Contractor time gets messy when billable work, admin time, and project budgets mix. Everhour connects tracked hours to billing workflows.
Enter your time in and out for each day. Overtime and gross pay are calculated automatically.
| Day | Time In | Break Start | Break End | Break | Time Out | Total |
|---|
The calculator gives you the number — Everhour takes it from there.
One click and you're timing. Start a timer, add an entry, edit the details. This is exactly how it feels in Everhour.
Set a budget, assign rates, and get alerted before you're over.
Measurement
Track your budget through time or costs
Every report you need — configured your way, always up to date.
Tracked hours flow straight into a polished invoice — no copy-paste, no manual math.
Contractors track time to turn work into a defensible bill, not just to count hours. A useful entry ties each block of time to a client, project, and task. A line such as `Client onboarding, requirements call, 1.5 hours, billable` gives you more value than a bare total of `1.5 hours`.
Separate billable work from non-billable work before the invoice stage. Client calls, implementation, writing, design, development, revisions, and support often belong on the bill. Internal admin, sales follow-up, tool setup, and proposal work often stay off the invoice but still help you understand where the week went.
A live timer works best for focused task work because it captures time as the work happens. Start the timer on the task, stop it when you switch context, and add a short note while the work is fresh. This method reduces end-of-week reconstruction, where small client tasks disappear or merge into vague blocks.
Manual entry still has a place. Contractors need it for phone calls, offsite work, quick fixes, or time recorded from another system. The cleanest workflow uses timers for active work and manual entries for legitimate gaps, with enough detail to explain the client, task, date, duration, and billable status.
The best method for a contractor is the one that carries time from task work into billing without duplicate entry. A basic stopwatch can capture elapsed time, but it leaves you to sort clients, rates, notes, and invoice lines later. A better setup keeps the project, task, and billable status attached from the beginning.
Check the decision points before choosing a tool. You need client and project fields, task-level notes, billable and non-billable labels, exportable reports, and support for USD billing when you work with U.S. clients. If the tool only gives a weekly total, it will not answer the client's next question.
A free weekly total is enough when you have one client, one rate, and a short list of tasks. It helps you invoice a small project, check whether a retainer is being consumed too fast, or compare planned work with actual time for a single week.
A managed workflow becomes necessary when contractor work spans multiple clients, rates, recurring budgets, or approval steps. Everhour Project Budgeting supports hour-based and money-based budgets, recurring periods, threshold email alerts, budget protection, expense controls, multiple billing methods, and client-level budgets, so tracked time can feed billing and project control instead of staying in a separate log.
This content is for general information only, may not be fully up to date, and is provided without any warranty or liability.
High Performer
G2
Summer 2026
Best Ease Of Use
Capterra
Summer 2026
Rated in the top time trackers across G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius — with consistent praise for ease of use, integrations, and support.
A timer tied to a client, project, and task gives contractors the cleanest billable record because it captures work as it happens. Manual entries are acceptable for missed work, calls, or offsite time, but each entry needs a date, duration, task description, client, project, and billable status.
Contractors should track non-billable time when they want accurate project margins and better estimates. Admin work, sales calls, proposal writing, internal setup, and unpaid revisions do not always go on the invoice, but they show the real cost of serving a client.
A contractor time log used for client billing is not the same as an employer payroll record. For employees covered by the FLSA minimum wage or overtime provisions, employer records must include hours worked each workday and total hours worked each workweek.
Contractors often compare tools by the timer alone. The better comparison is the full path from task entry to invoice support: client, project, task, notes, billable status, rate context, exportable report, and budget visibility. A fast timer still creates cleanup if those fields are missing.
Fixed-fee contractors should track time because the invoice amount does not show whether the project was profitable. Time records reveal which tasks consumed the budget, whether future estimates need adjustment, and whether unpaid scope changes are absorbing hours.
Everhour Project Budgeting lets contractors track hour-based or money-based budgets as time is logged. Recurring budget periods, threshold email alerts, budget protection, expense controls, multiple billing methods, and client-level budgets help keep client work inside agreed limits.
Everhour Reporting turns logged time, budgets, costs, and project data into customizable reports. Contractors can filter by client, project, task, member, billable time, labor costs, invoice status, and date range, then export reports as CSV, Excel/XLSX, or PDF.
Track contractor hours against client budgets, receive threshold alerts, and keep billing decisions tied to recorded work. Everhour Project Budgeting turns time logs into budget control and billing clarity.
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