Book a demoTrack time by client and project, sell hours on retainer or in prepaid blocks, invoice through Stripe, and give each client a portal with their balance and invoices.
A client buys 20 hours a month. Your team logs time in one tool, the balance lives in a spreadsheet, and invoices go out from another. Each month someone adds up the hours used, bills the overage and answers the client who asks how many hours are left. Timebun keeps the time, the hours, the invoices and the client's own view in one place.
Fractional executives: see Timebun for fractional teams. Accounting practices: see Timebun for accountants.
Start a timer or type a duration, on a client's project, on the client alone, or on nothing yet and file it later. Billable time can round up to 6, 15, 30 or 60 minutes; the tracked time is kept as it was.
Put each person on a rate card, such as Senior or Associate, in each currency you bill. A project can bill at one flat rate or the client's own rate instead. Record each person's hourly cost too.
The Margin report compares what the work was billed at with what it cost, by person, client or project. The Billable report shows what share of your time you can charge for. Margin is on Unlimited.
Tick the projects and dates, and Timebun drafts one invoice from everything unbilled, a line per entry. Time a retainer covers is left off. Clients pay into your own Stripe account. How to bill clients for hours.
Set your payment terms, one reminder before the due date and several after it. Timebun checks Stripe before each one, so a client who just paid is not chased. Record a check or wire in full and they stop.
| Description | Qty | Unit price | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09/04/2026 - Board reporting - Owen Price: Pulled July and August operating metrics from finance | 1.50 | $180.00 | $270.00 |
| 09/14/2026 - Board reporting - Lena Cho: Built the KPI dashboard for the Q3 pack | 2.25 | $180.00 | $405.00 |
| 09/21/2026 - Board reporting - Owen Price: Drafted board pack for Q3 | 3.00 | $180.00 | $540.00 |
| 09/25/2026 - Board reporting - Owen Price: Reviewed the draft board pack with Marcus | 0.75 | $180.00 | $135.00 |
| 09/28/2026 - Board reporting - Lena Cho: Final edits to the Q3 board pack | 1.25 | $180.00 | $225.00 |
Set up each plan once: hours per month, quarter or year at a fixed price, such as 10, 20 or 40 hours a month. Stripe charges the client each period, and the hours arrive when the payment clears. Pricing a consulting retainer.
A bigger plan can start right away, with the difference invoiced that day. A smaller one starts at the next renewal. Clients can change plan from their portal, and you're emailed when one cancels or moves down.
Choose per plan when unused hours expire: at the end of the period, 3 or 12 months later, or never. Each block of hours keeps its own expiry date, on the client page and in the portal.
When a client's hours run out, your team keeps tracking. The extra time bills on the next invoice at the client's hourly rate, or at the retainer's price per hour if the client has none. How balances work.
A block is a fixed number of hours at a fixed price, paid once. It can expire after 3, 6 or 12 months, or never. Clients buy one in their portal, or you sell one and send the payment link.
Every bundle below is added to this same balance and drawn on the same way. Each one raises a proper invoice you can pay by card or bank debit.
Your hours are added when the payment clears, not when you press Buy — so the balance above will usually not have moved by the time you come back. A card is normally a moment; a bank debit can take up to four business days. Every top-up is a proper invoice, and it appears in your invoices, paid or not.
Each client signs in to see their hours left, each block with its expiry, their time by project with a CSV export, and every invoice to pay online. The timesheet shows no rates, costs, running timers or non-billable time. About the client portal.
When a client's hours fall to the level you set, 5 by default, Timebun emails them a Buy hours link and tells your team. The client buys a block in the portal; the hours land when the payment clears.
Once or twice a month, each client with hours is emailed their opening balance, hours added, every entry used by project and their closing balance, with the entries as a CSV. A statement shows hours, never money. Turn on statements.
One conversation per client, in the portal, with files up to 20 MB attached. Internal notes stay on your side. The people who look after that client are notified when they write.
| Date | What | Invoice | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Sep 2026 | September allocation | KSTRL-0036 | 30.00 h |
| 23 Sep 2026 | Top-up — 15 hours | KSTRL-0040 | 15.00 h |
| Date | Person | Description | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Sep 2026 | Owen Price | Interviewed clinic managers on scheduling | 6.50 h |
| 10 Sep 2026 | Lena Cho | Mapped patient intake at the two pilot clinics | 7.25 h |
| 17 Sep 2026 | Lena Cho | Analyzed no-show rates by clinic and weekday | 6.00 h |
| 22 Sep 2026 | Owen Price | Ran the scheduling workshop with clinic leads | 5.50 h |
| 29 Sep 2026 | Owen Price | Wrote up the scheduling recommendations | 3.25 h |
| Subtotal | 28.50 h | ||
Work billed on an invoice at its own rate, not taken from the balance.
| Date | Person | What | Invoice | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Sep 2026 | Owen Price | Board reportingPulled July and August operating metrics from finance | Billed on invoice KSTRL-0042 | 1.50 h |
Turn your hourly consulting rate into a monthly retainer: hours included, rate, tiers, unused hours, overage and prepaid blocks, with a fractional CFO example.
BillingThree ways a firm can bill clients for its time: hourly, a monthly retainer, or a prepaid block of hours. When each fits and what clients need to see.
Yes. Create a plan for each size, such as 10, 20 and 40 hours a month, and clients move between them. If some clients pay a different price for the same hours, put them on a named tier. Each client is offered only the plans and blocks of hours on their own tier.
Yes. Put out-of-scope work on a project set to Billed directly, with its own rate. That time goes on the invoice and never touches the client's hours. Time past the balance bills as overage on the same invoice.
No. There is no timesheet approval, no resource scheduling and no capacity planning. Timebun tracks time, sells hours on retainer, invoices through Stripe and gives each client a portal. If you need those, look elsewhere.
Yes. Add the address as a contact marked Receives invoices. It gets invoices, reminders and statements of hours by email, without signing in.
No. Clients pay into your own Stripe account, and the money never passes through Timebun. Stripe's own fees apply.
No. You invite each person at a client, and client logins never take a seat. Starter is $15 a seat a month for your team. Unlimited is $199 a month flat, however many people you add, with your logo and colors on the portal.
Every trial is 14 days of Unlimited, with no card. Connect Stripe, publish a retainer plan, invite one client and use View as to see their portal. After the trial, Starter is $15 a seat a month, and Unlimited is $199 a month flat, however many people you add, with your logo and colors on the portal.