Digital project time tracking at the push of a button

Project time tracking is the systematic recording of working hours that are booked for specific projects, tasks or customers. In contrast to pure working time tracking, which only documents start and end times, project time recording assigns every working hour to a specific project.

It is important because it enables companies to precisely calculate project costs, analyze the profitability of individual projects and make well-founded decisions for future orders. Especially for service providers, agencies and consulting firms, it is the basis for correct customer billing.

Working time tracking documents when employees work - i.e. the start of work, breaks and the end of work. It is primarily used to fulfill legal obligations and payroll.

Project time tracking goes one step further: It not only records how long someone is working on, but also on what. Each working hour is assigned to a project, task, or customer. This creates transparency about the actual expenditure per project - the basis for project controlling, post-calculation and customer-specific billing.

Project time tracking is particularly worthwhile for project-oriented companies: agencies, consultancies, IT service providers, engineering firms, architecture firms and freelancers. Wherever services are billed according to expenditure or project profitability is decisive, it creates transparency and control.

It is also useful for companies with internal projects - such as in product development or marketing - in order to plan resources efficiently and meet budgets.

Project time tracking itself is not required by law. However, since the BAG ruling of 2022, employers have been required to systematically record the working hours of their employees.

This obligation relates to tracking working time within the meaning of the Working Hours Act. The project-specific allocation of times is a business decision that many companies also make in order to be able to better manage and bill projects.

Project time tracking must meet the requirements of the GDPR. This means that personal data may only be collected for a specific purpose, employees must be informed about data processing, and the data must be protected against unauthorised access.

Compliance with retention periods and the right of employees to information and deletion are also important. When choosing software, attention should be paid to server locations in the EU and appropriate certifications.

The introduction is carried out in four steps: First, you define clear goals — such as better project calculations or more transparent billing. Then choose suitable software that meets your requirements.

In the third step, you train your employees and explain the benefits of time recording for everyone involved. Finally, you establish clear processes: When do you book? How detailed? Who checks the entries? Communication and ease of use are the key to acceptance.

The most common mistakes are: processes that are too complicated that scare employees off; subsequent recording from memory instead of timely booking; lack of project structures that make meaningful evaluation impossible; and lack of communication about the purpose of time recording.

Recording data that is too rough or too detailed can also be problematic. The right granularity depends on the company — it is important that the collected data is actually used for evaluations and billing.

Transparency and benefits are crucial: Explain why time Use case project time tracking is important — not only for the company, but also for the employees themselves, for example to make overwork visible or to enable fair project distribution.

User-friendly software that enables quick bookings lowers the inhibition threshold. Regular feedback on the results and the involvement of employees in designing the processes also promote acceptance.

Good project time tracking software should offer the following core functions: intuitive time booking for projects and tasks, flexible project structures with sub-projects, meaningful evaluations and reports, and easy operation on various devices.

In addition, interfaces to other systems such as accounting or project management, automatic workflows for approvals and GDPR-compliant data storage are important criteria. For internationally active companies, multilingualism is also relevant.

In agencies and consultancies, project time tracking is the basis for customer billing. Employees book their working hours on customer projects, often divided into phases or tasks such as conception, design or consulting.

The recorded times flow directly into invoicing and enable subsequent calculation: Was the budget met? Was the project profitable? These insights help with pricing future offerings and realistic resource planning.