# Project Management & Time Tracking > Group the work, move it across a board, track the hours — then bill them without re-keying a thing. A PineBill project is one workspace for a piece of client work: its tasks, its invoices, its estimates, its expenses. Break the work into tasks on a Kanban board, and let the built-in timer count the hours as you go — it runs on the server, so closing your laptop doesn't lose a minute. When the work is done, turn those tracked hours into invoice line items at each task's rate. And when the client wants to know where things stand, send them a password-protected link instead of writing another status email. ## Projects at a glance - **Budget, timeline, owner** — A name is all that's required. Add a description, customer, budget and currency, start and end dates, and the team member responsible whenever you're ready. - **Everything in one place** — Five tabs on every project — Tasks, Invoices, Estimates, Expenses and Shares. Linking creates a reference, so nothing is moved or copied out of where it lives. - **Board or table** — Drag cards across To Do, In Progress, Review and Done, or switch to a sortable table for searching and bulk selection. Counts for each column sit up top. - **Built-in timers** — Every task has a start, pause, resume and stop timer. Hours land on the task, and convert to invoice line items at the rate you set. ## One workspace per piece of work Group the tasks, documents and costs for a job under one project — then break the job into cards you can move. ### Tasks, invoices, estimates and expenses under one roof Open a project and everything about that job is on one page. Link documents that already exist, or add an expense straight from the tab — the project becomes the answer to 'where is all of this?'. - Five tabs on every project: Tasks, Invoices, Estimates, Expenses and Shares - Link an existing invoice, estimate or expense, or add an expense from the tab - Linking creates a reference — nothing is moved or copied out of where it lives - Active, Pending and Completed statuses, with search, filters and sorting across the list ### Move the work across To Do, In Progress, Review and Done Drag a card and its status changes. Each card carries its timer state and time spent, so you can see what's moving and what's stalled without opening anything. - Kanban columns for To Do, In Progress, Review and Done — drag to change status - Every card shows title, timer state, time spent, due date, project and assignee - Switch to a sortable table for searching, bulk selection and sorting by rate or due date - Tasks work without a project too — leave the project field empty - Attach up to 3 files per task, 5MB each ## The hours track themselves A timer on every task, running where it can't be lost — plus a way to fix the sessions you forgot to start. Click start and the timer counts in HH:MM:SS, updating every second with a pulsing indicator while it runs. Starting or resuming moves the task to In Progress on its own. The timer lives on the server, not in your tab — so closing the browser or letting the machine sleep costs you nothing. - Start, pause, resume and stop — run as many sessions across as many days as the work takes - Close the browser or let the machine sleep; the full elapsed time is there when you stop it - Forgot to start it? Add or remove time by hand, with a note explaining why - Every session is logged — action, duration, who did it, when, and the note — newest first - Time is recorded per user, so each team member's hours stay separate ## Turn tracked hours into an invoice The time is already on the task. Converting just moves it onto a draft invoice at the rate you set. Pick one task or a whole selection and convert. PineBill opens the invoice generator with each task as its own line item — the title, date range and duration in the name, the hourly rate as the price, and the hours tracked as the quantity. It lands as a draft, so you review it before anyone sees it. - Convert a single task or several at once — each becomes its own line item - Price comes from the task's hourly rate; quantity is the total time tracked - A task currency that differs from your organization currency converts at current rates - Stop any running timer first — tasks still counting can't be converted - The invoice opens as a Draft, and links back to the task once you create it ## Show the client where things stand A read-only link to the project — with a password on it if you want one — instead of another status email. Create a share link from the project's Shares tab and send the URL. Your client opens it with no account and sees the project's progress — the tasks, their status, the time spent. They can look; they cannot touch anything, and they cannot reach any other part of your account. - Optional password, expiration date and maximum view count — or no restrictions at all - Viewers see the name, description, status, budget, dates, customer and tasks with time spent - They cannot edit the project, start