The amount charged per hour of work for a service or project.
An hourly rate is the amount a service provider charges per hour of work. For freelancers and consultants, it is the foundation of project billing. Rates vary widely by skill, location, demand, and experience — a junior developer in one market may charge what a senior commands in another.
Setting the right hourly rate requires accounting for: the work hours you actually bill (vs. total work hours), overhead costs (software, equipment, accounting), desired annual income, market rates for your role and location, and a buffer for non-billable time.
Rates typically increase over time as experience and reputation grow. When you raise your rate, it is important that existing invoices are not retroactively recalculated at the new rate — this creates billing disputes and accounting problems.
Some engagements use different rates for different types of work (strategy vs. execution, for example) or different clients. A well-structured time tracker lets you set rates per project rather than just globally.
In ClockMe
Each ClockMe project has its own hourly rate. When you log time, the rate is snapshotted to that entry. If you update the project rate later, existing entries keep their original rate. This means invoices for past work always reflect the agreed rate — not your current rate. Especially valuable if you bill different clients at different rates.
Try ClockMe free →In ClockMe, old entries are unaffected. ClockMe snapshots the billing rate at the moment each entry is created. Changing the project rate only affects new entries going forward.
Yes. Each project in ClockMe has its own hourly rate. You can bill different clients at different rates from the same account.
Many consultants charge different rates for different work types — strategy and architecture at a premium rate, execution at a standard rate. ClockMe supports this through separate projects with different rates per engagement type.