Bill every hour you can prove.
Contractors confirm their own day, you approve the week, and the approved timesheet becomes the client invoice and the contractor payout — with a read-only portal that shows the client the evidence behind every hour. Idle time is never billed silently.
Get the guide: The Remote Contractor Playbook
How agencies and outsourced teams prove billable hours, roll out time records without a mutiny, and turn approved hours into invoices clients pay without questions.
PDF by e-mail in a minute · No sales call unless you ask for one
Talk to us (20 min)
We set up tracking, invoices and reports for your team on the call. Also for quotes and invoice billing.
Online · 20 minutes · We set up FocusUp for your team live
Start free now
Free for 3 seats, full features for 14 days, no card. Your workspace is ready in 2 minutes.
Free for 3 seats · 14-day full trial · No card · 2-minute setup
- Employees see 100% of their own data
- Consent-first — tracking starts on the member's Start button
- First AI report minutes after the first session
Client invoice — with proof of work
Weekly · 3 people · 115.7 h
$4,997
Billable
| Member | Hours | Active | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ana R.Designer | 38.5 | 91% | $1,733 |
| Jonas K.Front-end | 41.2 | 88% | $2,472 |
| Priya S.VA / Ops | 36.0 | 84% | $792 |
You clicked: “Bill every hour you can prove.”
Sound familiar?
You are not paranoid. You are the one signing the invoice.
- The client questions the invoice and you have a spreadsheet, not evidence
- Contractors log 40 hours; you have no idea what they contained
- Timesheets arrive late, rounded, and from memory
- Paying contractors means a second spreadsheet every month
- Every new client asks for “some kind of activity report”
By tomorrow at 7am, FocusUp answers every one of these — automatically.
Create free workspaceYour first 24 hours
No dashboards to build, no rituals to change. Here is exactly what happens after you enter your email.
Now · 2 minutes
Create the workspace, install the app
Mac and Windows. Members sign in with a one-time code — no password retyping. Connect Slack if you use it (Jira and calendars optional).
Today
Tracking runs on their Start button
Members press Start after recorded consent. FocusUp measures the real workday — apps, documents, tickets, meetings. No screenshots unless you turn them on.
Tomorrow · 7:02
Standups arrive, already drafted
Each person gets Yesterday / Today / Blockers as a Slack DM, written from what they actually did. One tap posts it to your channel thread and writes Jira worklogs back.
7:05
Your morning digest
Who's on track, who's blocked, where the hours went — one message, before your first meeting.
9:30
The inbox speaks up — once
Ana tracked 9h+ three days running. A check-in in your voice is waiting for approval. Nothing is sent until you press Send.
10:00
Focus Blocks start
The desktop copilot notices a switching storm and offers 45 minutes. One click: calendar event, Slack DND, status set.
FocusUpapp7:02 AM
Good morning, Mia — here's your standup draft for Thu, Oct 1
✅Yesterday
- •Shipped the pricing page v3 in Figma (2h 10m)
- •ACME-231 login redirect bug — fix in review (1h 35m)
- •Design sync with Ken (30m)
🎯Today
- •Address review comments on ACME-231
- •Onboarding empty states in Figma
🚧Blockers
- •Waiting on design review for pricing v3
JJira worklog on approve: ACME-231 · 1h 35m
Ken9:02 AM
- Yesterday: API rate limiter shipped to staging (ACME-228)
- Today: load test + PR review for Mia
- Blockers: none
posted via FocusUp
Ana9:04 AM
- Yesterday: Q3 hiring plan draft in Sheets, 2 candidate calls
- Today: finalize plan, sync with finance
- Blockers: waiting on headcount approval
posted via FocusUp
Try it — press the green button
Three things you will actually receive
Not charts to interpret. Finished work you approve with one tap.
Reports itself
The standup writes itself — from real work
Every morning FocusUp reconstructs what each person actually worked on and drafts their Yesterday / Today / Blockers. It lands as a Slack DM; one tap posts it to the team thread.
- Sees the work Slack and Jira bots miss: design, spreadsheets, research, calls
- Jira worklogs written back on approve — no time-entry chores
- E-mail and web fallback when Slack isn't connected
FocusUpapp7:02 AM
Good morning, Mia — here's your standup draft for Thu, Oct 1
✅Yesterday
- •Shipped the pricing page v3 in Figma (2h 10m)
- •ACME-231 login redirect bug — fix in review (1h 35m)
- •Design sync with Ken (30m)
🎯Today
- •Address review comments on ACME-231
- •Onboarding empty states in Figma
🚧Blockers
- •Waiting on design review for pricing v3
JJira worklog on approve: ACME-231 · 1h 35m
Ken9:02 AM
- Yesterday: API rate limiter shipped to staging (ACME-228)
- Today: load test + PR review for Mia
- Blockers: none
posted via FocusUp
Ana9:04 AM
- Yesterday: Q3 hiring plan draft in Sheets, 2 candidate calls
- Today: finalize plan, sync with finance
- Blockers: waiting on headcount approval
posted via FocusUp
Try it — press the green button
Manages itself
An inbox that notices before you have to
Overload, stalled work, fragmented days, someone gone quiet, deadline risk, meeting overload — detected from real activity and turned into a check-in drafted in your voice.
