invoice?

Time tracking and invoicing software should remove the retyping step. In CrmLeaf, logged time on billable tasks computes billable earnings from an hourly rate and pulls directly into an invoice. Billed records are stamped with the invoice, so the same hour cannot reach two invoices.

  1. 1

    Track

    Timer or manual entry on a task

  2. 2

    Approve

    Manager reviews logs and weekly timesheets

  3. 3

    Bill

    Billable earnings from the hourly rate

  4. 4

    Invoice

    Time pulled into the invoice

  5. 5

    Report

    Work Summary and Time Log Report

Walkthroughs: track time to invoice and weekly timesheet approval.

How to

How to track billable hours: a six-step checklist

A billable hours tracker only works if the habits behind it are consistent. This is the routine to follow, and how CrmLeaf supports each step.

  1. 1

    Decide billability before work starts. Set the billable flag on the task so classification is made at planning time, not at month end.

  2. 2

    Set the hourly rate. Billable earnings are computed from an hourly rate, so make sure one is in place for the work.

  3. 3

    Run the timer as you work. Start once on the right task, pause for interruptions and resume afterwards.

  4. 4

    Record breaks, not stop-starts. Breaks inside a running log are excluded from tracked hours and keep one continuous log.

  5. 5

    Submit and approve weekly. Timesheets go to a manager each week, so errors are caught while people still remember the work.

  6. 6

    Invoice from approved time and review. Pull billable time into the invoice, then check the Work Summary report for billable percentage.

Compare

Is a spreadsheet or a standalone timer enough for timesheet software?

NeedSpreadsheetsStandalone timerCrmLeaf
Capture time as it happensManual entry, often after the factYesLive timer with pause, resume and breaks
Tied to client, project and taskOnly if you build the columnsUsually tags or labelsEvery log belongs to a project, task and user
Weekly approvalEmail and manual checkingVaries by toolWeekly timesheets, approve or reject with reason
Hours to invoiceCopy and retypeExport, then re-enterTime pulls directly into invoices
Double-billing controlManualNot applicableBilled time is stamped with the invoice
Client and project reportingPivot tables you maintainBasic reportsWork Summary and Time Log Report

Standalone timer capabilities vary by product; the column describes the general category, not any one vendor.

Part of a PSA platform

One system from timer to invoice to report

CrmLeaf is a professional services automation (PSA) platform. Time tracking sits beside projects, tasks, invoicing and reporting, so hours do not have to move between tools. Resource Utilization, an add-on module, adds availability, capacity, workload and timeline views on the same data.

See all time tracking features
  • ProjectsTimelogs live inside projects and tasks
  • InvoicesBillable time pulls into invoices
  • ReportsWork Summary and Time Log Report
  • Resource UtilizationAdd-on module for capacity views

FAQ

Common questions about time tracking for agencies and consultants

  • The best fit is software that ties each timer to a client, project and task, then carries approved hours into the invoice. CrmLeaf records every time log against a project, task and user, supports a live timer with pause, resume and breaks, and pulls billable time into invoices, so agencies avoid retyping hours.

Related

Explore further

Time trackingTimer, timelogs and approvalsTimesheet softwareWeekly submit and approveTimer and timelogLive timer and manual logsTime and billingHours to invoiceInvoicesInvoicing and paymentsProject managementProjects, tasks and milestonesTime log reportBillable vs non-billableTime and utilization reportHours and utilization viewsFree toolsCalculators and generatorsCost of unbilled hoursWhat missed time costsTutorial: time to invoiceStep-by-step walkthroughTutorial: timesheet approvalStep-by-step walkthrough

Track every billable hour and invoice it

Start a free trial, log time on a real client project and send your first invoice from tracked hours.

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