Hour Cap vs Xero Projects
Xero Projects is built into Xero. Hour Cap is a standalone time tracker that pushes invoices to Xero. If you need more than basic project tracking, here's why that matters.
Side-by-side comparison
Xero Projects lives inside Xero. Hour Cap is a dedicated time tracking tool that integrates with Xero. Here's where the dedicated approach wins.
| Feature | Hour Cap | Xero Projects |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice line item grouping | 4 modes | Per task only |
| Billable rate cascade | Project → Member → Org | Per task only |
| Per-member rates | ||
| Timesheet approvals | Full workflow | |
| Retainer management | Dedicated retainers | |
| Duration input | 1h30m, 1:30, 8h, 30m | HH:MM only |
| Timer across midnight | Auto-splits by day | No documented handling |
| Activity log | ||
| Role-based permissions | 4-level hierarchy | Standard or Limited |
| Free plan | Requires top Xero plan |
Rates that work the way your team bills
Xero Projects only lets you set charge-out rates per task. If your senior developer and junior developer both do "Development" work, they bill at the same rate. Users have been requesting per-staff rates since the feature launched, with no timeline for a fix.
Hour Cap cascades rates automatically. Set a rate on a project, a member, or at the org level. The most specific rate wins. Different people can bill at different rates on the same project without creating fake tasks.
Even worse, changing a staff cost rate in Xero Projects retroactively changes all historical data for that staff member, which distorts your past profitability reports when wages change each year.
Invoices your clients can actually read
Xero Projects creates invoice line items grouped by task. You get one line that says "Development: 9.5h" with no breakdown of what was done on which day. Time entry descriptions are not carried through to the invoice.
Hour Cap gives you four grouping modes. Group by entry for maximum detail, by date for a daily summary, by project for a high-level view, or by team member. Every mode preserves the descriptions your team wrote.
Approval workflows and role-based access
Xero Projects has no timesheet approval workflow. Access follows your Xero user roles rather than a dedicated approver model, so there is no review-and-approve step before tracked time becomes invoiceable.
Hour Cap has a four-level role hierarchy (Owner, Administrator, Manager, Employee) with a full approval workflow. Assign specific approvers per team member. Only approved entries flow through to invoicing.
Retainer tracking that Xero doesn't offer
Xero Projects has fixed project budgets (time or money) and project estimates. But there's no retainer concept, no recurring budget periods, no alert thresholds, and no way to invoice a specific billing period.
Hour Cap has dedicated retainer management with automatic billing period resets, real-time progress bars, configurable alerts, and a one-click invoice flow for the current period.
When Xero Projects might be a better fit
We believe in being transparent. Xero Projects has advantages in certain situations.
Already in Xero
If you're on the top Established plan, Projects is built in, with a per-user charge for each active project user. No separate subscription, no OAuth setup, no data syncing. Time entries and invoices live in the same app.
Expense tracking
Xero Projects tracks project expenses alongside time. You can add costs to projects and include them on invoices. Hour Cap is focused on time-based billing.
Simple requirements
If you have a small team with flat rates per task and don't need approval workflows, retainers, or detailed invoice line items, Xero Projects covers the basics.
Pricing at a glance
Hour Cap
Dedicated time trackingPrices in USD. Annual billing saves 17%. On top of your Xero subscription.
Xero Projects
Prices in USD. Projects is bundled into Xero's top accounting plan (Established in the US, about $90/mo; Ultimate in Australia and the UK, priced regionally and higher), with extra active project users charged about US$10 each (about A$7 in Australia, about £5 in the UK). Confirmed mid-2026, re-check current vendor pricing.
Getting Projects in Xero means upgrading to the top Established plan at about $90/mo, even if you're currently on Growing at $47/mo, plus about US$10 for each extra active project user.
Hour Cap Team at $10/mo adds dedicated time tracking with Xero integration to any Xero plan, with per-member rates, retainers, and 4 invoice grouping modes.
More than Xero Projects, for less
Get per-member rates, approval workflows, retainers, and detailed invoicing without upgrading to the Xero Established plan.
Common questions
Is Xero Projects free?
No. Xero Projects is a paid add-on bundled into Xero's top accounting plan (Established in the US at around US$90 per month; Ultimate in Australia and the UK, priced regionally and higher), with a set number of project users included and extra project users billed per user (about A$7 in Australia, about £5 in the UK, roughly US$10 in the US). Hour Cap has a free plan and a $10 per month Team plan. Re-check current vendor pricing before relying on these figures.
What does Xero Projects not do?
Xero Projects has a basic timer, no native distinction between billable and non-billable tracking, no timesheet approval workflow, no retainer tracking, and limited reporting. Hour Cap adds all of those.
Can I bill time through Xero without Xero Projects?
Yes. Hour Cap tracks time and pushes draft invoices straight into Xero on any Xero plan, so you do not need to move up to Xero's top accounting tier just to bill your hours.
Hour Cap or Xero Projects for an agency?
For a Xero-billing agency, Hour Cap adds retainers, a real approval workflow, four invoice line-item grouping modes and a project-to-member-to-organisation rate cascade that Xero Projects does not offer, at a lower all-in cost.
Comparison note: competitor features and pricing were researched on a best-effort basis in June 2026 and can change at any time. We aim to be accurate and fair, but details may be out of date, so always confirm the latest information on the vendor's own website before making a decision. Hour Cap capabilities described here reflect the product at the time of writing.