The Secrets Your Timesheets Are Keeping

The Value Isn’t Only In The Billing

Yes, accurate billing is important, but the real value shows up when you start seeing patterns in your work that you never noticed before.

You Discover Your True Hourly Rate

Most freelancers have no idea what they actually earn per hour. They know their quoted rate, but they don’t know their effective rate after all the unbillable time.

When you track everything - the client calls, the revisions, the admin work, and the hours the project is keeping you awake at night - you might discover that your $100/hour project actually paid you $65/hour. That’s uncomfortable to discover, but genuinely useful to know.

You Find Your Most Profitable Work

Not all clients are created equal. Some pay well but require endless revisions. Others pay less but are a genuine pleasure to work with. When you can actually see which clients and project types give you the best return for your time, you can start steering toward more of that.

You Spot the Time Thieves

We all have ‘em. Those tasks that seem quick but somehow eat up hours. Email. Social media. “Quick” client calls that turn into strategy sessions.

“I recently worked on an album design for a sweet elderly singer-songwriter who called every day to ‘discuss the design’ - though I suspect she mostly just wanted a chat. I genuinely valued our friendship and those conversations, but I still logged the time against her project. I didn’t bill her for them, but having that data helps me understand where all my time actually goes.”
- Steve Leggat, TallyHo creator

The TallyHo Approach

TallyHo is a bit different. Most time tracking apps focus on the mechanics: start timer, stop timer, categorize, bill. My aim with TallyHo is to help you understand your time, not just track it.

Start Simple

You don’t need to track every minute from day one. Start with these basics:

1. Client work (billable time)
2. Admin time (emails, invoicing, etc.)
3. Business development (proposals, networking)

Track these for a month and you’ll be surprised what you discover.

The Bottom Line

Time tracking shouldn’t be about micromanaging yourself - it’s about making smarter decisions about your business.

Want to raise your rates? You’ll have data to back it up. Want to fire a difficult client? You’ll know exactly how much they’re costing you. Want to work fewer hours for the same income? You’ll know which work to focus on.