Most UK businesses reach a point where the spreadsheet stops working. Timesheets go missing, payroll takes too long, and nobody trusts the numbers. So they buy an online timesheet tool and find a different set of problems: approvals that can’t follow the org chart, a payroll export someone has to tidy every month, billing rules that live in finance’s head, and a per-user fee that rises with every hire.
I build custom timesheet and time tracking software for UK businesses. You own the code, there’s no per-user subscription, and the system follows your approval chains, pay rules and billing terms, including the awkward ones.
Why off-the-shelf timesheet software falls short
Tools like Clockify, Harvest and Toggl look good in a demo. The trouble starts once your team uses them for real work.
Approval workflows are too rigid. Most offer one or two approval levels. If timesheets over 50 hours need the department head and the finance director, or the approver depends on the project type, you end up approving by email and the audit trail breaks.
Payroll integration is shallow. The typical tool exports a CSV. Getting time data into Sage, Xero or QuickBooks with the right pay codes, overtime rates and cut-off dates usually means someone in payroll still edits it by hand, and when the vendor changes its API the sync breaks.
RTI sits in a different system. UK employers report pay to HMRC through Real Time Information on or before each payday, and late filing penalties start at £100 a month (HMRC). Timesheet tools aren’t payroll software, so the question is how cleanly approved hours reach the software that files. With most tools the answer is an export, a reformat and a re-key.
Billing logic doesn’t fit the template. Retainer clients with overage rates, client-specific rate cards, milestone invoices or fixed-plus-hourly contracts are beyond what most tools support, so finance keeps a spreadsheet on the side to work out what to invoice.
Per-user pricing grows with you. Paid plans charge per user per month and the rate rarely falls as you grow. API access, GPS tracking and better support often sit on the dearer tiers.
Monitoring creates resistance. Some tools aimed at remote and field staff capture screenshots or log keystrokes. Staff push back, and under UK GDPR you need a lawful basis for every kind of data you collect. Field teams need something simpler: clock in, confirm the site, work offline, sync later.
The result is familiar. Half the team goes back to spreadsheets, payroll still takes two days, and the subscription goes underused.
What I build instead
Your approval logic as the core workflow. Conditional routing, multi-level sign-off, delegation and escalation are built in from the start rather than worked around. The next section shows how.
Direct payroll and accounting links. I connect the system to Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, BrightPay or whatever you run, with field mapping and error handling, so approved hours arrive in the pay run ready to process. Older or in-house payroll systems without a modern API get a custom connector or a file-based sync.
No per-user fees. You pay for the build and own the result outright. Adding staff costs nothing in licences.
UK rules in the foundation. Working Time Regulations limits, holiday accrual, overtime alerts, encrypted storage, an audit log of every change, and UK hosting.
Sensible field tracking. Site teams get a mobile web app that installs on the home screen, with GPS clock-in, geofencing, offline entry and automatic sync. No screenshots, no keystroke logging.
Room to grow. Start with what you need now. Expenses, invoicing, leave or deeper reporting can be added later without rebuilding the core.
How approval routing works
Before writing code, I map who signs off what today, including the exceptions that currently go by email. Those rules then go into the system:
| Rule | Example |
|---|---|
| Conditional | Overtime goes to finance; standard hours go to the line manager |
| Threshold | More than 10 hours on one day goes to a reviewer before the manager sees it |
| Matrix | Premium-rate work needs both the project manager and finance |
| Cost centre | The approver comes from the cost centre or client code on the entry |
| Delegation | A manager on leave hands approvals to a named deputy, and the handover is logged |
| Escalation | An approval still waiting after your deadline moves up a level before the payroll cut-off |
Entries are checked before an approver sees them: missing project codes, daily limits, overtime thresholds and the Working Time Regulations 48-hour weekly average. A manager with 50 people then reviews the exceptions instead of skimming 50 timesheets. Approved timesheets lock, and any later edit needs a reason. Reports show how long approvals take and whose queue is holding up payroll.
Core features
Most timesheet projects include some combination of these:
Time entry
- Running timer, manual entry or weekly grid, whichever suits each team
- Project, task, client and cost code assignment, with billable and non-billable time
- Calendar import from Outlook or Google to pre-fill the week
Payroll and billing
- Direct API links to Xero, QuickBooks, Sage or your existing payroll system
- Rate tables for billable hours, overtime multipliers and variable pay
- Approved billable time converted to draft invoices in your accounting software
Mobile and field work
- Mobile web app with GPS verification and geofencing for site clock-in
- Offline entry with automatic sync for areas with poor signal
Reporting
- Hours by person, project, client and date range
- Project profitability: billable against non-billable, budget against actual
- Utilisation by team and labour cost against budget
Compliance and access
- Working Time Regulations monitoring and holiday accrual
- Audit log of every entry, edit and approval
- Retention rules, subject access exports and erasure
- Role-based access: staff see their own time, managers their teams, admins everything
How the build works
First Gear. For £495 I build a working prototype of one core workflow, usually time entry through to approval, with your own data on a private link. You also get a one-page build plan with a fixed price. It takes 5 days, you keep both either way, and the £495 is credited against the build.
