How to Set Up a Repeating Weekly Client in Time-Trak Without Starting Over Every Week

Weekly Clients Are Not the Same as Project Clients

A one-time project has a start and an end. You set it up, track to it, close it out. Simple enough.

A weekly recurring client is different. The work renews every week, but it is not always the same work. If you handle the structure wrong, your time logs turn into a single sprawling record that is impossible to invoice clearly after three months.

Option One: One Project With Weekly Task Labels

For clients where the work is consistent week over week, create one project and use dated task labels to separate the weeks.

Something like `Week of June 2` as a task category works well. All hours for that week log under that label. When it is time to invoice, you filter by date range and get a clean weekly breakdown without needing multiple projects.

This keeps everything in one place, which makes it easy to run a year-end report on the client. The trade-off is that you need to stay disciplined about using the right week label. If you forget and log under a generic task, the report gets messy.

Option Two: Monthly Sub-Projects for Higher-Volume Clients

If this client generates a significant number of hours each week, a monthly project structure works better. Create a new project at the start of each month, named clearly: `[Client Name] - July 2025`.

This keeps monthly invoicing clean. Each month has its own project, its own time report, and its own invoice. When you close the month, archive the project. You still have the historical data but it is not cluttering your active view.

The downside is more administrative setup each month. Fifteen minutes at the start of the month is a reasonable trade for a clean billing record.

Set the Billing Rate Once and Do Not Touch It

Whatever structure you use, set the billing rate in the project settings before the first hour logs. If this is a retainer client with a flat weekly fee, note that in the project description and set the hourly rate you are using internally to track whether the retainer is holding.

Do not reset the rate each week. If you need to change the rate, update the project settings and note the date of the change in the project description. That way you can always explain any variance if the client asks.

Build a Standard Task Label Set and Reuse It

For weekly clients, your task types are usually predictable. Strategy calls, execution work, reporting, revisions. Build that label set once and use it consistently every week.

Consistency in task labels is what makes weekly time reports readable for clients. If the labels change every week, the report looks chaotic even when the work was clean and organized.

In Time-Trak, you can set up task categories at the project level. Do this during initial setup so the labels are waiting for you every time you open the timer.

Schedule a Five-Minute Weekly Close

At the end of each work week for this client, spend five minutes reviewing what was logged. Check that everything is under the right task label. Check that the notes are clear enough to reference later. Make sure nothing got forgotten.

Do not skip this. Weekly clients are where hours quietly disappear because the work is ongoing and you assume you will catch up on the logging later. You will not.

Five minutes on Friday prevents an hour of reconstruction before the monthly invoice.

When You Need to Raise the Rate

Because you have consistent weekly data logged, rate conversations with recurring clients are straightforward. Pull the time report, show the average weekly hours over the past three months, and make the case from real numbers.

You are not guessing at what you have been putting in. It is all in the log. That is the actual value of tracking a weekly client properly from the start.

Track your time, bill every minute.

Time-Trak is a native Mac and Windows time tracker with a floating timer, automatic screenshots, and one-click invoicing.

Free during beta.

macOS + Windows · Floating widget · Auto screenshots