I know I’ve written and tagged a bunch of things here about value pricing, but a recent client had requested hours to be billed (and I accepted in classic desperation), and I’ve been looking for a decent time tracker app that I could work with and maybe pay for if I really found value in it. If you know any good ones, please let me know, but I hope that this will be the last time I charge a project by the hour.
My criteria
-
Has to be incredibly easy to use — like, clock in, clock out.
-
Don’t really care about multi-project tracking
-
Currently manually invoicing clients, so I don’t really care too much about a straight-to-invoice option (it’s easier sure, but I don’t wanna let go of the flexibility I have in designing the invoice. I will die on this hill, lol.)As projects are getting stressful and I don’t care to do admin stuff more and more, I am reconsidering my hill and am open to invoicing now lol. Bonus points if they have pretty invoice templates. -
Pretty UI that doesn’t feel clunky or confusing
Balance
Classic internet somebody making a beautiful Mac App. My only reason to buy this app is for session log history and session notes. 2.99/month // 30.99/year isn’t that bad, I just don’t wanna commit.
Pros
- Free is useful enough
- I like that it asks me if I should take a break after an hour
- Easy access via menu bar, but also a pretty app
- Weekly/Daily stats like total session time, latest clockout, longest without break — stuff I don’t notice but nice to have I guess
- Differentiator between clocking in/out and taking a break; easy shortcut to take a break, which takes me to my laptop’s lock screen, AKA get off my laptop and go take a real break
Cons
-
Break time is hard to separate from the logged time (unless.. I’m supposed to charge clients for break time? oh god…)
Where to find contract work
Currently trying this out, but so far I enjoy the emojis and simple menu bar. Literally just clock in, clock out.
Pros
- Pretty light to use
- Easy to add multiple projects
- Customization of emojis
Cons
- Doesn’t do invoicing
Toggl
A pretty robust time tracker Mac OS app, which you can easily start, stop, and continue.
Pros
-
Can export reports, which creates bar graphs of the time you tracked, based on a few filters including projects and clients
-
Easily start tracking time and assigning it to a specific task and project.
-
Calendar view is really helpful to see and input, similar to how you would add events in your calendar
-
Add your project rate to see how much you get paid
Cons
-
Not free
-
The reports aren’t that pretty lol
-
Falls short of doing invoicing
Apps I came across, tried, didn’t like enough to write about
- Bonsai
- Freshbooks