10 Best Time & Billing Software Options for Accountants

Manually tracking billable hours across multiple clients and projects leads many accounting firms to undercharge for their services each month. Even worse, trying to reconstruct time entries days or weeks later creates unnecessary stress and raises questions about accuracy during client billing reviews.

A good time tracker also eliminates the constant interruptions of starting and stopping timers, automates invoice creation, and gives you clear insights into staff capacity and project profitability.

Based on our conversations with dozens of successful firm owners, we’ve put together a list comparing the top 10 time and billing solutions for accounting firms. 

How Accountants Can Benefit from Time Trackers

A time tracker is a simple solution that can help solve your employee productivity and time organization problems. 

In general, these tools monitor what tasks you or your employees are working on and for how long. More advanced capabilities can apply billable rates to these tasks (where applicable), track which applications employees spend time on, and assess actual resources used against what was budgeted for the project. 

Team members often lose time on non-work activities like social media and casual web browsing. To prevent this, time tracking tools create a sense of positive guidance that will make employees want to focus and work more efficiently without having to actually be supervised at all times. This helps employees manage their time better while maintaining privacy.

If you bill clients by the hour, a time tracker can eliminate guesstimates or awkward conversations with difficult clients who want evidence of your hours worked. 

The data created by time trackers is also invaluable to you, the firm owner, for ensuring you’re pricing your services correctly and figuring out just how profitable your business is.

1. BigTime

For over 20 years, BigTime has helped professional services companies, like accounting firms, track billable hours, manage internal resources, and complete invoicing. 

It doesn’t just offer time tracking and billing features. BigTime is a comprehensive platform that combines time tracking, billing, and administrative workflow management.

Key Features Comparison

Built-in timer	✅
Rate management	✅
Project budgeting/estimates	✅*
Employee timesheets	✅
Automated screen monitoring/screenshots	❌
Geofencing	❌
Automated reminders/alerts	✅
Invoice creation	✅
Accept payments	✅
Performance/productivity reports	✅
Disable manual time editing	✅
Accounting software integration	✅
Mobile app	✅

* Only in Premier plan

Free Trial? 

Yes, a 7-day free trial 

Pricing 

Starts at $20 per user per month

2. Clockify

Clockify is a time tracking software best known for its feature-rich free forever plan. This plan is a good option for sole proprietors or small teams just getting started, giving them unlimited time tracking, timesheets, and billable rate management on projects. 

The tool also offers a number of paid plan tiers to access more advanced capabilities like project budgeting, QuickBooks integration, and invoicing, all of which growing accounting firms will likely be interested in.

Key Features Comparison

Built-in timer	✅
Rate management	✅
Project budgeting/estimates	✅*
Employee timesheets	✅
Automated screen monitoring/screenshots	✅*
Geofencing	✅*
Automated reminders/alerts	✅**
Invoice creation	✅**
Accept payments	❌
Performance/productivity reports	✅
Disable manual time editing	✅**
Accounting software integration	✅**
Mobile app	✅

* Only in Pro plan or higher

** Only in Standard plan or higher

Free Trial? 

Yes, free forever plan for basic features

Pricing 

Paid plans start at $5.49 per user per month with annual billing ($6.99 per user with monthly billing)

3. Harvest

Harvest is a leading time-tracking tool that helps you manage your billable time and then easily convert this data into client invoices. 

It offers the essential features accounting firms need to monitor workloads and productivity, helping them keep tabs on project fee budgets, expenses, and team capacity with convenient reporting features. 

Key Features Comparison

Built-in timer	✅
Rate management	✅
Project budgeting/estimates	✅
Employee timesheets	✅
Automated screen monitoring/screenshots	❌
Geofencing	❌
Automated reminders/alerts	✅
Invoice creation	✅
Accept payments	✅
Performance/productivity reports	✅
Disable manual time editing	✅
Accounting software integration	✅
Mobile app	✅

Free Trial? 

Yes, 30-day free trial 

Pricing 

Team plans start at $11 per user per month with annual billing ($13.75 per user with monthly billing)

4. Time Doctor

Time Doctor is a workforce analytics platform that allows teams to monitor employee activities and productivity in real-time, including time tracking. 

