TLDR (Summary)
The best time tracking software for real estate agents is Plutio ($19/month).
Real estate agents work on commission, not hourly billing, but time tracking reveals which deals actually pay and which drain your business. Plutio tracks time per client and transaction so you can calculate true hourly return and make informed decisions about where to focus effort.
Commission-based agents who track time discover dramatic variation in hourly return. Some transactions pay $300-500/hour while others pay $15-25/hour when divided by actual effort invested recover unbilled.
What is time tracking for real estate agents?
Time tracking for real estate agents records effort invested in each client and transaction to calculate true hourly return and identify patterns in what makes deals profitable or costly.
The distinction matters: most time tracking software focuses on billing clients for hours worked. Real estate time tracking provides business intelligence by revealing which clients, deal types, and activities generate the highest return on your time investment.
What real estate time tracking actually does
Core functions include logging time by client and transaction, categorizing activities like showings, paperwork, and marketing, calculating hourly return when deals close, identifying patterns in profitable versus unprofitable deals, tracking where your week actually goes versus where you think it goes, and providing data for business decisions about client acceptance and activity prioritization.
Billing-focused vs insight-focused time tracking
Traditional time tracking exists to bill clients for hours worked. Real estate agents don't bill hourly - you earn commission on closed deals regardless of hours invested. Time tracking for agents provides business intelligence rather than billing data. Time tracking answers questions like: What's my actual hourly return on different deal types? Which activities consume time without generating results? Which clients demand disproportionate effort?
What makes real estate time tracking different
Real estate work doesn't fit standard time tracking patterns. You might spend 6 hours on Saturday showings for one buyer, 45 minutes answering another client's text questions throughout the week, and 3 hours on a listing presentation that may or may not convert. Some time generates immediate commission, some builds toward future commission, and some generates nothing.
Real estate time tracking handles these patterns by connecting time to specific clients and deals so you can analyze results when transactions close, compare projected effort at deal start versus actual effort at closing, and identify which activities correlate with successful outcomes.
Time tracking for commission-based agents provides retrospective analysis rather than billing data. When deals close, you can calculate actual hourly return and identify what made the difference between a $400/hour transaction and a $20/hour transaction.
Why real estate agents need time tracking
Real estate agents who don't track time make business decisions based on commission amounts without understanding the effort required to earn each dollar.
A $12,000 commission looks better than a $6,000 commission until you realize the first took 200 hours (earning $60/hour) while the second took 15 hours (earning $400/hour). Without time tracking, you can't see this difference and end up chasing high-commission deals that actually pay worse than smaller transactions.
The hidden cost problem
Some clients consume disproportionate time without you realizing it. The buyer who "just has a few questions" contacts you 15 times per week. The seller who wants daily updates adds 30 minutes to every day. The indecisive buyer tours 50 properties before buying. Each interaction feels small, but cumulative time investment turns healthy commissions into minimum wage returns.
The activity allocation problem
Without time tracking, you think Spending your week on productive activities. Time tracking often reveals different reality: 3 hours on prospecting becomes 45 minutes when actually measured. "Full day of showings" was 4 hours with 3 hours of windshield time and dead time. Administrative tasks you thought took an hour consume three.
The deal selection problem
Time tracking data informs which deals to pursue and which to decline or refer. Patterns emerge: first-time buyers in certain price ranges consistently require 80+ hours. Move-up buyers familiar with the process average 25 hours. Investor clients who know what they want close in 10 hours. Data-informed deal selection improves overall hourly return.
The business planning problem
Planning your business requires understanding capacity. How many concurrent clients can you serve? When do you need help? What activities should you delegate first? Without time data, these decisions are guesses. With tracking history, you can model scenarios based on actual effort requirements.
Time tracking converts commission from a single number into hourly return analysis. The insight changes how you select clients, price services, and allocate your finite hours toward highest-return activities.
Time tracking features real estate agents need
The essential time tracking features for real estate agents connect logged time to clients and transactions, categorize activities for pattern analysis, and calculate hourly return when deals close.
Core time tracking features
- Client-linked time: Every time entry attaches to a specific client so total effort per relationship accumulates automatically.
- Transaction-linked time: Time connects to specific deals so you can calculate hourly return when transactions close.
- Activity categories: Categorize time by activity type: showings, paperwork, marketing, prospecting, communication, travel. Understand where your hours go.
- Timer and manual entry: Start/stop timer during activities or log time manually after the fact. Both methods support different work styles.
- Mobile tracking: Log time from your phone during showings, driving, and field work where most real estate time happens.
- Weekly summaries: See where your week went with breakdowns by client, activity, and transaction.
Real estate-specific features
- Hourly return calculation: When deals close, divide commission by hours tracked to see actual hourly return per transaction.
- Client hourly return analysis: Compare hourly return across client types to identify patterns in profitable relationships.
