Best Time Tracking Software for Bookkeepers

Website: https://toggl.com/track/

Best for: Simple hourly client billing

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Billable rates at workspace and project level; Clean reports by client, project, and team member

Cons: Invoicing needs an outside accounting tool; Timesheet approvals need the Premium plan

Toggl Track suits a bookkeeper who wants timers, clients, and billable rates without a long setup. The Starter plan costs $9 per user per month billed annually, and it adds billable rates, team reports, and project estimates to the free plan. The free plan covers a limited number of users, so a solo bookkeeper can start at no cost and move up when client work grows. Time entries can be rounded in reports, which helps when you bill in 6 minute or 15 minute units, and entries export as CSV or Excel for your accounting software.

The Premium plan costs $16 per user per month billed annually and adds timesheet approvals, labor costs, profitability reports, and fixed fee projects. That matters when you review staff hours before billing a client, or when a client agrees a set fee for monthly bookkeeping. Toggl Track does not include invoicing, so you send invoices from QuickBooks, Xero, or FreshBooks after you export the time. Calendar links with Google and Outlook turn meetings into time entries, which cuts the hours that go missing at the end of a busy week.

Website: https://www.getharvest.com/

Best for: Invoicing from tracked time

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Built in invoicing with QuickBooks and Xero sync; Timesheet approval on Enterprise

Cons: Usage fees apply above plan allowances in 2026; Profitability reporting needs Enterprise

Harvest is built around one flow that bookkeepers use every month: track time, review it, and turn it into an invoice. The Teams plan starts at $9 per seat per month billed annually, and the Enterprise plan starts at $14 per seat per month billed annually. The free plan covers one seat and two projects. Invoicing, expense tracking, and project estimates are included, and invoices and payments sync with QuickBooks, Xero, and Stripe. More than 50 integrations connect Harvest with tools such as Asana and Slack, and the mobile and desktop apps keep timers close at hand.

Harvest changed its pricing in 2026, so the seat price is now a base rate rather than the full bill. Usage fees apply for active projects, clients, tasks, and invoicing above the allowance in each plan, and Harvest does not publish the per unit usage rates. That makes the monthly total harder to predict for a firm with many small clients. Timesheet approval, profitability reporting, an activity log, and single sign-on sit on the Enterprise plan, so check which tier your review process needs before you sign up.

Website: https://clockify.me/

Best for: Low cost client billing

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Free plan covers unlimited tracking; Invoicing and QuickBooks sync on Standard

Cons: Billing features need the Standard plan at $5.49; Reports feel basic next to practice tools

Clockify is the lowest cost way for a bookkeeper to track billable hours by client and task. The free plan covers unlimited tracking, and the Basic plan costs $3.99 per seat per month billed annually. The Standard plan costs $5.49 per seat per month billed annually and adds the features bookkeepers need most: invoicing from tracked time, timesheet approval, task level hourly rates, time rounding, and a link that sends time to QuickBooks for payroll and billing. Time off, reminders, and manager roles are also on Standard.

The Pro plan costs $7.99 per seat per month billed annually and adds expenses, labor costs, scheduling, forecasting, and profitability reports. The Enterprise plan costs $11.99 per seat per month billed annually and adds single sign-on, an audit log, and a custom subdomain. Clockify covers the billing basics well, but its reports and client portal are simpler than those in tools built for accounting firms, and firms that want deep practice workflow will outgrow it sooner than they outgrow Karbon or Bill4Time.

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

Best for: QuickBooks Online firms

Starting price: $20 per month plus $10 per user per month

Free plan: Free trial (30 days)

Pros: Time flows straight into QuickBooks payroll and invoicing; Mobile app and time kiosk for staff on site

Cons: Requires QuickBooks Online; Base fee plus per user fee adds up for larger teams

QuickBooks Time, formerly TSheets, is the natural pick for a bookkeeping firm that already runs on QuickBooks Online. The entry tier costs $20 per month plus $10 per user per month, and the base fee includes one admin. Staff track time in the Workforce mobile app or at a time kiosk, and managers approve timesheets before the hours flow into payroll and invoicing. Time off management, alerts, and photo attachment on timesheets are included, which helps when staff work at client sites.

A second tier costs $40 per month plus $12 per user per month and adds mileage tracking, project tracking, project estimates against actual hours, and timesheet signatures. Payroll bundles sit above that and add full service payroll, hiring tools, and HR features. The catch is the stack: QuickBooks Time requires QuickBooks Online, so its fee sits on top of your accounting subscription. For a firm already inside that system the link is worth it, but a firm on Xero should look elsewhere.

