From time tracking to invoice draft: a practical example

The sample job

Studio Example commissions a small design job. You agree on an hourly rate of €80 for the service “Design”. Concept work and revisions take two hours in total.

The client, job and figures are invented for this guide. This is an illustrative practical example, not a customer case study. The cover is a symbolic workspace illustration.

You need a workspace with access to projects and time tracking. The invoice step requires Pro or an active Pro trial, plus configured sender details. Free includes time tracking and basic projects within plan limits. Check the appropriate coverage on the pricing page. Some controls below retain their German interface labels.

1. Assign the client and project

Open the project overview and choose “Neu” (new). Create “Studio Example” as a new client. Open “Neu” again and select that client under “Neues Projekt für” (new project for). Name the project “Example design”.

After saving, check the client assignment. Assign the service “Design” to the project at €80 per hour. That rate is the basis for the example invoice items. The project guide explains creation and the project work areas.

2. Track two hours against the service

Create two completed time entries in “Example design”. Both use the service “Design” and are marked billable. For a trial run, you can create the fictional entries manually. For actual work, you can use the timer.

The entries below are sample data. Both use the same hourly rate. The total is 2 hours × €80 = €160 net before tax. No tax calculation is included.

• Check the client, project and service on both entries.
• Review the start, end and displayed duration. A running timer is not a completed entry.
• Keep internal or non-billable work outside this selection. The time tracking guide explains timers and manual entries.

3. Import time into the invoice draft

Open Finance → Invoices and start a new invoice. On first use, complete the invoice setup. Check the sender and recipient. Choose “Import aus Projekt” (import from project), then “Example design”.

Set the date range to include both sample entries. You can import time individually or grouped by service. For this example, check a total of two hours for “Design”.

Select the required entries and confirm “Übernehmen” (import). Review the resulting items in the draft. The invoice guide explains the other editor fields.

4. Check the selection and amounts

Compare the imported items with the original entries. The total quantity in this example should be two hours. The agreed hourly rate is €80. Without discounts or additional items, that gives a net value of €160.

If entries are missing, first check the project, date filter, end time and billable setting. The grouped selection excludes entries already billed. Do not create duplicate entries before checking the originals.

• Check the recipient and service period.
• Review the service description, quantity, unit, hourly rate and totals.
• Review tax details and any additional items for your actual job. The example total does not supply those details.
• Open the preview. Correct the draft until its presentation and source entries match.

5. Save the draft

Choose “Entwurf speichern” (save draft) and wait for its saved detail view. This ends the trial run. You have followed the sample data from client to project to time entries and into an invoice draft.

Finalizing and sending are separate actions. A saved draft has not been sent to the client. When following the example, stay in draft and use only invented data.

The steps reflect the documented product workflow as of 22 October 2026. For more detail, see clients and projects, time tracking, creating an invoice and plans and allowances. For tool selection, read the time tracking comparison.