Comparison · flexible manual tracking
Paidwell vs Spreadsheet tracking for consultants
Keep the flexibility of a spreadsheet, or choose a calm place to watch your work add up. Compare the everyday workflow for tracking consulting work and preparing your monthly invoice, including when each approach is the better fit.
A spreadsheet is a useful way to track consulting work. You can choose your columns, calculate different rates, and build the exact reports you want. Cole used one himself: month after month, dozens of rows became hundreds, with $75 and $125 rates, manual sums, and copying the work into QuickBooks. Paidwell grew from wanting that everyday workflow to feel easier: track the work, see the unbilled total grow, and prepare the monthly invoice.
Why consultants choose Paidwell
- Track calls, visits, and focused work in the same activity record, with manual entries or a timer you can start and pause.
- See the value of logged, unbilled work throughout the month without maintaining another summary formula.
- Choose different rates on Pro and keep the rate used for each entry, so later rate changes leave past work intact.
- Review a single project’s approved time and create an unsent QuickBooks Online invoice on Pro. Send it from QuickBooks when you are ready.
When Spreadsheet tracking is the better choice
Spreadsheet tracking offers flexible records you can shape around your own workflow. Pick Spreadsheet tracking if your template already works, you enjoy customizing it, or a free or low-cost option matters most. Choose Paidwell when you want a calm, ready-made place to track consulting work, watch unbilled earnings add up, and make month-end QuickBooks invoicing easier.
Spreadsheet tracking questions, answered
Can a spreadsheet calculate billable hours and different rates?
Yes. A well-built template can calculate hours, rates, call terms, and unbilled totals. Paidwell gives you a ready-made place for that workflow, so you can spend less time maintaining the sheet and more time seeing your work add up.
Is a spreadsheet cheaper?
It can be. Free spreadsheet options and templates may be enough, especially if you already have a workflow you like. Paidwell is free for two active projects, with no card required. Pro adds unlimited projects, multiple rates, sharing, exports, and QuickBooks invoicing; see Paidwell’s pricing page for current plans.
Do I have to copy every row into QuickBooks?
No. A spreadsheet workflow can use manual entry, imports, or separately configured integrations and custom automation. With Paidwell’s enabled QuickBooks integration, personal Pro owners and Team owners/admins can create an unsent invoice from a reviewed single-project report. It supports one US company in USD per workspace; you send the invoice from QuickBooks.
Will Paidwell automatically find work I forgot to log?
No. You can add work manually, use a start/pause timer, or have an agent submit draft entries for your approval. Paidwell’s unbilled total reflects work you have logged and have yet to invoice, rather than money already received.
Spreadsheets vary by template, formulas, and integrations. This comparison describes a common manual tracking workflow and Cole’s own consulting experience; it does not claim that every spreadsheet works the same way.
Get started
Track your work and watch it add up.
Start tracking with 2 active projects, free. No credit card. Try Pro for 31 days when you are ready for more; the Pro trial requires a card.