TL;DR Time tracking is worth it in 3 scenarios: a firm with 3+ people, a firm that charges by the technical hour, a firm with margin < 25%. In a solo practice, it becomes bureaucracy. Rolling it out without trauma requires clarity of purpose (measure the project, not the person).

Real upsides

  • Calibrates your hour estimates for the next projects.
  • Identifies projects that are "leaking" hours.
  • Justifies charging extras (logged technical hour).
  • Raises margin by 5–12% just from the Hawthorne effect (people aware of time work better).

Honest downsides

  • Daily friction: logging hours is tedious.
  • It can turn into a micromanagement tool.
  • A creative project is not easy to break into hours.
  • Adoption typically drops after 60 days if there is no process.

When it pays off

  • A firm with 3+ people.
  • Charging by the technical hour as part of the model.
  • Operating margin < 25%.
  • Frequent "I do not know where the time went".

How to roll it out without trauma

  1. Say the why. "We are going to measure the project, not the person." A team that understands the purpose adopts it.
  2. The right granularity. Per project and stage, not per 15-minute task.
  3. Log at the end of the day, not in real time.
  4. Weekly group review. Not a tribunal, a learning session.
  5. Use it to praise. "This project closed within budget" so the team sees positive value.
Lightweight tracker in Limify

Logging per project, without friction

Limify has an integrated tracker per project. Logging at the end of the day, with the right granularity for architects. Without becoming a torture tool.

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