In the world of professional services, time isn’t just money—it’s the very product you sell. For consultants, agencies, and contractors, every hour holds value, and the line between a profitable project and a loss-making one is often drawn by how accurately that time is tracked. Yet, many firms still grapple with manual timesheets and disconnected systems, leading to lost billable hours, inaccurate invoices, and a foggy view of project profitability.
The good news is that the right professional services time tracking software can transform this challenge into a strategic advantage. Moving beyond simple clock-ins, these tools are designed to capture the nuance of client work, project tasks, and billable activities, providing the clarity needed to scale your business with confidence.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know. We will explore what makes this software unique, the benefits it can unlock for your firm, and how to choose the perfect solution to ensure every minute is accounted for and every project is set up for success.
What is professional services time tracking?
Professional services time tracking is a specialized method of recording and managing the time that employees—like consultants, designers, or lawyers—spend on specific client-facing projects and tasks. Unlike generic time clocks that simply log work hours, this type of system is built to connect time directly to revenue-generating activities. It’s the engine behind accurate billing, effective project management, and insightful business analytics for any service-based company.
At its core, it’s more than just a timesheet; it's a comprehensive consultant time management software that provides a detailed breakdown of how and where your team’s most valuable resource is being spent.
Key components typically include:
Accurate time capture: Offering flexible methods like timers for live work, manual time entry for past activities, and mobile access for on-the-go tracking. This ensures that whether an employee is in a client meeting or working on a deliverable, their time is logged effortlessly.
Project and task allocation: Allowing every time entry to be tagged to a specific client, project, and even a granular task. This is fundamental for tracking budgets, monitoring project progress, and understanding the scope of work.
Billing and invoicing integration: Seamlessly converting tracked billable hours into professional invoices. Many systems offer time sheet automation for professional services, reducing manual data entry and speeding up the payment cycle.
Expense management: Functioning as a complete time and expense tracking software, it allows team members to log project-related expenses like travel or materials alongside their hours, creating a single source of truth for all billable costs.
Reporting and analytics: Generating detailed reports on project profitability, team productivity, resource allocation, and client value. These insights are crucial for making informed business decisions.
Benefits of time tracking for professional services
Implementing a robust time tracking system goes far beyond just simplifying administrative tasks. It provides a ripple effect of benefits that strengthen your firm’s financial health, operational efficiency, and client relationships. When you have a clear and accurate picture of where time is going, you empower your team to work smarter and your business to grow faster.
Here are some of the most significant advantages:
Increased profitability and accurate billing
By capturing every billable minute, you eliminate revenue leakage from unrecorded work. This ensures your invoices are precise and reflect the full value of the services provided, directly boosting your bottom line.
Enhanced project management
With real-time data on hours spent, managers can monitor project budgets, prevent scope creep, and make proactive adjustments. This visibility is key for keeping projects on schedule and within budget, which is a core function of agency time tracking software.
Improved client trust and transparency
Providing clients with detailed, accurate timesheets and progress reports builds confidence and minimizes disputes over invoices. This transparency strengthens relationships and fosters long-term partnerships.
Automating the flow of data from timesheets to your accounting system saves countless administrative hours. This efficiency means faster invoicing, quicker payments, and error-free payroll processing.
Powerful reporting helps you identify your most profitable clients and projects, understand your team’s capacity, and quote future work with greater accuracy. You can confidently make strategic decisions based on hard data, not guesswork.
Boosted team productivity and accountability
Clear tracking provides employees with a better understanding of their own workload and priorities. It fosters a culture of accountability and helps managers distribute tasks more equitably, preventing burnout and improving overall team collaboration.
Top professional services time tracking tools at a glance
To help you navigate the options, here’s a quick comparison of the best tools on the market. Each one offers a unique approach to solving the time tracking puzzle for professional services firms.
6 best professional services time tracking software in 2025
Choosing the right software is a critical decision that will impact your team's daily workflow and your firm's profitability. Let’s dive deeper into the top contenders to see which one best fits your needs.
1. Lark - The best all-in-one solution for unifying time tracking
Overview
Lark transcends the category of a simple time tracker by offering a unified digital workspace where professional services time tracking is seamlessly woven into every aspect of your firm’s operations. It is designed for consultancies and agencies that want to eliminate the constant switching between different applications for communication, project management, and time logging. By bringing everything into one platform, Lark ensures that tracking time against client projects feels like a natural part of the workflow, not an administrative chore. This holistic approach makes it a powerful consultant time management software that not only captures billable hours but also enhances team collaboration and operational efficiency.