Website: https://karbonhq.com/

Best for: Accounting firm workflow

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

Free plan: No

Pros: Time, budgets, billing, and client email in one system; Workflow templates for repeat client jobs

Cons: No free trial, guided sessions only; Price is high for a solo bookkeeper

Karbon is practice management software for accounting and bookkeeping firms, with time tracking built into the workflow rather than added on top. The Team plan costs $59 per user per month billed annually, or $79 per user per month billed monthly for teams of four or more. The Business plan costs $89 per user per month billed annually and adds automatic client reminders, task automation, and industry integrations. Every plan includes email triage, team collaboration, workflow and to do lists, time tracking with budget reporting, billing, payments, and a client portal.

That breadth is the point: a monthly bookkeeping job can move from email to task to time entry to invoice without leaving Karbon, and templates repeat the same job for every client each month. The trade offs are clear. There is no self serve free trial, only guided sessions with sample firm data, and every user is charged at the same rate, with no reduced tier for part time or seasonal staff. Archived seasonal users keep their history, and the unused part of a license is credited, but a solo bookkeeper will find the price hard to justify.

Website: https://bill4time.com/

Best for: Time and billing in one place

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

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Pros: Invoicing, expenses, and client portal included; QuickBooks integration on the entry plan

Cons: Interface looks dated next to newer tools; Legal features add cost on higher tiers

Bill4Time combines time tracking, billing, and accounting in one place, which suits a bookkeeping firm that bills by the hour and wants the invoice to follow the time entry. The Time and Billing plan costs $39 per user per month billed annually and includes time tracking, task and client management, expense management, invoicing, payment processing, a client portal, document management, and a QuickBooks integration. A 14 day trial needs no credit card, so you can test the billing flow with real client data before you commit.

Higher tiers add more. The Enterprise plan costs $69 per user per month billed annually and adds custom fields, a dedicated account manager, and advanced reports. The Legal Pro plan costs $59 per user per month billed annually and adds trust accounting, conflict checks, and LEDES export for firms with legal clients. The interface looks dated next to newer tools, and the legal features push the price up, but for hourly billing with invoicing built in, the entry plan covers the core job well.

Website: https://www.freshbooks.com/

Best for: Invoicing plus time tracking

Starting price: $23 per month

Free plan: Free trial (30 days)

Pros: Unlimited time tracking on every plan; Strong invoicing with online payment options

Cons: Lite covers only 5 billable clients; Time tracking is basic next to dedicated trackers

FreshBooks is accounting software first and a time tracker second, which fits a solo bookkeeper who sends most invoices from the same place they track hours. The Lite plan costs $23 per month and covers 5 billable clients, while Plus costs $43 per month for 50 clients and Premium costs $70 per month for unlimited clients. Unlimited time tracking, unlimited expenses, automated bank import, mileage tracking, and tax time reports are on every plan, and a 30 day trial lets you test the full product.

Plus adds double entry accounting reports, bank reconciliation, accountant access, and automatic receipt capture. Premium adds project profitability, accounts payable, and automatic bill capture. The time tracking itself is simple: timers, projects, and billable hours, without the approval chains or capacity views of a dedicated tracker. The client limit is the number to watch, since a bookkeeper with more than 5 clients outgrows Lite fast, and the price steps up with each tier.

Website: https://everhour.com/

Best for: Budgets and invoice tracking

Starting price: $8.50 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: One price with every feature included; Native links to Asana, ClickUp, and other project tools

Cons: Free plan covers only 5 seats with limited features; Minimum 5 seats on the Team plan

Everhour keeps pricing simple: one Team plan at $8.50 per seat per month billed yearly, with every feature included and no higher tier to climb. Billing, budgeting, and invoicing are part of that single price, along with native links to Asana, Jira, ClickUp, Monday, and Linear. A 14 day trial opens all features with no credit card needed, and the free plan covers up to 5 seats with limited features for individuals and small teams.

Budget alerts warn you when a client project nears its hours or money limit, and cost rates show the gap between what staff time costs and what clients are charged. That suits a bookkeeper who tracks fixed fee work alongside hourly work and needs to see which clients are profitable. Two limits matter: the free plan leaves out integrations, so connecting a project tool forces a move to the Team plan, and the Team plan carries a minimum of 5 seats, so a solo user still pays for five.

Use the table as a starting point, then check the per seat math for your own headcount. A tool that looks cheap at $3.99 per seat can cost more than a flat $23 per month plan once you add five staff, and a $59 per user tool can still be the cheaper choice when it replaces a separate workflow system, a client portal, and an invoicing tool. Count every seat that needs access, including part time staff and seasonal help, and confirm whether archived users still count toward the bill.