Where Does the Time Go?

In the interests of improved time tracking, I recently started using an online application called Cashboard. With the free version, you can have one client a two active projects, and if you want to track your personal time, this is just what you need. For example, in addition to my billable clients and their projects, I have one project called 'Starlight Admin' with tasks like checking email, invoicing, payroll and taxes, and another called 'Volunteer' where I track the time I spend on PTA projects or volunteering for the church. The results are only as valuable as the input is accurate, but you can get a free widget that sits on your desktop and makes it even easier to track time with a few button clicks. And, although I haven't used this feature, you can also track time using your iPhone. If you are using this for your business, it is still fairly inexpensive (starting at $10/month) - and with the paid version, you can put your branding on reports such as invoices, and other notifications and documents.
I am very conscious of providing quality service, and part of that for me is taking pains to give clients value for their money and making sure they don't feel "nickel-and-dimed". If something takes longer than it should because I'm researching or make a mistake, I still choose not to bill for the extra time, but I can show it on the invoice as non-billable time or assign it to an internal non-bill task ~ as opposed to wondering at the end of the week where the hours went.