Key features
Integrated time and attendance: Lark’s attendance module allows employees to clock in and out from their desktop or mobile app, with optional GPS verification for on-site client work. Time entries can be directly linked to specific projects or tasks, providing managers with real-time visibility into resource allocation.
Customizable timesheets and databases: With Lark Base, you can move beyond rigid, pre-built timesheets. This no-code database tool lets you design your own time and expense tracking software to capture the exact data you need. Track billable and non-billable hours, log expenses against specific project codes, and create custom dashboards to monitor project health and profitability in real time.
Streamlined approval workflows: The platform offers powerful time sheet automation for professional services. You can build custom approval flows for timesheets, leave requests, and expense reports. Managers receive automatic notifications and can approve submissions with a single click, dramatically speeding up the process and ensuring payroll and invoicing are always on schedule.
Unified project and client management: All project-related activities happen in one place. Teams can collaborate on shared documents, manage tasks on a shared calendar, and hold video meetings to discuss project milestones—all without leaving Lark. This context-rich environment ensures everyone is aligned and information isn't lost in scattered emails or chat threads.
Seamless communication: Built-in messaging allows for instant communication about project-specific questions or timesheet clarifications. This eliminates delays and keeps projects moving forward, making it an ideal agency timesheet software for fast-paced environments.
Free plan: Includes 11 powerful products, supporting up to 20 users, 100 GB storage, 1,000 automation runs and unlimited AI translation in chats, docs and email.
Paid plans: Starts at $12/user/month, supporting up to 500 users. Includes unlimited message history, 50,000 automated Base workflow executions per month.
Enterprise plan: Custom pricing.
2. Harvest - A popular tool for connecting time tracking with fast invoicing
Image source: getharvest.com
Overview
Harvest has long been a favorite in the professional services world, renowned for its simple yet powerful approach to time tracking and invoicing. It excels at the core task of turning tracked hours into professional invoices with minimal effort. Its clean interface and straightforward workflow make it incredibly easy for teams to adopt, ensuring consistent time logging across the board. For agencies, consultants, and freelancers whose primary need is to accurately bill for their time and expenses, Harvest stands out as a reliable and efficient solution.
Key features
Intuitive time and expense tracking: Users can track time using timers or manual entry on desktop, mobile, and browser extensions. It also allows for easy logging of project-related expenses, including receipt uploads.
Integrated invoicing and payments: Generate professional invoices directly from tracked time and expenses. The system integrates with payment gateways like Stripe and PayPal to facilitate faster payments from clients.
Robust reporting: Provides visual reports on project budgets, team capacity, and billable vs. non-billable hours, helping you understand project profitability and resource utilization.
Wide range of integrations: Connects seamlessly with popular accounting, project management, and communication tools, including QuickBooks, Asana, and Slack.
Pricing
Free: Available for one user with up to two projects.
Pro: Starts at $11 per user/month with unlimited users and projects.
Premium: Starts at $14 per user/month with unlimited users and projects.
3. Clockify - A popular free time tracking solution for teams of any size
Image source: clockify.me
Overview
Clockify has made a name for itself by offering an impressively feature-rich platform for free. It allows for unlimited users, projects, and clients without a subscription, making it an unbeatable choice for startups, small agencies, or any firm operating on a tight budget. While it may not have the deep invoicing or resource planning features of its premium competitors, it provides a solid foundation for time tracking and project management. As a dedicated time recording software for consultants, it delivers on its promise of simple, flexible time logging.
Key features
Unlimited time tracking: Track time using a timer or enter hours manually in a timesheet. Users can categorize time by project, task, and tags.
Team and project dashboards: Offers a clear overview of where your team’s time is going, with basic reports on project progress and employee activity.
Cross-platform availability: Works on the web, as a desktop app for Mac, Windows, and Linux, and as a mobile app for iOS and Android.
Timesheet approvals and reminders: Basic workflow features to lock timesheets and remind team members to submit their hours.
Pricing
Free: Offers unlimited time tracking for unlimited users.
Basic: Start from $3.99/seat/month.
Standard: Start from $5.49/seat/month.
Pro: Start from $7.99/seat/month.
Enterprise: Start from $11.99/seat/month.
