Freebe: track a fixed-fee project without exceeding the time budget

Analysis of official documentation, with no testing on a paid account.

To find out if a package mission remains profitable, first turn the agreed price into an hourly budget. Divide the Mission's excluding VAT amount by your hourly revenue target, then compare this limit to the time already spent and the remaining work. The Freebe chronometer can record time per customer and service; the decision to continue, reduce the perimeter or propose a supplement remains yours.

Procedure established from the official pages Freebe, consulted the 18 October 2026.

Fix the ceiling hours before starting the chronometer

Two calculations are sufficient for a first check:

• Hour budget = amount excluding VAT of the package ÷ hourly turnover target.
• Projected gross hourly rate = amount excluding VAT of the package (time spent + time remaining estimated).

The hourly target is not a net wage. It must be selected high enough to contribute to contributions, tools, business time, administration, leave and non-mission periods. If you only use the income you want to keep personally, the budget will be too generous.

Example completed: the package supports 30 hours, not 34

Hypothetical example proposed by Logicelio: an independent accepts a mission to 1 800 € excluding VAT. Its objective is to produce 60 € excluding VAT turnover per hour worked. Its budget is therefore 1 800 ÷ 60 = 30 hours.

The useful warning comes before the thirty-first hour. Together with the client, the freelancer can remove a nonessential element, have an additional quote approved for an added request or consciously accept the lower rate. Simply moving the delivery date does not correct the cost overrun.

Use Freebe as a meter, not as a referee

The official time management page indicates that the chronometer can be linked to a service and/or customer. It also documents the manual addition of slots and the conversion of time into euros according to the billing method. The presentation of features confirms the chronometer's assignment to a service and client, as well as the possible dispatch of an hour record.

1. In your catalogue, use a service that corresponds to the package sold and the customer concerned.
2. Match manually added chronometers and slots to this performance. Do not wait until the end of the week to reconstitute small interventions.
3. At an agreed stage, record the cumulation and reestimate the remaining task time per task.
4. Compare the amount to the pre-mission budget. If it exceeds it, decide before performing the extra work.

The guide Freebe dedicated to time tracking describes two input modes, timing and manual addition. It also indicates that follow-up applies to lump sum benefits. The screen can therefore make the time visible, but it does not know the tasks promised in your estimate or what the customer considers a modification.

Count all the time attributable to the mission

The calculation becomes misleading if you only time the main production. For a mission to the package, also attach scoping meetings, file-specific searches, planned corrections, delivery preparation and exchanges necessary for validation. These are hours consumed by this contract.

Conversely, do not arbitrarily charge a single customer a full day of prospecting or your annual accounting. These non-billable hours must already be taken into account when setting your hourly target. If you want to measure a full margin per project, add purchases, subcontracting and other direct costs separately.

Do not convert the statement of hours into an additional invoice

Freebe documents the creation of an invoice from the time followed for services billed on time. In a package mission, cumulation is first used to pilot your commitment. An overrun does not allow you alone to charge extra hours. The accepted estimate and agreement to an amendment remain the reference.

A timesheet can help explain where time was spent, but it does not always need to be sent. If the contract provides for a fixed-price deliverable, share a clear update instead: work completed, added requests, the estimated extra cost and the choice to approve before continuing. Avoid exposing internal notes or information about another client.

What this control does not measure

The projected gross hourly rate is neither your profit nor your net income. It does not exclude contributions, taxes, subscriptions, subcontracting, travel expenses or non-billable time. It is used to detect early a gap between the package sold and the time it absorbs.

The form page Freebe advertises access to all features regardless of the displayed plan, with the choice depending in particular on legal status. We do not reproduce prices in this guide because selecting a different status or period changes what is shown. Check your legal structure and the terms displayed when you subscribe.

An agency that allocates several people, hourly costs or purchases per project requires cost accounting. Use a project tracking tool or a cost table to assign each load and stakeholder.

The decision to be taken at each checkpoint

At the end of a step, ask one question: Does the time spent plus the remaining time still hold in the budget hours? If so, continue and note the next check. If not, stop before the task that would cause the overrun and ask the client to choose between a reduced scope, a priced extra or a different arrangement. This discipline is more useful than a review carried out after delivery.

To place this tracking in your management, see Freebe review, the guide to choose billing software and the method to check an invoice before sending a reminder.

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