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# How to track billable hours per project
- URL: https://blog.jestor.com/track-billable-hours-per-project/
- Published: 2026-09-16T18:49:25.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-16T18:49:25.000Z
- Author: Bruno Bannach

To **track billable hours per project**, you need the contracted hours and the logged hours side by side on the same record. In **Jestor**, a ready made template shows the remaining hour balance directly on the project card, calculated as contracted hours minus hours worked.

## Why service businesses lose margin silently

When a company sells hours, margin is consumed in small increments: an extra call, a revision nobody scoped, a meeting that ran long. None of it looks alarming on its own.

Without a running balance, the overrun is only discovered when the project is delivered and the profit is gone.

What hour tracking prevents:

- Working more hours than the client contracted
- Scope creep with no visible cost
- Invoicing that does not match the effort spent
- No evidence when renegotiating a contract
- Team overloaded on a project already in deficit

## What the project card should show

| Field             | What it holds                    | Why it matters                       |
| ----------------- | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| Project name      | Identification of the engagement | Finding it quickly                   |
| Client            | Who contracted the work          | One client can hold several projects |
| Contracted hours  | What was sold                    | The ceiling of the engagement        |
| Hours worked      | What has been logged             | Actual effort spent                  |
| Remaining balance | Contracted minus worked          | The number that signals risk         |
| Usage percentage  | Share of hours consumed          | Visual warning before the limit      |

## Step by step to run it

1. **Install the billable hours template** and adjust the stages to your delivery flow.
2. **Register the client**, since several projects can sit under the same account.
3. **Create the project** with its description and the number of contracted hours.
4. **Log hours as work happens**, not at the end of the month.
5. **Watch the remaining balance** on the card as the project advances.
6. **Move the project across stages**: proposal, execution, delivered or cancelled.

## Why the balance belongs on the card

A report you have to open is a report nobody reads during the work. Putting the balance on the card means the person doing the work sees the constraint while there is still time to act.

- **Balance calculated automatically:** contracted hours minus logged hours
- **Usage chart on the record:** the percentage consumed, visible at a glance
- **Stages on a Kanban:** proposal, execution, delivered and cancelled
- **Fully customizable:** the example uses consulting, but any service model fits

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How is the remaining hour balance calculated?

Contracted hours minus the hours logged and tracked on the project. See [jestor.com](https://www.jestor.com/?ref=blog.jestor.com).

### Can one client have several projects?

Yes. Projects are linked to the client record, which can hold many engagements.

### Is this template only for consulting firms?

No. Consulting is the example used, but it fits any service billed by the hour.

## Video Tutorial: Step by Step

With **Jestor**, you can automate workflows, connect teams, and build internal systems your way, all without code and powered by **AI**. Discover Jestor at [jestor.com](https://www.jestor.com/?ref=blog.jestor.com) and see how to take your company's operations to a new level of efficiency and control.