Project profitability software for all contract models

See if a project is
profitable
while there’s
still time to fix it.

TrackingTime gives agencies visibility over retainer hours, project costs, and expenses while the project is still running.

There’s a familiar moment in agency work: a retainer runs over without anyone noticing until the month is already closed, a fixed fee project looks healthy until someone finally sits down and adds up every hour, or an expense goes unlogged for weeks until it turns up, unexplained, on the client’s invoice.
Each one is the kind of problem that only shows up in hindsight, once the numbers are already locked in.

No workarounds · Real retainers

See exactly what each retainer delivered, project by project.

Set the retainer terms, track consumption as work happens, renew backed by real records.

Configure the hour or budget block for each client on a monthly, quarterly, or custom cycle

Set retainer terms

Configure the hour or budget block for each client on a monthly, quarterly, or custom cycle, whatever the agreement calls for, and adjust it any time the scope changes.

Every logged hour moves the numbers in real time

Track consumption

Every logged hour moves the numbers in real time, so the team always knows exactly where a retainer stands, all the way to renewal.

Walk into every renewal with a complete record of what was delivered, how the block was used, and where the conversation with the client should start

Renew backed by records

Walk into every renewal with a complete record of what was delivered, how the block was used, and where the conversation with the client should start.

Retainer lifecycle

Every client’s retainer has three risk points, visible ahead of time.

There’s enough time to act on each one, adjust scope, shift priorities, or walk into renewal with proof, before it’s too late to matter.

01 / Overrun

The overrun gets caught with enough runway to still do something about it.

Ninety percent of the block is gone and half the period is still ahead.

  • The PM has time to talk to the client before hours run out.
  • The team adjusts scope on purpose, before the numbers force the decision.
The overrun gets caught with enough runway to still do something about it.

02 / Underuse

A client who feels the full value of what they paid for renews without hesitation.

The block is at 40% with the period almost over.

  • The team prioritizes deliverables the client will actually notice.
  • The block gets used, instead of quietly expiring.
A client who feels the full value of what they paid for renews without hesitation.

03 / Renewal

Renewals get negotiated with real evidence behind every number.

The period closes and the renewal conversation is about to start.

  • Hours, projects, and tasks are all accounted for.
  • The conversation opens with real numbers already on the table.
Renewals get negotiated with real evidence behind every number.
see how it works

In practice: Eight clients on monthly retainers, tracked in one workspace. Before, overruns surfaced at the end of the month, about twice on average. After the first month of retainer tracking, the results show zero overruns, and two proactive conversations with clients to adjust the block before it ran out.

Catch your next overrun before it happens.

client transparency

Clients see retainer consumption in real time.

One link, updated automatically, no account or status meeting required.

Fewer invoice disputes

The client watches the same consumption numbers throughout the period, so the invoice just confirms what they already saw.

More trust at renewal

The client can point to exactly what the block delivered when it's time to renew, backed by real data.

Fewer questions mid-period

The client checks progress on their own schedule, right from the shared link, any time a question comes up.

Costs & margin

The real cost of a project, visible before it closes.

Every hour carries two numbers: what it’s billed at, and what it actually costs. The gap between them is your margin, and it updates as work gets logged, whatever the contract calls for.

01

Rates tell you what you charge for work done.

Rates can be set by project, by task, or by the person doing the work. Specialized work bills at its own rate, without needing a separate project to track it.

02

Costs tell you what the business spends.

Salary and overhead are counted into every hour, so costs update as work gets logged. Even a busy month shows its true margin.

03

Margin tells you what's left after costs.

Margin compares what a project charges against what the work costs, and updates as hours get logged. That gives enough visibility to price the next project right.

billing methods

Fixed fee, hourly, or retainer, tracked the same way.

Every project follows one of three models. Each one tracks a different number, but the mechanism underneath is the same.

Fixed fee

  • Tracked in real time against the agreed fee as the project runs.
  • Overruns show up early enough to fix scope before the margin is gone.
  • Visible while there's still time to protect the margin.

