Time tracking methodology used by professional services firms to capture time spent on client work for accurate billing, with 6-minute increments being the industry standard.
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Billable hours tracking is the practice of recording time spent on client work in precise increments for billing purposes. It's the foundation of professional services billing, particularly in legal, consulting, accounting, and other knowledge-work industries.
The legal industry standard is tracking time in 6-minute (0.1 hour) increments. This practice originated because 6 minutes divides evenly into an hour (60 minutes ÷ 6 = 10 segments), making calculations straightforward.
Example:
The percentage of total work hours that are billable. Law firms typically target 60-80% utilization rates.
Start timers as you begin work rather than reconstructing your day later. Real-time tracking captures 25% more billable time on average.
Provide clear descriptions of what was accomplished:
Capture all time spent on client matters, including:
Review time entries daily or weekly to ensure accuracy and completeness before submitting for billing.
Modern time tracking software can:
Time not tracked is time not billed. Even small amounts of untracked time compound to significant revenue loss.
Frequent task switching makes accurate time tracking difficult and reduces billable efficiency.
Clients may question very detailed billing, requiring balance between accuracy and clarity.
Professionals must track time honestly, neither inflating nor deflating hours worked.