5 Reasons Why Freelancers Need Time Tracking Software

Companies are not the only ones that can benefit from time tracking software applications. Freelancers, who work from home or do ad-hoc work in office settings, will also discover that tracking their time comes with myriad benefits.

Freelancers often do not have to adhere to an official work schedule and in many cases, how much they work or how many hours they work determines their income. It’s easy to slip into a lax schedule when you are a freelancer and that will, unfortunately, mean that your income is restricted due to the many unproductive hours incurred.

Tracking one’s work hours does not always have to be a difficult process and if you are a freelancer yourself, here are 5 reasons why you need to adopt time tracking software.

Bill clients more accurately

Time tracking software will help inform freelancers on how much time they are actually spending on a certain type of project. With that knowledge, they will be able to give a more accurate quote to the next client. Oftentimes, freelancers are willing to bear part of the costs to retain clients or secure more businesses. However, it would be a bad idea to do it too often and they might even end up working for too little. It’s important to use time tracking software when you are charging by the hour so that you have the time records to prove to your client about your working status and get yourself paid accurately.

Rethink work habits and increase work productivity

Every freelancer eventually faces the risks of falling into a pit of limited productivity. In some cases, that might happen without you knowing it. There are too many distractions in the world, which may include spending too much time on email, adding extra minutes during lunch time or even watching videos on social media platforms when you’re supposed to be working. Time tracking software will help you identify potential time wasters so you can remove them while you’re working. When that happens, your work productivity and efficiency will greatly improve and less important tasks can be pushed to a more appropriate period.

Time tracking software is cost effective

Whether you are tracking time for personal knowledge or commercial use, it is far more economical than you imagine. Because the cost of getting such software is usually highly manageable (sometimes free!), when you work productively and log more hours, the income you make will easily cover the small cost of time tracking software.

You need to keep in mind that you can only gain maximum benefits when you are committed to using the software on a regular basis – it should be something you can’t do without. Do not be discouraged when you find using these applications challenging at the start. The more you use it, the easier it becomes. And it will become second nature in a short span of time.

Helps you better understand your own work limitations

You may have the impression that you can earn more if you undertake more projects. However, some freelancers may fail to evaluate how much time a certain project will take to finish and may end up overburdening themselves. Even if you are able to deliver on time, the quality of your work will be greatly affected. With time tracking software, you will be able to take on a suitable number of projects you can handle without affecting your work reputation in the long run.

Helps send out invoices and get paid

Many time tracking applications will help freelancers generate official reports and timesheets that can be sent to the client as proof that work was completed within a certain period of time. This provides convenience and security for the freelancer as you can expect to get paid on time without hassles to create individual invoices at each payment milestone. Additionally, there are time tracking apps that offer invoicing feature. Make your freelancer work routine as convenient as it can possibly get!

About the Author

Mona W. works in the industry of employment services and she is highly interested to help freelancers find better jobs and utilize better work productivity tools such as time tracking software applications.