Time tracking for IT service providers with project controlling
time cockpit is the time tracking solution for IT service providers who want to do more than record project time: they want to use it for project management, billing and business decisions.
Whether implementation, consulting, development, service or operations: IT service providers need reliable data on effort, utilization, billable services and profitability.
For IT service providers, software and project companies, technical consultancies, managed service providers and project-based IT companies.
Time tracking for IT service providers records working hours per client, project and activity and separates billable from internal hours. time cockpit is such a time tracking solution from Austria: project time, budgets, utilization and billing share one data basis, so that IT system houses, consultants and managed service providers can steer their projects profitably.
time cockpit at a glance
- Price
- €10.85 – per user per month
- Trial
- 30 days – free, no credit card, cancel any day afterwards
- Hosting
- EU hosting – Microsoft Azure in Amsterdam and Dublin, dedicated database per customer
- Vendor
- since 2010 – software architects gmbh, Leonding (Austria)
- Product
- time cockpit, project and employee time tracking as software-as-a-service
- Master data
- Unlimited clients, projects, tasks and invoices
- Platforms
- Browser on PC, Mac, Android and iOS; Activity Tracker for Windows
- Integrations
- Web API (REST, OData, TCQL) with personal access tokens, MCP server for AI assistants, Excel import and export, Office 365 appointments in the calendar
- Single sign-on
- Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD)
- Other plans
- Freelancer plan free in the first year; Starter €29.90 in the first year for up to 10 users
Time tracking for IT service providers: operational data for project business and management
In IT service companies, documenting attendance is not enough. What matters is well-structured project time for project business, controlling, billing and business decisions.
IT service providers rarely work to a single pattern. Client projects, workshops, implementations, change requests, support, maintenance, internal technical topics and presales effort run in parallel and still have to be recorded and analyzed consistently.
This is exactly what time cockpit is made for: time tracking for IT service providers with project time tracking, project controlling, reporting, absence management and customizable processes that match the way you actually work.
Typical time tracking problems at IT service providers
The biggest gap is usually not in booking time itself, but where project business, billing and controlling depend on the same data.
Project time is recorded, but not precisely enough for management
Time is recorded but categorized too broadly. Later it is hard to tell what went into workshops, implementations, custom development, services, rework or internal technical topics.
Billing, project management and controlling work with different versions of the data
When consulting, development, project management and back office work with Excel lists, ticket systems and manual exports, there is no reliable picture for billing, budget consumption, post-calculation and ongoing project management.
Utilization, margin and internal overhead too often remain unclear
Between client projects, ongoing service, support, internal product maintenance, training and absences, a shared picture is often missing. It stays hidden where capacity is tied up and which services are actually profitable.
Why simple standard time tracking is not enough
Booking hours alone is not yet a reliable basis for project management and profitability.
| Simple standard time tracking | time cockpit for IT service providers | |
|---|---|---|
| Project time tracking | Nachteil: Time in catch-all categories instead of per project and activity | Vorteil: Time per project, activity and, where needed, custom fields |
| Billable hours | Nachteil: Only separable from internal hours with manual rework | Vorteil: Billable, non-billable and internal effort can be analyzed |
| Project controlling | Nachteil: Budget consumption and profitability visible too late or not at all | Vorteil: Budget consumption, post-calculation, utilization and profitability |
| Service, projects & absences | Nachteil: Spread across several systems and lists | Vorteil: Working time, project time, absences and service processes in one solution |
| Approval & billing | Nachteil: Your own approval and billing processes can hardly be mapped | Vorteil: Adaptable to project, approval and billing processes |
Why time cockpit is a better fit for IT service providers
time cockpit combines time tracking, project time tracking, working time regulations and project controlling into one shared operational data basis.
This way, time is not just documented: services are classified cleanly, implementation effort becomes traceable and client projects can be steered profitably.
For IT service providers, this means more than time tracking: a shared basis for billing, project management, utilization, post-calculation, team capacity and well-founded decisions about profitability.
Especially relevant for IT service providers who
- need to steer client projects profitably, not just deliver them
- bill implementation, consulting, service or development work
- want to make internal technical effort and non-billable time visible
- need to understand utilization, margin and profitability across teams and business units
- are looking for a solution that is closer to how they actually work than a generic HR tool
Features and use cases for IT service providers
Project-based time tracking
Project time can be assigned cleanly to client projects and activities and extended with custom fields where needed. This lays the foundation for better transparency, accurate billing and manageable project and service processes.
This is crucial in IT service companies where implementations, consulting, custom development, support and internal topics run in parallel. Instead of rough time totals, you get reliable data per client, project, activity and optional additional fields.
