A start/stop timer logging billable hours against a client and project is genuinely one of the simpler builds on this whole register — well-bounded CRUD with a running clock, distinct from volunteer or personal time tracking in exactly one field: a billing rate.
Build it
Effort: an eveningRunning cost: $0/mo to start
Why CanICodeThis says Build it
A timer that starts, stops, and logs an entry against a client and project is basic front-end state and a timestamp
A billing rate per client, multiplied against tracked hours, is simple arithmetic
A weekly summary grouped by client, showing hours and amount owed, is straightforward aggregation
The parts that'll cause problems
Generating an actual invoice from tracked time shares this register's own invoicing build spec, a genuine additional feature
Team-wide reporting across multiple freelancers adds real multi-user scope
Idle detection (pausing the timer when you step away) is real, separate platform work
How I'd build this
frontend
Astro
database
Turso or SQLite
hosting
Cloudflare Pages
MVP scope
Start/stop timer logging entries against a client and project
A billing rate per client
A weekly summary showing hours and amount owed per client
Postpone to v2
Generate an invoice directly from tracked time
Multiple freelancers on a shared account
Idle detection
What it actually costs to build
AI agent — with a subscription (Claude Pro/Max, Cursor, etc.)
$0 marginal
AI agent — pay-per-use API, no subscription
$16–$27 one-time
Hosting, once it's running
$0/mo (free tier)
Domain name, if you want your own
~$12/yr
Existing tools solving a similar problem typically run $3.99–$13.75/mo — see how they compare below.
The build prompt
Genuinely one of the simpler builds on this whole register:
1. A start/stop timer logging entries against a client and project — basic front-end state and a timestamp.
2. A billing rate per client, multiplied against tracked hours — simple arithmetic.
3. A weekly summary showing hours and amount owed per client — straightforward aggregation.
That's a real, complete freelance time tracker. Out of scope: generating an actual invoice from tracked time, which shares this register's own invoicing build spec as a genuine additional feature, and multiple freelancers on a shared account, real multi-user scope beyond single-user tracking.
