time tracking for consultants · updated 2026-08-03
Time tracking for consultants
Lyto Tally is time-tracking software for consultants: log billable hours against a client and engagement, and turn them straight into invoices in Sum without a separate export. Because it shares one client record with the CRM and invoicing, the hours you track are already tied to the relationship you bill. It is one of seven apps in every Lyto plan, from €10 per seat per month billed annually.
Lyto · all 7 apps, one login
from €10 / seat / mo
billed annually · €13 monthly · one bill
The usual way · 3 separate tools
A standalone time tracker to record billable hours
A separate invoicing app to bill those hours
A CRM to hold the client relationship
Lyto vs the usual separate-tools setup
| Lyto · Tally | The usual way | |
|---|---|---|
| From hours to invoice | Tracked time becomes invoice line items in Sum directly | Export the timesheet, re-key it into the billing tool |
| What time is logged against | The client and engagement, shared with the CRM | A project code that does not link to the client |
| Utilisation | Pulse reads billable hours across the team in one place | Rebuilt from a timesheet export each month |
| Part of a suite | Time tracking plus six more apps in the same €10 seat | A per-seat time-tracking subscription on its own |
Any competitor prices checked July 2026; see each vendor's pricing page for current figures.
Time tracking that dead-ends is money lost
For a consultant, tracked time is not admin — it is the invoice. Which makes it odd that most time trackers treat billing as someone else’s problem. You log the hours diligently all month, and then the tool hands you a CSV. Turning that CSV into an invoice means opening a spreadsheet, matching hours to clients and rates, and re-typing the result into a separate billing app that has never heard of the engagement.
Every hop is leakage. Hours get rounded away, a client is matched to the wrong rate, a chunk of billable time simply never makes it onto an invoice because the export was fiddly and the deadline was close. The tracker did its job; the handoff to billing is where the money goes missing.
Tally, and where the hours go next
Tally is Lyto’s time-tracking app, built so hours flow to the invoice without a detour:
- Log against the client. Time is recorded against the client and engagement, not an orphaned project code — the same client record the CRM and invoicing use.
- Straight into Sum. Those hours become invoice line items in Sum directly, with no export and no re-entry.
- Utilisation in Pulse. Because the data is shared, Pulse reads billable hours across the team without a monthly rebuild.
One record carries from the hour logged to the invoice sent.
The honest scope
Tally tracks time and feeds billing; it is not a workforce-management or payroll system. A larger firm needing detailed capacity planning, shift scheduling or payroll integration will want dedicated tooling for that. For a consultant whose main job is turning hours into invoices cleanly, having the tracker and the invoicing share one client record is the part that actually saves money.
What it costs
Tally is one of seven apps in every plan — a three-person consultancy is €30 per month billed annually, €10 per seat, for all of them on one bill. The 14-day trial takes a card up front and cancels in one click.
Questions people ask
What is the best time tracking tool for consultants?
The best time tracker for a consultant is one whose hours turn into an invoice without a detour through a spreadsheet. Lyto Tally logs billable hours against the client and engagement, and Sum bills from that same data inside the suite — so tracked time becomes revenue directly. It is included in every plan from €10 per seat per month billed annually, alongside the CRM and invoicing.
Does Tally connect time to billing?
Yes. Tally records hours against a client and engagement, and Lyto Sum raises invoices from those hours as line items — no export, no re-entry. Since both apps share one customer record, the hours you tracked are already attached to the client you bill, and Pulse can read utilisation across the team from the same data.
Can I track time without buying separate invoicing?
You do not buy them separately — every Lyto plan includes all seven apps for one per-seat price. So Tally and Sum come together at €10 per seat per month billed annually, along with the CRM, tasks, support and reporting. You track time and bill it in the same login and the same bill.
Try the whole suite, not a demo
Every plan includes all seven apps — from €10 / seat / mo, billed annually.
14-day free trial · card required · cancel in one click