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TimeTracking

Time tracking for accounting and tax firms

Annual accounts, VAT returns, payroll runs and the client who calls every week with one quick question. Whether you charge by the hour or a fixed fee, you need to know where the hours went. TimeTracking records time per client and engagement with very little effort, shows which work really pays and hands the hours to the system you bill from.

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Animated demo: a tax adviser times a short client call, the day fills with entries per client and engagement, a partner approves and the hours are exported to the practice system. A short call counts, Per client and engagement, Partner reviews, Export to practice system.

How accounting firms use TimeTracking

  1. Set up clients and engagements

    Each client gets the engagements you actually work on, such as annual accounts 2026, VAT Q3 or monthly payroll. Clear names keep hours where you can compare them with the fee later.

  2. Track while you work

    Start the timer when you open a file, or add the entry afterwards with a short note. Recurring work such as monthly bookkeeping is proposed from last week's entries, so confirming takes one tap.

  3. Review before the month closes

    A manager or partner reviews the submitted hours per client and person, approves them or sends single lines back with a comment.

  4. Export to your practice system

    Approved hours go out as configurable CSV, XLSX or JSON, or through the API. Invoicing stays in the software you already use.

Every hour on the right client and engagement

In a practice, the hours that disappear are rarely the big ones. It is the ten-minute call about a tax assessment, the email about a missing bank statement, the question from a client's new bookkeeper. In TimeTracking every entry is recorded in minutes against a client and engagement, so short pieces of work are worth logging instead of being forgotten.

A note on each entry explains what was done. That helps the reviewer, and it helps a year later when the client asks why last year's accounts took longer than expected.

  • Hours per client and per engagement
  • Entries in minutes, also for short calls and emails
  • A note on every entry
  • Timer on the web and in the mobile app, or manual entry afterwards

Fixed fees: see which engagements really pay

Many firms agree a fixed fee for the annual accounts or a monthly package for bookkeeping and payroll. The fee is fixed, the hours are not. Reports in TimeTracking show approved hours per client and engagement for any period. Export them and put them next to the fee in your practice system or spreadsheet, and you see at a glance which clients cost more time than they bring in.

That is the basis for a better conversation at renewal time: a new quote based on the hours the work actually took, not on a guess from three years ago. For hourly engagements, the same approved hours are what you bill.

Busy season without losing the overview

From the first tax returns in spring to the year-end close, workload in a practice comes in waves. During those weeks nobody wants an extra admin job, and that is exactly when timesheets slip. Email reminders catch days with missing hours and a nudge goes out before the submission deadline, so the office does not have to chase people.

Hours per person and per week show who is carrying the peak and where overtime builds up. Leave requests and balances live in the same system, so planning the quiet weeks after the deadline is just as easy.

  • Email reminders for missing hours
  • Deadline nudges before the period closes
  • Hours per person per week during peaks
  • Leave and balances in the same app

Review before hours leave the firm

Hours move through clear steps: draft, submitted, approved, exported and locked. The reviewing manager or partner sees the hours per client and employee, approves the period or rejects a single line with a comment, and the employee fixes it the same day.

Once a period is exported it is locked. A correction afterwards becomes a separate line in the next open period, so the hours in your practice system and in TimeTracking always tell the same story. Who approved what, and when, is kept in the audit trail.

Your practice software stays in charge of billing

TimeTracking does not create invoices and does not replace your practice management or accounting software. It does one job, reliable approved hours, and delivers them in the format you need: configurable CSV, XLSX and JSON exports with your own column mapping, or the REST API with webhooks when a period is approved.

For firms that like to automate, the MCP server lets an assistant such as Claude answer questions like hours per client this quarter, with the same permissions as the person who connects it.

Careful with client data

Customer data is stored in the EU, in Ireland. TimeTracking records working time and notes, not your clients' financial documents. There are no screenshots and no activity monitoring, which makes the tool easy to introduce to a team of professionals.

Pricing is simple: free for up to 5 users, then €1 per user per month on Core, with no seat minimum and no add-ons. Pro at €3 adds predictive time tracking.

Frequently asked questions

Can TimeTracking create invoices for our clients?

No. TimeTracking records and approves hours and exports them to the software you bill from, as CSV, XLSX, JSON or through the API.

Does it connect to our practice management software?

There are no named connectors for practice management systems. The configurable file exports and the REST API cover most imports, and webhooks can trigger an export as soon as a period is approved.

How do we see whether a fixed-fee engagement is profitable?

Record hours per engagement, then use the report or export of approved hours for that engagement and compare it with the agreed fee in your practice system or spreadsheet.

Is it worth logging a five-minute phone call?

Yes. Entries are stored in minutes, with a note, so short calls and emails add up per client instead of disappearing.

Is there a desktop or browser timer?

The web app has a timer today, and the mobile app has one too. A desktop tray app and a browser extension are on the roadmap.

What does it cost for an accounting firm?

Free for up to 5 users, then €1 per user per month on Core, including approvals, reports and exports. Pro at €3 adds predictive time tracking.

Related pages

Try TimeTracking free

Free for up to 5 users. Core from €1 per user per month, everything included.

Start freeSee pricing