- Activity correlation: Analyze which activities correlate with closed deals versus wasted effort on deals that fell through.
- Effort projections: Based on tracking history, estimate effort requirements for new deals at different price points and client types.
Platform features that multiply value
- Transaction integration: Time tracking connects to transaction management so deal data and time data live together.
- Reporting and export: Generate reports for analysis and export data for deeper analysis in spreadsheets.
- Mobile apps: Full tracking functionality from phones for logging time in the field.
- Privacy controls: Time data stays private from clients. They see professional service, not internal tracking.
The deciding factor for real estate agents is connection to deals and clients. Time tracking that links to transactions enables hourly return analysis that transforms commission from a number into business intelligence.
Time tracking software pricing for real estate agents
Time tracking software typically costs $5-20 per month for standalone tools, with integrated platforms providing time tracking alongside transaction management at flat monthly rates.
What agents typically pay for time tracking
- Toggl: $9-18/user/month for full features
- Clockify: Free for basic, $5-12/user/month for advanced
- Harvest: $12/user/month
- RescueTime: $12/month for automatic tracking
Standalone time trackers lack connection to real estate workflows. You log time in one tool and manage transactions in another, requiring manual correlation to calculate hourly return.
Plutio pricing (January 2026)
- Core: $19/month: Time tracking plus proposals, contracts, projects, and client portals.
- Pro: $49/month: Unlimited clients, team features, advanced permissions.
- Max: $199/month: Unlimited team, full white-labeling with custom domain, single sign-on.
The ROI calculation for real estate agents
- Client selection: Identifying and declining one high-effort, low-return client per year saves 50-100 hours for better opportunities
- Better time use: Discovering that certain activities waste time helps you focus on higher-return work
- Pricing decisions: Understanding true hourly return informs commission negotiations and client acceptance criteria
If time tracking data helps you decline one deal that would have paid $20/hour in favor of one paying $100/hour, the improved return on those same hours far exceeds annual subscription cost.
Time tracking ROI comes through better business decisions. Understanding hourly return enables client selection, smarter time use, and pricing decisions that compound into significantly higher income from the same working hours.
Why Plutio is the best time tracking for real estate agents
Plutio handles time tracking as part of a complete platform where logged hours connect to clients and transactions for automatic hourly return analysis when deals close.
Transaction-connected time tracking
Every time entry links to a specific client and optionally to a specific transaction. When deals close and commission amounts are known, Plutio can calculate hourly return automatically. You see not just how much you earned, but how much you earned per hour invested.
Client effort accumulation
Time logged across all interactions with a client accumulates in their profile. See total effort invested in each relationship, not just individual sessions. Compare effort across clients to identify patterns in demanding versus efficient relationships.
Activity categorization
Create categories that match your work: showings, paperwork, marketing, prospecting, communication, travel, administrative. Weekly reports show where your hours actually went versus where you intended them to go. Insight into allocation enables optimization.
Mobile-first tracking
Most real estate work happens away from desks. The mobile app supports starting timers during showings, logging time after appointments, and tracking while driving between properties. Capture time where work actually happens.
Hourly return analysis
When transactions close, view hourly return by dividing commission by hours tracked. Compare across deals to see patterns: which price points pay highest hourly return? Which client types require most effort? Which activities correlate with successful closings?
Privacy from clients
Time tracking data stays internal. Clients see professional service through their portals without seeing time logs or hourly return calculations. Business intelligence remains private for your decision-making.
Integration with workflows
Time tracking connects to transaction management, scheduling, and client profiles. Log time from transaction views. See client effort from their profile. Time data flows through your existing workflow rather than requiring separate tool switching.
Everything connects in one app. Time entries link to clients and transactions so closing a deal automatically enables hourly return analysis that informs future client selection and activity prioritization.
How to set up time tracking in Plutio
Setting up time tracking in Plutio takes 30 minutes for initial configuration, then tracking becomes a natural part of your workflow that takes seconds per entry.
Step 1: Create activity categories (15 mins)
Set up categories that match how Spending time:
- Showings: Property tours with buyers
- Listing work: Photography, staging coordination, MLS entry
- Marketing: Social media, advertising, content creation
- Prospecting: Lead generation, sphere contact, farming
- Paperwork: Contracts, disclosures, transaction coordination
- Communication: Calls, texts, emails with clients
- Travel: Driving between appointments
- Administrative: General business operations
Step 2: Install mobile app (5 mins)
Download the mobile app for time tracking in the field. Most real estate time happens away from computers, so mobile access is essential for accurate tracking.
Step 3: Link time to existing clients (10 mins)
Connect time tracking to your client and transaction management. Time entries automatically link to client profiles when logged from client views.
Step 4: Start tracking
Begin logging time for current clients and transactions. Don't worry about capturing every minute perfectly at first - develop the habit gradually. Consistent tracking matters more than perfect granularity.
