Time Tracking Software for Architects and Designers: 13 Tools Compared

The best time tracking software for architects depends on how your firm bills. Firms that charge fixed fees by phase and want fee budgets, timesheets and invoices in one system use AEC practice platforms such as Monograph, BQE CORE or Deltek; small studios that mainly need accurate hours start with a simple tracker such as Toggl Track, Harvest, Clockify or My Hours, and two of them, Clockify and My Hours, are free for up to five users. Whichever you choose, set it up with your contract's phases as time codes, so every hour lands against the fee it belongs to.

This guide compares 13 time tracking and timesheet tools for architects, interior designers and design studios, with plans and prices checked on each vendor's pricing page in October 2026. It also shows how to track time by AIA phase or RIBA stage, what to record under hourly and fixed-fee billing, the free options for small studios and how to choose.

Time Tracking Software for Architects at a Glance (October 2026)

Prices are per user per month in US dollars, before tax and on annual billing unless stated, as each vendor's pricing page showed them on 29 October 2026. The order follows this guide; it is not a ranking.

What Time Tracking Software Does in an Architecture Practice

Time tracking software records who worked how long on which project, phase and task, with a timer or a weekly timesheet, and turns those entries into reports, approvals and, in many tools, invoices. For an architecture or design firm it answers three questions: is this phase still within its fee, which hours can be billed, and who has capacity for the next project.

Over a few projects the same data shows how long each phase really takes, which makes the next fee proposal and schedule more realistic, a core habit when growing an architecture business. Project time tracking is not the same as a clock-in system that records when staff start and finish the working day, although some tools, such as Jibble, do both.

Key Benefits of Time Tracking Software for Architects

Tracked hours pay off in six ways for architects and designers:

• Accurate billing. Hours are tied to billable work, so invoices match what was done, and retainers, change orders and additional services rest on records rather than estimates.

• Phase profitability. Comparing hours with the fee for each phase shows where a project runs over while there is still time to act.

• Better proposals. Past projects show how long each phase took, so the next fee and schedule start from real data instead of assumptions.

• Focus. Seeing where the week went exposes the meetings, interruptions and rework that slow production.

• Balanced workloads. Managers see each person's hours across projects and can spread the work before someone is overloaded.

• A record of the work. Approved timesheets document who did what and when, which helps when a client questions an invoice or a contract question comes up.

Track Time by Phase: AIA Phases and RIBA Stages

Architects are usually paid by phase, so the most useful time code is the phase. In the US, the AIA's standard owner-architect agreement, B101–2017, divides basic services into five phases; in the UK, the RIBA Plan of Work 2020 has eight stages. Use the phases or stages your contract names, and add non-billable codes so overhead stays visible.

With a RIBA appointment or your own country's stages, keep the same idea: one code per stage, the same task list under each, and separate non-billable codes for admin, marketing, proposals and CPD. A "change request" task under every phase makes extra work visible as it happens.

Hourly, Fixed Fee or Mixed: What to Track

What you record depends on how the contract pays you:

• Hourly. Every billable hour by project, phase and person, with a billable rate per role. Weekly approval before invoicing keeps disputes small.

• Fixed fee by phase. The hours are not billed, but they are compared with the fee budget for each phase. The timesheet tells you when a phase has used its budget, which is the moment to talk to the client about scope.

• Mixed. A fixed fee for basic services and hourly billing for additional services and reimbursable expenses. Give each its own code, or the hourly work disappears into the fixed fee.

In every model, mark each entry billable or non-billable and log revisions the client asked for under a change-request task. The invoices, progress billing and books themselves belong to accounting software for architects, which several of the trackers in this guide connect to.

Track Visualization, Layout and AI-Assisted Design Time

Concept images, client presentation views and their revision rounds can take a large share of a design phase, and they vanish into "design" when nobody codes them. Give them their own task under each phase, for example "SD – visualization" and "SD – layout options", and log AI image runs under the phase they serve like any other work. After a few projects you will see what early visuals and test fits really cost, and whether new tools shortened them.

