Agency Time Tracking Software
Agency time tracking software for small and mid-sized software agencies that bill by project, retainer, or support contract. Timesheets come in on time through reminders, one-click approvals, and locked periods, and you get earlier warning when scope creeps and margins get thinner than the invoice suggests. No screenshots, no keystroke logging, no surveillance-heavy monitoring.
Software Agencies: why they choose Sandtime.io
Close retainer leakage
Retainer work, support requests, QA fixes, sprint spillover, and internal client comms all steal billable time when nobody logs them in the moment.
Capture fragmented work
Let developers, designers, and PMs add time after deep work, calls, handoffs, and release pushes without reconstructing the whole week from memory.
See margin drift before invoicing
Compare real hours against scoped budget before the project looks finished but margin is already gone. Spot creep while there is still time to react.
Protect trust while staying accountable
Keep the whole delivery team in one system without screenshots, keystroke logging, or seat-based pricing pressure.
How a software agency gets every timesheet in before invoicing
A software agency sets up Sandtime.io with one project per client engagement, retainer or support contract and invites every developer, designer and PM at no per-user cost. Reminders, one-click approvals and locked periods get timesheets in before month-end invoicing, and cost and revenue rates show what each client actually earned.
- Split projects by how the client paysGive each retainer, fixed-fee build and support contract its own project, so sprint spillover on a fixed-fee job never hides inside a retainer. Internal tooling and pre-sales go on non-billable projects.
- Invite the delivery teamDevelopers, designers and PMs join by email or with Google, Microsoft or Apple sign-in. Make each PM a Project Administrator on their engagements, and assign people only to the projects they deliver.
- Log from where the work happensDevelopers can start a timer from the Chrome extension or a Slack slash command, or ask Claude Code or Cursor to create entries from the day’s commits over the MCP server. Anyone can add a review call afterwards with its start and end time.
- Approve, lock, then invoiceMembers submit their timesheets, an Administrator approves or rejects each one from email, and past periods lock automatically. Then run the Invoices template for time, rate and revenue per project, or a custom report grouped by project and member for the client.
Step by step in the help center: invite the team with the right role, approve a week from the email, and turn on auto-locking.
The approval chain that gets agency timesheets in
Client billing waits on the last timesheet. Sandtime.io closes the loop without anyone chasing, and every step is free for unlimited users.
- RemindA fill-timesheet reminder email goes out every Friday at 6 PM while auto-locking is on, to each member who switched it on in their notification settings.
- ApproveSubmitted weeks reach the reviewer by email. Approve or reject in one click, with a note on rejection so the fix is obvious.
- LockApproved and past periods lock automatically, so the hours on the invoice do not move after it goes out.
Common use cases
- Track retainer work before extra requests quietly push the team past the monthly allowance
- Log post-sprint fixes, QA passes, deployment time, and client comms that rarely make it into the invoice
- Review project burn before a sprint review so scope creep shows up before the margin disappears
- Pull client-ready reports without manually stitching together developer notes and PM updates
- See which retainers, fixed-fee projects, or support contracts are actually profitable
- Use team time data to justify repricing, renegotiation, or tighter scope control at renewal
Key features
One-click timers
Start a timer fast or add time after the fact. Sandtime.io fits around delivery work instead of forcing the team to log every context switch in real time.
Client-ready reporting
Export clean client-ready timesheets by project, person, or date range. No invoice archaeology at month end.
Margin visibility per project
Cost and revenue rates turn tracked hours into margin per project, so PMs see when scoped work, support, and internal meetings start to eat it. Budgets themselves stay in your estimate or contract.
Built for agency teams
Developers, designers, PMs, and agency leadership can all work in one account without surveillance-heavy monitoring or per-seat friction.
Where Sandtime.io stops
Better to know before you invite the team. These are the gaps people in this line of work ask about most.
- No invoicingSandtime.io does not send invoices. The Invoices report template lists time, rate, net revenue, tax, and total per project, and you export it to Excel or CSV for your billing software.
- No project budgetsThere is no budget field or budget alert. A report grouped by project shows hours, cost, and revenue so far, and you compare them with the estimate yourself.
- Reminders are a weekly emailThe fill-timesheet reminder is one email, sent on Friday at 6 PM while auto-locking is on. It is off by default, so each member switches it on in their notification settings.
Common questions
Is Sandtime.io free for an agency team?
Yes. Sandtime.io is free for unlimited users, so developers, designers, PMs and leadership can all track time without a per-seat fee.
How do I get timesheets in on time?
Sandtime.io emails a reminder to fill in timesheets every Friday before the week locks. Members then submit, an Administrator approves or rejects with one click from email, and past periods can lock automatically.
Can I see what each client project earns?
Yes. Set cost and revenue rates per project and per team member, then use the Project revenue report or a custom report grouped by project or member. Past reports keep the rates that applied at the time.
Can developers log time from their own tools?
Yes. Use the Chrome extension, Slack slash commands, the REST API with a personal API key, or the MCP server, which lets AI assistants such as Claude Code and Cursor create time entries.
Does Sandtime.io monitor what my staff do on their computers?
No. There are no screenshots, no screen recording and no keystroke logging. People record the time they worked, and reviewers see those records.
Keep exploring
Continue with the most relevant Sandtime.io pages for this topic.
Track breaks and other non-billable time
Sandtime.io has no dedicated break timer. Non-billable projects with the Billable switch off keep breaks in your timesheet and out of what you bill.
Open pageBillable Hours
Work hours that can be charged to a client or project. Essential for professional services firms to track revenue.
Open pageCost, revenue, and billable reporting
Use billable flags and rates to understand project profitability without losing the self-reported workflow.
Open pageCost
The expense associated with employee work hours. Calculated by multiplying time by cost rates for profitability analysis.
Open pageCreate a project for reported time
Create projects that people can report against, mark them billable or non-billable, and keep reporting tidy.
Open pageCustom Reports
User-defined reports with flexible groupings, metrics, and filters. Custom reports answer specific business questions.
Open pageTrack your first hour today
Create your free account and see results in minutes.