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"Time is money" may be a cliché. But in the worlds of freelancing, project management, and business ownership, it takes on a true meaning. You can save time by doing something faster and better. You can create time by not doing something else, and you can waste time in any number of different ways.
You can be on a team, work at a company or be a freelancer tasked with serving your clients. Either way, you want to use your time efficiently and effectively.
You can, of course, work harder. But you'll be far better off and be more productive by backing off a bit. You need to let someone or something else do some of your tasks. These tasks include scheduling and tracking to ensure things are getting done. Also, look into semi-automating or fully automating tasks like invoicing and receiving payments.
That's what these top invoicing and time tracking apps can and will do for you.
1. FreshBooks
FreshBooks is an ideal tool for any small, service-oriented business looking for better ways to manage time tracking, expense management, invoicing responsibilities and to create a more organized billing process.
FreshBooks provides a framework for businesses to create and submit proposals by helping define and document a specific project outline, scope, timeline, and cost. Having an established style and format can be a genuine time saver and help your brand and company remain consistent in look and feel when communicating with your clients.
FreshBooks has been designed with end users in mind who need a diverse and well thought out accounting solution that won't take long to master. It takes an average of 30 seconds to generate an invoice, which can be customized to include your logo, brand colors, and present your business as the professional and innovative company that you know it is.
Should you have a question, or on the remote chance you encounter a problem, an award-winning support team is always on call. Try FreshBooks for 30 days – at no cost to you.
2. Jibble.io
Jibble is a cloud-based time and attendance tracking app that provides project managers and team leaders with daily, weekly, and monthly time sheets and reports. Reports can also be produced on demand, and weekly and monthly timesheets can be used to support payroll review exercises.
You can download these timesheets and reports in spreadsheet format for accounting purposes. Jibble will also generate personal timesheets that individual team or staff members can review and add information to.
Jibble's statistical reports show the average hours worked by teams and team members on a daily or weekly basis. Clock in and out times can be reported as well. Alerts are provided in those cases where attendance averages or hours fall outside the norm.
Jibble can produce timesheets and reports for one team or multiple teams.
3. Invoice Plane
The Invoice Plane authors set as their target users freelancers, self-employed individuals, and small businesses. Their goal of providing a smart, easy to use and cost-effective invoicing and client management app to these users was achieved.
You can download this open source software tool and use it for free. The authors suggest you view their demo before doing so, after which you can join the 193-country user base that have so far accounted for over 100,000 Invoice Plane downloads.
Invoice Plane's template and theme formats can be customized to fit your business model and workflow and make your billing cycles and client relationships much easier to manage.
4. AND CO from Fiverr
There are several reasons why AND CO from Fiver has been chosen by freelancers and creative studios. This invoicing and time tracking app is exceedingly easy to use, its UI is modern, clean, and attractive, and it easily adjusts to their individual business models.
AND CO will help you to more efficiently and effectively manage your time tracking, invoicing and payment tasks, and client proposal preparation as well.
5. TimeCamp
You can use this time and attendance tracking app from your browser, as a mobile app, or both. TimeCamp gives you the freedom to view the status of your team or workforce from anywhere, at any time.
This app will seamlessly integrate with your other project management and accounting tools. Freelancers and other individual users should sign up for the SOLO package, which is free.
6. Minterapp
This app is the answer to small businesses and startups in search of a time tracking tool that can also separate billable hours from total hours and generate an invoice with a few clicks.
With Minterapp, you can view at any time which invoices are in draft, pending, or have been paid. Minterapp will also assist you with your project estimating activities.
7. Hiveage
Hiveage is a reporting, invoice-generating, and billing app designed to assist small business's needs in these important areas. Hiveage has helped 60,000 small businesses by making it easy for them to prepare quotations, submit custom, professional-looking invoices to clients, and provide their clients with a range of attractive remittance options.
Hiveage can be used for both single and multiple project activities.
8. Invoice Ninja
Invoice Ninja is a suite of time tracking, invoicing and other apps that's especially well-suited for freelancers. The time tracking app will automate your time tracking tasks and collect the results, where the invoicing app can convert them into ready for delivery invoices.
The invoicing app also provides access to 40 gateways through which payments can be sent and received. Project management apps are included as well, and Invoice Ninja is totally free to use.
9. Scoro
If you're a business professional or head up a creative service, you should consider giving Scoro a try. This comprehensive business management package will be a step up for those who are tied down to double data entry, spreadsheets, or working with multiple tools to perform essential tasks. Track time and workforce, schedule tasks and manage projects with ease. With Scoro, the project-related information you need will be there for you in just a few clicks.
Conclusion
Are you a business owner, a project manager or team leader, or a freelancer? Have you been looking for something to simplify your time and attendance tracking? Or, perhaps, something to speed up the expense tracking or invoicing tasks? There should be something here for you.
You just might experience once again how much fun it can be to be able to kick back and relax a bit. You have to allow a faithful, reliable app to do the heavy lifting.
Continue reading %Improve Your Workflow: Top Invoicing and Time Management Apps%
by SitePoint Team via SitePoint
