Time tracking for video production that shows what every edit really cost.
Production budgets are agreed before the first frame is shot, then tested by extra revision rounds, pickup shots, and late notes from the client. TrackTimer records the hours your producers, editors, and freelance crew spend on each job, at their own rates, so you know where a bid stands before the final cut.
At a glance
- Set the bid as a fixed-fee project and see labor cost to date and fee less cost while the job is in production.
- Put revisions beyond the contract in a separate hourly project, priced at your billing rate and visible to the client.
- Freelancers on day rates get an hourly pay rate, so their time is costed like everyone else’s.
- Crew can run timers on iPhone with a Live Activity on the Lock Screen, on the web, or in Raycast.
- On a Mac, AI Auto Track keeps a private timeline of editing sessions that you can turn into time entries.
- Freelance crew see only their own hours and earnings, never the bid, billing rates, or margins.
Where video production studios lose time and margin
Post-production that outgrows the bid
The contract included two rounds of edits. Then the client’s legal team has notes, the CEO wants a different ending, and the 30-second cutdown needs three aspect ratios. Each round is small; together they are a week of editing nobody priced.
Crew on day rates, projects in hours
A director of photography on a day rate, a colorist by the hour, and a staff editor on salary all cost money differently. Unless those costs share one unit, the studio cannot see what a job really used.
Work spread across set, suite, and phone
Prep calls, shoot days, edit sessions, and client reviews happen in different places. Time recorded later from a calendar misses the hours that did not have a calendar entry.
Extra revisions billed from memory
When the contract allows billing for additional revisions, the studio still has to show how long they took. Without records, the extra round is usually written off to keep the client happy.
How TrackTimer works for video production studios
A fixed-fee project for the bid, an hourly project for extras
Create a fixed-fee project for the contracted production, such as “Brand film”, with the agreed amount. Add an hourly project, “Brand film, extra revisions”, for work the contract lets you bill, so it is priced at the client’s billing rate and kept separate from the bid.
Day rates as hourly pay rates
Convert a freelancer’s day rate to an hourly pay rate for the job, for example $700 for a ten-hour day as $70 an hour. Override it per client or project when their terms differ. Rates are saved with each entry, so later changes do not rewrite past jobs.
Timers on set and in the edit
Start and switch timers on iPhone, where a Live Activity keeps the running time on the Lock Screen, or on the web and in Raycast. On a Mac, AI Auto Track notes the app and window in use, so time in your editing software appears as blocks in a private timeline that you can turn into entries.
See the bid while the edit runs
The fixed-fee project shows the agreed fee, tracked time, labor cost at each person’s saved pay rate, and fee less cost to date, including running timers. When another round of notes arrives, you can see what the job has left before you agree to it.
Let the client see the extra hours
Invite the client to a free, read-only dashboard of completed hourly billable time by project and day. The extra-revisions project appears there, so the client can follow the additional work while rates, pay, and crew names stay private.
Invoice the fee and the extras
With Mercury connected, select the bid’s agreed fee, the hourly revision time at saved rates, or both, and create an unsent invoice in Mercury. Review and send it from Mercury.
Example: a $22,000 brand film
A studio bids $22,000 for a two-minute brand film and a cutdown, with two rounds of edits. A producer-director and a staff editor lead the job, with a freelance director of photography for two shoot days, a freelance colorist, and a motion designer. After delivery of the second round:
| Person | Tracked | Pay rate | Labor cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Producer-director | 40h | $80/h | $3,200 |
| Editor | 60h | $55/h | $3,300 |
| Director of photography | 20h | $70/h | $1,400 |
| Colorist | 12h | $65/h | $780 |
| Motion designer | 24h | $60/h | $1,440 |
| Total | 156h | $10,120 |
- Agreed fee
- $22,000
- Tracked time
- 156h
- Labor cost to date
- $10,120
- Fee less cost
- $11,880 · 54%
Illustrative example with hypothetical people, hours, and rates. If the client asks for a third round and the editor spends 10 more hours on it, labor cost rises by $550. Tracked in the extra-revisions project at a $125 billing rate, the same hours become $1,250 of billable time the client can see on their dashboard.
Set up your first week
Add clients and jobs. Create a fixed-fee project for each bid with its agreed amount, and an hourly project for billable extras where the contract allows them.
Set rates for staff and crew. Give staff their pay rates and convert freelancers’ day rates to hourly pay rates. Set the billing rate you charge for extra work.
Invite the crew. Invite freelancers as contractors and assign them to the jobs they work on. They see their own hours and earnings only.
Track the production. Run timers on set from iPhone or the web, and in the edit from Raycast or AI Auto Track on a Mac.
Review before each round. Check fee less cost before agreeing to more notes, and invoice extra revisions from the hourly project.
Frequently asked questions
How do we handle freelancers on day rates?
Convert the day rate to an hourly pay rate for the job, such as $700 for a ten-hour day as $70 an hour, and set it as the freelancer’s rate for that project or client. Their tracked hours are then costed like everyone else’s.
Can we bill extra revision rounds separately?
Yes. Track them in an hourly project alongside the fixed-fee bid. That time is priced at your billing rate, appears on the client’s dashboard, and can be invoiced through Mercury.
Can crew track time on set without a laptop?
Yes. Timers run in the TrackTimer iPhone app, where a Live Activity keeps the time on the Lock Screen, and in any phone browser.
Does AI Auto Track work with editing software?
Yes. AI Auto Track works at the level of the app and window you use on a Mac, so time in your editing software appears in your private timeline, ready to turn into entries.
Can clients see our crew’s rates?
No. The client dashboard shows completed hourly billable time by project and day. It never shows rates, pay, margins, notes, or who did the work.
See what your time earns.
Set up your first client and project in a few minutes. Free during early access.
Written by TrackTimer about its own product and reviewed . Examples use hypothetical people, hours, and rates. Features and planned pricing can change; the pricing section has the current terms.