Time Tracking and Invoicing Integration | Client Billing
Convert tracked hours into invoice line items automatically. GitScrum logs time per task and adds entries to invoices with rates and totals.
9 min read
Connecting time tracking to invoicing eliminates the friction between logging work and billing clients. When developers track time on tasks, that data should flow directly into invoices—no spreadsheets, no copy-pasting, no lost billable hours.
Time-to-Invoice Workflow
| Step | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Track time on tasks | Hours logged with context |
| 2 | Review unbilled time | Filter by project, date, team |
| 3 | Create invoice | Add time entries as line items |
| 4 | Send to client | Professional invoice with details |
| 5 | Mark as billed | Prevent duplicate billing |
Tracking Time on Tasks
TIME TRACKING IN GitScrum
═════════════════════════
LOGGING HOURS ON A TASK:
─────────────────────────────────────
Task Detail View → Time Tracking Section
├── Click "Log Time"
├── Enter hours worked
├── Select date
├── Add optional description
└── Save entry
TIME ENTRY DETAILS:
─────────────────────────────────────
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Log Time │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Hours: [2.5 ] │
│ Date: [Dec 15, 2024 ▼] │
│ Description: [API integration work ] │
│ │
│ [Cancel] [Save Entry] │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
WHAT'S CAPTURED:
─────────────────────────────────────
For each time entry:
├── Hours (decimal or h:mm)
├── Date worked
├── Task reference
├── Project context
├── Team member
├── Description (optional)
└── Billing status
Viewing Time Reports
TIME TRACKING REPORTS
═════════════════════
FILTERING OPTIONS:
─────────────────────────────────────
Reports → Time Tracking
├── Date range: [Last 30 days ▼]
├── Project: [All projects ▼]
├── Team member: [All members ▼]
├── Billing status: [Unbilled ▼]
└── [Apply filters]
TIME REPORT VIEW:
─────────────────────────────────────
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Time Report - December 2024 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Filter: Acme Corp | All members | Unbilled │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ DATE TASK MEMBER HOURS STATUS │
│ ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Dec 15 API integration John 2.5 Unbilled │
│ Dec 14 Bug fix login Sarah 1.0 Unbilled │
│ Dec 14 Dashboard design John 3.0 Unbilled │
│ Dec 13 Database migration Mike 4.5 Unbilled │
│ Dec 12 Code review Sarah 2.0 Unbilled │
│ │
│ TOTAL UNBILLED: 13.0 hours │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Creating Invoices from Time Entries
INVOICE CREATION WORKFLOW
═════════════════════════
STEP 1: START NEW INVOICE
─────────────────────────────────────
Invoices → Create Invoice
├── Select client
├── Invoice number (auto-generated)
├── Invoice date
├── Due date
└── Payment terms
STEP 2: ADD TIME ENTRIES
─────────────────────────────────────
In invoice editor:
├── Click "Add from Time Tracking"
├── Filter by date range, project, member
├── Select entries to add
├── Time converts to line items
└── Hours × Rate = Amount
ADDING TIME TO INVOICE:
─────────────────────────────────────
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Add Time Entries │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Project: [Acme Dashboard ▼] Date: [Dec 1-15 ▼] │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ ☑ Dec 15 - API integration (John) 2.5h $250.00 │
│ ☑ Dec 14 - Bug fix login (Sarah) 1.0h $100.00 │
│ ☑ Dec 14 - Dashboard design (John) 3.0h $300.00 │
│ ☐ Dec 13 - Database migration (Mike) 4.5h $450.00 │
│ ☑ Dec 12 - Code review (Sarah) 2.0h $200.00 │
│ │
│ Selected: 8.5 hours Total: $850.00 │
│ │
│ [Cancel] [Add to Invoice] │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
STEP 3: REVIEW LINE ITEMS
─────────────────────────────────────
Invoice with time entries:
├── Each entry becomes a line item
├── Edit descriptions if needed
├── Adjust rates if required
├── Add non-time items (expenses, fixed fees)
└── Review totals
Invoice Preview
COMPLETED INVOICE
═════════════════
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ YOUR COMPANY INVOICE #INV-2024-047│
│ 123 Tech Street │
│ San Francisco, CA Date: Dec 16, 2024 │
│ Due: Jan 15, 2025 │
│ │
│ BILL TO: │
│ Acme Corporation │
│ 456 Business Ave │
│ New York, NY │
│ │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ DESCRIPTION QTY RATE AMOUNT │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ API integration work (Dec 15) 2.5 $100 $250.00 │
│ Login bug fix (Dec 14) 1.0 $100 $100.00 │
│ Dashboard design (Dec 14) 3.0 $100 $300.00 │
│ Code review (Dec 12) 2.0 $100 $200.00 │
│ │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Subtotal: $850.00 │
│ Tax (0%): $0.00 │
│ │
│ TOTAL: $850.00 │
│ │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Payment Terms: Net 30 │
