How to Set Up Your First Client Folder in Time-Trak Before Work Gets Messy

Most people open a new time tracker, create one project called something like 'Client Work,' and start logging. That works for about two weeks. Then a second client shows up, or the first one adds a new scope, and suddenly you're sorting through entries trying to figure out what belongs where.

Don't do that.

Setting up your client folder properly before the first minute gets logged takes maybe ten minutes. That ten minutes pays you back every single time you need to pull a report or send an invoice.

Start With the Client, Not the Project

In Time-Trak, your structure goes client first, then project under that client. This matters more than it seems. When you have four projects for one client over six months, you want them all sitting under the same client record. That way you can pull a report for that client across all their work, not just one engagement.

If you start with a project and bolt the client on later, your reporting gets fragmented. You end up filtering manually every time you need a full picture.

Name Things Like You'll Search for Them Later

Client names should match what you actually call them. If you say 'Harmon Co.' in every email and meeting, name the client record 'Harmon Co.' not 'Harmon Consulting Group LLC.' You will search for the short name later. Use the short name now.

For projects under that client, be specific. 'Website Redesign Q1' beats 'Website.' 'Brand Strategy Phase 2' beats 'Branding.' Vague names compound. You'll log twelve weeks of hours under a vague name and have no idea how to split the invoice.

Set the Billing Rate Before You Touch the Timer

This is the step most people skip. They set up the project, start logging time, then go back later to set a rate. The problem is that time logged before a rate is set often gets invoiced at the wrong number, or you forget to check and send the invoice at zero.

Set the rate when you create the project. Even if it's a rough number you plan to adjust, a placeholder rate is better than nothing. You can update it. You can't easily retroactively fix an invoice that already went out.

Time-Trak lets you assign a default billing rate at the project level. Use it. Every time entry under that project inherits the rate unless you override it manually.

Add a Second Service Type as a Separate Project Line

If the client hired you for both design and copywriting, those are two project lines, not one. Same client, two projects. When it comes time to invoice, you may bill those at different rates. You may also want to report hours by service type so the client can see what they paid for.

Logging both under one project makes that breakdown impossible without going entry by entry. It takes two extra minutes to create the second line upfront. It saves an hour later.

Drop a Note in the Project Description

Time-Trak has a description field on projects. Use it. Put the agreed scope in there. The rate you quoted. The start date. Anything that will matter in three months when you're trying to remember what you committed to.

This isn't documentation for the client. It's documentation for you. You will forget details. Every freelancer does. A two-sentence note in the project description has saved more than a few billing conversations from going sideways.

Run the Floating Timer Before You Go Further

Once the client and project are created and the rate is set, do a test. Open the floating timer widget, select the project, and start it. Make sure everything is connected. Make sure the entry shows up under the right client.

It sounds obvious. But catching a misconfiguration before you log forty hours under the wrong project is worth thirty seconds of checking.

Clean setup is boring. Bad setup costs you money. Pick boring.

Track your time, bill every minute.

Time-Trak is a native Mac and Windows time tracker with a floating timer, automatic screenshots, and one-click invoicing.

Free during beta.

macOS + Windows · Floating widget · Auto screenshots