When you’re paid by the hour, your time is literally your income. Yet many freelancers and hourly workers reconstruct their week from memory on Friday afternoon, and memory is generous to nobody. Fifteen forgotten minutes a day adds up to more than an hour a week. At $50 an hour, that’s over $3,000 a year that never makes it onto an invoice.
Here’s a simple system that fixes that.
1. Track time as it happens, not afterward
The most accurate timesheet is the one you build in real time. Start a timer when you begin, note what you’re working on, and stop it when you’re done. If you switch clients or tasks, switch the timer too.
When you do forget, and everyone does, add the entry as soon as you notice. A rough entry the same day beats a guess at the end of the month.
2. Separate every client (and every rate)
If you work for more than one client, or you freelance on the side of a regular job, keep each one separate with its own hourly rate. That way:
- Invoices are easy: filter by client and the hours are already totaled.
- You can see who your best clients really are. Sometimes the one who pays a higher rate also eats far more of your hours.
- A side gig doesn’t get mixed into your day-job hours.
3. Write down what you did, briefly
“Client work, 3h” won’t help you if a client questions an invoice. “Homepage redesign: header and mobile nav, 3h” will. A few words per entry is enough, and it turns your log into a record of the work, not just the hours.
4. Review your week
Once a week, look at your totals: hours per client, earnings, and where the time went. This five-minute habit catches missing entries while you still remember them, and it shows whether your week matched your plans.
5. Set money aside for taxes every time you get paid
If you’re self-employed in the US, no employer is withholding taxes for you. On top of income tax, you owe self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare) of 15.3% on most of your net earnings. That surprises a lot of first-year freelancers at tax time.
A common rule of thumb is to set aside 25–30% of what you earn in a separate savings account, then adjust once you know your actual tax bracket and deductions. Many freelancers also make quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid penalties. Your situation is unique, so a tax professional can help you pick the right percentage. The key is choosing one and setting it aside every time, not when the bill arrives.
6. Know your real hourly rate
Your rate isn’t what you take home. Quick example: you bill $60 an hour and set aside 28% for taxes. That leaves about $43 an hour. Account for unpaid time like emails, invoicing and finding new clients, and your effective rate drops further. Knowing that number helps you price your work, and helps you decide when to raise your rates.
How Wage Tracker Widgets makes this automatic
We built Wage Tracker Widgets for iPhone to make every step above take seconds:
- Start, switch, stop. Note what you’re working on (or tap a recent one), start the timer, change tasks or pause as you go. Forgot to start it? Log past work afterward.
- Clients and organizations. Track a client you bill or an employer you clock in for, each with its own hourly rate. For a regular job, the timer works just like clocking in and out.
- Control it without opening the app. Start and stop the timer from Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets. Follow a running timer with Live Activities on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, or just say “Start the timer in Wage Tracker” to Siri.
- Your totals at a glance. Today and this week on the Today tab, and every entry grouped by day, with weekly and monthly totals, in the Log.
- Built-in tax set-aside. Choose a percentage and see how much of your earnings to put aside.
- Private by design. There’s no account, and your work data stays on your device.
The free version includes the timer, the Log, logging past work, widgets, Live Activities, Siri, the tax set-aside and up to two clients or organizations. It shows only small banner ads, never full-screen interruptions. Premium removes the banner ads and adds unlimited clients, PDF and CSV timesheets ready for invoicing, reports of hours and earnings by week, month or year with a breakdown by client, plus backup and restore. Premium is $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year, and either plan starts with an introductory first month for $0.99.
Download Wage Tracker Widgets on the App Store
Frequently asked questions
What is the best way to track hours as a freelancer?
Track time as it happens with a timer, keep each client separate with its own rate, add a short note about the work, and review your totals once a week.
How much should a freelancer set aside for taxes?
A common rule of thumb in the US is 25–30% of what you earn, because self-employed people owe self-employment tax on top of income tax. A tax professional can help you choose the right percentage.
Can I track hours for a regular job too?
Yes. In Wage Tracker Widgets, add your employer as an organization and use the timer to clock in and out.
Try Wage Tracker Widgets. Built by Atkinson Interactive. Learn more about Wage Tracker Widgets →