4. Toggl Track - A simple, user-friendly tool focused on boosting team productivity
Image source: toggl.com
Overview
Toggl Track is designed around the principle of frictionless time tracking. Its clean, intuitive interface and one-click timer are built to be as unobtrusive as possible, encouraging consistent use by the entire team. It’s particularly popular among creative agencies and consultants who value simplicity and want a tool that stays out of their way while they focus on deep work. Toggl Track is more than just a timer; it provides insights that help teams understand their work habits and improve overall productivity.
Key features
One-click time tracking: A simple start/stop timer that can be accessed via web, desktop, and mobile apps, as well as over 100+ integrations.
Productivity features: Includes a Pomodoro timer, idle detection, and tracking reminders to help users stay focused and ensure all time is captured.
Project dashboards: Track project progress, view budgets, and receive alerts when you’re nearing your estimates.
Detailed reporting: Analyze profitability, team performance, and billable rates with customizable reports that can be exported for clients or internal review.
Pricing
Free: Available for up to 5 users.
Starter: Starts at $9 per user/month.
Premium: Starts at $18 per user/month, with advanced features like project forecasts and profit tracking.
Enterprise: Custom pricing.
5. Paymo - A work management platform for creative agencies combining projects, time tracking, and billing
Image source: paymoapp.com
Overview
Paymo is a comprehensive work management platform that caters especially well to the needs of creative and marketing agencies. It combines task management, resource scheduling, time tracking, and invoicing into a single, cohesive system. This makes it an excellent agency time tracking software for teams that need to manage the entire project lifecycle, from initial planning to final billing, within one tool. Its visual approach to project management helps teams stay organized and on top of deadlines.
Key features
End-to-end project management: Includes task lists, Kanban boards, and Gantt charts to help teams plan and execute projects.
Multiple time tracking options: Offers web-based timers, a desktop widget for automatic time tracking, and mobile apps.
Resource scheduling: A team scheduler helps managers allocate work, manage workloads, and see who is available.
Invoicing and estimates: Create estimates and convert project data into invoices with support for multiple languages and currencies.
Pricing
Free: Limited to 5 clients, 10 projects.
Starter: Starts at $5.90 per user/month.
Small Office: Starts at $10.90 per user/month.
Business: Starts at $16.90 per user/month.
6. Forecast - An AI-powered platform for managing complex projects and resources
Image source: forecast.app
Overview
Forecast, now part of the Kantata professional services cloud, is an advanced platform that uses AI to automate project planning, resource allocation, and financial forecasting. It's designed for larger or more complex professional services organizations that require sophisticated tools to manage their portfolio of projects and optimize resource utilization. While it includes robust time tracking, its core strength lies in its predictive capabilities, helping firms anticipate project outcomes and make smarter strategic decisions.
Key features
AI-powered project management: Automates project scoping, planning, and budgeting based on historical data.
Advanced resource management: Helps you find the right person for each task and manages team capacity to prevent burnout.
Integrated time tracking and financials: Connects time tracking directly to project budgets, retainers, and financial reporting for a complete view of project health.
Business intelligence and analytics: Offers powerful dashboards and reports that provide deep insights into profitability, utilization, and project performance.
Pricing
Pricing is quote-based and tailored to the specific needs and size of the organization. A free trial is available.
Common challenges faced by professional services with time tracking
Even with the best intentions, professional services firms often run into recurring obstacles with time tracking. These challenges can lead to inaccurate data, frustrated teams, and lost revenue if left unaddressed.
Inaccurate or incomplete time entries
This is the most common pitfall. Employees get busy, forget to start a timer, or struggle to recall their activities at the end of the day. This leads to guesstimates, which are rarely accurate and often result in under-billing clients.
Difficulty tracking non-billable time
Firms often focus heavily on billable hours but fail to consistently track non-billable yet essential activities like business development, internal meetings, and training. This gives an incomplete picture of team productivity and true project costs.
Low team adoption and buy-in
If the chosen software is clunky, slow, or feels like micromanagement, your team won't use it consistently. This resistance undermines the entire purpose of the system and creates a constant administrative battle.
Poor visibility into project profitability
Without a system that directly links time and expenses to project budgets, it’s nearly impossible to know if a project is profitable until it's too late. This makes it difficult to quote future projects accurately.
Time-consuming administrative work
Manually transferring timesheet data into invoices and payroll systems is a tedious and error-prone process. This administrative burden eats into valuable time that could be spent on client work.
These issues reveal that the best solution isn't just about tracking time but integrating it into your daily workflow. Lark's all-in-one platform solves this by embedding approvals and reporting directly within your team's communication hub, making accurate tracking an effortless habit.
