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For time tracking software: does the extension, an integration or search bring teams that add seats?

Time tracking is often started by one freelancer or team lead with a browser extension or a desktop timer, then rolled out to a team and billed per seat. Tally ties each subscription to the website visits around those installs, and lifetime value shows which channels grow from one seat to many.

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01How they sell

  • FreemiumFree tracking for one person, with paid features such as billable rates, reports, invoicing or idle detection.
  • SubscriptionPer-seat plans monthly or yearly; agencies add seats as they hire, on the same subscription.

02Payments it reads

  • StripeSeat plans through Checkout; seat changes, renewals and refunds are read.
  • PaddleDesktop timers and team trackers sold worldwide use Paddle as merchant of record; transactions and adjustments are read.

What Tally can't read

  • Installs of the Chrome or Firefox extension aren't sales and don't show as visits; a person counts once they open a page of your website.
  • Subscriptions bought in the mobile apps through the App Store or Google Play aren't read.
  • Hours tracked, screenshots and timesheets inside the product are never read.

03Where buyers come from

  • Browser extension listingsPeople who install the timer from an extension store reach your site later to set up billing; clicking through from the listing marks the store as their first source.
  • Project tool integrationsA timer button inside a project management tool sends users of that tool, who already work task by task.
  • Billable hours searchesSearches for how to track billable hours or a timesheet template bring freelancers who bill by the hour.
  • Agency ownersAgencies looking at profit per client compare trackers on reports and invoicing.
  • Comparison pagesTeams uneasy with surveillance-style trackers look for something lighter and compare a few.

04What Tally answers

  1. Do people who click 'Add to Chrome' end up paying?

    Put data-fast-goal on the link to the extension store and each click is a goal; the goals view gives completions, converting visitors and the revenue of those who clicked.

    Goals and funnels

  2. Do agencies that start with one seat grow?

    Lifetime value by first source totals each customer's payments, added seats included, with average revenue and repeat rate, so channels that bring teams who grow rank above those that bring solo users.

    Lifetime value

  3. When do teams upgrade?

    Peak hours on sales shows the weekdays and hours when payments happen; if they gather on the day timesheets are due, the view shows it, naming the top three hours only with enough data.

    Peak hours

  4. Which integration sends teams that pay?

    Each integration's referrer or campaign row carries its visitors and the revenue credited to them; a timer button inside a web-based tool can show that tool as the referrer when people click through.

    Sources with revenue

  5. How long from install to the first paid seat?

    Path to purchase measures from the first visit to your site, not the install. With the extension store as the first source, the median time to purchase covers the weeks of free tracking in between.

    Path to purchase

05Numbers worth watching

Lifetime value by first source
Lifetime revenue by first source, which rewards channels whose solo users bring their teams.
Goal conversion
The share of visitors who click through to install the extension or download the desktop timer.
Repeat rate
The share of customers who paid more than once, which seat additions and renewals both push up.
Conversion
Paying visitors over all visitors; installs that never come back to the site keep it honest.

06An example

Example

Peak hours

Last 30 days · UTC

VisitsSalesRevenue

Busiest on Mondays, 14:00–17:00

2.1× the visits of an average three hours. Post around Mon 13:00 to be there as they arrive.

000102030405060708091011121314151617181920212223Total
Mon3,61741$1,651
Tue2,56830$1,168
Wed2,10623$981
Thu2,05722$942
Fri1,84421$874
Sat2,21324$1,007
Sun1,78620$827
All16,191181$7,450
Busiest three hours

Shades are each hour's average over the times this period holds it, so a weekday that comes round five times doesn't outshine one that comes round four. The totals beside and below are the period's actual sums, not averages.

Fig. 1Peak hours on the example site, by weekday and hour. For time tracking, switch to sales and see whether upgrades bunch on the days timesheets and invoices are due.

07Setting up

  1. Any HTML sitePut the tag on the website, including the welcome page the extension opens after install, and call tally('identify', { email }) there once they sign in.
  2. StripeWhen the app creates a Checkout Session for seats, add tally_visitor_id to its metadata and subscription_data.
  3. Mark the extension store and desktop download links with data-fast-goal, so installs started from your site are goals.

08Questions

  • Can Tally tell how many people installed the extension?

    No. Store installs aren't read. It counts clicks on your link to the store, as a goal if you mark it, and the visits people make to your site afterwards.

  • An agency moves from monthly to yearly. How does that show?

    As a payment on the same subscription when the billing stays on it, credited to the first payment's source; the larger yearly amount adds to that source's lifetime value.

  • Do timesheets or tracked hours leave our system?

    No. Tally never reads anything inside your product; it sees visits to your site and payments to you.

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