- Nothing reaches a teammate until you press Send
- Monday 1:1 briefs: wins, watch-outs and questions per person
- Ask FocusUp in Slack: “who worked on the Acme proposal this week?”
Inbox · 4 to review
Needs your OK🔥 Overload — Ana tracked 9h+ on each of the last 3 days
Mon 9h 24m · Tue 9h 41m · Wed 10h 05m. Two sessions ended after 22:00. Burnout risk 72 (was 41 last week).
Proposed DM, in your voice
Hey Ana — noticed the last few days ran long. Anything I can take off your plate this week? Happy to move Friday's review if that helps.
Nothing reaches Ana until you press Send.
- ⏸ Stalled — Leo, 2h on one Xcode screen with no input
- 📅 Deadline risk — Website relaunch, 62% of budget used, 3 days left
- 📝 Monday 1:1 brief — Ken (ready)
Try it — press the green button
Protects focus
Deep work, defended in real time
The desktop copilot learns each person's golden hours, sends a morning plan, and nudges the moment a context-switching storm or chat spiral starts.
- One click turns a nudge into a Focus Block — calendar event, Slack DND, status
- Team Focus Health shows deep-work blocks and interruption sources — aggregates only
- Employees actually want this one installed
FocusUp
nowFocus copilot
12+ app switches in the last 10 minutes. Lock in for 45 minutes?
Team Focus Health · this week
- Deep work48%
- Meetings27%
- Chat15%
- Other10%
Switches / hour
6.2
↓ 18% vs last week
Top interruption source
Slack DMs · 41%
Team aggregates only — no per-person view.
3,206h
Hours of work measured
6,047
AI reports delivered
14 days
free Team trial — no card
10
languages for AI reports
FocusUp's own data (30 days, 6.6 h average tracked day): ~12% — about 45 minutes in 4 stretches — had no keyboard or mouse input for 5+ minutes. Most trackers dock it. FocusUp asks the person: meeting, reading or break?
Live production numbers — updated hourly
What invisible work costs a 10-person team
Conservative estimates — adjust the math for your team.
Today, every month
Writing daily reports
30 min × 10 people × 20 days
Status meetings
2h × 4 weeks
“Quick status?” chasing
≈ 1h+ per day across the team
With FocusUp
Members press Start and just work
0 minAI writes every report + your digest
0 minYou read one morning digest
2 min/dayIllustrative estimate for a 10-person team at $30/hour. Your first reports arrive tomorrow morning either way.
Sees the work that never gets logged
Most of a knowledge worker's day never touches Jira or GitHub. FocusUp reconstructs it from the desktop — with the evidence attached.
Reconstructed work · Mia · yesterday
not in JiraPricing page v3
2h 10mevidence: Figma · Chrome (figma.com)
ACME-231Login redirect loop after SSO
1h 35mevidence: VS Code · Chrome (acme.atlassian.net) · GitHub PR #482
not in JiraQ3 hiring plan
45mevidence: Google Sheets · Notion
not in JiraDesign sync with Ken
30mevidence: Google Meet · Calendar
Nothing typed by Mia. Reconstructed from app, document, ticket and calendar activity.
Proof of work, not surveillance
Timesheets are memory; stealth trackers cost you the contractors worth keeping. FocusUp gets every hour confirmed and approved — and turns it into money you can defend.
| FocusUp | Timesheets / activity trackers | |
|---|---|---|
| Contractor-confirmed, manager-approved timesheets | Yes | No |
| Invoice lines by client & project + invoice PDF with evidence | Yes | Partial |
| Contractor payout file (Wise batch) | Yes | No |
| Client portal + weekly client e-mail of approved hours | Yes | Partial |
| $6 per seat, everything included | Yes | Partial |
This is what lands in your inbox tomorrow at 7am
Written by AI from real tracked work — nobody types a word. One per member, plus a team digest for you.
FocusUp Reports
Your daily report — Mia · Wednesday
6h 12m
Tracked
90%
Active
4h 48m
Deep work
Score breakdown
Most used apps
What you worked on
Deep design day: 4.8 hours in Figma on the onboarding flow redesign, with reference research on Dribbble mid-morning. One short design review call, then straight back into components. Focus held unusually well after lunch.
