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Currently I am using Clockify but I would like to know if there exists any free time tracking and invoicing software geared toward freelance software developers?

All I am finding is "paid" options -- usually the 'invoicing' functionality is turned off in their free tier (like for Clockify).

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  • Have you tried to build an invoice in Excel? That is what I did for a number of years.
    – David R
    Commented Jun 22, 2021 at 14:20
  • Yes, I am using an Excel spreadsheet as an invoice but it’s pretty plain vanilla. You wouldn’t happen to have or know where I can find a more sophisticated Excel spreadsheet invoice, would you?
    – tale852150
    Commented Jun 22, 2021 at 14:31
  • Your needs are likely to be quite different from mine. So, I recommend that you keep expanding your spreadsheet to meet your needs. What macros would you need to keep a history, receive payments, keep an outstanding balance, etc. - as you need them? As a software developer, I expect that you can write those macros fairly easily.
    – David R
    Commented Jun 22, 2021 at 15:20

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I've been using an MS Access app i put together to track hours, clients, create invoices from hours entered, payments, etc. Since last year i have it connected to MYSQL backend in cloud.

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Clockify, Timecamp, and MS Access are all tools that support time tracking for developers. However, since many developers use Slack nowadays for communication, the Slack API and “slack-based work sessions” can be considered free tools for time tracking. Essentially you track in slack, “[30m work session] working on XYZ feature ”, and you can use the Slack API to detect those work sessions and store them in your database. If you do this in real-time, engineering managers don’t really have to ask developers, “What are you working on?”, and the sessions can even be subject to approval. The technique, introduced originally by LD Talent, is based on the Pomodoro Technique which emphasizes having a clear goal for every 25 minutes of work, not going down rabbit holes, and reflecting for 5 minutes every interval. This technique seems geared toward developers, because it turns their slack messages (something they already spend time on) into time tracking, killing two birds with one stone.

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  • That is very, very interesting. I’m going to look into this suggestion. Thank you for your time and response.
    – tale852150
    Commented Oct 5, 2021 at 14:47
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I used to use https://www.toptal.com/tracker/

It has a desktop app that hides in the tray for tracking hours, a web tracker and dashboard, mobile apps, all the things. It allows you to take screenshots on intervals (or not), generate invoices, and even grant access to your client to view the current hours tracked/logged.

Pretty cool, 100% free and maintained by toptal.

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  • Hi, I noticed that Toptal is based in your hometown. Pure coincidence or are you connected to them in some way?
    – Valorum
    Commented Jul 28, 2021 at 18:31
  • my hometown? No idea where you got that information. If you got it from my IP access somehow, it's a VPN, if you got from my profile, I've probably faked it. English is not even my native language hahaha. I've got no relation with neither toptracker or toptal, I'm just a happy user.
    – Magus
    Commented Jul 28, 2021 at 20:16
  • You listed your location in your profile. It seemed weirdly coincidental.
    – Valorum
    Commented Jul 28, 2021 at 20:29
  • I see, my location is correct. Still, either you got my location wrong or Toptal's. We're not even in the same country. What are you seeing?
    – Magus
    Commented Jul 29, 2021 at 16:00

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