Best Time Tracking Software for Accounting Firms

Website: https://toggl.com

Best for: Simple timers with billable rates

Starting price: $9 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: one-click timers with billable rates and team reports from Starter; explicit anti-surveillance stance, no screenshots or monitoring

Cons: free plan covers only a small number of users and has no billable rates or team reports; profitability reports, timesheet approvals and SSO are locked behind Premium at $16 per user per month

Toggl Track keeps time tracking close to the way accountants actually work, with a one click timer, manual entry and a calendar view that shows where the day went. Staff can switch between clients and matters quickly, and billable rates attach to projects so the value of recorded time is visible as hours accumulate. Team reports on the Starter plan show who worked on what, which helps a partner review a week of entries before anything reaches an invoice. The interface stays light, so new starters can log time on their first day without a long training session.

The vendor takes a clear position against employee surveillance, with no screenshots and no activity monitoring, which matters for firms that want trust with their staff while still keeping accurate records. Firms that bill by the hour will find the basics covered at $9 per user per month billed annually, but approvals and profitability reporting need Premium at $16 per user per month. The free plan suits a very small team testing the tool, yet it lacks billable rates and team reports, so most firms will move to Starter quickly.

Website: https://clockify.me

Best for: Low cost time tracking for small firms

Starting price: $3.99 per seat/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: cheapest entry plan in this set; invoicing, timesheet approval and the QuickBooks integration arrive on Standard at $5.49 per seat per month

Cons: free plan capped at 5 users, with reports limited to a 1-month range; on entry plans every active or invited user occupies a seat, including admins and managers

Clockify is the cheapest way into structured time tracking in this set, at $3.99 per seat per month billed annually, and its free plan covers up to 5 users. For a small firm, that is enough to record time by client and project, run basic reports and see where hours go each week. The entry plan adds the features firms usually need next, and Standard at $5.49 per seat per month brings invoicing, timesheet approval and the QuickBooks integration, which connects tracked time to the accounting side of the practice.

The limits are worth reading before you sign up. The free plan caps the team at 5 users and limits reports to a 1 month range, so a growing firm will outgrow it. On entry plans, every active or invited user occupies a seat, including admins and managers. Even with that caveat, the price stays low for a firm that wants simple tracking with an optional QuickBooks link.

Website: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/time-tracking/

Best for: Firms already using QuickBooks Online

Starting price: $20 per month base fee plus $10 per user/month

Free plan: Free trial (30 days)

Pros: time flows straight into QuickBooks Online payroll and accounting; GPS tracking, scheduling, time-off management and a time kiosk are included on Premium

Cons: requires a separate QuickBooks Online subscription, which is not included in the price; the base fee plus per-user fee stacks quickly as headcount grows

QuickBooks Time, formerly TSheets, is built to feed hours directly into QuickBooks Online payroll and accounting, which removes the export and re-entry step that causes billing errors in many firms. Staff clock in from a phone or computer, managers approve timesheets, and approved hours move into payroll and invoicing without manual copying. The Premium plan adds GPS tracking, scheduling, time off management and a time kiosk, which suits firms with staff working at client sites or across several offices.

The pricing structure needs careful maths. The price is a $20 per month base fee plus $10 per user per month, so a 10 user firm pays $120 per month before any QuickBooks Online subscription, which is sold separately and is not included. That makes QuickBooks Time a strong choice for a firm already committed to QuickBooks Online, and a weaker one for a firm that would be buying into the QuickBooks system only for time tracking.

Website: https://www.timesolv.com

Best for: Professional service billing and trust accounting

Starting price: $49 per user/month

Free plan: Free trial (10 days)

Pros: built for professional-service billing, with trust accounting, e-billing and payment processing; volume discounts for larger firms

Cons: no free plan and the highest starting price in this set; legal-specific features such as conflict check and calendaring sit on the higher Legal plan

TimeSolv is designed for firms that bill for professional services, and its feature list reads like a billing checklist rather than a simple timer. Time entries connect to matters, rates and invoices, and the platform adds trust accounting, e-billing and payment processing, so a firm can track time, bill it and collect on it in one place. Volume discounts for larger firms soften the $49 per user per month starting price as headcount grows, which matters for a mid sized practice comparing total cost rather than headline price.

There is no free plan, only a 10 day free trial, so a firm should use the trial to test the billing flow end to end, from time entry to invoice to payment. Some legal specific features, such as conflict check and calendaring, sit on the higher Legal plan rather than the entry plan, so a firm that needs those should price the Legal plan instead of the $49 starting point. For an accounting firm that bills by the hour and needs trust accounting, TimeSolv covers more of the billing cycle than a plain time tracker.

