How to Set Up Time Tracking Before You Offer a New Service

Before the First Hour Logs, Decide How You Will Measure It

Most people start tracking after the work begins. Then they look back at the data and realize it is useless because nothing was set up to capture what actually mattered.

When you add a new service, you are guessing on the price. That is fine. But you need to track in a way that tells you, after the first two or three projects, whether your guess was close. That only happens if you build the structure before you start.

Create a Dedicated Project Template for the New Service

Open Time-Trak and create a project specifically for the new service type. Even if it is just one client, give it its own space. Do not fold it into an existing client project where the hours will blur together.

Name it clearly. Something like `[Client Name] - [New Service]` so you can filter it later without hunting.

Set a billing rate now, even if it is a placeholder. You need a number to compare against when you review. A blank rate field tells you nothing at the end of the month.

Break the Work Into Task Categories Before You Touch Anything

Think about what the new service actually involves. Write down the distinct phases or task types. Even a rough list is enough.

For example, if you are offering a new content audit service, your categories might look like:

- Initial discovery and site review
- Gap analysis and documentation
- Client presentation and revisions
- Delivery and handoff

Add those as task labels in your project before the timer ever runs. This is what lets you see, later, where the time actually went. Without it, you have a single lump of hours and no idea which part of the work took longer than expected.

Set a Budget Threshold If You Are Billing Fixed-Fee

If you are charging a flat rate for this new service, put a budget ceiling in the project settings. Time-Trak can show you how close you are getting as you work.

This is the only way to catch yourself going over before the invoice goes out. Without it, you finish the project, add up the hours, and discover you worked twice what you charged. At that point there is nothing to do except absorb it.

Set the budget in hours, not dollars, if the work is variable. Hours are easier to compare across projects of different sizes.

Track Setup and Admin Time Separately From Billable Work

New services always come with invisible overhead. You are figuring things out, building templates, writing new processes. That time is real. It affects whether the service is profitable.

Create a non-billable task label for it. Something like `Internal - Service Setup`. Log that time separately from client-facing hours. Do not skip it and do not fold it into the billable time.

After a few projects, that number tells you the true startup cost of learning a new service type. If you ignore it, you will underestimate the next one too.

Review After the First Project, Not After the Fifth

The whole point of setting this up early is to get useful data fast. After the first project closes, pull the time report. Look at which task categories took longer than expected. Compare total hours to your quoted price. Check whether the non-billable setup time was significant.

Do not wait until you have done five of these before you look at the data. By then you have already undercharged multiple clients and the damage is done.

One project gives you a starting point. Two gives you a pattern. Three gives you a rate you can actually defend.

The Setup Takes Twenty Minutes

That is genuinely all it takes. A new project, a billing rate, a few task labels, and a budget threshold if you need one. Twenty minutes before the first timer runs.

The alternative is finishing three projects and realizing you have no idea if the new service is worth offering.

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