Time tracking for agencies that actuallycaptures every billable minute
Automatic time tracking, AI daily work reports, and client-shareable dashboards. For agencies that bill by the hour and can't afford to lose minutes to forgotten timers. From $4.99 per seat.
The hidden profit leaks in every agency
“We're writing off 10-15 hours a week in unbilled time”
Designers forget to start the timer. Developers context-switch between clients and lose track. Account managers do client calls without logging them. Automatic tracking captures what manual tracking misses.
“Scope creep is killing margins — but we have no data to push back”
When a client says "it was just a small change," you need actual time data to show it took 4 hours across 3 people. Without automatic tracking, you can't have that conversation.
“Clients want transparency reports but it takes a day to compile them”
Manually assembling hours-per-project across 5 team members is admin work no one wants to do. Automated weekly reports to clients fix this in one click.
“I can't tell which clients are actually profitable”
You know what you billed. You don't know what each client actually cost in staff time. Per-client time breakdowns unlock real margin analysis.
The agency toolkit
Everything you need to track, report, and bill accurately.
Automatic Time Tracking
No timers to start, stop, or forget. Hours are logged automatically from app and web activity, split by project tag.
Per-Client Reporting
Pull hours by client, project, or team member for any date range. Export to PDF or share a live dashboard link with your client.
AI Daily Summaries
Each morning, see a plain-English summary of what every team member shipped yesterday. Replace daily standups.
Billable Hours Verification
Every billable hour is backed by activity data: apps used, screens captured (optional), focus time scored. Defensible when clients push back.
Project Margin Analysis
See cost of delivery per project at a glance. Spot the clients eating your margins and the ones who deserve a rate increase.
Team Privacy Portal
Every team member gets a self-service view of their own data. No surveillance culture — just transparency and accountability.
Agency types we fit well
Marketing & SEO
Hours split across content, ads management, SEO audits. Per-client reporting + proof of work for retainer clients.
Design & Creative
Figma, Illustrator, After Effects time per project. Objective data to push back on unlimited revision requests.
Dev shops
Developer time per repo/project. Especially useful for retainer dev work where scope management matters.
Switching from Harvest, Toggl, or Clockify?
See how DeskTrust compares — honest, side-by-side.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best time tracking software for a marketing agency?
The best option depends on whether you need automatic tracking (DeskTrust, Hubstaff, Time Doctor), billing-first invoicing (Harvest, TimeCamp), or just a manual timer (Toggl, Clockify). Agencies that bill hourly and need defensible proof of work usually want automatic tracking plus client-shareable reports — that's where DeskTrust at $4.99/seat is strongest.
How do agencies prove billable hours to clients?
Modern agencies share a daily or weekly work report with each client showing hours per project, apps used, and deliverables. DeskTrust generates these automatically — admins get a plain-English summary, clients get a read-only dashboard or PDF export. No more manual timesheet reconstruction before invoicing.
Can I separate time by client or project?
Yes. Each team member's activity is categorized by the app or site in use. Design work in Figma can be billed to Client A; copywriting in Google Docs to Client B. Combine with project tags for clean client-level reporting at the end of the month.
How much does agency time tracking software cost?
DeskTrust starts at $4.99/seat/month for the full stack including AI daily reports, screenshots, and client-shareable dashboards. Harvest is $10.80/seat and Hubstaff is $4.99-$12/user depending on tier. Toggl starts at $9/user. For most 10-50 person agencies, the monthly software cost is less than one billable hour.
Will my team quit if I install monitoring software?
They might if you install it covertly. The agency teams that have the best results with DeskTrust frame it correctly: it's a billing tool first, a productivity tool second, and every employee has a transparent portal where they see their own data. We don't log keystrokes. Rollout should include a team meeting explaining what gets tracked and why — never silent install.
Do I need separate tools for time tracking and project management?
Yes — they do different jobs. DeskTrust tracks actual time and productivity automatically. A tool like Asana, ClickUp, or Monday manages tasks and deadlines. They integrate: tag time entries with the project name from your PM tool so hours flow into client invoices automatically.
Try DeskTrust free for 30 days
No credit card. Capture every billable minute. Cancel anytime.