Highlights
- • 4.8h of deep work in Figma — best design day this week
- • Onboarding flow v2 screens finished through the empty states
Suggestions for tomorrow
- Ship the v2 prototype for review before starting motion polish
- Your 15:00–17:00 block was strongest — schedule detail work there
- Close Slack during component work; two pings broke a 40-minute streak
This is a sample report. Your first real one arrives minutes after your first session.
PDF by e-mail in a minute · No sales call unless you ask for one
Invoices from approved hours
Hours by client and project at your bill rates, from approved days only — invoice lines (CSV) and an invoice PDF with the evidence summary.
Contractor payouts in one file
Approved hours × each contractor's pay rate, exported as a Wise batch or a generic CSV. Pay rates and bill rates stay separate.
A portal the client can open
A read-only link per client or project: approved hours, daily summaries and the share backed by device or calendar — plus a Monday e-mail.
Fair to contractors
Nobody is scored on activity: they label meetings, research and offline work, review their day first, and see exactly what the client sees.
Surveillance? No.
Covert trackers get sabotaged and destroy trust. FocusUp only works because your team can defend it.
- No stealth mode, ever. Tracking starts on the member's own Start button.
- Consent is recorded before the first minute is tracked.
- Screenshots are off by default; EU compliance mode disables them entirely.
- Every member sees 100% of their own data — including their standup drafts.
- Managers see the team's Focus Health as aggregates, never a leaderboard.
- No keystroke contents, webcam, microphone or emotion inference — compliant with the EU AI Act and California AB 1883 by design.
What your teammate sees in their app
- “Tracking is on because you pressed Start. Everything collected is visible in My Work.”
- “Here is your standup draft for today — approve, edit or skip.”
- “12+ app switches in the last 10 minutes. Lock in for 45 minutes?”
No stealth mode, ever. Tracking requires recorded consent and runs only while the member presses Start. Employees see every session, screenshot and AI report collected about them. GDPR-ready with a dedicated EU compliance mode.
Founding teams get 30% off for 3 months
Applied automatically at checkout for new workspaces — no code needed.
Simple pricing that scales with you
Purchasing-power pricing in 10 currencies. Cancel anytime.
Free
$0up to 3 seats
Tracking, sessions and team dashboard for small teams.
Team
$6per seat / month
Everything: verified timesheets, approvals, payroll & invoice exports, client portal. Annual = 2 months free.
Every workspace starts with a 14-day free trial of Team — no card needed. The Free plan stays free forever.
Frequently asked questions
Will my contractors accept this?+
Far more readily than an activity tracker. Nobody is docked for reading or calls — they label that time and it counts — they review their day before you do, they can pause, and they see exactly what the client sees. Most teams frame it as “this is how we prove your hours to the client”, which is also true.
Can the client see the record?+
Yes, on your terms. Create a client link scoped to a project or team; it shows approved hours, daily summaries and the evidence share, and FocusUp e-mails the client a weekly summary. Revoke any time.
What do I get for payroll and invoicing?+
Approved hours per person per workweek with a regular / overtime split (40 h for US and Canadian employees), a Gusto Smart Import file, invoice lines by client and project at your bill rates, and a contractor payout file (Wise batch). Weeks can be locked once approved so the numbers don't move after payroll.
Is this stealth employee surveillance?+
No — and that is deliberate. FocusUp has no covert mode: the app is always visible, records only during working hours after recorded consent, and can be paused. Every member sees 100% of what is collected about them, reviews their own timesheet before a manager does, and sees whenever a manager opens their record. Screenshots are off by default and EU compliance mode is built in.
How much does it cost?+
Free for up to 3 seats, forever. The Team plan is $6 per seat/month with everything included (annual = 2 months free). Every workspace starts with a 14-day full trial — no card needed.
Approved hours → invoice → payout.
Free for 3 seats, then $6 per seat with everything included. We set it up with you in 20 minutes.
Get the guide: The Remote Contractor Playbook
How agencies and outsourced teams prove billable hours, roll out time records without a mutiny, and turn approved hours into invoices clients pay without questions.
PDF by e-mail in a minute · No sales call unless you ask for one
Talk to us (20 min)
We set up tracking, invoices and reports for your team on the call. Also for quotes and invoice billing.
Online · 20 minutes · We set up FocusUp for your team live
Start free now
Free for 3 seats, full features for 14 days, no card. Your workspace is ready in 2 minutes.
Free for 3 seats · 14-day full trial · No card · 2-minute setup