What to record for every work session
| Date | The day the work happened. |
| Client / project | So you can invoice and report per client. |
| Start and end time | The actual clock times, not a guess at the end of the week. |
| Task description | One line: what was done. Clients ask. |
| Billable or not | Billable client work versus admin, marketing, learning. |
The free printable timesheet works as a weekly log, and the hours calculator gives the hours:minutes and decimals for each session.
Billing increments and rounding
Your contract decides how time is billed. Common choices are to the minute, in 6-minute tenths of an hour, or in 15-minute quarters. Agree the increment in writing, and round consistently. Rounding that always favors you is likely to be questioned by the client; rounding both ways or always up to a stated minimum is a clear contractual term, not a surprise. The rounding mechanics are the same as in the time rounding calculator.
Worked invoice example
One week, $65 an hour, 15-minute increments
| Day | Sessions | Actual | Billed (15 min up) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | 9:02-11:47, 1:10-3:36 | 2:45 + 2:26 = 5:11 | 2:45 + 2:30 = 5:15 |
| Tue | 10:00-12:10 | 2:10 | 2:15 |
| Thu | 8:30-1:00 | 4:30 | 4:30 |
Billed total = 5:15 + 2:15 + 4:30 = 12:00 = 12.00 hours. Invoice = 12 × $65.00 = $780.00. Without rounding the actual total is 11:51 = 11.85 hours = $770.25, so the increment adds $9.75 in this week. State the policy on the invoice.
Contractors, employees and overtime
If you are a true independent contractor, wage-and-hour overtime rules generally do not apply to your invoices, but your classification is determined by the facts of the relationship, not by what a contract calls you. If you are unsure whether you are an employee or a contractor, ask the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division or your state labor department. For employees, see overtime rules.
Also track your time to calculate your effective hourly rate: divide what a project paid by all the hours it took, including admin and revisions. The salary to hourly calculator can compare a freelance income target with a salaried offer.
Good habits
- Start the log when you start working, not afterwards.
- Back up the log weekly (export or photo).
- Invoice on a regular schedule with the hours attached.
- Keep records as long as your accountant recommends; tax rules vary, so check IRS guidance for your situation.
Set your hourly rate from an income goal
Target: $80,000 a year
Not all of your working hours are billable. If you can bill 1,200 hours a year (about 23 a week over 52 weeks), the rate needed is $80,000 ÷ 1,200 = $66.67 an hour before business costs and taxes. Billing 1,500 hours lowers that to $53.33. Tracking your actual billable hours for a few months replaces guesswork with data.
Learn what fixed-price projects really pay
$2,400 project, 48 hours
You quote a fixed fee of $2,400. When you track the work it takes 48 hours, so the effective rate is $2,400 ÷ 48 = $50 an hour. If you had estimated 30 hours at $80 an hour, the project took 18 hours longer than planned and paid $30 an hour less. Tracking time on fixed-fee work shows which projects are worth repeating.
A simple log template
| Date | Client | Task | Start | End | Hours | Billable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2 | Acme | Wireframes | 9:00 | 11:30 | 2:30 | Yes |
| Mar 2 | - | Invoicing | 11:30 | 12:00 | 0:30 | No |
| Mar 3 | Acme | Revisions | 1:00 | 3:45 | 2:45 | Yes |
A spreadsheet with these columns is enough. Add a totals row per client per week, convert minutes to decimals with the decimal hours converter, and attach the log to your invoice.
Billable utilisation: how many hours are really billable?
Utilisation is billable hours divided by total working hours. A freelancer who works 40 hours a week and bills 24 has a 60% utilisation rate. At $60 an hour, that is $1,440 a week, an effective $36 for every hour worked. Admin, sales, invoicing, learning and unpaid revisions are the usual difference. Tracking non-billable time next to billable time lets you price accordingly and decide which work to automate or decline.
Tools you can use for free
A spreadsheet, a notebook, your phone's clock app or the printable timesheet on this site is enough to start. The best tool is the one you will use every day. If you use a timer app, still check its total against your own start and end times once a week, because forgotten timers are the most common source of inflated hours.
Invoicing from your log
Group the log by client and by week, show the date, task and hours on separate lines, and total the hours and the amount. A line-by-line invoice gets paid faster than a single “consulting, 12 hours” line because the client can see what they are paying for. Keep the log as an attachment or share the relevant rows.