timers or reach anything else in your account - After 10 failed password attempts the share locks for an hour - Revoke it whenever you like — one share link is active per project at a time ## However your work is shaped, run it here Five ways teams organize project work in PineBill — and the capability each one leans on. ### Freelancer — Hourly rate One project per client engagement, a timer running on whatever you're working on, and an invoice at the end built from the hours you actually tracked. Example: 18.5 h × $85 = $1,572.50 on one line item ### Agency — Client share link Several people delivering against one project, with the client watching progress on a password-protected link instead of asking for updates. Example: 24 tasks · 3 assignees · 1 link to the client ### Consultant — Time tracking Advisory work where the tracked hour is the deliverable. Run the timer through calls, and add the sessions you forgot to start with a note explaining why. Example: 6 sessions across 3 weeks = 11.25 h billed ### Studio / Small Team — Kanban board Work moving To Do → In Progress → Review → Done across a small team, with each member's time tracked separately on the tasks they own. Example: Review column: 4 cards, 22 h logged between them ### Product / Internal Team — Fixed budget A project with a budget, a timeline and an owner, keeping the tasks, linked invoices and the expenses it took to deliver in one workspace. Example: $12,000 budget · Mar 1 – Jun 30 · 5 linked expenses ## Frequently asked questions ### Can I use tasks without a project? Yes. The project field is optional. Standalone tasks appear on the main Tasks page and work exactly like tasks inside a project — timers, hourly rates, attachments and converting to an invoice all behave the same. ### What happens to a running timer if I close my browser? Nothing is lost. The timer's start time is recorded on the server, not in your tab, so it keeps running whether your browser is open or your machine is asleep. When you come back and stop the timer, the full elapsed time is calculated and added to the task. ### How do I bill a client for the hours I tracked? Use Convert to Invoice on one task or a whole selection. PineBill opens the invoice generator with each task as its own line item — the name carries the task title, date range and duration, the price is the task's hourly rate, and the quantity is the time tracked. It opens as a Draft, so you can edit it before sending. Stop any running timers first: tasks with an active timer can't be converted. ### What if a task has no hourly rate? The line item is created with a price of zero, and you can type the price in directly in the invoice generator before saving. Tracking time doesn't require an hourly rate — the rate only matters at the point you convert the task to an invoice. ### Can several people track time on the same task? Yes. Timer sessions are recorded per user, so each team member's time is tracked separately in the task's timer history alongside who logged it and when. ### Can my client see how a project is going? Yes. Create a share link from the project's Shares tab and send them the URL — no account needed on their end. They see the project name, description, status, budget, dates, customer, and the tasks with their status and time spent. You can put a password, an expiry date and a view limit on the link, and revoke it whenever you like. One share link is active per project at a time, and its settings can't be changed after creation — revoke it and make a new one instead. ### What happens when I delete a project? The project's tasks are permanently deleted along with their timer history and file attachments, and that can't be undone. Linked invoices, estimates and expenses are only unlinked — they aren't deleted and stay available from their own pages. You can bulk delete up to 100 projects at a time. ### Can I move a task to a different project? Yes. Edit the task and change the project field to move it, or clear the field to turn it into a standalone task. Its tracked time and history move with it. ### What can team members do, versus owners and admins? Everyone can view projects and tasks, and everyone can create them. Members can edit their own projects and tasks but can't delete. Owners and admins can edit and delete anything in the organization. ## Links - [Project Management & Time Tracking](https://www.pinebill.app/features/projects): this page. - [Time Tracking](https://www.pinebill.app/docs/tasks/time-tracking): how the built-in timers work. - [Converting Tasks to Invoices](https://www.pinebill.app/docs/tasks/task-to-invoice): billing tracked hours. - [Project Sharing](https://www.pinebill.app/docs/projects/project-sharing): password-protected client links. - [Pricing](https://www.pinebill.app/pricing): plans and pricing. - [Documentation](https://www.pinebill.app/docs/projects): full projects documentation. - [Sign up](https://www.pinebill.app/auth/signup): start a 7-day free trial, no credit card required.