3 active clients
Use case: consultant business tracker
Track consulting projects, retainers, expenses, and billable value.
SideTrack helps independent consultants see project income, billable and non-billable time, retainers, costs, and client profitability.
Consulting engagement snapshot
Understand the real value of each retainer, project, and client.
Consultants need to see where meetings, travel, revisions, and admin time change the margin on each engagement.
Sales
Consulting clients
Compare retainers and projects by client, costs, hours, margin, and effective rate.
After travel and support time
Blended across engagements
| Title | Customer | Status | Revenue | Profit | Hourly | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ops retainer | Halcyon Foods | Active | $6,000 | $4,260 | $152/hr | Monthly |
| Process audit | Blue Peak | Paid | $3,200 | $2,410 | $134/hr | Jul 15 |
| Training workshop | Northline | Completed | $1,850 | $1,210 | $121/hr | Jul 25 |
The pain
Consulting income looks cleaner than it feels when time and scope are not tracked.
Retainers blur scope
Recurring revenue is great, but extra meetings, support, and revisions can quietly change the effective rate.
Non-billable time hides
Sales calls, admin, research, and project management often explain why a client feels heavier than expected.
Client quality is hard to compare
Without a simple review, it is hard to know which clients deserve more attention or a price increase.
How SideTrack helps
Keep consulting work tied to money, time, and scope.
SideTrack gives consultants a lightweight operating view before the numbers become accounting entries.
Project and retainer tracking
Track one-off projects, retainers, due dates, balances, and client notes.
Billable vs non-billable examples
Attach time to the client so effective hourly value is easier to see.
Expense context
Connect subcontractors, software, travel, research, and delivery costs to the engagement.
Client review
Compare clients by profit, time demand, payment reliability, and repeat potential.
Compare
Consultant tracker vs accounting reports
Accounting reports show what happened financially. SideTrack helps you understand the operating reasons behind the numbers.
Accounting report
- Good for income and expense totals
- Useful for taxes and bookkeeping
- Less tied to scope and client load
- Often reviewed after the fact
SideTrack
- Built around client work
- Connects money, time, and scope
- Helps price future retainers
- Useful during the month
Questions
Quick answers
Can SideTrack track retainers?
Yes. Retainers can be tracked as recurring client work with payments, costs, and time reviewed together.
What should consultants track first?
Track project value, payments collected, direct costs, billable time, and non-billable client time.
Does this replace proposals or contracts?
No. Keep your proposal and contract tools. SideTrack helps review the work financially once it is active.
Know which clients are worth renewing, raising, or replacing.
Use SideTrack to make consulting revenue easier to understand before the month is over.
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