Tracking approaches
- Timer method: Start timer when beginning an activity, stop when finished. Most accurate but requires remembering to start/stop.
- End-of-day logging: At day's end, review calendar and log time for each activity. Less intrusive but requires memory and estimation.
- Hybrid approach: Timer for longer activities like showings, manual entry for quick tasks like calls. Balances accuracy with convenience.
Common setup mistakes to avoid
- Too many categories: Start with 6-8 categories. Add more only when you need finer analysis.
- Perfectionism: Approximate tracking that happens consistently beats precise tracking that gets abandoned. Log time imperfectly rather than not at all.
- Forgetting mobile: Install the mobile app immediately. Desktop-only tracking misses most real estate work.
Time tracking value comes from consistency over time. Start simple, track regularly, and refine your approach as patterns emerge from accumulated data.
Time categories for real estate agents
Time categories structure your tracking for useful analysis while remaining simple enough to actually use consistently.
Essential categories for agents
- Showings: Property tours with buyer clients
- Listing service: Photography, staging, MLS work, open houses
- Transaction coordination: Contracts, inspections, closing prep
- Client communication: Calls, texts, emails, meetings
- Prospecting: Lead generation, sphere contact
- Marketing: Social media, advertising, content
- Travel: Driving between appointments
- Administrative: General business operations
Category proven methods
- Keep categories to 8-10 maximum for consistent use
- Make category selection easy with clear, mutually exclusive definitions
- Distinguish revenue-generating activities from support activities
- Include travel separately to understand true time investment
What categories reveal
- Activity distribution: Where do your hours actually go?
- Per-client analysis: Which clients consume disproportionate time?
- Deal comparison: What's different about high-return versus low-return transactions?
- Time wasters: Which activities take up time without generating results?
Evolving your categories
Start with basic categories and refine based on what you want to analyze. If "client communication" becomes too large, split into "phone calls" and "messaging." If categories rarely get used, combine them. Your category structure should match the questions you want data to answer.
Categories let analysis. Choose categories that will answer the business questions you care about, then use them consistently for data accumulation.
Time tracking and client portals: keeping data separate
Time tracking provides internal business intelligence that stays separate from client-facing portals. Clients experience professional service without seeing your effort analysis.
Private business intelligence
Time tracking data remains internal. Clients don't see how many hours you invested, your hourly return calculations, or effort comparisons across clients. Time data informs your business decisions without affecting client relationships.
Professional portal experience
Clients access their portal for documents, transaction status, and communication. The portal experience reflects your professional service regardless of how you track time internally. High-effort clients and low-effort clients receive the same portal professionalism.
Where time data lives
Time entries appear in your internal dashboards, reports, and client profiles (visible only to you). Client-facing portals show transaction progress, documents, and communication - the results of your work rather than the effort invested.
Using data appropriately
Time tracking informs decisions like which clients to accept, how to price services, and where to focus effort. These decisions happen privately. Clients experience the outcomes - better service, appropriate attention, efficient transactions - without seeing the data that guides your approach.
Time tracking and client portals serve different purposes. Keep analysis private while delivering professional service through portals.
How to start time tracking in Plutio
Starting time tracking doesn't require migrating historical data. Begin tracking today and accumulate data going forward.
Step 1: Set up categories (15 mins)
Create activity categories that match your work. Keep it simple - 6-8 categories let useful analysis without creating decision fatigue during logging.
Step 2: Connect to existing clients
Link time tracking to your client and transaction management in Plutio. Time entries automatically associate with clients when logged from their profiles or transaction views.
Step 3: Start with current deals
Begin tracking for your currently active clients and transactions. Don't try to reconstruct time for past deals - start fresh with going-forward tracking.
Step 4: Build the habit
Consistent tracking matters more than perfect tracking. Log time at natural breakpoints: after showings, at end of day, between appointments. Develop the habit over weeks rather than expecting perfection immediately.
Step 5: Review after first closings
When deals close, calculate hourly return by dividing commission by logged hours. The first few calculations reveal patterns: some deals pay far more per hour than others. Pattern recognition begins informing decisions.
What to expect
- First month: Habit formation, imperfect data, learning what to track
- Months 2-3: Consistent tracking, first closed deal analysis, initial patterns
- After 6 months: Enough data for pattern analysis across multiple deals and clients
- After 1 year: Complete understanding of your business economics
Common starting mistakes
- Over-engineering categories: Simple categories you'll use beat complex categories you'll abandon
- Expecting immediate results: Valuable patterns emerge over months of accumulated data
- Abandoning after lapses: Missing some time entries doesn't invalidate the tracking. Resume tracking rather than starting over
Time tracking value compounds over time. Start simple, track consistently, and patterns accumulate through data that informs better business decisions.
