From timesheets to client invoices: a workflow for agencies

Why clients dispute hours

Disputes rarely come from clients who think they are being cheated. They come from invoices that are hard to understand: round numbers, one-line descriptions like "development", and hours that do not match what the client saw delivered.

Most of that is caused upstream. When people reconstruct their week from memory on a Friday, the result is estimates dressed up as records. The fix is to capture time as it happens and review it while it is fresh.

Set up clients, projects and tasks first

Decide on the structure before the team starts tracking, because it determines what you can report on later:

• One project per client engagement, so hours never mix between clients.
• Tasks that match how you describe work on the invoice, such as design, build, QA and meetings.
• A separate internal project for non-billable work, so it is visible rather than hidden in client hours.

Agree the tracking rules

A short written policy saves arguments later. It should cover:

1. Start the timer on the right task before starting the work.
2. Switch tasks when the work switches, rather than fixing it up afterwards.
3. Manual entries are allowed for work away from the computer, are clearly labelled as manual, and are approved by a lead.
4. Meetings with the client are billable to that client's project unless the contract says otherwise.

Review weekly, not monthly

A fifteen-minute review each week catches mistakes while people still remember the work. Each team member checks their own timesheet first; then the project lead reviews the project:

• Hours logged against the wrong client or task.
• Manual entries that need approval or a better description.
• Projects running ahead of budget, so the client hears about it before the invoice.

Month-end: from timesheet to invoice

1. Confirm all manual entries for the period are approved.
2. Generate the invoice from the project's timesheets rather than retyping hours.
3. Preview it and adjust individual line items where the contract calls for it, such as a capped task or a goodwill discount.
4. Attach a timesheet summary grouped by task, so the client can see where the hours went.

Keep what you send to clients separate from what you use internally. Clients need timesheets and invoices. Screenshots and activity data are for your own review, and sharing them with clients raises privacy questions for your team.

Use utilization for quoting and staffing

Once hours are reliable, they become the best input you have for the next quote. Compare tracked time with available time per person to see who is overloaded and who has capacity, and compare actual hours per task type with what you estimated to make the next estimate better.

Checklist

• Every client engagement has its own project and invoice-friendly tasks.
• The team has a written tracking policy.
• Manual entries are labelled and approved.
• Timesheets are reviewed every week.
• Invoices are generated from timesheets, with line items reviewed before sending.
• Utilization is checked monthly and fed into quotes.

How Colabio supports this workflow

Colabio's desktop app tracks time against the client project and task, with screenshots and an activity level per tracked slot for internal review. Manual entries are labelled as manual, and manual time requests go to a lead for approval.

Invoices are generated from timesheets per project and member, can be previewed, and have adjustable line items. Timesheets export to PDF and reports to CSV, and utilization reports show tracked against available time per member. Screenshots stay inside your organization. See Colabio for agencies and timesheet software.