Local startup Time Tracking Buddy provides a tool that tracks what documents you work on to provide professionals with detailed reports on their billable time.

Time Tracking Buddy screen Using Time Tracking Buddy’s Windows software, you can associate files or folders with one of your billable clients. When you’re working on a document that you’ve added as a client file, the software keeps track of how long you’re actively using the file. You can then run reports tracking how much time was spent, helping you fill out invoices and timesheets.

The company has launched a private beta of their software. To join the beta, send an email to beta@timetrackingbuddy.com or visit their beta page.

I’ve been using the Mac software from competitor Rescue Time for several weeks. Rescue Time can track URLs that you visit and allows you to use tags to classify URLs and programs, sorting your usage by tag. After using it for a week, I found myself surprised by what I was really doing with my time each day. Rescue Time, however, is not able to distinguish individual documents. Any time spent in Microsoft Word is simply reported as “Microsoft Word” with no details about which document you’re using.

Time Tracking Buddy is able to report on which documents you’ve been working with, making it worth looking into for professionals who bill by the hour or for individuals working on multiple projects who would like to see where their time is really going.