Website: https://karbonhq.com

Best for: All in one accounting practice management

Starting price: $59 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: No

Pros: built for accounting firms, with integrated email, workflow, client portal, document management, billing and payments; with time tracking and budget reporting on every plan

Cons: Team plan caps at 40 work templates and 1,000 contact profiles; task automation, automatic client reminders and API access need Business at $89

Karbon is not a time tracker with extras added on, it is a practice management platform built for accounting firms, and time tracking sits inside that wider system. Email, workflow, client portal, document management, billing and payments all live in the same place, and time tracking with budget reporting is included on every plan. That means hours logged against a client job connect to the work, the documents and the invoice without moving between tools, which is the main reason firms choose Karbon over a standalone tracker.

The trade off is price and scope. At $59 per user per month billed annually, Karbon costs far more than a simple timer, and the Team plan caps work at 40 templates and 1,000 contact profiles. Task automation, automatic client reminders and API access need the Business plan at $89 per user per month. A firm should only pay that premium if it will use the workflow and client management side as well as time tracking.

Website: https://www.avaza.com

Best for: Flat rate tracking, projects and invoicing

Starting price: $11.95 per month (billed monthly)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: every feature is included on every plan, including Free; unlimited project collaborators on all plans; extra timesheet or admin users cost only $7 per user per month

Cons: free plan allows only 1 timesheet user and 5 active projects; entry plans cap timesheet users (Startup 2, Basic 5, Business 10)

Avaza stands out in this set because it charges a flat monthly rate instead of a per user fee, starting at $11.95 per month billed monthly. Every feature is included on every plan, including the free plan, so a firm does not lose invoicing, expense tracking or project management by choosing the cheapest option. Unlimited project collaborators come with all plans, and extra timesheet or admin users cost only $7 per user per month, which keeps the total low even as the team grows.

The caps sit on timesheet users rather than on features. The free plan allows only 1 timesheet user and 5 active projects, and entry plans cap timesheet users, with Startup allowing 2, Basic allowing 5 and Business allowing 10. A small firm with a handful of people logging time can run on Avaza for very little money, and the flat rate makes the monthly cost easy to predict.

Website: https://www.freshbooks.com

Best for: Invoicing plus accounting for small firms

Starting price: $23 per month (billed monthly)

Free plan: Free trial (30 days)

Pros: unlimited time tracking on every plan; invoicing, expenses and double-entry accounting built in, with accountant access from Plus

Cons: no free plan; Lite is capped at 5 billable clients; only 1 user included and each extra team member costs $11 per month

FreshBooks combines time tracking with invoicing, expenses and double entry accounting, which suits a small accounting firm that wants one tool for client billing and its own books. Time tracking is unlimited on every plan, so staff can log hours without watching a usage meter, and tracked time flows into invoices with little manual work. Accountant access arrives from the Plus plan, which lets an external accountant review the books without taking a team seat.

The limits are on clients and users rather than on hours. There is no free plan, only a 30 day free trial, and the Lite plan is capped at 5 billable clients, which is too few for most firms. Only 1 user is included in the starting price, and each extra team member costs $11 per month, so a 10 person firm pays $23 plus $99 for 9 extra team members, a total of $122 per month.

Website: https://www.bill4time.com

Best for: Legal and accounting billing with trust accounting

Starting price: $39 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Pros: time tracking plus trust accounting, conflict checker, contingency billing and LEDES export on Legal plans; QuickBooks integration included on the entry plan

Cons: legal-specific features (trust accounting, LEDES) need Legal Pro at $59, not the $39 entry plan; per-user pricing scales with headcount

Bill4Time pairs time tracking with the billing features that professional service firms need, including trust accounting, a conflict checker, contingency billing and LEDES export on its Legal plans. The entry plan at $39 per user per month billed annually already includes the QuickBooks integration, so tracked time can move into QuickBooks without a higher tier. That combination suits an accounting firm with legal clients, or a firm that handles trust accounts and needs billing formats that courts and corporate clients expect.

The pricing needs a close read, because the legal specific features sit on higher plans. Trust accounting and LEDES export need Legal Pro at $59 per user per month, not the $39 entry plan, so a firm that needs those features should budget for the higher tier. Per user pricing also means the monthly total scales directly with headcount, so a 10 person firm pays $390 per month at the entry price.