Track Agency Billable Hours in Google Sheets (With Automated Invoicing)

You’re losing 12 hours a month—and $940 in billable revenue—chasing timesheets. One operations manager spent 18 hours reconciling form responses, only to find 37% of entries had unclear billing status, delaying invoices by a week. If your time tracking relies on copy-paste or disconnected tools, you’re burning profit.

Why Spreadsheets Are Costing You Clients and Cash

• Human error: Misspelled client names or wrong project tags split entries in reports—reconciliation becomes guesswork.
• Delayed invoicing: A 5-day lag between work and invoice? That’s 5 days without cash.
• No real-time insights: Can’t answer “Which clients are profitable?” without hours of manual sorting. By then, the quarter’s over.
• Admin overload: Manual categorization fails at scale. At 5+ projects/month, your spreadsheet turns into a filter nightmare.

Spreadsheets break silently. You only notice when the invoice is wrong.

Automate Time Tracking & Invoicing—Free in Google Sheets

Build a zero-cost system with Google Forms for time entry, Sheets as your database, and Apps Script to auto-categorize hours and generate invoices. No plugins. No subscriptions.

One script processes form submissions, applies billing rules, and logs data in under 2 seconds—well under Apps Script’s 6-minute limit.

// Pseudo code for the application 
FUNCTION onFormSubmit(submissionEvent)
  TRY
    GET 'Timesheet' sheet
    IF sheet missing THEN THROW Error
    
    EXTRACT [Client, Project, Hours, WorkDate, Notes] from submission
    
    DEFINE Non-Billable Projects (Internal, Team Sync, Training)
    DETERMINE isBillable (Project NOT in Non-Billable List)
    
    LOOKUP Client Rate using getClientRate(Client)
    CALCULATE Amount (Hours * Rate if Billable, else 0)
    
    APPEND Row to Timesheet:
      [Timestamp, Client, Project, Hours, BillableStatus, Amount, WorkDate, Notes]
      
  CATCH Error
    LOG Error
    SEND Email Alert to Admin
END FUNCTION
 
FUNCTION getClientRate(clientName)
  TRY
    GET 'ClientRates' sheet
    READ all data (Batch Operation)
    FIND clientName in data
    RETURN matching Rate OR Default Rate (100)
  CATCH Error
    RETURN Default Rate
END FUNCTION

This runs on Sheets API v4 and uses under 50 URL fetch calls/day for a 15-person team—well under the 20,000 daily limit.

How It Works: From Time Entry to Invoice

No exports. No copy-paste. One system from entry to payment.

Set It Up in 7 Steps (<1 Hour)

1. Create Google Form: Fields—Client (dropdown), Project (dropdown), Hours (number), Date (date), Notes (text). Mobile-friendly.
2. Link to Sheet: In Form editor, go to Responses > Select response destination > Create new spreadsheet. Name it "Time Tracking System."
3. Add "Timesheet" Tab: Headers: Timestamp, Client, Project, Hours, Billable, Amount, Work Date, Notes.
4. Add "ClientRates" Tab: Headers: Client, Rate. Fill in your rates (e.g., Acme Inc | 150).
5. Open Apps Script: In spreadsheet, go to Extensions > Apps Script. Delete default code, paste script, save.
6. Set Trigger: In Apps Script, click Triggers > Add Trigger. Choose onFormSubmit, event source "From form," event type "On form submit." Authorize.
7. Test: Submit a form entry. Verify it appears in Timesheet with correct billable status and amount.

Done. Time logs auto-categorize. Invoicing starts from clean, structured data.

DIY vs Paid Tools: Who Wins?

For agencies under 15 people, DIY wins on speed, cost, and control. You own the data. You set the rules.

Ship It—Or Lose $940 a Month

• ✅ Stop losing hours: Automate time-to-invoice with Google Forms + Apps Script
• ✅ See real margins: Tag billable hours at entry—know profitability by client
• ✅ Launch in <1 hour: Use the onFormSubmit script to kill manual work

Build it yourself (code above)
OR
Book a call, running by Friday. 30-day warranty.