As small business owners, it’s vital that we are good stewards of our time. For entrepreneurs, time = money: if we’re being productive, we’re making money. We need a way to keep track of our time–so that we know what we’re spending time on, and so that we can properly price our offerings and bill our clients.

Yet, time management is one of those “trigger words” that all people like to say but most people aren’t really good at. Myself included.

How I use Toggl to track my time

Toggl is a free app (or desktop site) that keeps track of your time with the push of a button. I’m all about efficiency and one-step systems make my heart beat a little faster. Because I work as an independent consultant, I need a way to easily and quickly keep track of the time I spend working for each client.

All I have to do is type in what I’m working on, press enter, and the timer automatically starts. Plus, once I fill in a title once, it’ll auto populate if I ever do that task again (which saves me tons of time).

Here’s the timer view (I’ve blocked most of my tasks and client names out to protect sensitive info):

Additionally, the reports page is super helpful when you are ready to bill your clients–or even audit your own time. You can see exactly how long you worked on each client project and filter it so you see exactly the information you need.

And the best part?

It’s free! They do have a paid version that lets you add billable rates, scheduling, and large teams, but for most small business owners, the free version is all we need.

Other uses for Toggl

Toggl doesn’t have to only be used for tracking your time in business. You can also use it for your personal life–and see exactly what you’re spending time on. You can automatically track your time with the Toggl desktop app, or you can manually track it with their mobile app. Try it for a day (or week!)–it’s a great eye-opener to what you are really doing all day.

Gone are the days when you need a complicated Excel sheet or clumsy note on your phone (or worse–a piece of paper that you constantly lose!) to keep track of your work time. Toggl makes it simple and easy to confidently track how much you’re working!