How Do I Track Time Spent on Non-Billable Tasks?
To track time spent on non-billable tasks, ask professionals to log all their time — not only billable hours — using a short list of non-billable categories such as internal meetings, admin, training, business development and rework, and review the totals regularly.
In Jestor, billable and non-billable entries live in the same table, so the firm sees where time really goes.
Why does non-billable time matter?
Professional firms often know their billable hours but not the rest. Internal work grows silently.
When billable hours fall, nobody knows whether the cause is meetings, admin, rework or lack of clients.
Hidden costs reduce profitability.
What problems does non-billable tracking solve?
- Unknown use of non-billable time
- Excessive internal meetings
- Admin work done by senior professionals
- Rework not measured
- Low utilization without explanation
How do I track non-billable time in Jestor?
- Add non-billable categories to the time entries table.
- Make entry fast with a short form or the action bar (Ctrl+K).
- Encourage daily logging of all time.
- Build dashboards of billable vs non-billable time by person and category.
- Review results monthly and decide on actions.
| Category | Possible action |
|---|---|
| Internal meetings | Shorter or fewer meetings |
| Admin | Delegate or automate |
| Rework | Improve reviews and templates |
| Business development | Track results |
How do I avoid making time tracking a burden?
Keep categories few and simple, and allow entries in seconds.
Explaining that the goal is improving processes, not controlling people, increases adoption.
Why use Jestor for non-billable time?
- One time table: billable and non-billable together.
- Fast entry: logs in seconds.
- Dashboards: time by category and person.
- Automation opportunities: repetitive admin work identified and automated with 400+ automations.
What else helps you track time spent on non-billable tasks?
- Admin work that appears often in the data is a good candidate for process automation, freeing professionals for client work.
- Comparing utilization across months shows whether changes are working.
- Seasonality matters too. Comparing non-billable time across months shows whether internal work peaks at certain times, such as year-end planning or recruitment.
- These patterns help schedule internal projects in quieter periods.
This is how you track time spent on non-billable tasks and recover productive hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can time be logged quickly?
Yes. Forms and the action bar make entries fast.
Can I get free setup help?
Yes. The Jestor team helps at no cost at jestor.com.
Can I compare billable and non-billable time?
Yes. Dashboards show both by person and period.
Get to know Jestor
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 and see how to take your company's operations to a new level of efficiency and control.