How Lark levels up your professional services time tracking
While many tools can track time, Lark transforms the entire process by embedding it into a single, collaborative ecosystem. It moves beyond being a simple utility and becomes the operational hub for your entire firm, connecting the dots between time spent, project progress, and team communication. This integrated approach is what truly sets it apart for professional services.
Top Lark tools to boost your time and expense tracking
Lark's power comes from its suite of interconnected tools, each designed to address a specific challenge in the professional services workflow.
Lark Attendance for accurate time capture
The foundation of any good system is accurate data. The Attendance module allows your team to clock in and out effortlessly from desktop or mobile devices. For consultants working on-site, optional GPS verification adds a layer of accuracy and trust. Every time entry can be linked directly to a client project, ensuring that all billable hours are captured precisely and attributed correctly from the moment they are logged.
Lark Approval for automated workflows
Say goodbye to chasing down managers for timesheet signatures. With Lark Approval, you can create custom, automated workflows for timesheets, expenses, and leave requests. When a consultant submits their weekly hours, their manager receives an instant notification in Lark Messenger and can review and approve it with a single click. This time sheet automation for professional services drastically reduces administrative bottlenecks and accelerates your billing cycle.
Lark Calendar for resource planning
Effective resource management is key to profitability. Lark Calendar provides a centralized view of your entire team’s schedule, integrating seamlessly with attendance and leave data. Managers can easily see who is available, assign them to projects, and avoid scheduling conflicts. This ensures you have the right people on the right tasks, maximizing billable utilization and keeping projects on track.
Lark Base for custom tracking and reporting
Professional services firms have unique needs that one-size-fits-all software can't meet. Lark Base is a flexible, no-code database that empowers you to build the exact time and expense tracking software you need. You can create custom timesheet templates, build a project tracking dashboard to monitor KPIs in real time, or design a form for easy time expense tracking on the go. Visualize your data with Kanban boards, Gantt charts, and rich dashboards to get deep insights into project profitability and team performance. 👉 Try more templates
Why Lark stands out
The true advantage of Lark lies in its all-in-one design. Instead of juggling a separate chat app, project management tool, and timesheet software, your team does everything in one place.
This unified environment creates a single source of truth for all project-related information. A discussion about a client deliverable in a chat can be instantly converted into a task. A question about a timesheet entry can be resolved in a thread without ever leaving the approval screen. This seamless integration eliminates the friction and context-switching that plague so many firms. It reduces the risk of human error from manual data transfer and gives you a holistic, real-time view of your business—from individual tasks to overall profitability. With Lark, time tracking becomes an organic, effortless part of a productive workday.
Conclusion
In the competitive landscape of professional services, mastering time tracking is not just an administrative task—it's a fundamental driver of profitability and sustainable growth. Moving away from manual, disconnected systems to a streamlined, integrated solution is essential for capturing every billable hour, ensuring project success, and making informed strategic decisions. The right software empowers your team with clarity, fosters client trust through transparency, and frees up valuable time to focus on delivering exceptional work.
While many standalone tools can log hours effectively, the future of efficient firm management lies in a unified platform. An all-in-one solution that combines time tracking with project management, communication, and analytics provides a holistic view of your operations that disconnected apps simply cannot match.
By adopting a comprehensive tool like Lark, you can transform time tracking from a necessary chore into a powerful strategic asset. It’s time to give your firm the clarity and efficiency it needs to thrive.
FAQs
What is the best time tracking software for consultants?
The ideal software for consultants integrates time tracking with project management, expense logging, and invoicing capabilities. Look for a flexible, mobile-friendly solution that allows you to easily assign hours to specific clients and tasks, ensuring accurate billing and clear reporting. An all-in-one platform is often the most efficient choice.
How do consultants keep track of hours?
Consultants typically use a combination of methods. This includes starting timers for active tasks, making manual entries in digital timesheets for completed work, and using mobile apps to log hours and expenses while on the go. The key is to consistently link every time entry to a specific client and project for accurate tracking.
How do I keep track of contractor hours?
Use a shared software platform where contractors can submit their hours for specific projects. This creates transparency for both parties. Features like automated timesheet submissions, clear approval workflows, and detailed reporting help ensure billing is accurate and that payments are processed smoothly and on time.
What is the best way to track employee hours?
The most effective method is using automated time tracking software that is easy for employees to adopt. A system that integrates directly with your project management and payroll tools reduces manual errors, ensures compliance with labor laws, and provides real-time insights into team productivity and project costs.
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