The 3 Best Time Tracking and Billing Software Built for Engineers

Tracking time and billing are major challenges for engineering firms. Employees often guess their hours, which leads to inaccurate time entries. Engineering companies also struggle to track what still needs to be billed to clients. 

Having a clear view of which hours need to be billed at each project stage saves time and increases profits. That’s why it's important to find software that solves these issues.

In this article, we highlight the top three time tracking and billing software for engineers, five key features to look for, and tips for choosing the right one for your business.

The Advantages of Integrated Time Tracking and Billing Software

Choosing a solution that offers both time tracking and billing capabilities saves project managers time. It’s important to improve budgeting and pay employees and subcontractors faster.

Integrated time tracking and billing software simplifies project management for engineers. This tool offers a centralized platform to accurately track billable hours, streamline client invoicing, and optimize resource allocation.

Additionally, time tracking and billing software provides valuable insights into project profitability, which allows for better decision-making and informed resource planning. 

In essence, it streamlines administrative tasks, improves financial transparency, and ultimately drives project success and business growth.

5 Features Engineers Should Look for in Time Tracking and Billing Software

To choose the best time tracking and billing software for engineers, it needs to have certain features: 

• Templates: Having pre-made templates for timesheets with tags for different types of work can save time.
• Reports: Data on hours worked in real-time enables pulling more accurate, live reports. These reports help management to make better, faster decisions for each project.
• Invoice based on phases: Being able to invoice your clients when each phase is complete improves profitability.
• Link tasks to hours: Having the ability to link tasks employees have completed to the hours they spend on them increases your understanding of productivity. 
• Include markups: Managing to include markups easily will save time. Many engineering firms markup subcontractors’ fees when billing clients, and most softwares don’t have that ability.

Top 3 Time Tracking and Billing Software for Engineering Firms [2024]

1 - Aldoa

Aldoa is an all-in-one solution for engineers that includes time tracking, billing, and task management to gain full visibility into all projects. 

• Connect tasks in the project management aspect of the software to the time spent on those tasks. 
• Create timesheet templates to show different phases, and invoice clients quickly as each phase concludes. 
• Include markups simply in those invoices, and choose to invoice by lumpsum,T&M, or both. 
• Adjust each project’s budgets and hours based on real-time data.
• The solution is made specifically for engineers and is designed around the complex workflows, projects, and processes of engineering firms.

2 - Hubstaff

Hubstaff enables employees to track their time whether they’re at the office or in the field. It shows exactly project managers when employees begin working, managers can then approve timesheets before pushing them to payment. 

The finance team or project manager can set each employee’s rate and send payments through their integrations with major payment platforms. It also improves bookkeeping with its reports and integrations with accounting solutions.

3 - Apploye

Using Apploye, employees can choose whether they want to monitor their time with automatic or manual timers. It also provides a Pomodoro timer to improve productivity. It has full reporting and dashboards to help managers understand employee productivity. Apploye also has a schedule and leave management to improve your team management in one place. They also have a simple task assignment system where managers can assign tasks to employees and see how long it takes to complete.

It doesn’t have an in-built payment system, so you can create invoices in the platform based on fixed fees or hours worked and then send it to clients by email.

How to Choose the Right Software for Your Engineering Firm

Choosing the right software is key to enabling you to solve your inaccurate time tracking and lost revenue issues effectively. 

You need to research the best options available. Look at generalized and specialized software and decide which works better for you. It’s also important to check reviews online to see what actual users say about your options. 

Finally, choose 2-3 solutions to examine more closely with a free demo. Ask the sales team your questions, discover what their customer support is like, and whether it will solve your issues.

Precision Time Tracking, Effortless Billing: Aldoa's Solution for Engineers

Aldoa improves engineering firms’ time tracking and billing workflows with clear, easy-to-use timesheets and simplifies billing without using a 3rd party. Make your engineering project management smoother, faster, and more efficient. 

Book your free demo here.