Today we look at the most valuable tools out there to help freelancers manage project hours and billing, one of the effective, low-cost solutions.

How It Works

Install is a quick and painlessly delivered through the Adobe AIR system. GTime asks you to enter your Google account login credentials. From there onward you can create new timesheets or access existing ones. This timesheet is stored on Google’s servers as a spreadsheet, and its individual records are accessible either through the GTime software or direct on the web in your Google account.

There are two options for creating and categorizing a timed task, the first option and easiest for my style is to use GTime’s simple start / pause / stop timer. The ‘start task’ button helps you track timed tasks as you work on them, and immediately lets you enter that time record into your timesheet when you click ‘stop’. The entry I made showed the date, hours spent (1.45), and let me add a category (Graphic Design) and a task note (logo redesign for client X). The second option is to view all task records for a timesheet, and manually create and/or update the record of your choice. This works well for recording time spent away from your computer, like at a client meeting.

Recommendation

Overall, this utility does the trick for me – it saves me time from my current spreadsheet-input process, and is much cheaper than the competition at $20 USD for a single lifetime license.
I definitely recommend this tool for the individual freelancer who needs a better way to manage their time. Whether you’re billing clients by hour, or merely want to see an overview of where your time is spent in a given week, the 14-day trial of GTime is definitely worth a shot. You can download the free trial at http://gtimetracking.com and give it a whirl.

Product Features

Software works on PC, Mac and Linux platforms

Very fast install with no server software

Secure and reliable, with smooth usability

Start / pause / stop tray timer for recording tasks

Immediate and automatic synchronization between Google and GTime

Lowest-cost option vs. the competition

Leverage all the features offered by Google Docs

Export your timesheets from Google to Excel, Open Office, PDF, CSV, HTML, Text

Ability to share timesheets publicly, or privately with other Google users

Automatic timesheet backup and versioning