Freelance Time Tracking – Why It’s So Important And How To Do It

There’s nothing worse than when you are in the zone, and you must stop what you’re doing to check how much time you’ve spent on the task so far. But if you’re a freelancer, time tracking is a necessary tool. And it doesn’t have to be a challenging procedure. With the right tools, you can make time tracking a breeze. You may have never followed your schedule in the past, but it is important to note that experienced freelancers use time tracking as a lifeline for their ventures. In this article, we’ll talk about freelance time tracking.

Freelancers require a proper time management strategy for their work because it is essential in helping to analyze the use of time, as well as predicting and improving work behavior. The activities and schedules of freelancers are more flexible than typical office workers, but it has its downsides. As freelancers, you have the freedom to manage your time, but the risks of distractions are inevitable; therefore, without developing a proper time management scheme, you might waste your time and money.

Why Should You Use Time Tracking Tools?

1. You can get a better understanding of how you spend your time

How can you know how you spend your days without tracking your time? With time tracking for freelancers, you can better understand where your time goes and whether you’re using it in the most productive way possible. We all have activities that we know are a waste of time, but we do them anyway. Time tracking can help you identify these activities, cut them out of your day, and use your time for something more productive.

2. Find out how much each task takes

This can be done by precise scheduling. The data library created by the time trackers will show the duration a project takes to be completed. Clients usually don’t like working with service providers who fail to meet deadlines. Seeing how long tasks took in the past will help to provide clients with a realistic due date. Knowing the time upfront is also critical in planning your time across various projects.

3. It improves your work ethics

Time trackers can improve your work ethic in several ways. Considering your time in meetings and priorities, you’ll notice that time trackers can accurately showcase your work habits. Time tracking assists you in making informed decisions about how to price your work and run your business. It also helps you consider working on your priorities first.

4. You can use it as a motivator

Sometimes, all we need is a little motivation to get things done. If you struggle to start a project, try tracking your time and setting a goal for yourself. For example, you might want to try to complete the task in a certain number of hours. Seeing your progress can motivate you to keep going.

5. It is critical to bill clients correctly

You need to use time tracking when billing clients because you’ll know exactly how much to charge them after a certain time. Time trackers will help you avoid underestimating how much time you spent so far on the project. You will neither overestimate nor overcharge your client. Time trackers also speed the invoicing process; some tracking tools automatically transfer your billable time into invoices.

6. It enhances your pricing

If you start as a freelancer, you will do a lot of guesswork for how to price your projects. Time trackers help us with this by allowing us to merge data from previous projects. The past information is vital in showing how much each type of project costs.

How To Do Freelance Time Tracking

1. Using a time tracking app

There’s no question that time tracking software is beneficial to freelancers. Not only do they help you keep track of your time, but they can also help you invoice your clients accurately and get paid on time. However, there’s another way that time tracking apps can help you out, and that’s by helping you stay on top of your game when it comes to time management.

When freelancing, you often must wear many different hats; you’re working on multiple projects for many clients, and you must ensure that you deliver great work on time. That’s where a time tracking app comes in handy. By keeping track of your time, you can make sure you’re using your time wisely and avoid those last-minute rushes to get things done.

2. Setting up a system

You need to know how much time you spend on each project to bill your clients accurately. But let’s be honest: manually tracking your time is not very efficient. That’s why a time tracking system is so helpful. A time tracking system can help you automatically keep track of your time, so you can focus on your work and not worry about losing billable hours. It can give you valuable insights into how you’re spending your time, so you can make intelligent adjustments as needed.

3. Keeping detailed records

In the world of freelancing, time is money. Keeping detailed descriptions of the time you spent working on each project can help ensure that you get paid for all your invested hours. It can be a helpful way to track your productivity and see where you might need to cut down on time-wasting activities. So, if you’re looking to get success out of your freelance career, you should keep all the records of your time spent.

4. Taking breaks

You must take breaks while working, so you won’t get burnt out. But, when taking a break, you should still track how you spend your time. That way, you will ensure you’re spending your earned time off on relaxing activities. And it can also help you to stay positive and focused.

