Time tracking
for bookkeepers
Track hourly work and monthly retainers across every client, then push invoices to your own Xero practice account with the reconciliation, payroll, and BAS work already itemised. Built by someone who knows Xero.
Free plan for solo practitioners. Xero invoicing on every paid plan.
You live in Xero. Your time tracker should know that.
Bookkeepers spend most of the week inside Xero. Bank reconciliations, payroll runs, BAS prep, invoice processing, client onboarding, end-of-period reviews. Then at the end of the month someone has to remember which clients got what, write up invoices from memory or a CSV, and key them into Xero by hand.
Most generic time trackers don't know anything about Xero. They give you a CSV. You then translate that CSV into Xero invoices, line by line, hoping you didn't miss a client or duplicate hours. It works, but it's exactly the kind of repetitive low-leverage admin that should never have been a person's job in 2026.
What you actually want: track time as you work, with enough description that the client sees the value, then one click to push a draft invoice into your own Xero with the work itemised correctly. That's it.
How bookkeepers actually bill clients
Hour Cap supports the three models most practices use, often mixed across the client base.
Hourly
Set a default practice rate. Override per client where the rate differs. Track time as you work; at month-end push a draft invoice that lists each session with the work done.
Monthly retainer
Set the hours cap and the period. Hour Cap tracks usage in real time, alerts you at a threshold you pick, and auto-resets at the end of each month. Invoice the period in one click.
Retainer plus overrun
Retainer covers the standard monthly work; anything over the cap is billed at your hourly rate. Hour Cap shows both numbers and lets you invoice the retainer and the overrun as separate line items.
Itemised work, not "Bookkeeping — $400"
Clients pay invoices faster when they understand what they're paying for. Hour Cap lets you write a proper description on every time entry. When you push to Xero, those descriptions become the line item text, so clients see reconciliations, payroll runs, BAS prep, and ad-hoc requests as separate items.
That's the difference between "what is this $400 for?" and "thanks, paying now."
- Multi-line descriptions per time entry
- Group line items per entry, per date, or roll up the whole month
- Audit trail of every entry that went onto an invoice
- Entries automatically marked invoiced so they don't show up next month
Every client retainer on one dashboard
Most bookkeepers run a dozen or more clients. Without one place to see usage, retainer overruns turn up at the end of the month as awkward conversations. Hour Cap shows every active retainer with current usage, alert state, and period progress in one view.
- Mixed billing cycles per client (weekly, monthly, quarterly)
- Alert thresholds so you find out about overruns before the client does
- Contacts sync from your practice's Xero on connect, no rekeying
- Invoice the retainer period directly from the invoice screen
Try it across your client list, no credit card
New accounts get a 30-day Business trial with everything unlocked, including Xero invoicing and the activity log. After the trial the free plan is yours forever; pick a paid plan only when you need Xero invoicing and more than one active project.
A note on connecting Xero
Hour Cap connects to your own practice's Xero account, not to each of your clients' Xero files. You issue invoices to your clients from your practice's Xero, which is how most bookkeepers already do it. Your clients' Xero data stays separate and untouched.
Contact sync happens automatically on connect, so every client you already have in your practice Xero appears in Hour Cap with no rekeying. Read more about how the Xero integration handles contacts, tax rates, revenue accounts, branding themes, and tracking categories.
Common questions
What is the best time tracking software for bookkeepers?
Bookkeepers already live in Xero, so the simplest fit is a time tracker that pushes invoices directly to your own Xero practice account. Hour Cap is built around that flow: track time against client work, then push a draft invoice to Xero with reconciliation hours, payroll runs, BAS prep, and ad-hoc work itemised as line items.
How do bookkeepers usually bill clients?
Three common models: hourly with a written rate, a fixed monthly retainer with a stated hours cap, or a hybrid where retainer covers the standard work and overruns are billed hourly. Hour Cap handles all three: hourly via rate cascade, retainer via a budget that auto-resets each period, and hybrid by invoicing the retainer cap and the overrun separately.
Does Hour Cap connect to my clients' Xero accounts?
No. Hour Cap connects to your own practice's Xero account, not to each of your clients' Xero files. You issue invoices to your clients from your own practice, which is the standard bookkeeper setup. Your clients' Xero data stays separate and untouched.
How do I show clients what they paid for?
Each time entry has a multi-line description (for example: "Reconciled 142 bank transactions across operating and savings accounts. Resolved 3 mismatched payments and reissued 2 client invoices."). When you push the invoice to Xero, those descriptions become the line item text. Clients see specifically what was done, which cuts down on "what is this charge?" emails.
Can I track multiple bookkeeping clients on a free plan?
The free plan supports unlimited clients but only one active project at a time, which is too restrictive for most bookkeepers. The Team plan at $10/month removes the project cap and adds Xero invoicing. For practices with junior staff that need approvals, the Business plan adds timesheet review and activity logging.
Does Hour Cap replace my practice management software?
It is not a full practice management system. Hour Cap focuses on time tracking, retainers, and billing into Xero. If your practice management needs are CRM, document workflow, or compliance task scheduling, you will still need a dedicated tool. If they are mainly tracking and billing, Hour Cap covers that without the cost or complexity of a full PM suite.
Related reading
Xero time tracking
The full overview of how Hour Cap turns tracked time into Xero invoices.
Xero retainer billing
The retainer feature Xero doesn't have, designed for the way bookkeepers and consultants actually bill.
For consultants
If you're a solo practitioner mixing hourly, retainer, and fixed-price work, the consultants page has the same content scoped to that audience.
Time tracked. Invoices in Xero. Move on.
Built for bookkeepers who'd rather be working than chasing line items. Free to start, no credit card.