If those hours are mostly early concept images, an AI rendering tool such as ArchiVinci turns a model view, a sketch or a photo into a client-ready image in seconds, in your browser (commercial use of the results needs an active plan). For quick 2D layout options, Floor Plan Maker draws a plan in a desktop browser with wall lengths and room areas and exports it as DXF, PDF, SVG or PNG; drawing and exporting are free.

Time Tracker or AEC Practice Management Software?

A standalone time tracker records hours and turns them into reports and, often, invoices. An AEC practice management platform puts the timesheet inside a system that also holds phase fees, project plans and invoicing: Monograph (time tracking, project planning, invoicing and a QuickBooks connection, priced by firm size), BQE CORE (per-user pricing on request), Deltek Ajera (which Deltek describes as project and accounting software for small A&E firms) and its ERP Vantagepoint, and Total Synergy (practice management that connects to Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks Online and Sage). We compare them in our guide to project management software for architects.

The rule of thumb: if you bill fixed fees by phase and want fee budgets, timesheets and invoices in one place, start with a practice platform. If you mainly need accurate hours and a report or an invoice per client, one of the trackers below is quicker to set up, and several can feed an accounting tool later.

13 Time Tracking Tools for Architects and Designers

Each entry says what the tool does for an architecture or design studio and what its plans cost as of October 2026. Tools that do the same job are grouped. Check the vendor's page before you buy: plans and prices change.

1. Toggl Track

Toggl Track is a timer-first tracker: start a timer with one click or fill in a timesheet afterwards, assign each entry to a client, project and task, and mark it billable or non-billable. Its reports show hours and billable amounts by project and client, enough to see where a phase stands, and its pricing page lists integrations with tools such as Asana and Jira.

Pricing (October 2026): free for a limited number of users; Starter $9 and Premium $16 per user a month on annual billing ($12 and $24 month to month). See Toggl Track's plans.

2. Clockify

Clockify suits small studios that want timesheets without a large bill. Staff log time with a timer, a weekly timesheet or the calendar, and reports group the hours by client, project and task. Paid plans add features such as invoicing, QuickBooks sync and a shared kiosk for clocking in, and the Pro plan lets you choose where your data is hosted (the EU, the UK, the USA or Australia).

Pricing (October 2026): free for up to 5 users; Basic $3.99, Standard $5.49, Pro $7.99 and Enterprise $11.99 per user a month on annual billing (Basic is $4.99 month to month). See Clockify's plans.

3. Harvest

Harvest keeps tracking and billing together: staff log time against projects and tasks, submit the week for approval, and the approved hours become invoices. Its pricing page lists integrations with QuickBooks Online, Xero, Stripe and Deel, so a small firm can connect timesheets, invoices and its accounts.

Pricing (October 2026): free for 1 seat and 2 projects; Teams $9 and Enterprise $14 per seat a month on annual billing ($11 and $17.50 month to month). See Harvest's plans.

4. Jibble

Jibble fits teams that split the week between the studio and building sites. Staff clock in on the phone, on the desktop, on the web or at a shared kiosk, with GPS, geofencing and an offline mode, and their hours can be assigned to projects and invoiced. Because it records attendance as well as project time, it also serves firms that must keep a record of working hours.

Pricing (October 2026): free for unlimited users; the paid Premium and Ultimate plans are priced by country, with up to 30 % off on annual billing, so check the price for your country on Jibble's site.

5. Hubstaff, Time Doctor and DeskTime (Monitoring-Style Trackers)

These three record hours and add activity data: Hubstaff and Time Doctor offer optional screenshots and activity levels, and DeskTime runs in the background and records which apps and websites are in use. They suit remote or distributed teams that need proof of hours more than phase budgets. Before you switch monitoring on, tell staff what is recorded and why, and check your country's employment and privacy rules.

Hubstaff tracks on the desktop, on mobile and in the browser, with activity levels, optional screenshots and GPS for staff in the field. As of October 2026 it has no free plan but a 14-day trial; Starter costs $4.99, Grow $7.50 and Team $10 per user a month on annual billing ($7, $9 and $12 month to month), and Enterprise $25.

