Bill clients by the hour
without the admin
Track hours, set rates per client, push tracked time to Xero as a draft invoice. From timer to invoice without retyping line items.
Free plan. No credit card.
Hourly billing should be simple. It usually isn't.
You track hours in one tool, type invoices into another, and somehow always end up with a Friday afternoon spent reconciling the two.
- Rates differ per client. Sometimes per project. You remember most of them.
- Descriptions are cryptic. Clients query a third of your invoices.
- Tax rates and revenue accounts have to be set on every invoice manually.
- You've definitely double-billed once. Probably more.
Hourly billing only takes minutes when the time tracker and the accounting tool talk to each other. Hour Cap is the bit in the middle.
Hourly billing, end to end
Rates that don't need remembering
Set rates at three levels: organisation, member, project. Hour Cap picks the most specific one for every entry. You stop having to think about which client gets which rate.
- Default rate per organisation
- Override per team member for senior staff
- Override per project for negotiated client rates
Resolution is automatic. Most specific rate wins.
Track and describe in one place
Timer or manual entry. Multi-line description. The rate's already resolved. By the time you stop the timer, the line item is already invoice-ready.
- Persistent timer · survives navigation
- Manual entries in friendly formats (1h30m, 1:30)
- Multi-line descriptions that flow straight to Xero invoices
From tracked time to Xero draft
Open the invoice wizard, pick a client and a date range, choose your grouping, push. Hours, rates, descriptions, tax rates, branding theme are all already in place. Review in Xero. Send.
- One click from invoice wizard to Xero draft
- Group line items per entry, project, date, or person
- Invoiced entries auto-locked, no double-billing
From client onboarded to invoice paid
Add the client and rate
Sync from Xero if connected. Set the rate at the right level.
Track time as you work
Timer or manual entries. Write the description while it's fresh.
Push to Xero
Pick grouping, push as draft. Hours, rates, descriptions filled in.
Review and send
Your existing Xero workflow handles send and payment tracking.
Hours into invoices, in one workflow
Free to start. Connect Xero on any paid plan.
What hourly billing looks like when it works
Less admin per invoice
No CSV export, no retyping. Track to invoice in minutes.
Right rate, every time
No more mental gymnastics over which client gets which rate.
Invoices that defend themselves
Detailed line items with descriptions. Disputes drop.
Nothing billed twice
Invoiced entries are locked. No spreadsheet to maintain.
Common questions
How do I bill clients hourly?
Set a rate per client or project, track time with detailed descriptions, choose a grouping for the invoice (per entry, per project, per date, per person), and push a draft to your accounting tool. Review, send, and mark the entries as invoiced. Hour Cap automates the last three steps when connected to Xero.
What's the best hourly billing software for small teams?
For teams that invoice through Xero, the best fit is software that pushes tracked time straight to Xero as draft invoices, so Xero stays the system of record. Hour Cap is built around that flow specifically. For teams using another accounting tool, the same principle applies: pick a tracker that integrates rather than exports CSVs.
How do I set hourly rates that vary by client or project?
Set a default rate at the organisation level. Override per member where someone bills at a different rate. Override per project where a client has negotiated a custom rate. Hour Cap resolves the most specific rate automatically; the project rate beats the member rate beats the organisation default.
What's a good way to invoice for hourly work?
Group your line items in a way that fits the client. Some prefer one line per entry with full descriptions. Others want a single per-project summary line. Hour Cap supports both. Push the result to Xero as a draft, review, and send through your normal Xero workflow.
How do I avoid forgetting which hours I've already invoiced?
When you push an invoice through Hour Cap, the included entries are marked invoiced and excluded from future invoices. If you void the invoice in Xero, the entries are released. You don't have to track this in a spreadsheet.