TimeCamp Review: How I Track Client Hours as a Virtual Assistant

TimeCamp Review: How I Track Client Hours as a Virtual Assistant

If you’re a Virtual Assistant, freelancer or small business owner, tracking your time is essential. It helps you invoice accurately, understand how long tasks take and price your services properly.

TimeCamp is the time tracking software I’ve personally used for years to manage client work and monitor my billable hours. It helps me keep track of multiple clients, understand where my working hours are going and make sure my invoices are accurate each month.

There are lots of time tracking tools available, but TimeCamp is the one that has worked best for me. I also use FreeAgent for invoicing and bookkeeping, but I no longer use its time tracking feature because I found it unreliable. Old time entries sometimes pulled through onto new invoices, which made it difficult to trust the data.

You can also read my FreeAgent review here: Why I Use FreeAgent Accounting Software as a Work From Home Virtual Assistant

For me, TimeCamp has been accurate and reliable, especially when I need to track billable hours across multiple clients.

Who Is TimeCamp Best For?

TimeCamp works well for:

• Virtual Assistants

• Freelancers

• Bookkeepers

• Social media managers

• Small business owners

• Anyone charging hourly for client work

If you regularly switch between tasks and clients throughout the day, having proper time tracking software for freelancers makes invoicing much easier. It also removes the mental load of trying to remember what you worked on.

How Does TimeCamp Work?

I use TimeCamp every day to track my client work. At the start of each month, I create a new folder for that month. In the example below, I created a folder called June. Inside that folder, I created a project for each client. In the example below, you can see Client 1, Client 2 and Client 3. Under each client project, I then create individual tasks.

A lot of my work repeats monthly, such as LinkedIn content, newsletters and admin tasks, so I usually set these tasks up at the beginning of the month. That way, when I sit down at my desk, everything is ready to go and I can start tracking immediately instead of wasting time setting tasks up every day.

I can also add tasks for ad hoc projects during the month too and it’s easy to add an additional task once my clients are setup.

Image description: My monthly TimeCamp setup with client folders and recurring tasks ready for time tracking.

How Do I Track My Time in TimeCamp?

Once everything is set up, tracking time is very simple. I click into the Timesheet tab, which takes me to the current day. From there, I select the folder, choose the client, pick the task and press the green start button. That’s it.

TimeCamp is intuitive and easy to use. If you spend a little time clicking around and testing the features, you’ll pick it up quickly.

In the example below, you can see how my time is logged for different clients throughout the day. It records the start and finish times for each task and automatically totals the hours worked.

Some days are very structured and focused. Other days are less organised, especially when I get interrupted or switch between tasks frequently. The good thing is you can stop and start the timer as often as needed without losing track of your time.

If you forget to stop a timer, you can edit it afterwards. For example, if the timer kept running but you know you stopped working at 3pm, you can manually adjust the entry and your totals update automatically.

In the example below, I tracked 4 hours and 42 minutes of paid client work for the day.

Image description: My TimeCamp timesheet showing how I track billable hours, newsletters, LinkedIn content and bookkeeping work for different clients.

How I Use TimeCamp to Track Billable Hours

One of the biggest reasons I use TimeCamp is to track billable hours accurately. When you work with multiple clients, it’s very easy to lose track of time, especially if you switch between tasks all day. Before using TimeCamp, I tracked my hours using paper and pen. That quickly became frustrating because I constantly had to write down start and stop times and manually add everything together. Now I simply start the timer, focus on the work and let the software track everything in the background.

This makes it much easier to:

• Track billable hours

• Understand how long tasks actually take

• Price work more accurately

• Send accurate invoices

• Give clients clear time breakdowns

If you’re wondering how to track billable hours as a freelancer or Virtual Assistant, using dedicated software makes a difference.

Can TimeCamp Reports Help With Invoicing?

The reporting feature is one of the most useful parts of TimeCamp. Instead of trying to remember what you worked on during the month, the software already has everything recorded and organised for you. It shows exactly how much time was spent on each client and each task.

In the example below, you can see how my time is grouped by client with individual tasks listed underneath. This makes time tracking and invoicing much easier because I can clearly see what work has been completed and how long it took.

The reports also help you understand where your time is going each month. You can quickly identify which clients or tasks are taking up most of your working hours. Some of my clients ask for weekly time updates, so I regularly run these reports to send them an accurate breakdown of hours worked by email.

Image description: A TimeCamp report showing tracked hours by client and task, making invoicing and monthly reporting much easier.

Do Clients Require Time Tracking or Is It Your Choice?

For me, time tracking is my choice, but clients value it. I charge hourly for my work, so accurate time tracking is essential for invoicing properly. When I start working with a new client, they usually appreciate seeing exactly how long tasks take because it helps them understand where their time and budget are going. It also builds trust.

I also don’t track my own admin or marketing time. I use TimeCamp for tracking paid client work.

Is the Free Version of TimeCamp Enough?

