Can I track fixed-bid and hourly work in the same workspace?

Yes. Note each engagement's type on its record, then record milestone invoices for fixed-bid work and period invoices for hourly work. Both live in one organized list per client.

How do I tie a cloud bill to a client?

Record the cloud or SaaS invoice as an expense with its category, vendor, and amount, and add the same project tag you use for that client. The cost then shows up alongside the engagement.

Does Cash Workspace work out how much I made on a project?

No. It keeps your invoices and categorized costs side by side for your own review, but it does not compute profit, margin, or returns.

Cash Workspace

Use the Freelancer template

Consulting & agency finance · Software development

A finance tracker for freelance software developers

As a freelance developer you juggle fixed-bid builds, hourly retainers, a stack of cloud and SaaS subscriptions, and the occasional hardware purchase — usually across several clients at once. When invoices, the SOW, and the AWS bill all live in different inboxes, reconciling a project at the end is painful. Cash Workspace gives you one place to record each engagement, mark milestone invoice statuses, and categorize the tooling expenses behind every build.

Start a free workspace See the web dev agency expense organizer

The problem

Why dev project finances slip through the cracks

Development work mixes two billing models and a constant trickle of tooling costs, so records end up scattered across SOWs, invoice tools, and cloud-provider dashboards.

Fixed-bid milestones and hourly hours are tracked in different places, so you can't see a project whole.
Cloud and SaaS charges (AWS, Vercel, GitHub, a Figma seat) hit different cards and never get tied back to the client they served.
A signed SOW lives in email while the matching invoices live in a billing app, so scope and billing drift apart.
At year-end you can't tell which hardware or subscription was bought for which engagement.

The workflow

Track each engagement and its tooling costs

Set up one record per engagement, mark how it's billed, then attach the SOW and file the costs that belong to it.

1
Create the engagement record
Add a client record and a project tag, and note whether it's fixed-bid or hourly so billing expectations are clear from the start.
2
Attach the SOW
Attach the signed statement of work to the engagement record so scope and the agreed price sit next to the invoices.
3
Record invoices by milestone
For fixed-bid, record an invoice per milestone (kickoff, beta, launch); for hourly, record each period's invoice. Set a status on every one.
4
Categorize tooling costs
File each cloud, SaaS-seat, or hardware expense with its category, vendor, date, and the project tag it supports.
5
Review before invoicing
Before you bill a milestone, open the project tag and confirm which costs are pass-through and which are your own overhead.

Record structure

What to record for each engagement and expense

A consistent set of fields keeps fixed-bid, hourly, and tooling records reconcilable across clients.

Client: A consistent client record so every invoice and cost ties back to the same engagement.
Engagement type: Fixed-bid or hourly, noted on the record so you know how each invoice should be built.
Milestone / period: For fixed-bid, the milestone (kickoff, beta, launch); for hourly, the billing period.
Invoice number & status: Your invoice number plus draft, sent, partially paid, paid, or overdue.
Expense category: Cloud hosting, API/SaaS seat, hardware, or other — using product-defined categories.
Vendor & amount: Who you paid (AWS, Vercel, an API provider) and the amount and currency.
Project tag: A consistent tag linking the cost to the engagement it supports.
SOW attachment: The signed statement of work attached to the engagement record.
Provider invoice: The cloud or SaaS provider's invoice attached to the expense record.

Example setup

An example workspace setup

One way a freelance developer might organize an active client inside the workspace.

Acme — fixed-bid build

The signed SOW, milestone invoices (kickoff, beta, launch) with statuses, and any hardware bought for the build.

Acme — cloud & SaaS

AWS, Vercel, and API invoices attached to expense records, each tagged to the Acme project.

BluePeak — hourly retainer

Monthly hourly invoices with statuses and the retainer agreement attached.

Shared tooling

Subscriptions used across clients (GitHub, an IDE license) recorded as overhead, not tied to one project.

Common mistakes

Mistakes to avoid

Mixing fixed-bid milestone invoices and hourly invoices in one undated pile so you can't tell what's billed.
Letting cloud bills accumulate without a project tag, so you never recover which client they served.
Storing the SOW in email instead of attaching it to the engagement record.
Treating a shared subscription as a project cost on one client, double-counting it elsewhere.
Leaving invoice status blank, so paid and unpaid milestones blur together.

How it helps

How Cash Workspace helps

One record per engagement

Record each client engagement with its type, milestones, and invoices so fixed-bid and hourly work stay separate and clear.

Categorized tooling costs

File cloud hosting, SaaS seats, and hardware with category, vendor, amount, and a project tag, with the provider invoice attached.

Attachments that stay together

Attach the SOW and each cloud-provider invoice to the right record so scope and spend live in one place.

Accountant-ready exports

Export your organized invoices and categorized expenses when it's time to hand records to an accountant.

Web dev agency expenses

Organize the tooling stack behind development work.

Software stack expenses

Keep recurring SaaS and cloud subscriptions organized by category.

IT consultant project records

Organize project invoices and costs as a technical consultant.

Fixed-fee project records

Track milestone billing on fixed-price engagements.

All finance workflows

Browse the full Cash Workspace workflow library.

FAQ

Freelance developer finance FAQ

Can I track fixed-bid and hourly work in the same workspace?: Yes. Note each engagement's type on its record, then record milestone invoices for fixed-bid work and period invoices for hourly work. Both live in one organized list per client.
How do I tie a cloud bill to a client?: Record the cloud or SaaS invoice as an expense with its category, vendor, and amount, and add the same project tag you use for that client. The cost then shows up alongside the engagement.
Does Cash Workspace work out how much I made on a project?: No. It keeps your invoices and categorized costs side by side for your own review, but it does not compute profit, margin, or returns.

Organizing help — not tax, accounting, or legal guidance

Cash Workspace is a free workspace for organizing invoices, expenses, receipts, clients, and documents. This page is organizing guidance only — not tax, accounting, legal, or bookkeeping guidance. Cash Workspace does not connect to your bank, does not scan or read your receipts for you, and does not move or collect payments. Whether an expense is deductible depends on your situation, so confirm it with a qualified accountant or tax professional.

Keep every engagement and its costs in one place

Start a free workspace and record each fixed-bid or hourly engagement with its milestone invoices, tooling costs, and SOW so every project is reconcilable from kickoff to handoff.