# Time tracking for fractional executives serving more than one company.

Source: https://www.tracktimer.app/for/fractional-executives

A fractional role is sold as a monthly fee for part of your week, and each company expects the part it needs. TrackTimer shows how much time each retainer actually takes, across meetings, messages, and deep work, so renewals and scope conversations start from numbers.

## At a glance

- Set each client’s monthly retainer as a fixed-fee project and see the hours it took against the fee.
- Set your pay rate to your target hourly income, and every retainer shows whether it beat that target.
- Switch timers between back-to-back calls from iPhone, with the running time on the Lock Screen, or from the web, Raycast, or an AI assistant.
- On a Mac, AI Auto Track keeps a private timeline of your day, so the work between meetings is not lost.
- Each client viewer sees only their own company’s hourly billable time; no client ever sees another.
- Invoice each month’s fee through Mercury as a single line.

## Where fractional executives lose time and margin

### Retainers that expand to fill the week

The agreement said two days a week. Then come the board prep, the hiring loop, and the Slack channel that never sleeps. The fee stays fixed while the share of your week does not.

### Meetings stacked across companies

A leadership meeting for one company, a pipeline review for another, and a one-to-one for a third, back to back. Reconstructing which hour belonged to whom at month end is guesswork.

### Renewals without evidence

When a retainer comes up for renewal, “it has been busier than expected” is a weak argument. The number of hours it took each month is a strong one.

### Keeping companies separate

Fractional executives often serve companies that should never see each other’s information. Any reporting a client receives has to contain only that client’s work.

## How TrackTimer works for fractional executives

### One project per retainer period

Create a client for each company and a fixed-fee project for each month of the retainer, such as “Northwind, October”, with the monthly fee as the agreed amount. Use an hourly project instead if you sell a bank of hours, and a non-billable project for your own business development.

### Record meetings as they happen

Starting a timer stops the previous one at the same instant, so moving between back-to-back calls takes one tap. On iPhone, a Live Activity keeps the running time and earnings on the Lock Screen. The web app, Raycast, and AI assistants work too.

### AI Auto Track for the work in between

On a Mac, AI Auto Track keeps a private timeline of your day and summarizes each block. Turn the budget review you did between calls into a time entry with its summary as the description.

### Each retainer against your target

Set your pay rate to the hourly income you aim for. Each retainer project then shows the fee, tracked time, labor cost at your target, and fee less cost. A negative number means the retainer took more of your time than its fee covers at that rate.

### Each company sees only its own hours

A client viewer belongs to exactly one client and sees completed hourly billable time for that client’s projects only. If a company wants to follow your hours, track its retainer as an hourly project.

### Invoice the month in Mercury

With Mercury connected, select the month’s retainer fee, and any hourly work, and create an unsent invoice in Mercury. Review and send it from Mercury.

## Example: three retainers against a $150 target

A fractional CMO serves three companies on flat monthly retainers and sets their pay rate to $150, the hourly income they aim for. In October:

| Company | Monthly fee | Tracked | Per hour | Against target |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Company A | $8,000 | 42h | $190.48 | +$1,700 |
| Company B | $6,000 | 38h | $157.89 | +$300 |
| Company C | $5,000 | 18h | $277.78 | +$2,300 |
| Total | $19,000 | 98h | $193.88 | +$4,300 |

| Figure | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Retainer fees | $19,000 |
| Tracked time | 98h |
| Labor cost at $150/h | $14,700 |
| Fee less cost | $4,300 · 23% |

Illustrative example with hypothetical companies and figures. Company B pays $157.89 per tracked hour, barely above the target, and took more than twice Company C’s hours for 1.2 times the fee. That is the retainer to rescope or reprice at renewal. The per-hour column is the fee divided by tracked hours.

## Set up your first week

1. **Set your target.** Create your workspace with your target hourly income as the pay rate, and a billing rate for any hourly work.
2. **Add companies and this month’s retainers.** Create a client for each company and a fixed-fee project for the month with its retainer fee.
3. **Put the timer on your phone.** Use the iPhone app between meetings, and the web app, Raycast, or AI Auto Track at your desk.
4. **Track a full month.** Switch timers as you switch companies, and correct any mistakes with a reason.
5. **Review and roll over.** Compare fee less cost across retainers, invoice each fee through Mercury, and create next month’s retainer projects.

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I track a monthly retainer?

Create a fixed-fee project for each month with the retainer fee as the agreed amount. It shows your tracked time and fee less cost for that month. If you sell a bank of hours, use an hourly project instead.

### Can I switch timers between back-to-back calls?

Yes. Starting a timer stops the previous one at the same instant, from the iPhone app, the web app, Raycast, or an AI assistant. On a Mac, AI Auto Track also keeps a private timeline you can turn into entries.

### Will one company see another company’s information?

No. A client viewer belongs to one client and sees only that client’s completed hourly billable time, without notes, rates, or other clients.

### Can I see which retainer pays best per hour?

Yes. With your target hourly income as your pay rate, each retainer shows fee less cost at that target. Dividing a retainer’s fee by its tracked hours gives the effective rate to compare across companies.

### What does it cost?

Nothing during early access. Planned pricing is $8 per seat per month billed yearly, or $10 month to month, and client access is free. No paid-plan launch date has been announced.

## Guides and tools

- [Project profitability: a worked example](https://www.tracktimer.app/blog/project-profitability-basics)
- [How to calculate billable hours](https://www.tracktimer.app/blog/calculate-billable-hours)
- [Billing timer](https://www.tracktimer.app/tools/billing-timer)
- [From billable hours to a Mercury invoice](https://www.tracktimer.app/blog/time-tracking-to-invoice-workflow)
- [Connect an AI assistant through MCP](https://www.tracktimer.app/docs/mcp)

Reviewed 2026-09-25 by TrackTimer. Examples are illustrative. [Start tracking free](https://www.tracktimer.app/login) · [Pricing](https://www.tracktimer.app/#pricing) · [Who TrackTimer is for](https://www.tracktimer.app/for)