Timesheets & job costing for trade businesses

Timesheet & Job Costing

Log staff hours against jobs and see a running labour-cost total per job, costed at each staff member's hourly rate - with a per-job cost board and a full searchable time entry log.

Metre2 Timesheet & Job Costing showing the per-job labour cost board

A per-job labour cost board

One card per job: total hours logged, running labour cost, a horizontal budget-vs-actual bar where a budget's set, and a 7-day sparkline of hours logged - so what needs attention is obvious at a glance.

Snapshot hourly rates

Every time entry stores the staff member's rate at the moment it was logged, so changing a rate later never retroactively changes the cost of hours already logged.

Budget-vs-actual, not estimating

Type in an optional target labour cost per job and see a live percentage against actual cost, going amber then red as it's approached and exceeded - a single number you set, no estimating logic behind it.

Full time entry search

Search every logged entry by job name, staff name, client or note - filter the time entry table by job or by staff to see exactly who worked what, where.

Jobs, staff and time entries

Log a job with a name, client, status and optional budget; add staff with a role and hourly rate; log time against any staff member and job with a date, hours and an optional note.

Not an estimating tool

Timesheet & Job Costing only does hours × rate = labour cost. It doesn't estimate, quote, take off quantities or forecast material costs - that stays with Metre2 Vector and Forma.

Copy summary or export HTML

Copy a plain-text summary of totals and the per-job breakdown to the clipboard, or export a standalone HTML file to keep or share.

Light/dark theme and rotating sample job sets

Light/dark theme remembers your choice, and two rotating sample job sets - each spanning several jobs, staff and time entries with a mix of under-budget, near-budget and over-budget jobs - let you explore the cost board before logging your own.

How it compares to Clockify

Clockify is a well-known time-tracking platform with a genuinely free tier and per-user paid plans for profitability reporting - here's how a one-off, single-install job costing timesheet compares for a small trade business tracking labour cost against a budget.

Feature Timesheet & Job Costing Clockify
Pricing model £7.99 one-off after trial Free basic plan; profitability/budget features need Pro at $9.99/user/month
Works fully offline
Per-job labour cost with budget-vs-actual bar ~
Snapshot hourly rates (past cost never retroactively changes) ~
Team scheduling, GPS clock-in, kiosk mode
Built-in invoicing
No per-user cost as a team grows

Comparison based on Clockify's publicly listed pricing and features as of August 2026 (clockify.me, costbench.com) - pricing and features change over time, so check clockify.me for current details. Clockify is a trademark of its respective owner; this comparison is for informational purposes and isn't sponsored by or affiliated with Clockify.

Timesheet & Job Costing, in practice

Frequently asked questions

What does the per-job labour cost board actually show?

One card per job: total hours logged, running labour cost (hours multiplied by each staff member's hourly rate at the time they logged the entry, summed), a horizontal budget-vs-actual bar where a budget figure was set (green under budget, amber near it, red once it's exceeded), and a small sparkline of hours logged over the last 7 days. Jobs over budget, then jobs closest to budget, surface first.

How is the labour cost calculated?

Hours worked multiplied by the staff member's hourly rate. Each time entry stores a snapshot of the rate at the moment it was logged, so changing a staff member's rate later never retroactively changes the cost of hours already logged - only new entries use the new rate.

Is this an estimating or quoting tool?

No. Timesheet & Job Costing only does hours multiplied by rate - it does not estimate, quote, take off quantities or forecast material costs. For estimating and takeoff, see Metre2 Vector and Forma.

What can I record against a job?

A job name/reference, a client, a status (Active, On Hold or Complete), and an optional budget/target labour-cost figure - a single number you type in for a budget-vs-actual comparison, with no estimating logic behind it.

Does my Timesheet & Job Costing account work with Vector and Forma?

Yes - Timesheet & Job Costing uses the same shared Metre2 account as Vector, Forma and every other Keystone app. Sign in once and it works everywhere.

Can I export or share the timesheet?

Yes - copy a plain-text summary to your clipboard, or export a standalone HTML file with totals and the per-job breakdown.

Ready to try Timesheet & Job Costing?