Yesterday, IGG Software announced iBiz 4, an update to its flagship timekeeping and billing software that adds several new features for freelancers and small groups.

iBiz 4 includes an all-new library of invoice templates, payment reminder and expense tracking functionality, faster editing and entry, and a new way to back up and restore your iBiz data.

The software extends its Mac OS X integration to include creating billing events from items in iCal. Previous versions of iBiz were already integrated with Address Book, but iBiz 4 lets you further organize clients into groups. It also has a spiffy new charting engine based on Core Animation.

iBiz Professional has also been updated, and includes a server component and two client licenses. iBiz Professional allows small teams to coordinate their time and to-do items across a Bonjour network.

iBiz 4 is $40, iBiz 4 Professional is $100, and both are available for download at IGG Software's website. Both include a 10-day free trial. Users who purchased iBiz 3 after January 5 also qualify for a free upgrade.

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
• Billings
• TimeLog
• OfficeTime
• Harvest

I just noticed that my favorite freelancing app, iBiz, is now in a v3 beta phase. At first glance the most notable change is that brushed metal has been given the pink slip, but there is a veritable storm of new features under the hood, including:

• a Document Monitor so iBiz can keep track of project files and how much time you spend on each
• iCal syncing via Sync Services - goodbye to manual lifting
• a Billing Section for more better tracking of invoices, estimates, payments and deposits
• new job events to help track commute mileage, as well as 'non-billable' for the freebies
• AppleScript and Automator support - if they keep this up, your clients won't even need you anymore
• Quick Timers and an improved menu bar utility
• HTML templates with full-blown CSS support

and a ton more. iBiz went universal a while ago, and users of previous version can upgrade to 3 for a mere $19.99, though its retail price has increased from $29.99 to $49.99 (in my opinion, from tinkering with this beta: it's still more than worth it). iBiz Server, for multi-employee and computer environments, is $89.99, which includes two client licenses.

iBiz is a great time and billing management app for those who are self-employed or otherwise might have a need for keeping track of their projects, right down to the minute and dime. It integrates well with Address Book and iCal for all your contact and todo needs, which is great, for example, if a client would like to see a published calendar of the time you've spent on their project.

iBiz also acts a bit like a file/project management dashboard, as you can associate files with a project in iBiz and automatically start timing you work when you open the file from within the app. Once a project is done, iBiz also offers a healthy array of invoice options, ready for print, PDF and/or email. Networking capabilities are also baked in, with an iBiz Server edition available, but I don't work in that environment so I don't have much to say on that end.

It looks like we haven't mentioned iBiz on TUAW before, but I can personally vouch for it as a great app since I've been using it for a couple years now. This latest update brings it to version 2.5 with better iBank integration and bug fixes, and also adds Universal Binary goodness. A 10-day demo is available, while a single user license will run you a mere $29.99.