Time Doctor records hours together with app and website use, with optional screenshots, and its integrations page lists Asana, Trello, Jira, Basecamp and Podio. As of October 2026, Basic costs $6.67, Standard $11.67 and Premium $16.70 per user a month on annual billing ($8, $14 and $20 month to month), according to its pricing article.

DeskTime runs in the background, records time by app and website and shows productivity scores. It has no free plan but a 14-day trial; Pro costs $6.42 and Premium $9.17 per user a month on annual billing, and Premium adds screenshots, integrations, the API and shift scheduling.

6. Everhour

Everhour puts a timer inside the project management tool the team already uses: its pricing page lists Asana, ClickUp, Jira, Trello, Basecamp, Monday, Notion and GitHub. Hours roll up into timesheets and project reports, and the paid Team plan adds budgeting and invoicing, which suits studios that plan their phases on one of those boards.

Pricing (October 2026): free for up to 5 seats with limited features and no integrations; Team $8.50 per seat a month on annual billing, with a minimum of 5 seats. See Everhour's plans.

7. TimeCamp

TimeCamp combines manual timers with automatic tracking by app or keyword, which catches drafting, coordination and admin time that people forget to log. Invoicing starts with the paid Starter plan.

Pricing (October 2026): free for unlimited users. The paid plans are Starter, Premium, Ultimate and Enterprise; TimeCamp's own pricing page showed two different annual prices for the same plans in October 2026, so confirm the figure there before you buy.

8. My Hours

My Hours is a plain tracker for small studios: time by client, project and task, billable rates, reports to share with clients and invoicing of billable time. It connects through Zapier and a two-way Jira sync, and offers API access.

Pricing (October 2026): free for up to 5 users; Basic $4 and Pro $8 per user a month on annual billing ($5 and $9 month to month); Enterprise on request. See My Hours' plans.

9. Timely

Timely records activity automatically with its Memory tracker and turns it into suggested timesheet entries for each person to review, so nobody has to run timers. Project views compare planned and logged hours with the budget, as in the screenshot above.

Pricing (October 2026): Starter $9 (up to 5 users and 20 projects), Premium $16 and Unlimited $22 per user a month on annual billing ($11, $20 and $28 month to month). See Timely's plans.

10. Float and Teamdeck (Resource Scheduling With Timesheets)

Float is a resource scheduling tool: you plan who works on which project each week and compare the plan with the hours logged. As of October 2026, time tracking is in the Pro plan only ($12 per user a month on annual billing, $14 month to month); Starter ($7, or $8.50 month to month) schedules without it. Its integrations page lists Asana, Jira, Basecamp and Google Calendar. See Float's plans.

Teamdeck combines resource planning with timesheets, so staff log time against the assignments they were scheduled for. As of October 2026, a full member costs $6 and a light member $2 a month on monthly billing, with 10 % off on yearly billing; it integrates with Slack, Google and Outlook calendars and Podio. See Teamdeck's plans.

Free Time Tracking Software for Small Architecture Studios

A one-to-five-person studio can usually start for free, but the limits differ (as of October 2026):

• Clockify: free for up to 5 users; invoicing and QuickBooks sync are in the paid plans.

• My Hours: free for up to 5 users.

• Everhour: free for up to 5 seats, with limited features and no integrations.

• Toggl Track: free for a limited number of users.

• Harvest: free for 1 seat and 2 projects.

• Jibble and TimeCamp: free for unlimited users.

Before you commit, run one live project on the free plan for a few weeks and check what you will miss: approvals, fee budgets and invoicing are often where the free and paid plans differ.

Time Tracking for Interior Designers

Interior designers track time the same way, with three differences. Many charge hourly, a fixed fee or cost plus a markup on furnishings, so procurement time (sourcing, ordering and following deliveries) needs its own code. Work is organized by room as well as by phase, so a tag or task per room shows which spaces took the hours. And site visits and installation days are frequent, which makes a reliable mobile app important. For the fee models themselves, see how interior designers charge.

