Best Time Tracking Software for Consultants

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

Best for: Time tracking plus invoicing for client work

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Clear billable rates by client, project and person; invoices can be built straight from tracked time

Cons: Free plan covers only 1 seat and 2 projects; usage fees can add to the base per seat price on some plans

Harvest fits consulting work well. You track time against a client and a project, set a billable rate, and then turn the tracked hours into an invoice without retyping the detail. The timer runs on the web, on desktop and on mobile, and you can also enter hours in a weekly timesheet. Expense tracking sits beside time tracking, so reimbursable costs travel with the same client record.

The Teams plan starts at $9 per user per month on annual billing, or $11 on monthly billing. Enterprise starts at $14 per user per month on annual billing, or $17.50 on monthly billing, and adds profitability reporting, timesheet approvals and single sign on. The free plan covers 1 seat and 2 projects, and subscription plans include a 30 day free trial. Harvest also sells Forecast as a separate product for resource planning.

Website: https://toggl.com/

Best for: Simple timers and billable rates

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: One click timer that is fast to start and stop; clear team reports and project estimates

Cons: Billable rates need the Starter plan; timesheet approvals and profitability reports need Premium

Toggl Track is the easiest timer in this list to adopt, and that matters for consultants who move between clients all day. One click starts the timer, you pick a client and a project, and the entry syncs across the browser, desktop and mobile apps. Calendar integration can turn meetings into time entries.

The free plan covers a limited number of users with manual and real time timers, tasks, boards and personal reports. Starter costs $9 per user per month on annual billing, or $12 monthly, and adds billable rates, project estimates, team reports and capacity signals. Premium costs $16 per user per month on annual billing, or $24 monthly, and adds labor costs, profitability reports, fixed fee projects, timesheet approvals and single sign on. Subscription plans include a 30 day free trial.

Website: https://clockify.me/

Best for: Low cost tracking for small teams

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Lowest entry price in this list; free plan covers up to 5 users with unlimited tracking

Cons: Free plan is capped at 5 users; invoicing and timesheet approvals need the Standard plan

Clockify suits consultants who want a capable tracker at a low monthly cost. The free plan covers up to 5 users with timers, timesheets, a calendar view and reports, which is enough for a solo consultant or a two person practice to run real client work. You can set billable rates, round time entries, and export reports for a client.

Basic costs $3.99 per user per month on annual billing, or $4.99 monthly, and adds admin controls, kiosk mode and billable rates. Standard costs $5.49 per user per month on annual billing, or $6.99 monthly, and adds invoicing, time off, overtime and timesheet approvals. Pro costs $7.99 per user per month on annual billing, or $9.99 monthly, and adds project budgets, profitability, scheduling, expenses and GPS tracking.

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

Best for: Invoicing and time tracking in one place

Starting price: $23 per month

Free plan: Free trial (30 days)

Pros: Tracked hours flow straight onto invoices; proposals and retainers are built in on higher plans

Cons: Lite covers only 5 billable clients; each extra team member costs $11 per month

FreshBooks is accounting and invoicing software first, with time tracking built in, so it fits consultants who want one place for hours, expenses, invoices and client payments. You track time against a project, add expenses with receipts, and then build an invoice from the tracked hours. Clients can pay by card or bank transfer.

Lite costs $23 per month and covers 5 billable clients, with unlimited invoices, estimates, time tracking and expenses. Plus costs $43 per month and covers 50 billable clients, adding proposals, retainers, e-signatures, double entry reports and bank reconciliation. Premium costs $70 per month and covers unlimited clients, adding project profitability and accounts payable. Every plan includes one user, and each extra team member costs $11 per month.

Website: https://www.hellobonsai.com/

Best for: Proposals, contracts and time tracking

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

Free plan: Free trial (7 days)

Pros: Proposals, contracts, invoices and time tracking in one workflow; client portal for approvals and files

Cons: Basic has no invoicing, payments, proposals or contracts; card payments carry a 2.9 percent plus $0.30 fee

Bonsai is made for consultants who sell a project before they track it. You can send a proposal, get a contract signed, track time against the agreed work, and then send an invoice from the same client record. The client portal gives clients one place to view proposals, contracts and invoices.

Basic costs $9 per user per month on annual billing, or $15 monthly, and covers time tracking, tasks, unlimited projects and clients, and a CRM. Essentials costs $19 per user per month on annual billing, or $25 monthly, and adds invoices and payments, proposals and contracts, scheduling and the client portal. Premium costs $29 per user per month on annual billing, or $39 monthly, and adds project insights, Gantt view and profit reports. There is no free plan, and every plan includes a 7 day free trial.

Website: https://www.paymoapp.com/

Best for: Projects, time and invoices in one tool

Starting price: $5.90 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Time, tasks, projects and invoices in one place; free plan includes unlimited time tracking

Cons: Solo plan is limited to 1 user, 3 clients and 5 projects; Gantt charts and scheduling need the Pro plan

Paymo combines project management, time tracking and invoicing, so it fits consultants who want to plan tasks, track hours and bill clients without using three separate tools. You can set up a project with tasks, track time against each task, and then invoice the client for the billable hours. Timesheet reports and project profitability show which clients earn the most for the hours you put in.

The free plan covers 1 user, 1 client and 2 projects with unlimited time tracking and invoices. Solo costs $5.90 per month on annual billing, or $9.90 monthly, for 1 user, 3 clients and 5 projects. Plus costs $10.90 per user per month on annual billing, or $15.90 monthly, with unlimited users, clients and projects, plus integrations and timesheet reports. Pro costs $16.90 per user per month on annual billing, or $23.90 monthly, and adds Gantt charts, scheduling and leave management. Subscription plans include a 15 day free trial.

Website: https://www.accelo.com/

Best for: Retainers and client work for larger firms

Starting price: quote only

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Pros: Built for retainers, projects, sales and service work in one system; strong client and project reporting

Cons: No published price, so budgeting needs a sales call; onboarding is a separate, unpublished cost

Accelo is a professional services platform rather than a simple timer, and it fits consulting firms that manage retainers, projects and ongoing client service together. You can track time against retainers, projects and service tickets, and report on utilisation and profitability across the firm. That breadth suits a firm where one client may have a retainer, a project and support work running at the same time.

Accelo no longer publishes prices on its pricing page, so the starting price in this list is quote only. Earlier public modular prices are no longer published and should not be used for a budget. Ask for a written quote that states the products, the seat count, the billing term and any onboarding cost. A 14 day free trial is available.

Website: https://www.scoro.com/

Best for: Consulting firms that need full operations

Starting price: $19.90 per user/month

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Pros: Projects, CRM, quotes, invoices and resource planning in one system; clear utilisation and profitability reports

Cons: Minimum of 5 users, so the lowest monthly cost is $99.50; no free plan, only a 14 day trial

Scoro is a professional services platform for consultancies that want time tracking, project management, CRM, quoting, invoicing and resource planning in one place. You can quote a piece of work, plan the team against it, track time and costs as the work runs, and then invoice the client from the same record. Utilisation reports show who has capacity, which projects are on track, and where margins are thin.

Core starts at $19.90 per user per month, Growth at $32.90, and Performance at $49.90, with Enterprise on a custom quote. Every plan needs a minimum of 5 users, so Core costs at least $99.50 per month, even if you have fewer than 5 people using it. That minimum rules Scoro out for most solo consultants, but for a firm of 5 or more it can replace several tools at once. There is no free plan, and a 14 day free trial is available.