How Time Tracking Allows You to Avoid Miscommunication With a Client

Show:

May 14, 2021 Business

As a freelancer, you know that maintaining positive client relationships is the key to success. But as with any relationship, money can quickly become an awkward topic, especially if there’s been a miscommunication somewhere along the way. Implementing time tracking in your freelancing business can ensure you’re consistently meeting the targets you put in place and facilitating easier invoicing.

What is Time Tracking?

Time tracking refers to using a digital platform to keep tabs on work hours and how long tasks take to complete. There are plenty of different online software programs like those from weareindy.com to help you get started with these tools.

Not only does time tracking help you know what hours you are working and when you’re putting in overtime on a project, but it also instills a sense of self-confidence that you can set and meet goals, monitor for self-improvement, and see your tangible business achievements.

Why Time Tracking Helps Your Communication With Clients

Depending on your level of experience, you may or may not be optimizing your time by monitoring task completion times and monetizing them accurately based on these numbers. If you haven’t already, you need to do this so you can understand how every aspect of a client’s order costs your business money.

Avoiding Surprises on Invoices

When you take on a new project from a client, you may not anticipate all the work that goes into the finished product, and if nobody is meticulously tracking how long tasks are taking, there’s a chance you’re going to undercharge for your services. Having accurate records of how time is spent in your business makes it possible for you to charge clients based on hourly rates rather than a preset fee, ensuring that extra work means additional pay.

This seems straightforward, but without a business model that operates on an hourly basis, it can become awkward to explain to clients why additional charges have been added to an invoice after the fact. Sometimes, depending on what your agreement was, it might be inappropriate to add these fees even if you did the work because there was an understanding of a set project fee.

By explaining to clients that you track hours using a system that automatically calculates their total due on your agreed-upon hourly rate, there will be no awkward conversations or frustrated clients when your invoice is finally delivered.

Providing Accurate Pricing Estimates

Time tracking tools give you a better understanding of how long various tasks take you to complete. Having access to these accurate metrics means that you know roughly how many hours of work is required to complete it when you’re presented with a new project.

Having a decent idea of these numbers means you can provide clients with a pricing estimate based on your hourly rate that you’re going to come reasonably close to in the end. This is beneficial for the client, and their satisfaction increases the likelihood of repeat business.

Setting Realistic Delivery Deadlines

Using time tracking tools gives you the ability to predict how long you need to complete a job with reasonable accuracy. Once you have this information, you can review projects or orders from clients and determine the duration it would take you to finish the work.

Being able to confidently provide clients with a realistic delivery deadline for you to meet means you can stick to the schedule and maintain an excellent reputation for your freelancing business.

What to Look for in Time Tracking Tools

There are tons of solutions available for time tracking freelancing businesses. Indy time tracking is one example of a digital platform where you can easily monitor your work hours and review previous timesheets using filters.

Top-tier time trackers should allow you to clock in when you start the day and hit pause when you need to take a break so that the runtime always remains accurate. With Indy and other platforms, you can directly link your clocked hours to an invoice at the end of a pay period, making it easy to punch in your hourly rate and automatically generate the total due.

Strengthen Client Relationships and Increase Productivity

By implementing time tracking tools in your freelancing business, you can better understand how long providing specific services takes. Having this information means you can communicate clearly with your clients from the beginning about pricing and delivery deadlines, avoiding uncomfortable conversations down the line.