How to Choose Time Tracking Software for an Architecture Firm

Start from how you bill and how big the team is, then check the daily routine. Six questions decide most choices:

1. How Do You Bill?

Hourly work needs billable rates per role, approvals and invoicing. Fixed fees by phase need phase codes and a report of hours against the fee budget. If you bill both ways, check that the tool keeps basic and additional services apart.

2. How Big Is the Firm?

A studio of up to five people can start on a free plan such as Clockify or My Hours. A growing firm with several project leads needs approvals, budgets and an accounting connection. A larger or multi-office firm usually moves to an AEC practice platform or an ERP, where timesheets, fees, resourcing and invoicing share one database.

3. Will People Actually Use It?

A tracker only works if everyone logs time every day. Look for one-click timers, quick manual edits, reminders and a link to the tools the team already opens: Everhour runs inside Asana, Jira or Trello, and ClickUp includes time tracking on every plan, with timesheets from its Business plan (as of October 2026).

4. Does It Work on Site?

Site visits, client meetings and inspections happen away from the desk. Check the iOS and Android apps, offline tracking with later sync, and GPS or location tags where they help; Jibble, for example, offers GPS, geofencing and an offline mode. Our list of mobile apps for architects covers the other tools for the site.

5. Which Reports and Integrations Do You Need?

At minimum: hours against budget by phase, billable versus non-billable time and utilization per person. Then the connections: accounting (Harvest lists QuickBooks Online and Xero), project management, and the CRM for architects where you track proposals, so the next fee estimate can draw on past hours.

6. What Will It Cost as the Team Grows?

Per-user prices multiply with every hire, and some plans have a minimum number of seats (Everhour's Team plan starts at 5). Annual billing costs less than paying month to month (Harvest Teams: $9 instead of $11 per seat), and several paid tools offer a trial, so test with a real project before you roll it out.

Try it in ArchiVinci

ArchiVinci is an AI tool for architects and designers: upload a sketch, a photo or a 3D model view, describe the result in a sentence, and it generates a new image that follows your upload. A new account starts with 3 free credits.

• For your projects: ArchiVinci

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best time tracking software for architects?

It depends on how the firm bills. Firms that bill fixed fees by phase and want fee budgets, timesheets and invoices in one system look at AEC practice platforms such as Monograph, BQE CORE or Deltek; small studios that mainly need accurate hours usually start with a tracker such as Toggl Track, Harvest, Clockify or My Hours, several of which have a free plan.

How do architects track billable hours by project phase?

Set up each project with the phases of its contract (for example the AIA's Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Documents, Procurement and Construction) as tasks or codes, mark each one billable or non-billable, and have staff log against them every day. A weekly approval, then a report of hours against the fee budget per phase, shows where the project stands.

Is project time tracking the same as a clock-in attendance system?

No. An attendance system records when people start and finish the working day, often because employment rules require it; project time tracking records which project, phase and task those hours went to. Some tools, such as Jibble, do both. For the attendance part, check the rules of your own country.

Should an architecture firm use screenshot or activity monitoring?

Most architecture firms do not need it: phase codes and approved timesheets answer the budget questions. If a firm does use the screenshot or activity features of tools such as Hubstaff, Time Doctor or DeskTime, it should tell staff what is recorded and why, and check its local employment and privacy rules first.

How secure is the data stored in time tracking platforms?

Check each vendor's security page and ask where the data is stored; some tools let you choose, and Clockify's Pro plan, for example, offers hosting in the EU, the UK, the USA or Australia (as of October 2026). Approved timesheets are part of a project's record, so keep their exports with the project files in your document management software.

How does time tracking help manage design revisions and change requests?

Log the extra hours that revisions take under their own change-request task in each phase. The team can then show the client what a change cost, update the fee budget and agree an additional service before more work starts, and after the project the codes show which kinds of revision ran over most often.