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New Tech: Managing Freelance Billable Hours

Written by Artisan | Jun 2, 2015 12:00:13 PM
How do you keep track of your billable hours? While you could always decide to write down your freelance hours in pen and paper, recording them as you go, there are more helpful alternatives that you can try. Wouldn't it be better if you could just press a button and record yourself working? Wouldn't it be great if time-stamped screenshots could show you were doing what you say you were when you say you were? These billable hours apps can help.

Office Time

Office Time is an app that focuses on creating your timesheet. This app also has built-in invoicing options, which makes it possible to bill your client appropriately right from the program. As a freelancer, tracking your time can be distracting if you have to do it manually; this program allows you to simply click a button once when you start and once when you stop, much like a stopwatch.

Chrometa

Another interesting application you can use to track your time is called Chrometa. This application proves that you've been working on the client's project while you have it on by making you match your web searches to the pages you pull up during that time. Pulled up a social media site for a break? That time will be able to be eliminated from your work time, so you know exactly how much time was spent on your project.

Rescue Time

RescueTime is another application that can track your progress. This productivity tracker has ways to rate the websites you visit by productivity level. For instance, social media sites (unless you're using them for the project) would be marked as distracting, while government statistic sites, for example, would be very productive.

Snapshot Software

Snapshot software can also be used to track your progress while you work. Some freelancing platforms already use these, but you can also download one and use it to prove your time spent on a project. This kind of software takes a screenshot of your computer desktop every 10 or so minutes. Once it does this, it sends the photo to your client along with a time sheet, so the client can see that you're working on the project when the clock's running.

These are just some of the ways to track your own billable hours/time spent on a project or the time someone else on your team spends on it. Need some billable hours? If you're ready to find work or to hire a freelancer, contact us at Artisan Talent by clicking here, so we can find you the right match.

*Photo from GetRefe.tumblr.com