I got a lot of feedback from commenters yesterday about the app roundup of timekeeping and billing software. Turns out that little part about not having a comprehensive list didn't satisfy anyone!
So let's add to our list, and include five more apps and services to make you a billing maestro and timekeeping maven:
iBiz
iBiz is a very friendly app that integrates with plenty of other Mac apps like iCal, Address Book, Automator and Spotlight to help you manage your time.
You can set normal timers to start and stop manually, as with many other titles, but you can also assign certain documents to timers. So, for example, if you have a folder of project files, you can tell iBiz to watch that folder, and the timer will start any time you open any of those files. Très precis.
iBiz also offers a client/server application to help time tracking among small (Bonjour-connected) teams. With it, you can set employee permissions, group rates, and create to-do and job event lists.
Like Billable, iBiz lets you customize invoices and estimates through a series of HTML templates. If you don't want to roll your own, they have a sizable library of templates on their website.
iBiz 3.1.12 is $50, and the client/server version is $90. A 10-day free trial is available. The software is universal binary, and requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later.
Billings
Possibly the most popular app I missed was Billings, from Marketcircle. Billings and Billable are very similar, with Billings pulling ahead with a WYSIWYG invoice designer, Address Book integration, and help with estimating.
Along with the standard suite of timers and job tracking, Billings also comes pre-loaded with tax information for over 120 countries. You can also modify tax settings yourself to meet your area's own tax requirements.
Also, Billings includes a beefy reporting tool that you can customize just as easily as you can customize invoices. Billings offers drag-and-drop objects that you can place on the document. You can also add images, as well as change colors and fonts.
Billings 2.5 is $59, and has a 21-day free trial available. The software is universal binary, and requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later with at least a 1024 x 768 display resolution.
TimeLog
TimeLog is a unique timekeeping solution that integrates with iCal to record and manage the time you spend on projects. If you keep your calendars in sync between multiple computers with Mobile Me, TimeLog on all your workstations will keep up with you.
In addition to starting and stopping a traditional timer, you can drag new appointments into calendars in iCal, and the elapsed time of those appointments will be recorded in TimeLog.
Also extremely helpful (if not slightly creepy) is that TimeLog watches what apps you use, in case you forgot to start a timer. So if you started that Illustrator project without switching TimeLog tasks, you still know when exactly you made the switch, and can adjust your time accordingly.
TimeLog doesn't include any invoicing features, but does export your task lists to either Pages or Numbers for further formatting into client-facing correspondence.
TimeLog 4.3.6 is €19, available in 11 languages, and requires Mac OS X 10.5 or higher.
OfficeTime
OfficeTime, like Billings, is a time keeping, estimating, reporting, and invoicing tool, but includes features for teams.
Employees can enter time themselves, and team leaders can run reports, view utilization rates, and create invoices. Everyone can also publish their timesheets as iCal calendars for schedules at a glance. OfficeTime offers template-based invoicing, as well.
OfficeTime 1.3.2 is $47, universal binary, and requires Mac OS X 10.4 or higher. A 21-day free trial is available too. A Windows Beta is also available.
Harvest
Another hosted solution is Harvest, which is very much like Tempo (which I mentioned last time), but with added invoicing functionality.
Harvest lets administrators set up employees with time tracking, which can be entered via the web, a custom iPhone site (also handy with Fluid), or a Dashboard widget. Time can be easily entered on a weekly or daily basis, depending on how precise you want to get.
Harvest also plays nicely with Basecamp, importing projects and employees. It will also export files for Micrsoft Excel, and also to QuickBooks (essential for many). Add to that OpenID support and a customizable color scheme, and you've got a nice system for your small business.
Harvest ranges in price from $12 to $90 monthly, depending on the size of your team and the number of projects you want to track. A free 30-day trial is also available.
Still not enough?
If that's not enough billing and timekeeping for you, well, then your needs are out of my league. Sorry. Hopefully, though, between this and our last roundup, you can find something that fits your needs. Good luck, and happy freelancing!













Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-31-2008 @ 10:34AM
booger said...
lol. tuaw cracks under pressure.
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7-31-2008 @ 11:02AM
Mechatroniker said...
...in order to continue the "feedback flood": for people not writing dozens of invoices a day, there exists an application that is exactly tailored for that task: Rechnungen.
http://myownapp.com/site/applications/rechnungen/rechnungen.html
Maybe, Michael's other little apps are interesting as well for you; e.g. Rezepte just was ranked a "staff pick" on apple.com: http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/home_learning/rezepte.html
Just my 2 cents,
Mechatroniker.
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7-31-2008 @ 11:13AM
OmniGeno said...
There can be only one... timekeeping and billing program?
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7-31-2008 @ 11:21AM
Marc said...
