It is generally a good idea to keep track of your time. Remember: time is money! However, it is especially useful if you bill your customers by the hour.
There are lots of good Time Tracking software around, but we are going to use 2qip for this because it is free, easily customizable and accessible from anywhere:
- Open the 2qip web app (https://app.2qip.com) and login
- If the welcome dialog shows up, click outside to dismiss it
- Click on New Folder in the right sidebar
- Enter the name of the folder: "Time Tracking", and validate
- Double click on Time Tracking in the main view
- Click on New Element in the right sidebar
- Click on Labels list
- Enter the name of the list: "Activity"
- Click on the + icon near Additional fields
- Enter the name of the field: "Hourly rate" and the type: Number
- Click on Save in the right sidebar
- Double click on Activity in the main view
- Click on New label in the right sidebar
- Enter the name and the hourly rate of the label. For example, "Consulting" and "60".
- Repeat the last 2 steps several times with other values. For example, "Development" and "50", "Test" and "40", ...
- Click on Time Tracking in the left sidebar
- Click on Labels list in the right sidebar
- Enter the name of the list: "Customer"
- Click on Save in the right sidebar
- Double click on Customer in the main view
- Click on New label in the right sidebar
- Enter the name of the label. For example, "Customer A".
- Repeat the last 2 steps several times with other values.
- Click on Time Tracking in the left sidebar
- Click on Account in the right sidebar
- Enter the name of the account: "Time"
- In the field Unit value, select Hourly rate
- Click on Save
- Click on Time Tracking in the left sidebar
- Click on Document in the right sidebar
- Enter the name of the account: "Invoice"
- In the field Data origin, select Time
- In the field Concept, select Activity
- In the field Recipient, select Customer
- In the field Tax rate, enter the tax rate in percent, for example "10"
- In the field Comment, enter for example "Thank you"
- Click on Save
Your Time Tracking application is configured! Now, to use it, proceed as follows:
- Click on Time in the left sidebar
- Click on Credit in the right sidebar or press the insert key
- Select the date, the activity and enter the quantity (in hours) and press enter. For example, "Consulting" and "3"
- Repeat the last 2 steps as much as needed
- When you are finished, click on Report in the right sidebar to get a synthetic view.
To generate an invoice, follow these steps:
- Click on Select all (or use the ctrl key) and select the records that you wish to bill
- Click on Group. All the records are now bound together
- Click on Invoice
- Complete all the necessary fields, such as the customer’s name (To) and a possible discount or comment
- Click on Save
- Click on Share and share the link with your customer
See by yourself in a live demo.