How to track and bill your time in Stacks

Stacks has a built-in time tracker for people who bill by the hour. Run a one-click timer while you work — or log hours by hand afterwards — group everything into client projects with an hourly rate, and when it's time to get paid, roll your unbilled hours straight into a draft invoice. No stopwatch on your phone, no spreadsheet, no re-typing hours into a separate invoicing tool.

Time tracking lives inside the Invoicing module. In the app you'll find it by opening Invoicing and clicking Time in the sidebar; projects sit right next to it under Projects.

Before you start

• Time tracking is part of the Invoicing module, which is free and included for everyone — there's nothing to switch on.
• To bill time, the project needs a client (a contact) and, ideally, a default hourly rate — that rate is what turns hours into dollars.
• Admins, managers and members can track their own time. Creating projects and turning time into an invoice needs create/edit invoicing access — admins, managers and team members have it (view-only users don't).

Step by step

1. Open the Time tool. In Stacks, click the Invoicing tab, then Time in the sidebar. You'll see the timer at the top and a weekly report below it.
2. Set up a project (recommended). Still under Invoicing, open Projects → New Project. Give it a name, pick the Client, set a Default hourly rate and Currency, and save. Tracking time against a project is what lets Stacks price and bill it later. You can also track time with No project selected if you just want a record.
3. Start the timer. Choose a project from the dropdown, type what you're working on, and leave Billable checked. Click ▶ Start — a live clock counts up. Click ■ Stop when you're done and Stacks saves the entry. Starting a new timer automatically stops the one that's running, so you can switch tasks without losing anything.
4. Or log time manually. Worked away from the timer? On the Time page click + Add manually, then enter the date, project, a description, and how many hours you worked (decimals are fine — e.g. 1.5). Keep Billable checked if it should be billed, and click Log.
5. Review your week. Use the ← / → arrows to move between weeks. Each week shows a per-day bar chart, your total hours, the billable amount, and a list of every entry. You can delete any entry that hasn't been invoiced yet with the ✕ button.
6. Bill the time. Open the project (Invoicing → Projects → the project). Its Unbilled time card shows the amount and how many entries are ready. Click Invoice unbilled time and Stacks creates a draft invoice — one line per entry, priced at hours × rate — and marks those entries as invoiced. You land on the draft to review and send.

Good to know

• One timer at a time. Each person has a single running timer. Starting a new one stops the current one automatically — handy for hopping between tasks.
• Rates come from the project. A billable entry is priced at the project's default hourly rate, so set the rate on the project once and every entry follows it. Each project also has its own currency (USD, EUR, GBP or CAD).
• Non-billable time still counts. Uncheck Billable for internal or non-chargeable work — Stacks tracks the hours but bills them at $0 and leaves them out of invoices.
• Billing pulls only unbilled, billable, finished entries. Running timers, non-billable time, and anything already invoiced are skipped. The project must have a client, or Stacks will ask you to add one first.
• Invoiced entries lock. Once an entry is rolled into an invoice it's marked Invoiced and can no longer be deleted, so your billing history stays intact.

Frequently asked