Why time tracking matters
for accounting firms
Prevent hours worked from being lost
Work that is not recorded is hard to analyse and – when it is billable – impossible to invoice.
By recording hours straight away, you get a more complete picture of the work done for each client. That makes invoicing more accurate and prevents time from quietly disappearing.
Gain insight into actual time spent
Not every client requires the same amount of attention. With time tracking you see where your employees' time is going.
Analyse, for example:
- hours spent per client;
- hours per employee;
- hours per activity;
- billable and non-billable time;
- time spent on specific projects or tasks.
This makes it clear where processes run efficiently and where extra attention is needed.
Manage on returns instead of gut feeling
A client with attractive turnover is not automatically a profitable client.
When you can place turnover, rates and time spent side by side, you gain better insight into the performance of clients, services and projects. That helps when assessing fixed-price agreements, setting rates and making better choices.
What should good time tracking software
for an accounting firm be able to do?
A time tracking system must fit the daily practice of your firm. TimeWriter offers the features needed to make time tracking part of an efficient workflow.
Track hours per client and activity
Record time in the way that suits your work.
Link hours to:
- clients;
- projects;
- activities;
- employees;
- specific tasks.
That way you can, for example, distinguish between bookkeeping, annual accounts, tax returns, advisory work and internal tasks.
Every entry gets the right context.
Separate billable and non-billable hours
Not all time is directly billable, but virtually all time is relevant to running the business.
With TimeWriter you keep a distinction between billable and non-billable work. This gives you insight into the ratio between productive time and internal activities.
That helps you answer questions such as:
- How billable is our team?
- How much time do we spend on internal work?
- Which clients consistently require more time than expected?
- Where can we improve processes?
Overview for the whole team
An accounting firm rarely has one person working on one client. Work is divided, handed over and planned.
With a central system for time tracking you have a single, up-to-date source of information.
You see, among other things:
- who is working on which client;
- how many hours have been spent on a project;
- how time is distributed across employees;
- where capacity is available;
- which tasks need extra attention.
That makes it easier to distribute work and adjust in good time.
Grip on projects and budgets
More and more accounting firms work with fixed-price agreements, subscriptions or predetermined budgets.
Then it is important to know not only what you invoice, but also what the work actually costs in time.
With project and budget insights you can follow progress and flag in good time when the time spent is mounting up.
That way you keep a grip on:
- hour budgets;
- progress;
- time spent;
- deviations;
- returns per project or client.
From time tracking to invoicing
Less manual work, less chance of errors
A time tracking system does not stand alone. For an efficient accounting firm, the connection with other business processes is at least as important.
By recording hours centrally, you avoid having to re-enter data in several places.
TimeWriter helps you organise the step from:
work → hours → review → invoicing
as efficiently as possible.
That saves administrative actions and ensures that the information remains consistent throughout the entire process.
Insight through reports
From recorded hours to management information
Time tracking yields valuable data. The challenge is to turn that data into usable insight.
With TimeWriter's reports you can analyse, among other things:
Per client
How much time is really spent on a client?
Per employee
How is time spent distributed within the team?
Per project
Does the time spent stay within the available budget?
Billable versus non-billable
How productive and billable is your organisation?
Per activity
Which tasks consistently take a lot of time?
With this information you can manage capacity, efficiency and returns more effectively.
Easy to use
for every employee
The best time tracking is the time tracking that is actually used.
That is why tracking hours must be fast and clear. Employees must be able to record their time easily, without time tracking itself becoming a time-consuming task.
TimeWriter is designed to keep the daily process clear and simple.
The easier the system is to use, the greater the chance that hours are recorded promptly and completely.
For small and growing
accounting firms
The needs of a self-employed accounting professional differ from those of an organisation with dozens of employees.
That is why flexibility is important.
Your time tracking software must be able to grow with:
- the number of employees;
- the number of clients;
- new services;
- more projects;
- changing work processes.
TimeWriter offers a central basis for time tracking and insight, without you having to fall back on a collection of separate spreadsheets.
Replace Excel for time tracking?
Excel is flexible, but for a growing accounting firm limitations soon arise.
Think of:
- different versions of the same file;
- manual checks;
- limited up-to-date insights;
- errors when copying data;
- time-consuming reports;
- lack of a central overview.
With TimeWriter your team works from a single central environment.
That means:
one overview of clients, employees, projects and recorded hours.
Choose time tracking
that suits your firm
When comparing time tracking software, it is wise to look beyond price alone.
Pay attention to, among other things:
- Ease of use Can employees track hours quickly and easily?
- Insight Does the software provide the reports you need to manage your firm?
- Clients and projects Can you record hours logically per client, activity and project?
- Integrations Does the software connect to the systems your firm already uses?
- Scalability Can the system grow with your organisation?
Can you count on good guidance during setup and use?
TimeWriter helps accounting firms bring these elements together in one clear solution for time tracking and time insight.
More insight into your time.
More grip on your firm.
Hours form the basis of a large part of your business operations.
When you know exactly what your team spends its time on, you can make better decisions about clients, rates, capacity and processes.
With TimeWriter you make time tracking more than an obligation after the fact.
You make time visible.
Frequently asked questions about
time tracking for accounting firms
Why is time tracking important for an accounting firm?
Time tracking provides insight into the time employees spend on clients, projects and tasks. That helps with accurate invoicing, capacity planning and assessing the productivity and profitability of clients.
Can I track hours per client?
Yes. With TimeWriter you can link hours to clients and the work carried out for them. This gives insight into the total time spent per client.
Can I keep billable and non-billable hours separately?
Yes. By recording different types of work, you gain insight into which time can be attributed directly to clients and how much time is spent on internal activities.
Why is insight into hours important with fixed-price agreements?
With a fixed price, turnover is known in advance. The time actually spent then largely determines the return. By tracking hours per client or project, you can better assess whether agreements remain profitable.
Is time tracking only intended for invoicing?
No. Besides invoicing, time tracking provides important information about productivity, capacity, time spent and returns. That makes it a valuable tool for the day-to-day management of an accounting firm as well.
Which accounting firms is TimeWriter suitable for?
TimeWriter is suitable for accounting firms that want more insight into the time spent by employees and on clients, and that want to organise time tracking centrally.