│ Notes: Thank you for your business! │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Setting Hourly Rates
RATE CONFIGURATION
══════════════════
PROJECT-LEVEL RATES:
─────────────────────────────────────
Project Settings → Billing
├── Default hourly rate: $100
├── Currency: USD
└── Tax settings
TEAM MEMBER RATES:
─────────────────────────────────────
Settings → Team → Member Profile
├── Member hourly rate
├── Override project default
└── Effective date
RATE HIERARCHY:
─────────────────────────────────────
When calculating invoice amounts:
1. Check member-specific rate
↓ (if not set)
2. Check project rate
↓ (if not set)
3. Use organization default
EXAMPLE:
─────────────────────────────────────
Project: Acme Dashboard ($100/hr default)
├── John (Developer): uses project rate → $100/hr
├── Sarah (Senior Dev): custom rate → $150/hr
└── Mike (Contractor): custom rate → $125/hr
Result: Each person's time calculates at their rate
Preventing Duplicate Billing
BILLING STATUS TRACKING
═══════════════════════
TIME ENTRY STATES:
─────────────────────────────────────
┌─────────────────────┐
│ Unbilled │ → Available for invoicing
├─────────────────────┤
│ Invoiced │ → Added to invoice (Draft)
├─────────────────────┤
│ Billed │ → Invoice sent to client
├─────────────────────┤
│ Paid │ → Payment received
└─────────────────────┘
AUTOMATIC STATUS UPDATES:
─────────────────────────────────────
Time entry logged → Unbilled
Added to invoice draft → Invoiced
Invoice sent → Billed
Payment recorded → Paid
FILTERING BY STATUS:
─────────────────────────────────────
When adding time to invoice:
├── Only "Unbilled" entries shown
├── Already invoiced entries hidden
├── Prevents accidental duplicate billing
└── Clear audit trail
VISUAL INDICATORS:
─────────────────────────────────────
In time reports:
├── 🔵 Unbilled - Available
├── 🟡 Invoiced - In draft invoice
├── 🟢 Billed - Sent to client
└── ✓ Paid - Payment received
Integration with External Systems
EXTERNAL INVOICING TOOLS
════════════════════════
EXPORT OPTIONS:
─────────────────────────────────────
If using external invoicing:
├── Export time report (CSV/Excel)
├── Filter by billing status
├── Import into QuickBooks, Xero, etc.
└── Mark as billed in GitScrum
ZAPIER/PABBLY INTEGRATION:
─────────────────────────────────────
Automate with triggers:
├── New time entry → Add to spreadsheet
├── Invoice created → Notify accounting
├── Payment received → Update CRM
└── 3000+ app connections
API ACCESS:
─────────────────────────────────────
For custom integrations:
├── Time entries endpoint
├── Invoices endpoint
├── Webhooks for events
└── Full API documentation
Reporting and Analytics
BILLING ANALYTICS
═════════════════
REVENUE DASHBOARD:
─────────────────────────────────────
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Billing Overview - Q4 2024 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Total Hours Logged: 842 │
│ Billable Hours: 756 │
│ Utilization Rate: 89.8% │
│ │
│ Invoiced: $72,400 │
│ Collected: $65,200 │
│ Outstanding: $7,200 │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
BY PROJECT:
─────────────────────────────────────
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Project Hours Billed Outstanding │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Acme Dashboard 245 $24,500 $2,100 │
│ Beta Platform 189 $18,900 $0 │
│ Client Portal 322 $29,000 $5,100 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
BY TEAM MEMBER:
─────────────────────────────────────
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Member Hours Rate Revenue │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ John 312 $100 $31,200 │
│ Sarah 278 $150 $41,700 │
│ Mike 166 $125 $20,750 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Implementation Steps
SETUP GUIDE
═══════════
STEP 1: CONFIGURE RATES
─────────────────────────────────────
Settings → Billing
├── Set organization default rate
├── Configure currency
├── Set payment terms
└── Add tax settings if applicable
STEP 2: SET PROJECT RATES
─────────────────────────────────────
For each client project:
├── Project Settings → Billing
├── Set project-specific rate (or use default)
├── Configure client information
└── Set invoice prefix
STEP 3: CONFIGURE TEAM RATES
─────────────────────────────────────
For variable pricing:
├── Settings → Team → Members
├── Set individual rates where needed
├── Document effective dates
└── Communicate to team
STEP 4: TRAIN THE TEAM
─────────────────────────────────────
Share with team:
├── How to log time on tasks
├── Required description detail
├── Billing expectations
└── Non-billable vs billable work
STEP 5: ESTABLISH BILLING WORKFLOW
─────────────────────────────────────
Define process:
├── Billing frequency (weekly/monthly)
├── Review before invoicing
├── Invoice approval workflow
└── Payment follow-up