An excellent tool for anyone who does billable time on their computer is StopWatch by DesignSoft for $60 (Mac and Windows versions available). No more adding up minutes manually or cluttering your desk with scraps of paper with job time notes!

This digital stopwatch tracks time for you and has a number of different customizable options that are stored in its own database. One of the features I particulary appreciate (not stored in the database) is the Description field which allows me to describe what I did during that time period.

DesignSoft offers a billing/accounting software called Creative Billing for $400 that will import the timesheets on command and then generate invoices for you. Invoice formats are customizable.

Another option: when it comes time to bill a client, sort the info in the timesheet by Job Number, open the timesheet file in Excel or Word and take the data for the client you need. Note that with this method, you have to go back into the timesheet and manually delete the items you’ve just transferred to your invoice.

They also offer a Timesheet Manager for managing multiple people’s timesheets who use different computers. You can either retrieve over your network or have your people email their timesheets to you.