The Freelancer's Guide to Never Missing Billable Hours

Are You Losing Money Every Day?

If you're a freelancer or consultant who bills by the hour, here's an uncomfortable truth: you're probably undercharging by at least 20-30%.

Those 15 minutes you spent answering client emails? Not tracked. The hour you spent researching solutions? Forgotten. The back-and-forth on Slack? Never logged.

By the end of the month, you've lost hundreds—if not thousands—of dollars in unbilled work. Let's fix that.

Step 1: Install TrackTop

Download TrackTop for your operating system (Mac, Windows, or Linux) and let it run in the background. There's no configuration required to start tracking.

Step 2: Tag Your Projects

Create a project for each client in TrackTop. Whenever you work on client-related tasks, TrackTop automatically associates that time with the correct project.

Pro tip: Set hourly rates for each project. TrackTop will automatically calculate how much money you've earned.

Step 3: Mark Billable vs. Non-Billable

Not all time is billable. TrackTop lets you mark specific activities as billable or non-billable. Internal admin work? Non-billable. Client work? Billable.

• Client emails and Slack messages: Billable
• Active development or design work: Billable
• Research specific to their project: Billable
• Your own marketing or admin: Non-billable

Step 4: Generate Professional Reports

At the end of the week or month, export your time reports as PDF or CSV. TrackTop's reports show:

• Detailed timeline of all activities
• Total hours worked per project
• Breakdown by activity type
• Total amount to invoice

Send these reports to clients with your invoices. The transparency builds trust and eliminates billing disputes.

Step 5: Review and Optimize

After a month of tracking, review your data. You'll discover:

• Which clients are taking more time than expected
• Whether your hourly rate is sustainable
• How much unbilled work you were doing before
• Opportunities to streamline your workflow

Real-World Example

Sarah, a freelance web developer, started using TrackTop in January. Here's what she discovered:

• She was spending 8 hours per week on unbilled client communication
• Her actual hourly rate was 30% lower than she thought
• One client was taking 2x longer than scoped

By tracking everything accurately, she increased her monthly revenue by $2,400 without working more hours. She simply billed for the work she was already doing.

Start Tracking Today

Stop leaving money on the table. Download TrackTop and start capturing every billable minute. Your bank account will thank you.