Agencies Are Losing Billable Hours: Automatic Time Tracking Fixes That

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics defines professional services as firms that provide expert work for other businesses.

In other words, they sell time and knowledge.

But despite how valuable that time is, many still rely on clunky, manual tools to track it.

In this DesignRush interview, Memtime Chief Marketing Officer Niclas Preisner shares how his team built a tool that captures time automatically, protects privacy, and actually fits how people work.

Who is Niclas Preisner?

Niclas Preisner is chief marketing officer and co-founder of Memtime, a software company focused on helping service firms track their billable hours with precision and minimal effort. Before launching Memtime, he worked as a creative at leading agencies BBDO and Serviceplan, where he experienced firsthand the frustration of inaccurate timesheets and wasted admin time.

Keep Tracking Passive to Boost Adoption

Manual tracking creates drag. Users forget to start timers, misreport blocks of time, or avoid logging altogether. Memtime avoids that by tracking in the background.

“Memtime is designed to be used as little as possible,” Preisner says. “Our users start the free trial period, leave the tool running during the day, and see what it has tracked for them in the evening.”

That passive approach lets people focus on their work, not the software, yet still produces accurate, detailed timelines they can use to log time quickly.

Let Billing Models Shape the Interface

Agencies and law firms, for instance, bill differently. Memtime was built with that reality in mind.

“Agencies don’t want to see every single minute tracked automatically; it would overwhelm them,” Preisner says. “So most display their day in 15-minute increments.”

Meanwhile, legal teams often demand precision.

“Lawyers love to see every single minute in a grid of 6-minute intervals, because they can charge very granularly,” he adds.

Memtime's timeline lets users zoom in or out, allowing the same tool to match various client demands without needing a separate setup.

Reframe Time Tracking as Memory

Time-tracking software often gets lumped in with employee surveillance. Memtime flips that narrative.

“The first reaction some people have is: ‘Wait, is this surveillance software?’” Preisner admits. “So our #1 message is: Nobody can see your data, not even us. Everything stays offline, on your device.”

 

 

 

 

 

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By framing the product as a memory aid rather than a monitoring tool, and designing it accordingly, Memtime earns trust and drives real use.

Build Long-Term Accuracy Through Iteration

Great automation isn’t built overnight.

“It took us [eight] years to perfect our automatic tracking, and we’re still learning in other areas,” Preisner says.

That long development cycle, driven by user feedback, resulted in a system that’s both precise and flexible, which is crucial for teams that bill by the hour and can't afford errors.

Stop Comparing Features and Prioritize Use

When firms choose software, they often start with checklists. Preisner says that’s the wrong lens.

“The biggest mistake I see buyers making is overemphasizing feature tables and prices,” he says. “Just find a high-performing user you trust and ask them which solution is the most fun to use.”

Why? Because tools that are pleasant to use get used consistently. Tools that only look good on paper don’t fix lost time or missed revenue.

Turn Time Tracking into a Strategic Advantage

Memtime’s success lies in getting out of the user’s way. It captures time silently, stores it securely, and adapts to how professionals already work.

For firms that live on billable hours, that’s a competitive advantage.

Less admin. More accuracy. Better margins.

That’s what time tracking should deliver. Memtime just makes sure it actually does.