Although the conclusion about TimeLog is correct that it lacks the invoice feature, but Media Atelier is about to release an invoice add on. So you have the option to buy this add on or just go with an invoice app alone in case you don't care about timekeeping. The app is called grandtotal:
http://www.mediaatelier.com/GrandTotal/
I love the nice custom invoice layouts can make.
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7-31-2008 @ 11:39AM
Josh said...
Robert . . . FlexTime from RedSweater Software is pretty snazzy too. I've tried several of these apps out and its probably got the best fit and finish of any of them.
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7-31-2008 @ 11:41AM
Jason said...
What about iRatchet? It's simple, clean, stable, has customizable templates and excellent support if/when needed, and it's only $40.
http://www.prettygoodsoftware.org/iratchet/
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7-31-2008 @ 12:06PM
Slobi said...
http://www.myhours.com/
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7-31-2008 @ 12:38PM
Cog said...
This is a great list, thanks. I'd love someone to weigh in on accounting apps for Mac. Our existing software sucks but nothing out there sucks less enough to make the jump, or it's expensive, or it's web-based (expensive and captured data).
Yes, this sounds like whining but I assure you its not. A clean, straightforward accounting app that plays nice with Addressbook, iCal, etc. would be the dream app.
Thanks for any input!!
cog
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7-31-2008 @ 5:00PM
Sagefool said...
and had time tracking via the iphone...
7-31-2008 @ 1:06PM
homagetogorto said...
OK, I know this is a long shot, but has anyone used Project Clock (from Cybermatrix) on Windows? That's what I've been using for 8 years, and I still can't find anything on the Mac that works as well. Key features for me are: three levels (client, project, task) + comments; flexible reports or exportable data; ability to view and edit all the data; easy punch-in / punch-out (three dropdowns and an "In" button).
And ideally, don't take up my entire screen.
Some Mac ones come close, but most of them really suck at letting you get your data back out as anything other than an invoice.
In the meantime, thank goodness for VMWare fusion.
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7-31-2008 @ 2:56PM
Cory Micek said...
maybe try: Contactizer Pro..I haven't played with it much--but it sounds like it could be of great use for you. Its pretty costly though
7-31-2008 @ 1:29PM
Kevin said...
Actually Harvest has a free account. From their prices page:
The Harvest FREE Plan - 2 projects, 4 clients, unlimited invoicing for 1 user absolutely FREE.
I use it and it's great. The only downside of using the free plan is you are not able to use the dashboard åwidget. However you are able to use the iPhone app (which is basically a web page loaded in safari)
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7-31-2008 @ 1:49PM
Kelmon said...
I'm using Hourly at the moment, mostly because I really like the graph view of how I've been spending my time and it's easy to use. Unfortunately, it's still rather rough around the edges and I'm hoping that an update will be released to address them.
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7-31-2008 @ 11:41PM
Steve Leggat said...
Me too. I tried most of the other apps listed here and settled on Hourly as it fit my workflow and number of clients/projects well. However, I am disappointed that development seems to have stopped and there are a number of small niggles which need to sorted out. I also bought On The Job but will wait for the next version to see if it handles multiple projects better.
7-31-2008 @ 2:04PM
entica said...
No love for Studiometry? Easily a top 3 competitor in this field. http://www.oranged.net/studiometry/
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7-31-2008 @ 2:49PM
Cory Micek said...
For those that don't have laptops..its nice to be able to have this sort of thing online. http://www.freshbooks.com. The company will mail out invoices for you! :) AND! There's a fancy widget!
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7-31-2008 @ 4:54PM
Rob Jones said...
Yeah, iRatchet should have been on this list.
http://www.prettygoodsoftware.org/iratchet/
I've been using it for a couple years now, after I demo the new apps that come out I stick with iRatchet.
I give iRatchet 4 Stars out of 5 Stars.
It's great and just because they overlooked it in this article does not mean that it's not better than most listed.
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8-01-2008 @ 6:25AM
Gabriel said...
I have used TimeLog for a long time and I like its interface, looks gorgious.
But a big big problem is that it doesn't work for recurring events in iCal. Doesn't count properly the time for this kind of items. As half of my iCal is composed by recurring entries, I can't use TimeLog anymore... it's very disappointing!
@ Robert Palmer: do you know how the other apps you present in your post do manage recurring items? I'm looking for a switch, but don't know what to choose...
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8-02-2008 @ 4:11AM
mark said...
A bit of Trivia: iBiz used to be called iWork -- until Apple bought the name from them in ~'05. Subsequently they changed it to iBiz.
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8-19-2008 @ 9:33AM
Time Tracker said...
I'm surprised to see that TSheets.com didn't make the list. With a google gadget, a mac widget, jott.com integration, clock in/out via SMS, and an iPhone app developed specifically for the 3G, TSheets has something for everyone
http://www.tsheets.com
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