TimeTracker: the system I built instead of buying one

I build my own business systems instead of buying them. TimeTracker was the first: built with Claude Code, Cursor and Supabase, it cut my monthly admin from 4-5 hours to about 30 minutes.

TimeTracker: the system I built instead of buying one

When I decided to go freelance as an AI consultant and project manager, I knew what I was getting into. After years in the industry I had watched consultant after consultant fight their own tools, systems that were either too simple or far too complex for the job. I made a different call: I would build all my business systems myself.

TimeTracker came first

Time tracking and invoicing are the backbone of a consulting business. I had tried it all: Jira, Harvest, Toggl, assorted Excel setups. None of them fit how I wanted to run my business.

Jira had become a beast. Every time I logged hours, it felt like navigating a maze of fields I didn't need.

So I built TimeTracker. My own system, designed for how I actually work as an AI consultant.

The stack

I'm an AI consultant and a vibe coder, so I picked tools that give me speed and room to move:

• Claude Code and Cursor as my development copilots
• Supabase as the backend, a deliberate choice for its real-time capabilities
• GitHub and Vercel for deployment: push to main, and the system is live

More than time tracking

TimeTracker quickly grew past logging hours:

• Project structure: the system knows the difference between AI development projects, strategic advisory and workshops
• Automated admin: it generates invoices, project status reports and profitability calculations
• Client insight: it tracks changes and tells me when it's time for a conversation about hours and budget

From reactive to proactive

I used to spend 4-5 hours a month on administration. Now it's maybe 30 minutes. The bigger win is the insight. The system gives me real-time data on my business.

An ecosystem of my own tools

TimeTracker was just the beginning. I'm building a whole set of tools now:

• A CRM designed specifically for selling AI projects
• A knowledge management system for organizing research
• Automated reporting tools for project stakeholders

Why this makes sense for an AI consultant

Building your own systems sounds backwards for a consultant. But my systems are my competitive advantage. They show potential clients that I don't just talk about digital transformation, I run my business on it.

The road ahead

As my consulting business grows, the systems grow with it. Every friction I hit becomes a new feature. I think this is where consulting is heading: using modern AI tools to build exactly what your business needs.