Time Tracking for Tradespeople UK (2026) — How to Record Hours and Bill Correctly

Most tradespeople underbill for labour. Not because they charge too little per hour, but because they fail to capture all the hours they actually work — the 20 minutes picking up a part, the half-hour troubleshooting before the main job starts, the time writing up the job at the end of the day. Good time tracking closes that gap.

This guide covers the practical options for time tracking as a UK tradesperson: manual timesheets, dedicated time tracking apps, and job management software with built-in time logging — and how to use time records to bill accurately and defend your invoices if a customer disputes them.

Why time tracking matters for trade businesses

Three practical reasons beyond the obvious one (getting paid accurately):

• Quote accuracy: if you know how long a specific job type actually takes (rather than how long you think it takes), your future quotes become more accurate. Over time you build a real benchmark: a first-fix rewire in a 3-bed semi takes 4.5 days, not 3.
• Dispute resolution: if a customer challenges your invoice, documented time records — especially with GPS-stamped start and end times — are far more defensible than memory.
• Subcontractor management: if you pay subcontractors by the hour rather than by the job, you need verifiable time records as the basis for their payments.

Option 1: Manual paper timesheets

The simplest approach and still used by many sole traders. A paper timesheet has a column for date, job reference, start time, end time, total hours and notes. At the end of the week you tot up hours per job and use that to produce invoices.

Paper timesheets work fine for a single-person business doing a small number of ongoing jobs. They break down when:

• You have multiple jobs in a day and need to track time per job accurately
• You need to share time records with an accountant or payroll provider
• You have employees or subcontractors whose time you need to track separately
• A customer disputes an invoice and you need timestamped evidence

Option 2: Spreadsheet timesheets

A step up from paper — a Google Sheet or Excel spreadsheet that auto-calculates totals. You can build a template with job reference, date, start/end times, auto-calculated hours and a notes column. A weekly total and a per-job breakdown are easy to add.

Advantages over paper: searchable, shareable with your accountant, easily backed up, and the automatic calculations reduce errors. The limitation is that you're still manually entering data after the fact, which means data tends to be entered at the end of the day rather than in real-time — and memory degrades.

Option 3: Dedicated time tracking apps

Apps like Clockify (free), Toggl Track (free tier available), and Hubstaff (paid) are purpose-built for time tracking. Key features relevant to tradespeople:

• Real-time timer: tap to start tracking when you arrive on site, tap again when you leave. No estimating after the fact.
• Project/job tagging: track time against specific job references so you can see total hours per job
• GPS logging (Hubstaff): records your location when you clock in and out, useful for verifying on-site time if disputes arise
• Team tracking: if you have employees, they can log their own time in the same system and you see a consolidated view
• Export to invoice: most apps can export time records as a CSV that you import into your invoicing software or accounting package

Clockify is the most popular free option and is adequate for sole traders.Hubstaff is the most feature-complete for teams, with GPS, screenshots and payroll integration, but starts at around £7/user/month.

Option 4: Time tracking in job management software

If you're already using job management software (Trade2Base, SimPRO, Tradify, ServiceM8), time tracking built into the job is often the most practical option — because it eliminates the step of transferring time records from a separate app into your jobs and invoices.

The advantage of integrated time tracking:

• Hours logged against a job automatically appear as line items on the invoice — no manual transfer
• Time records are stored against the job history, so any dispute is resolved in a single click
• Engineer-level time records let you see which engineers are fast or slow on specific job types
• Job cost vs. job revenue is visible in real-time: if a job is running over hours, you know before you invoice

What hours should you be tracking?

This is where most tradespeople leave money on the table. The hours worth tracking go beyond the hands-on job:

• Travel to site: if you charge for travel (many tradespeople do, especially for callouts), this needs to be logged separately
• Parts collection: time spent collecting materials from the merchant is legitimate job time if it's for a specific job
• Fault finding / diagnosis: the 30 minutes troubleshooting before the main work starts is real time — charge for it
• Clean-up and sign-off: tidying up, testing, and getting the customer to sign off all takes time
• Return visits: even a short return visit is billable time if it's part of the job

Most labour-only quoters don't charge for travel and collection time, and this is fine as a business decision — but be explicit with yourself about what you're not charging for when you set your day rate.

Time tracking for CIS and payroll

If you have CIS subcontractors paid hourly, time records are essential. HMRC expects you to be able to demonstrate the basis for your CIS deductions — having verified time records (especially GPS-stamped if possible) protects you in the event of a compliance check.

For employees paid on an hourly rate, time records are also required for payroll accuracy and are the baseline for overtime calculations. A dedicated time tracking app or your job management software's team time logging is the most defensible approach.

How to bill from time records

Once you have accurate time records, the billing workflow is straightforward:

1. Total hours for each job (or job phase, if billing in stages)
2. Multiply by your labour rate (or different rates for different engineers if applicable)
3. Add materials at trade + markup
4. Add VAT at 20% (if VAT-registered)
5. Show the hours breakdown on the invoice — e.g. "Labour: 6.5 hours @ £65/hr = £422.50"

Showing hours on the invoice is standard practice and significantly reduces disputes — customers who can see what they paid for are much less likely to challenge the bill.