How to Set Up Time Tracking for a Subcontractor Before They Log a Single Hour

You bring in a subcontractor. They do the work. They send you hours. You review them, build the client invoice, and hope everything adds up.

That hope is where the problem starts. If you did not set up a clear tracking structure before they started, you are going to spend time you cannot bill reconciling entries that do not match how your client expects to see the work.

Here is how to get this right before anyone logs a minute.

Agree on Project Names and Task Categories First

Before your subcontractor starts work, share the exact project name and task categories you are using in Time-Trak. If they are tracking in their own system, they need to mirror your structure closely enough that their entries map cleanly to yours.

If they log "design work" and your project categories say "UI mockups" and "component revisions," you will spend an hour guessing which of their entries belongs where. That hour is on you, not them, and it never gets billed.

Ten minutes of alignment before work starts eliminates that problem entirely.

Set Clear Entry Description Standards

Tell your subcontractor exactly how you want time entries described. Not just that descriptions should exist. Give them a format.

Something like: task type, what was completed or in progress, anything the client should know. Two sentences maximum. If their entries come in as single words or session numbers, you will be rewriting them before the invoice goes out.

You are the one who has to explain these entries to the client. Make sure the subcontractor understands that the description is client-facing, not just internal.

Define What Is Billable and What Is Not Before Work Starts

Subcontractors often track everything including internal calls with you, setup time, and onboarding. Some of that is billable. Some of it is not. If you do not tell them which is which before they start, you will have entries at invoice time that you cannot include but they expect to be paid for.

Have a direct conversation about this. What counts as billable work for the client. What falls under your overhead. This is not about underpaying them. It is about making sure the client invoice reflects actual project work and your subcontractor is compensated fairly for what was agreed.

Set a Submission Deadline That Matches Your Invoice Date

You cannot invoice a client with hours still outstanding. Pick a date at least two business days before your invoice goes out and tell your subcontractor that all entries for the period need to be submitted by then.

This gives you time to review, ask questions, and make corrections before the invoice leaves. A subcontractor who submits hours the morning you are invoicing is not a subcontractor problem. It is a structure problem you created by not setting the deadline.

Review Before You Build, Every Time

When the entries come in, do not dump them directly into an invoice. Pull a summary of their logged hours in Time-Trak and compare it to what you expected based on the work scope.

If they logged thirty hours and you expected twenty, find out why before the invoice goes out. If they logged twelve hours and you expected twenty, confirm the work is actually complete before you send something that tells the client the project is done.

This review step takes fifteen minutes. It catches the errors that would otherwise turn into a difficult client conversation after the invoice is already sent.

Keep Subcontractor Hours Separate in Your Reports

In Time-Trak, use task categories or team member tracking to keep subcontractor hours visually separate from your own. When you generate a client report, you can show the work as a unified project. But internally, you need to see whose hours are whose.

This matters at tax time. It matters when you are evaluating whether a subcontractor relationship is actually profitable. And it matters the first time a client asks exactly who did a specific piece of work.

Good structure here is invisible when everything works and essential when something goes wrong.

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.

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