# Time Tracking and Budgets

> Track time while the work happens, compare it to each task's budget, and see where hours go by client, task type, or team member.

Source: https://www.liftedwork.com/features/time-tracking-budgets
Published: 2026-06-11
Updated: 2026-09-15

## Track Time Where the Work Already Lives

Time tracking is built into the task, so there is no separate app to open and no timer your team forgets to start. Track time as the work happens, and it ties straight to the client, the task, and the person.

## Budgeted vs. Actual

Every task carries budgeted minutes. As time is logged against it, you see the variance, so an account quietly going over budget shows up while you can still do something about it, not at the end of the month.

## See Where the Hours Go

Filter time by client, task type, or team member, with daily and monthly breakdowns. Find the client that eats more hours than they pay for, the task type that always runs long, and the work worth templating or automating.

## Connected to Planning and Profit

The same numbers drive the [Capacity Calendar](https://www.liftedwork.com/features/capacity-calendar-hours-planning) and the per-client and per-person breakdowns on the [Agency Dashboard](https://www.liftedwork.com/features/agency-dashboard-software). Set budgets once on a [task template](https://www.liftedwork.com/features/task-templates-with-sops-or-ai-prompts) and every task created from it tracks against them automatically.

## Frequently asked questions

### How should an agency set a time budget for a task?

Use the median or typical time from recent comparable work, then include review and communication that are part of delivery. Set the estimate on the reusable template and revise it when several completed tasks show the budget is consistently wrong.

### How does time tracking reveal an unprofitable client?

Compare the hours worked with the hours or value included in the agreement, then inspect which task types cause the overage. One unusual month may be harmless, but repeated over-servicing points to a scope, process, staffing, or pricing problem.

### How is time tracking connected to capacity planning?

Task budgets reserve future capacity, while logged time shows how much work the tasks actually required. Lifted Work uses those task estimates in the capacity calendar and reports actual time by person, task, and client.