Learn more: Project time tracking.
Transparency about billable and non-billable hours
With time cockpit you can see which hours are billable, which are internal and where effort arises that matters for managing the business.
This helps not only with billing but also with key everyday questions: Which services are billable? Where does internal technical effort arise? Which hours tie up capacity without directly generating revenue? And which projects are losing margin?
Related content: 10 Revenue Killers in Project Time Tracking and Project invoicing.
Project controlling, analyzes and reports
Time tracking becomes valuable when bookings turn into reliable management information. time cockpit helps IT service providers better understand project effort, budget development, utilization and profitability.
Instead of just collecting time data, companies can use analyzes of budget consumption, post-calculation, team capacity and margin and recognize earlier when projects go off track, internal overhead rises or project and service models need to be sharpened economically.
Learn more: Key KPIs from project time tracking data and Project post-calculation.
Absences and working time regulations included
Vacations, absences, part-time models and working time regulations are also part of everyday operations in many IT service companies. time cockpit covers these topics as well, instead of moving them to a separate side system.
This is particularly important when teams work in projects, service or technical consulting at the same time and availability, capacity and planning cannot be viewed in isolation from absences and working time regulations.
Learn more: Employee time tracking.
Adaptable to real processes
Not every IT service provider works the same way. That is why a time tracking solution is especially valuable when it can be adapted to existing project structures, activities, custom fields and approval processes.
If you need your own project and service structures, activities, additional fields, approvals, workflows or reports, the software must not hold you back. This is exactly where it differs substantially from generic tools and pure HR solutions.
Learn more: Customizable time tracking and Web API.
Which IT service providers is time cockpit suited for?
Especially for companies that work on projects and want to manage effort, billing, utilization and profitability together.
A particularly good fit for
- IT service providers
- software and project companies
- technical consultancies
- managed service providers
- project-based IT companies with several teams, business units or project groups
Typical scenarios
- steering client projects profitably
- making implementation effort transparent
- documenting consulting and development work accurately
- analyzing service, support and project business together
- making internal technical effort visible
- putting billing and controlling on a shared data basis
When simple time tracking is no longer enough
If you want to use project time for project management, billing and profitability, you need more than a tool for just booking hours.
That is exactly where time cockpit comes in: as time tracking for IT service providers who want to put project time, billing, utilization and profitability on a shared basis.
FAQ: time tracking for IT service providers
Why is simple time tracking often not enough for IT service providers?
Because IT service providers do not just document attendance: they have to steer client projects, bill services, make internal effort visible and make well-founded business decisions. Plain time lists or simple collections of hours are usually not enough for that.
How does time cockpit help with billable and internal hours?
With time cockpit, time can be recorded in detail by project and activity and extended with custom fields where needed. This shows which hours are billable, which are internal and where economically relevant effort arises.
Can time cockpit support project controlling and analyzes?
Yes. time cockpit supports budget consumption, post-calculation, utilization, reports and profitability analyzes. This turns time tracking into reliable management information for project business, project management and senior management.
Is time cockpit only suitable for service companies, or also for software and project companies?
The solution fits not only classic service organizations but also software and project companies, technical consultancies, managed service providers and other IT service providers with project-based work.
How well can the solution be adapted to existing processes?
If you need your own activities, project structures, additional fields, approvals, workflows or reports, time cockpit can be adapted to these requirements. Especially for established project and billing processes, this is an important difference from standard tools.
How does time tracking help IT service providers better understand the profitability of their projects?
By assigning every hour to a client, project and activity and giving it an hourly rate. From this, time cockpit calculates the revenue, the effort and the share of non-billable hours per project. IT service providers can see which projects and clients bring in margin and where effort arises without return.
Which time tracking software distinguishes between billable and non-billable time?
time cockpit marks projects and activities as billable or non-billable and analyzes both shares separately. Non-billable time such as support, sales or internal projects stays visible instead of disappearing in billing.
Does time cockpit fit your process, from time tracking to invoicing?
In 30 minutes you will know whether time cockpit covers your project hours, project controlling and invoicing.
- What we cover
- You tell us how you track and bill time today. We show you live how that works in time cockpit and what switching involves.
- Who you talk to
- Someone from the team that builds time cockpit and rolls it out for customers, for example Alexander or Michael.
- How
- 30 minutes online via Microsoft Teams, free and without obligation.
You pick a free slot in Microsoft Bookings (opens in a new tab) and receive the confirmation with the Teams link by email. Prefer to write? support@timecockpit.com