Time billing software

How do you figure out how much time you spend on a project? Do you work it all out manually on a scrap of paper or in a spreadsheet? If so, have a look at some of the wonderful shareware programs out there which can do all of this for you.

A good time billing application should not only automatically track the time you spend (and therefore the amount you charge) on any particular project, but also be able to assign different hourly charges for different tasks, projects or clients, generate simple invoices, and export the data to a spreadsheet or database.

I personally use a program called TimeSlice® (you can download a Mac or Windows demo from http://www.timeslice.us/, and if you like it, buy it online for US$49). Once I have set up a TimeSlice file for a new project, all I have to do is use the start, stop and pause buttons, and at the end of the project, I can look up the final tally and generate an invoice. This saves me an enormous amount of time and effort and provides me with an archive of accurate records of my past jobs. It paid for itself in no time!

TimeSlice is by no means the only time billing software available - I just started using it years ago and so have stuck with it. You can search for other time billing software at a site such as http://www.download.com/ by typing in ‘time billing’ in the search box. Prices range from free to a few hundred dollars, and generally you get what you pay for.