At the moment, I’m using the free version of TimeCamp and it does everything I need. If you’re looking for free time tracking software as a beginner Virtual Assistant or freelancer, I think the free version is a great starting point. You can create projects, tasks, run the timer and generate reports without paying monthly fees.

For many freelancers and small businesses, the free plan will be enough for quite a long time. One limitation is that you can’t archive old projects, which means your workspace can start to look cluttered over time.

Is the Paid Version of TimeCamp Worth It?

I have used some of the paid features in the past, including invoicing directly through TimeCamp. The paid version is useful if you want:

• More advanced reporting

• Invoicing features

• Better project organisation

• Archived projects

• Extra integrations

I eventually moved my invoicing over to FreeAgent because my accountant recommended FreeAgent software. I wanted a software that kept all my accounts and expenses in one place, however, I moved back over to TimeCamp for actual time tracking as it is far superior to FreeAgent’s time tracking.

I’d also love a direct integration between TimeCamp and FreeAgent so invoices could automatically sync across platforms. If that ever happens, it would probably become my ideal setup.

If you want to try TimeCamp for yourself, you can test the free version first and then decide later if you need the paid features.

Are There Any Downsides to Using TimeCamp?

There are a few downsides, but none of them are major for me. The main one is that I manually create my folders, projects and tasks each month. I don’t mind this because it only takes a short amount of time and helps me stay organised.

I also manually create my invoices in FreeAgent rather than syncing them automatically. Because I’m a touch typist, this process is still quite quick for me, but it is an extra step.

Usually, at the end of each month I:

• Raise invoices

• Complete month-end admin

• Set up the next month’s tasks in TimeCamp

Altogether, this takes me less than half a day and makes the rest of the month run much more smoothly.

I did speak to the founder of TimeCamp and he mentioned that a FreeAgent integration may be added in the future. If that happens, it would make the workflow even smoother.

What I Like About TimeCamp (Pros)

Here’s what I like about using TimeCamp:

• It has been accurate and reliable for me

• You can clearly see start and finish times for each task

• The platform is intuitive and easy to use

• It’s easy to break work into tasks so you can see exactly how long jobs take

• Timers continue running in the background even if you close your browser

• It helps massively with time blindness and understanding how long tasks take

• There’s also a mobile app available, although I mainly use the desktop version

• One thing I really like is that I don’t need to constantly think about the clock while I’m working. I simply start the timer and focus on the task.

What I Don’t Like About TimeCamp (Cons)

There are a few things I’m not keen on.

• There’s an automatic pop-up window that appears when my computer starts up. I think it’s designed to make tracking faster, but I find it confusing and usually close it straight away. At some point I’ll probably disable it.

• Because I’m using the free plan, I also can’t archive old projects. Eventually I may need to upgrade to the paid version just to keep things tidy, but right now it’s not annoying enough for me to justify paying monthly for that single feature.

Alternatives to TimeCamp

The only other time tracking software I’ve personally used is FreeAgent, but I found the time tracking frustrating. Old time entries sometimes pulled through onto new invoices, which made me lose confidence in the accuracy. That’s why I went back to TimeCamp. It simply feels more reliable for tracking client work.

I know a lot of business owners and Virtual Assistants use Toggl Track and seem to like it, but I haven’t tested it myself yet. That may become a future review post once I’ve had the chance to try it properly.

Is TimeCamp Worth It for Virtual Assistants?

For me, yes. TimeCamp is simple, reliable and does exactly what I need it to do. It helps me accurately track client work, invoice confidently and understand where my working hours are being spent each month.

If you’re looking for the best time tracking software for freelancers or time tracking for small business use, I think TimeCamp is definitely worth considering, especially if you charge hourly or work across multiple clients.

If you’re still tracking your hours using paper, spreadsheets or memory, switching to dedicated time tracking software speeds up the process and automates it. TimeCamp has helped me stay organised, invoice accurately and understand where my time actually goes. For a busy Virtual Assistant juggling multiple clients, that’s incredibly valuable.

If you want to try TimeCamp for yourself, you can test the free version here and see if it works for your business workflow.

Try TimeCamp Free

FAQs

Q. Is TimeCamp free?

Yes, TimeCamp offers a free plan with time tracking, projects and reporting features, making it a useful free time tracking software option for freelancers and small businesses.

Q. Can TimeCamp track billable hours?

Yes. TimeCamp makes it easy to track billable hours by client, task or project and use reports to calculate invoicing totals.

Q. Is TimeCamp good for freelancers?

I personally think TimeCamp works very well as time tracking software for freelancers and Virtual Assistants who manage multiple clients.

Q. Does TimeCamp work for small businesses?

Yes. TimeCamp works well for time tracking for small business use, especially for businesses that charge hourly or manage multiple projects.

Q. Can you edit time entries in TimeCamp?

Yes. If you forget to stop a timer or make a mistake, you can manually edit your time entries afterwards.

Now read: Top 10 Virtual Assistant Tools (Free + Paid)

Also read: Best Free Images and Tools for Virtual Assistant Content