Build. The first release covers time entry, your approval routing, the payroll or accounting link, the mobile app and core reporting. You see working software throughout and give feedback as it grows.
Integration testing. I test end to end against your real payroll and accounting systems with real data formats. Integration issues show up against live systems, not demo environments.
Rollout. Your team tests against real scenarios, and old and new systems run side by side for a pay period to catch gaps. Each group gets training for its role: staff on entry, managers on approvals, payroll on exports and settings.
Later phases. Common additions are deeper approval automation, expenses, client invoicing, leave management and custom dashboards, each with its own fixed price.
What it costs
Most builds cost £2k to £10k, live within a month, at a fixed price agreed at the end of First Gear. A system with time entry, approvals, a Xero link, basic reporting and the mobile app usually sits in that range. Larger systems with field features, several integrations and complex approval logic are split into monthly phases, each fixed-price.
After the first free month, support is optional: Idle £79, Cruise £199 or Overdrive £449 a month.
Compare that with what you pay now. Most timesheet tools charge per user per month, so multiply your headcount by the rate and by the years you expect to use it, then add integration fees, premium support and the hours payroll spends fixing exports. With a custom system no vendor can raise your price, retire a feature or restrict your data export.
Industry applications
Professional services (consulting, accountancy, law). Billable hour tracking tied to client invoicing, rate tables by client, matter or phase, and margin reporting that shows which projects are leaking hours. Approvals often run from project partner to finance before hours reach invoicing.
Construction and engineering. GPS clock-in at job sites, offline mode for remote locations, subcontractor hours alongside permanent staff, and labour hours tied to specific jobs and cost codes. Approvals run from site supervisor to project manager to accounts.
IT services and software development. Time linked to Jira or GitHub tickets, billable and internal projects kept apart, and client-facing time reports for time-and-materials contracts.
Creative agencies. Task-level time against client projects, budget burn-down so project managers spot overruns early, and billable hours converted into invoices.
Charities and grant-funded organisations. Staff time split across several funding sources, reports formatted for each funder, and entry rules that enforce a minimum description so the audit trail stands up.
Manufacturing. Shop-floor time tied to production batches and work orders, cost centre allocation, and overtime flagged before it becomes a problem.
If your main problem is clocking hourly or shift staff in and out rather than recording time against projects, that’s a time and attendance system.
Common Questions About Custom Timesheet and Time Tracking Software
Is an online timesheet tool like Clockify or Harvest enough? ›
Often, yes. If each person has one approver, your payroll provider takes the tool's export without anyone editing it, and you bill clients at a flat hourly rate, an off-the-shelf tool will do the job and I'd tell you to use one. A custom build starts to pay when the approval chain, the payroll feed or the billing rules are where your admin hours go, or when the per-user fee has become a budget line.
What does custom timesheet software cost? ›
Most builds cost £2k to £10k and go live within a month. The price is fixed before the build starts, after a £495 working prototype, and bigger systems are split into monthly phases with their own fixed price. There's no per-user fee, so your 51st or 501st user costs nothing extra.
Can timesheet approvals route differently for overtime, projects or cost centres? ›
Yes, and that's the most common reason people ask me for a custom build. Overtime can go to finance while standard hours go to the line manager, premium-rate work can need both the project manager and finance, and anything over your daily limit can stop with a reviewer. Managers on leave hand approvals to a named deputy, and an approval that stalls moves up a level before the payroll cut-off.
Can it feed payroll and HMRC RTI? ›
Approved hours go straight into Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, BrightPay or whichever payroll software you use, through its API where it has one, with your pay codes and overtime rates already mapped. Your payroll software still sends the Full Payment Submission to HMRC; the timesheet system makes sure the hours it works from are approved and complete, so nobody re-keys them.
Which time tracking tools are GDPR compliant for UK businesses? ›
Any tool can be used lawfully, so check three things before you buy: where the vendor stores the data, what it collects beyond hours (screenshots, keystrokes, GPS outside working time), and whether you can set retention periods and export one person's records for a subject access request. In a custom build I collect only what you need, host it in the UK, and record location only at clock-in, with consent.
Can tracked hours turn straight into client invoices? ›
Yes. Rates can be set per client, project, task type or person, and the system handles retainers with overage rates, milestone billing and fixed-plus-hourly contracts. Approved billable time becomes a draft invoice in Xero or QuickBooks, so time recording and billing come from the same record.
What happens after launch? ›
You get a 30-day fix guarantee and the first month of hosting free. After that you can pick a monthly plan (Idle £79, Cruise £199 or Overdrive £449) or host it yourself. The code is yours either way.