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Billing & Time Tracking

AtlasOS provides integrated time tracking and invoicing for bookkeeping practices, supporting both fixed-fee and hourly billing models for recurring client engagements.

Time tracking​

Time entries are recorded against specific entities and can be linked to monthly processing tasks. This provides a clear picture of effort per client per month.

Recording time​

  • Manual entry -- Log time from the timesheet view with entity, date, description, and duration
  • Timer -- Start and stop a running timer while working on a task
  • Task-linked time -- Record time from within a monthly processing task, which auto-populates the entity and description

Rate configuration​

Rates can be configured at multiple levels:

LevelDescription
Practice defaultBase hourly rate for all team members
Team member ratePer-person rates reflecting seniority
Entity-specific rateCustom rates agreed with individual clients
Service-specific rateDifferent rates for bookkeeping vs. payroll vs. advisory work

Fixed-fee vs. hourly billing​

Bookkeeping practices commonly use two billing models:

Fixed-fee (monthly retainer)​

Most bookkeeping clients are billed a fixed monthly fee covering the standard processing cycle. To set this up:

  1. Navigate to the entity's billing settings
  2. Set the billing type to Fixed Fee
  3. Enter the monthly amount
  4. Configure recurring invoice generation (monthly, in advance or in arrears)

Recurring invoices are generated automatically on the scheduled date and can be reviewed before sending.

Hourly billing​

For clients billed by the hour, or for ad-hoc work outside the standard retainer:

  1. Record time entries against the entity throughout the month
  2. At month-end, generate an invoice from unbilled time entries
  3. Review and adjust line items as needed
  4. Send the invoice via email or the client portal

WIP monitoring​

The WIP (work-in-progress) report shows unbilled time across your practice:

  • By entity -- Identify clients with accumulated unbilled hours
  • By team member -- Monitor individual workloads and capacity
  • By period -- Track how WIP evolves month-on-month
  • Realisation rate -- Compare billed amounts against recorded time value

For fixed-fee clients, WIP monitoring helps you assess whether the agreed fee adequately covers the actual effort involved.

Monthly invoicing workflow​

A typical monthly invoicing cycle for a bookkeeping practice:

  1. Review time entries -- Ensure all time for the month has been recorded and categorised
  2. Generate recurring invoices -- Let AtlasOS create fixed-fee invoices automatically
  3. Generate hourly invoices -- Create invoices from unbilled time for hourly clients
  4. Review and approve -- Partner or manager reviews all invoices before sending
  5. Send -- Deliver invoices via email or client portal
  6. Track payments -- Record payments as they are received and follow up on overdue accounts

Next steps​