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Basecamp is famously simple. That simplicity is the point. But when you need to track time and bill clients, simple becomes incomplete.
Basecamp now offers a Timesheet add-on that lets you track hours directly on to-dos, cards, and projects. It's a solid addition. But turning that tracked time into an invoice that actually gets you paid? That's still on you.
This article covers how Basecamp time tracking actually works, what's included and what costs extra, the integrations people use to fill the gaps, and a different approach that closes the loop from completed work to paid invoice.
For years, Basecamp had no native time tracking at all. You needed a third-party tool like Harvest, Tick, or Everhour to track hours on Basecamp projects.
That changed with Timesheet, an official add-on that brings time tracking directly into Basecamp. Here's how it works:
The Basics
Anyone on a project can track time by clicking the green timer. You can track time on the entire project or on individual items like to-dos, events, cards, and documents. All tracked time shows up on a project badge, and you can view entries in the Timesheet report under Activity.
Time can be entered in decimal format (1.5) or hours and minutes (1:30). You can filter reports by person, project, or date range, and export everything as CSV.
What's Included
Timesheet is included free on the Pro Unlimited plan ($349/month or $299/month billed annually). On the Plus plan ($15/user/month), Timesheet is a paid add-on that costs $50/month.
What You Can Do
Start and stop timers on any to-do, card, doc, or event. Log time manually if you forgot the timer. View time totals per project, per person, or per date range. Export time data as CSV. Track time on mobile.
What You Can't Do
Set billing rates per person or project. Mark entries as billable vs. non-billable. Generate invoices from tracked time. Connect to accounting software. Automatically capture time based on task completion.
Basecamp's Timesheet is useful for internal visibility. It tells you who spent how much time on what. But it doesn't turn that data into money. Invoicing is still completely manual.
Here's where Basecamp's simplicity becomes a limitation.
Basecamp has no invoicing features. No invoice templates. No payment processing. No billing workflows.
When Basecamp says they have "invoicing" on their integrations page, they mean third-party tools. The Basecamp help article titled "Handling Billing and Invoices" is actually about paying your Basecamp subscription, not billing your clients.
For client invoicing, you need a separate tool entirely.
This means:
For teams billing multiple clients across many projects, this creates real work every month: exporting time data, formatting it for invoicing, copying it into another system, and hoping nothing gets lost in translation.
Most Basecamp users eventually add a third-party tool to handle time tracking, invoicing, or both. Here's what people actually use:
Harvest
The most popular Basecamp time tracking and invoicing combo. Harvest connects directly to Basecamp, adds timers to your to-dos, and includes built-in invoicing. You can generate invoices from tracked time and accept payments through Stripe or PayPal.
Pros: Time tracking and invoicing in one tool. Deep Basecamp integration. Professional invoices. Cons: $10.80/user/month on top of Basecamp. Two tools to manage. Still requires manual invoice generation.
Everhour
Embeds time tracking directly inside Basecamp. Adds timers to to-dos without leaving the interface. Includes budgets, reports, and basic invoicing. Starts at $8.50/user/month.
Pros: Seamless Basecamp integration. Budget tracking. Team timesheets. Cons: Invoicing features are limited compared to dedicated tools. Another subscription to manage.
Tick
Purpose-built for Basecamp time tracking since 2012. Imports projects, to-dos, and people from Basecamp. Strong budget tracking and project status messages.
Pros: Built specifically for Basecamp. Simple interface. Good budget feedback. Cons: No invoicing. You need another tool to turn time into invoices.
Toggl Track
Simple time tracking with a browser extension that adds timers to Basecamp. Generous free tier for solo users.
Pros: Easy to start. Free for individuals. Cons: No invoicing. No deep Basecamp integration. Data lives in Toggl, not Basecamp.
Clockify
Free time tracker that works with Basecamp via browser extension. Picks up to-do names automatically. Reports and timesheets in Clockify.
Pros: Completely free. Straightforward. Cons: No invoicing. Managing two separate systems.
FreshBooks / QuickBooks / Xero
Some teams skip dedicated time trackers and use accounting software with Zapier integrations to pull Basecamp data. Requires setup, doesn't sync automatically, and the time-to-invoice connection is still manual.
All of these tools add capability. None of them fully solve the core problem: turning completed work into invoices without manual reconstruction.
Here's the workflow most Basecamp users follow at the end of every month:
This takes hours. The more clients and projects you juggle, the worse it gets.
And the gaps add up. The quick call that wasn't tracked. The revision round someone forgot to log. The 20-minute fix that never made it into the system.
Basecamp's Timesheet gives you visibility into hours worked. It doesn't give you invoices. The gap between those two things is where time and revenue disappear.
Rinkta closes that gap.
Instead of asking you to start and stop timers, Rinkta integrates with Basecamp and watches tasks get completed in real time. When you finish a to-do, Rinkta:
No timers to remember. No data to export. No end-of-month reconstruction.
You review the invoice entries, select the preset client information, and send. The gap between "work done" and "invoice sent" shrinks from hours to minutes. This is one-click invoicing in a nutshell.
This isn't Basecamp time tracking done better. It's a different approach that removes the tracking step entirely. Work happens in Basecamp, billing happens automatically, and you stay focused on the work instead of the admin.
Does Basecamp have invoicing?
No. Basecamp has no native invoicing features. No invoice templates, no payment processing, no billing workflows. For invoicing, you need a third-party tool like Harvest, FreshBooks, or QuickBooks.
Can I set different billing rates per person or project?
Not in Basecamp. Timesheet tracks hours but doesn't support billing rates. You'd apply rates manually when creating invoices, or use a third-party tool that supports rate management.
Why doesn't Basecamp include invoicing?
Basecamp's philosophy is to stay focused and simple. They've deliberately avoided feature bloat by relying on integrations for specialized needs like invoicing, CRM, and advanced reporting. Their integrations page lists third-party solutions for billing and accounting.
What if my team forgets to track time?
You lose that data. Basecamp Timesheet relies on manual tracking. Someone has to remember to start the timer or add entries afterward. There's no automatic tracking or reminders built in.
How does Rinkta handle Basecamp time tracking differently?
Rinkta doesn't ask you to track time at all. It watches to-dos get completed in Basecamp and automatically creates billing entries based on scope and complexity. You skip the timer entirely and go straight from "task done" to "invoice ready."
What if Rinkta's time estimate is wrong?
You can adjust any estimate before the invoice goes out. Rinkta learns from your adjustments over time and gets more accurate. But even with occasional adjustments, it's faster than reconstructing a month of work from memory or chasing down missing time entries.
Does Rinkta replace Harvest or Everhour?
It can. If you're using a time tracker primarily to generate invoices, Rinkta makes it redundant. If you need time tracking for internal visibility, budgeting, or compliance, you can keep your tracker alongside Rinkta.
Can I use Rinkta for fixed-price projects?
Yes. For fixed-price work, Rinkta tracks completed to-dos and milestones instead of hours. You can see progress against the project fee and invoice when deliverables are complete.
Basecamp is great for project management and team communication. Time tracking is now available through Timesheet, but it's a paid add-on on most plans and tracks hours without any billing functionality.
Basecamp invoicing doesn't exist. You need Harvest, FreshBooks, QuickBooks, or another third-party tool. That means your time data lives in one place and your invoicing happens in another, with manual work connecting the two.
Rinkta takes a different approach. Work happens in Basecamp, Rinkta captures it automatically, and invoices generate themselves. The admin work that eats hours every month finally goes away.
Here's the deal.Use it free for 7 days. If you don't save at least a couple hours or find work you should have billed, we'll refund everything. No questions, no hassle.
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