Hourly rate

  • Logged and tracked the moment the hour is worked.
  • Ready to invoice as soon as the period closes.
  • A clear, checkable record before the invoice goes out.

Retainer contract

  • Tracks hours or budget against the agreed block.
  • Overruns and slow-moving blocks both surface early.
  • Enough time to act before the period closes and the block renews.

In practice: A design studio running five fixed fee projects checked their numbers after adding licensing and subcontractor costs. The margin they expected was 30 percent. The real number was 12. That changed how they priced the next projects.

expenses

Keep expenses alongside logged hours.

Every expense sits right next to the hours, so the real cost of the project stops being a guess.

Log expenses

Record each expense against the project it belongs to, before it turns into a guess from a receipt folder.

Mark expenses billable

Every expense gets tagged billable or non-billable right away, so it’s already accounted for when the invoice goes out.

Count expenses with hours

Expenses land in the same margin report as the hours, while there’s still time to know what the project really costs.

Invoicing

Invoices build themselves while the project runs.

Approved hours and billable expenses turn into a draft automatically, built from numbers you already saw as the project ran.

Automatic draft

Approved hours and billable expenses for the period pull together on their own, the moment the period closes.

Full traceability

Every number traces back to a logged hour or expense, checked well before the invoice goes out.

Clean exports

Ready to drop straight into your invoicing or accounting system, no extra formatting needed.

In practice: An agency logging subcontractor and software costs against every project found real costs running 15 to 20 percent higher than the rates alone suggested. Those same logged expenses turn into invoice drafts automatically at the end of the month, and closing the books went from two days to two hours.

the payoff

This is what full profitability control looks like.

What changes once retainers, expenses, and hours share the same numbers.

No overrun surprises.

Consumption is visible before the block runs out, with enough time to adjust scope or talk to the client.

No forgotten expenses.

Billable costs get logged as they happen, so nothing gets left off the invoice.

Margin, visible in real time.

Cost and revenue update as the project runs, not just after it closes.

Renewals backed by data.

Real consumption history replaces estimates when it’s time to renew or negotiate.

who is it for?

Different clients, different terms, the same margin view.

Fixed fee, hourly, retainer. Many companies run more than one at the same time, sometimes with the same client.

Agencies with multiple monthly retainers.

Several clients running at once, one dashboard instead of checking each block by hand.

For instance, an agency running twelve retainers in parallel moved all clients into the same workspace and closed out its first month with zero surprises at renewal.

Consultant firms with fixed-hour agreements.

Constant overrun risk on long projects, caught with a preventive alert before the block runs out.

In one case, a consultant firm on a fixed-hour agreement caught a block running hot with weeks to spare, and closed under budget.

Companies with a mixed contract model.

Fixed fee, hourly, and retainer projects running in the same workspace, so margin stays visible no matter how each one is billed.

One creative agency ran fixed fee, hourly, and retainer work, and the same dashboard flagged an overrun on one and a low retainer on another.

Works with 60+ tools your team already uses

MICROSOFT 365

Lives inside Microsoft Teams, Planner, and Azure DevOps

Your team already lives in Microsoft 365. TrackingTime lives there too — so tracking happens where work happens, not in a tab nobody remembers to open.

Explore Integration
Microsoft 365 time tracking integration

how it fits your workflow

  1. Track

    Time tracking

  2. Organize

    Projects & Tasks

  3. Approve

    Timesheets & Approvals

  4. Share

    Reports & Clients

  5. Bill

    Invoicing & Rates

FAQS

Straight answers to what teams want to know before they start.

Plans, retainers, expenses, and how it all becomes an invoice.

TrackingTime compares what a project is billing against what it actually costs as the work happens. For fixed fee and retainer work, that comparison flags an overrun while there’s still time to adjust scope or talk to the client.

get started

Track project profitability, from day one to project close.

Free for unlimited users. No credit card required.

Start for free