The problem
Fixed-price logo and website jobs feel profitable until the fourth round of amends. If a designer quotes 20 hours a project and 2 projects a month quietly run to 28 hours, that's 16 unpaid hours a month, worth $745£560€666A$1,075C$1,053 at $47£35€42A$67C$66 an hour.
What the AI does
Toggl Track has timers on desktop, browser and phone, and Starter adds project estimates and billable rates. Start a timer whenever you work on a client and compare the hours with your estimate as the project runs. When a project goes past the rounds of changes in your proposal, raise it with the client before carrying on, and use the totals to price the next similar job.
A worked example
A freelance brand designer in Glasgow does 2 fixed-price identity projects a month, each quoted at 20 hours. They track every session in Toggl Track and check the estimate whenever a client asks for more changes.
Before
2 projects a month running to 28 hours each: 16 unpaid hours
After
If tracking gets half the overrun billed as extra rounds or priced into future quotes: 8 hours a month recovered
What it's worth
About $372£280€333A$538C$526 a month recovered, against about $9£7€8A$13C$13 to $12£9€11A$17C$17 for Toggl Track Starter. 8 hours a month billed or no longer given away, worth about $372£280€333A$538C$526 at an assumed $47£35€42A$67C$66 an hour (design time is almost all labor, so counted in full). Cost: Starter is $9 (about $9£7€8A$13C$13) a month with the annual toggle or $12 (about $12£9€11A$17C$17) monthly for one user; the page doesn't label which price is which.
How to set it up
- Install the desktop app and browser extension, and set up a project for each client job with its estimate in hours (Starter).
- Start a timer whenever you work for a client, including emails and calls.
- Check hours against the estimate each time the client asks for more changes.
- When you reach the rounds of changes in your proposal, tell the client what extra work costs before you do it.
- After each project, compare the real hours with the quote and adjust your prices.
What goes wrong
- Project estimates aren't on the free plan, which only has task estimates, so this needs Starter.
- The pricing page doesn't say which plan includes budget alerts, so check the estimate yourself rather than waiting for an email.
- Forgotten timers ruin the data. Check your day's entries before you finish work.
- Tracking only helps if your proposal sets out the rounds of changes. Without that, there's nothing to point to.