Time Doctor provides detailed insights into employee performance and real-time work tracking. This tool might be particularly useful for firms that work hybrid or remotely, making it easy to verify that employees are getting their assigned work completed on schedule.  

Key Features Comparison

Built-in timer	✅
Rate management	❌
Project budgeting/estimates	❌
Employee timesheets	✅
Automated screen monitoring/screenshots	✅
Geofencing	❌
Automated reminders/alerts	✅*
Invoice creation	❌
Accept payments	❌
Performance/productivity reports	✅
Disable manual time editing	✅
Accounting software integration	❌
Mobile app	✅

* Only in Standard plan or higher

Free Trial?

Yes, 14-day free trial 

Pricing 

Starts at $6.70 per user per month with annual billing ($8 per user with monthly billing)

5. Tick

Tick is a basic time-tracking solution used by thousands of service organizations. Its goal is to help teams operate more profitably by having more control and visibility over internal resources. 

The app is accessible from nearly any device, including smart watches, desktop computers, and cellphones. It’s easy to access and use, providing real-time updates on task budgets compared to actuals. 

Key Features Comparison

Built-in timer	✅
Rate management	❌
Project budgeting/estimates	✅
Employee timesheets	✅
Automated screen monitoring/screenshots	❌
Geofencing	❌
Automated reminders/alerts	✅
Invoice creation	❌
Accept payments	❌
Performance/productivity reports	✅
Disable manual time editing	✅
Accounting software integration	✅
Mobile app	✅

Free Trial? 

Yes, 30-day free trial 

Pricing 

Starts at $19 per month 

6. TimeCamp

TimeCamp is a time and attendance-tracking solution that also includes advanced features for team collaboration, profitability analysis, and client billing. 

Firms may like TimeCamp’s free forever plan, which supports time-tracking for unlimited users and projects. Even if you’re looking for more robust productivity reporting and granular user permissions, the paid plans are more affordable compared to other similar solutions. 

Key Features Comparison

Built-in timer	✅
Rate management	✅**
Project budgeting/estimates	✅*
Employee timesheets	✅
Automated screen monitoring/screenshots	✅**
Geofencing	✅
Automated reminders/alerts	✅*
Invoice creation	✅
Accept payments	❌
Performance/productivity reports	✅
Disable manual time editing	✅
Accounting software integration	✅
Mobile app	✅

* Only in Premium plan or higher

** Only in Ultimate plan or higher

Free Trial? 

Yes, 14-day free trial 

Pricing 

Paid plans start at $2.99 per user per month billed annually ($3.99 per user for monthly billing)

7. Toggl

Toggl is a popular time tracking app, known for its user friendliness and customizable reporting features. The software makes it easy for managers to set up custom dashboards and charts to track the productivity metrics they’re most interested in.  

With a robust free plan for small teams and higher-tier options for larger organizations, Toggl seemingly has something for every firm, no matter their stage of growth or time-tracking needs. 

Key Features Comparison

Built-in timer	✅
Rate management	✅
Project budgeting/estimates	✅
Employee timesheets	✅
Automated screen monitoring/screenshots	❌
Geofencing	❌
Automated reminders/alerts	✅
Invoice creation	✅
Accept payments	❌
Performance/productivity reports	✅
Disable manual time editing	✅
Accounting software integration	✅
Mobile app	✅

Free Trial? 

Yes, 30-day free trial 

Pricing 

Paid plans start at $9 per user per month with annual billing ($10 per user with monthly billing)

8. QuickBooks Time

QuickBooks Time, previously TSheets, is the built-in time-tracking solution for this widely used accounting software. Employees can easily log hours from anywhere using the Workforce app, and managers can monitor what jobs each person is working on at a glance. 

It’s important to note this tool is only available as an add-on for existing QuickBooks Online users. So, if you use another accounting software solution, you’ll need to look for a different time-tracking app. 