5. Tracking your progress

By keeping tabs on how much time you spend on each task; you can ensure you are not overworking yourself and better budget your time. Tracking your progress can be a great motivator. Seeing how much time you’ve spent on a project and how much progress you’ve made can help you stay on track and finish the project on time. It’ll help you monitor your duties and ensure you’re getting paid for all your worked hours.

The Best Time Tracking Software For Freelancers

You have various options of time tracking software that can assist you in staying organized and focused on your activities. It’s important to understand the features of the time tracking software because they’ll act as your individual assistants. A top freelance time tracker should blend seamlessly with other features like monitoring billable time and editing as well as adding time entries.

Here’s A List Of The Best Time Tracking Software For Freelancers:

1. Toggl

Toggl is a simple and easy way to use a time tracker. With Toggl, you can easily track the time spent based on project, client, or task. And if needed, you can add some notes to every job to track what exactly you did. Toggl has an excellent mobile app so you can follow your time on the go. And if you work on a project with others, you can easily share your findings so they can see how you spend your time.

2. RescueTime

It is a time tracking and productivity app that helps you understand your work habits. It runs in the background on your computer and tracks the time you spend visiting websites and applications. Then, it reports to you to see where you’re spending your time and find ways to be more productive.

3. Harvest

Harvest is a time tracking and invoicing app. With harvest, you can track the time spent on a project or a client and establish detailed invoices that show how much time you’ve spent on each task. Checkout Harvest vs Fiverr Workspace vs Kosmo.

4. Kosmo

Kosmo is a powerful time tracking software because of its simplicity. It can assist you in automating your freelancing business. Sending invoices, managing projects, and tracking time are among the benefits of Kosmo. This time tracker is used by many freelancers across various industries, including photographers, designers, writers, and developers. Kosmo has another excellent feature; you can collect payments via ACH transfer, Credit Card, or PayPal.

5. Clockify

Clockify is a free-time tracking app that’s easy to use. You can track your time by project, task, or client and see detailed reports of your work using Clockify. The Clockify mobile app makes tracking your time on the go easy.

6. Hours

It is a simple, easy-to-use time tracker, perfect for freelancers. You can track your time by client, program, or task and see detailed reports of your work using this mobile app. It is interesting because it allows you to track time even when we have many tasks to do.

7. TrackingTime

This time tracking and productivity app can help you understand your work habits. Tracking time runs in the background on your computer and tracks the time spent on various websites and applications. It then establishes detailed reports to see where you’re spending your time; therefore, you can find ways to increase productivity.

What Are The Benefits Of Time Tracking?

1) Higher productivity

A productive freelancer needs a professional workflow. For this to be possible, you must know the time spend on your daily projects. It’ll help you to better estimate the speed of your work and shows you where you can increase your productivity. Time trackers will show you the areas you need to improve and assist you in finding problems and developing solutions.

2) Correct billing

Freelancers primarily work from home and send results to clients after their work is done. Therefore, it is critical to accurately estimate the time spent on the completed project before billing the client. Often, services are paid hourly, so you should get a time tracking system to do the tracking yourself. Clients can verify the work done by reviewing the time reports.

3) Identifying distractions

You need a lot of discipline to stay focused on your work and avoid engaging in non-essential distractions. When you open your time trackers’ dashboards, you should see how much time you’ve spent on each task. This will enable you to make informed decisions on how to spend time in the future.

4) Track goals and progress

Systematic analysis of your data and estimates typically enables you to quickly evaluate your progress and goals. You can also check on the areas where you’ve been most productive. You can set new goals, generate new ideas, and develop new strategies which can take your business to the next level.

Conclusion

No matter how we slice time, freelance time tracking is essential for freelancers’ success. There are several ways of making time tracking fun. Having automated time trackers is an effective way of time management. You should choose time trackers that precisely match your needs. All time trackers are different; therefore, it would be best if you used the free trials first to select the time tracker that is right for you.

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kosmo on August 22, 2022