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An accountancy practice measures itself per client file, and almost nothing else does. Time tracking software for accounting firms has to answer one question convincingly: what did this file cost us this year, against what we agreed to charge for it.
The client file is the unit
Work arrives as a set of recurring obligations per client – bookkeeping, VAT returns, the annual accounts, the conversations around them – and each of those has a rhythm of its own. Hours booked against a vague project heading cannot be reassembled into that picture afterwards.
This is the first thing to get right, and the thing most practices get wrong by adopting a generic project structure. Time tracking software for accounting firms is only as useful as the resemblance between its structure and the way the files are actually organised.
So the structure has to mirror the practice: client, then the kind of work, then the period it belongs to. Once that holds, the questions a partner actually asks become reports rather than reconstructions.
Fixed fees and the hours behind them
Most practices quote annually and work hourly. The gap between those two facts is where margin is lost quietly, one file at a time, because nobody compares them until the year is over.
Setting an hours budget per file and letting budget monitoring track consumption turns that into something visible in March rather than December. A file drifting past its fee shows up while there is still a conversation to be had about scope.
hours per client, per kind of work and per period
chargeable or not, settled at the moment of booking
an hours budget per file, consumed as people log time
tariffs that differ by seniority, by service and by file
approval before a period closes
Seasons that are not evenly spread
Capacity in a practice is not a flat line. The filing calendar concentrates work into a few months, and the planning question is whether the people will be there, not whether the hours exist in theory.
Planning against a nominal month is how practices end up with three people covering a filing deadline that needed four. Because leave and absence are held next to the hours, a busy period is planned against days that genuinely exist. Over-commitment in a practice is rarely an estimating failure; it is a calendar that was never checked against the estimate.
Recording that will bear examination
A practice that audits others is held to its own standards. An hour booked in February should still be traceable to a person, a file and an approval in the following January, with any later change recorded rather than silently applied.
It is also worth deciding early who may amend an approved entry, because that single rule determines how seriously everyone treats the approval step. A period that can be quietly reopened is not really closed.
That matters for internal review and for the occasional client who asks how a figure was reached. It is also what makes an invoice defensible without anyone rebuilding the underlying week.
Fitting it to the practice
Worth settling too: whether advisory conversations are booked to the file they concern or to a heading of their own. In most practices they are the fastest-growing category of work and the least visible, because they happen in fifteen-minute pieces between other things.
The right depth depends on how the firm bills. A practice on annual fixed fees needs budget tracking more than fine-grained activity codes; one billing hourly for advisory work needs the reverse.
The page for accounting firms sets out how the pieces fit together in a practice, and two months of use will tell you more about whether the structure suits your files than any amount of specification.
AT A GLANCE
Manage your time tracking efficiently and without errors
Clear time tracking is indispensable for every business. It provides insight into the performance of employees, the progress of projects and the total costs. With our software you easily keep an overview, prevent errors and save time. That way your records are always up to date and reliable.
Whether you work with permanent employees, freelancers or temporary staff: everyone can easily record their hours worked. The user-friendly interface and mobile app make it possible to log hours anywhere, both in the office and on the go. That way you always have current and correct data for invoicing and planning.
In addition to time tracking, you can also keep track of leave, sickness and other absences. Reports give a clear overview of the available capacity per week, month or project. That way you keep a grip on your organisation, avoid surprises and ensure an efficient use of time and staff.
Record your employees' hours accurately and effortlessly — per project, client or internal task. TimeWriter always gives you real-time insight into the hours worked, so you know exactly what time is being spent on. That way you prevent budget overruns and always invoice in full.
Track time quickly and without errors
With TimeWriter you track time in the way that suits you: automatically between two points in time or manually as a total. That way you record the time spent per task quickly and without errors — and you get the management information to structurally improve your planning.
Mobile and flexible working
With the TimeWriter app, employees log their hours anytime, anywhere — at home, in the office or on the go. All data is synchronised in real time, so as a manager you have immediate access to current and reliable hour data. No delays, no manual transfers, no errors.
Calculate and analyse hours
Want to know how much time a project really costs and what the return is? TimeWriter automatically calculates the hours spent per project — including the correct conversion of hours and minutes. That way you always have a grip on your project profitability and can adjust before it is too late.
Overviews per month and per project
TimeWriter gives you immediate insight into hours worked — per project, per employee or per month. See at a glance how many hours have been spent and how many are still available within your budget or planning. That way you monitor your capacity proactively and prevent costly overruns.
Keep professional time records
The system is ideal for time tracking within any organisation. Whether you have a small team or a large business: our solution makes tracking hours easy and reliable.
Example: a 40-hour working week
Does your team work a standard 40 hours per week? With TimeWriter you see exactly how those hours are distributed across projects, tasks and departments — accurate to the minute. No more unexplained hours, no more discussions about how time is spent. Just full transparency and a grip on your organisation.
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