Key Features Comparison

Built-in timer	✅
Rate management	✅**
Project budgeting/estimates	✅*
Employee timesheets	✅
Automated screen monitoring/screenshots	❌
Geofencing	✅*
Automated reminders/alerts	✅
Invoice creation	✅
Accept payments	✅**
Performance/productivity reports	✅
Disable manual time editing	✅
Accounting software integration	✅
Mobile app	✅

* Only available in Time Elite plan or higher

** Available via QuickBooks Online

Free Trial? 

Yes, 30-day free trial 

Pricing 

Starts at $20 per month base fee, plus $8 per user per month 

9. ZipBooks

ZipBooks combines accounting, invoicing, and time-tracking features in one platform. Though time-tracking isn’t the main focus, ZipBooks aims to make it easier for firms to maintain accurate accounting records and get paid quickly. 

They offer a free plan to send invoices and accept client payments online. However, to access the time-tracking features, you would need to upgrade to a paid plan. 

Key Features Comparison

Built-in timer	✅
Rate management	✅
Project budgeting/estimates	✅
Employee timesheets	❌
Automated screen monitoring/screenshots	❌
Geofencing	❌
Automated reminders/alerts	✅
Invoice creation	✅
Accept payments	✅
Performance/productivity reports	❌
Disable manual time editing	✅
Accounting software integration	❌*
Mobile app	✅

* Accounting software already built in

Free Trial? 

Yes, 30-day free trial 

Pricing 

Paid plan start at $15 per month, billed annually

10. ZoomShift

ZoomShift is a highly affordable employee scheduling software with a built-in time-tracking feature. It enables you to track employee hours from your phone or desktop, set up timesheet rules to prevent errors, and generate reports for a detailed look at employee productivity.

ZoomShift works well for small to medium-sized firms needing basic time-tracking and scheduling, but lacks advanced features like invoicing and project budgeting.

Key Features Comparison

Built-in timer	✅
Rate management	❌
Project budgeting/estimates	❌
Employee timesheets	✅
Automated screen monitoring/screenshots	❌
Geofencing	✅*
Automated reminders/alerts	✅*
Invoice creation	❌
Accept payments	❌
Performance/productivity reports	❌
Disable manual time editing	✅
Accounting software integration	❌
Mobile app	✅

* Only available in Premium plan

Free Trial? 

Yes, 14-day free trial 

Pricing

Paid plan starts at $1 per user per month

Choosing the Best Solution for Your Firm

What we’ve covered so far is really only scratching the surface. Once you look over each potential solution, it’s time to compare them to your business needs.  There are a few questions we think you should consider to narrow down your top options:

What else does it do?

Each of the above tools offers basic time-tracking features. That said, some offer additional capabilities to help monitor team productivity and manage your workforce.

Decide whether you need basic time-tracking or a comprehensive platform with additional back-office features like team collaboration and workflow management. 

How well does their team help?

We recommend checking out the customer service, onboarding, and training resources offered before you commit to a new tool. If you’re using the software to manage critical functions like keeping tabs on your team and billing clients, it’s best to use a tool that provides quick access to help when you need it. 

Also, review the self-guided resources the vendor offers, which can help you learn how to use the solution to get the most out of it. A tool should have either a comprehensive knowledge base or specific training resources to help new users.

How seamlessly does this tool fit into my firm’s workflow?

The last thing you need is to feel like your new tool is a burden. Like, “Ugh, I have to log in to see how xyz is going.”

Tools either have to fit well into how you do work, or they have to be so valuable you’ll use them anyway — preferably both!

Bonus: Better Manage Client Work with Jetpack Workflow

If you’re not only looking for a tool to help you track time but also organize client workflows, automate recurring tasks, and gain better visibility into upcoming work, consider Jetpack Workflow. 

It’s a leading workflow management solution built exclusively for accountants, bookkeepers, and CPA firms. Jetpack Workflow will help you consistently hit client deadlines and keep track of who is working on what, making sure all work is completed on time. 

The platform also helps you standardize repetitive workflows with convenient checklists and templates so you can be more efficient with your limited resources.   

Schedule a demo or start a 14-day free trial today to see how Jetpack Workflow can help your team become more productive.