Jira Time Tracking with Built-in Billing, Budgets, and Alerts

Jira time tracking is a feature that allows teams to log, estimate, and report time spent on issues and projects. It helps monitor progress, plan resources, and track project costs.

Jira includes basic native time tracking—teams can log work on issues, set estimates, and view simple reports. However, for billing, budgets, alerts, and advanced reporting, most teams use third-party add-ons like Everhour that extend Jira's capabilities.

Key use cases:

• Sprint tracking and burndown charts
• Resource planning and capacity management
• Client billing and invoicing
• Project budget monitoring
• Team productivity analysis

There are several ways to track time in Jira:

1. Native Jira worklog: Click the '⋯' menu on any issue → select 'Log work' → enter time spent. This is the basic built-in method available to all Jira users.

2. Everhour add-on (recommended): Install the Everhour add-on from Atlassian Marketplace to get enhanced time tracking controls directly inside Jira issues—with project budgets, billing rates, and automated alerts.

3. Browser extension: Install the Everhour browser extension to start timers from list/board views without opening individual issues—great for quick time entry.

4. Timer vs. manual entry: Use start/stop timers for active work or manually log time for completed tasks. Both methods work with Everhour.

While Jira's native time tracking is functional for basic logging, it has significant limitations:

Reporting limitations:

• No consolidated timesheet view across all issues
• Cannot easily view time logged by specific users across projects
• Time Tracking Report limited to single project (no cross-project reporting)
• CSV export capped at 1,000 issues and strips key context
• No built-in reports for billing or invoicing

Financial tracking gaps:

• No project budgets or budget alerts
• No billing rates (hourly/fixed fee)
• No way to mark time as billable/non-billable
• No invoice generation
• No profitability tracking

User experience issues:

• Must open each issue to log time (no batch entry)
• No clear calendar or timesheet interface
• No time tracking reminders or policies
• Limited customization options

Portfolio management:

• Cannot aggregate time data across multiple projects
• No high-level resource planning views
• Estimates only at issue level (not project/epic level)

Time tracking is enabled by default in Jira Cloud. To configure it:

Native Jira setup:

1. Navigate to Settings (⚙️) → Issues → Time tracking
2. Choose time format (hours, days, or weeks)
3. Set working hours per day (default: 8 hours)
4. Configure who can log work in Project settings → Permissions

Enhanced setup with Everhour:

1. Install Everhour add-on from Atlassian Marketplace
2. Sign up at everhour.com/signup
3. Connect Jira workspace through Everhour settings
4. Set billing rates and project budgets in Everhour
5. Configure alerts (email notifications at 50%, 80% of budget)
6. (Optional) Install browser extension for quick timesheet access

Yes. Just sign up with Everhour and invite your team. Install the Everhour add-on from Atlassian Marketplace. The rest of the team simply needs to join and use their Everhour credentials inside Jira.

Setup takes less than 5 minutes:

1. Create Everhour account
2. Install add-on from Marketplace
3. Connect your Jira workspace
4. Invite team members
5. Start tracking time

Here is how to connect Everhour with Jira Cloud.

Native Jira: No. Jira's native time tracking has no concept of 'billable' vs. 'non-billable' hours. All time logs are treated equally—there's no way to mark time entries for client billing.

With Everhour: Yes. Everhour adds full billing functionality to Jira:

1. Mark projects as billable:

• Set billing method: Hourly rate, fixed fee, or non-billable
• Assign rates per project or per team member

2. Track billable hours:

• All time logged automatically categorized
• Separate billable/non-billable in reports

3. Generate invoices:

• Create client invoices directly from time reports
• Include line items, rates, totals
• Export to PDF or integrate with accounting tools

4. Budget tracking:

• Set project budgets (hours or dollar amount)
• Get email alerts at 50%, 80% of budget
• Prevent budget overruns

Bottom line: For client billing, you need Everhour or similar add-on—native Jira cannot track billable hours.

Time tracking reports are essential for accurate client billing and financial management:

Key benefits:

1. Accurate invoicing:

• Track exactly how much time was spent per project/client
• Separate billable vs. non-billable hours
• Include detailed breakdown (task, team member, date)

2. Budget management:

• Compare actual time vs. budgeted time
• Identify projects going over budget early
• Calculate profitability (revenue vs. cost)

3. Resource planning:

• See which team members are overloaded
• Identify bottlenecks (tasks taking longer than expected)
• Improve future estimates based on historical data

4. Client transparency:

• Provide detailed time reports to clients
• Show exactly what was worked on (linked to Jira issues)
• Build trust with transparent billing

Without proper time tracking reports:

• Manual time aggregation from Jira (error-prone)
• Cannot separate billable/non-billable
• No budget alerts (overruns discovered too late)
• Billing disputes with clients (lack of transparency)

Everhour's advantage: One-click invoice generation from Jira time logs, automatic billable/non-billable categorization, budget alerts prevent overruns, detailed reports satisfy client questions.

Native Jira: No. Jira's time tracking does not include project budgeting features:

• No budget fields (time or monetary)
• No budget alerts or notifications
• Cannot set spending limits
• No profitability tracking

With Everhour: Yes. Full project budget management:

Budget types:

1. Time-based budgets: '100 hours for this project'
2. Monetary budgets: '$10,000 total'
3. Per-member budgets: Different rates per team member

Budget features:

• Set thresholds: Email alerts at 50%, 80%, or custom percentages
• Real-time tracking: See budget remaining as team logs time
• Budget reports: Compare budgeted vs. actual across all projects
• Billing integration: Budget tracked in both hours AND dollars

Why budgets matter:

• Prevent overruns: Catch budget issues before it's too late
• Profitability: Ensure projects stay profitable (revenue > cost)
• Client communication: Update clients proactively when approaching limits
• Resource planning: Reallocate resources from over-budget projects

Bottom line: Project budgets are critical for financial control—native Jira doesn't support them, but Everhour adds complete budget management to your Jira workflow.

Native Jira reports (limited):

1. Time Tracking Report:

• Go to Projects → Reports → Time Tracking Report
• Shows: Estimates vs. actual time per issue
• Limitations: Single project only, no user breakdown, no filtering by date range

2. Workload Pie Chart:

• Shows time distribution by assignee
• Limitations: Very basic, no export options

3. JQL + CSV Export:

• Query: project = ABC AND worklogDate >= '2025-01-01'
• Export to CSV
• Limitations: 1,000 issue cap, strips context (comments, history)

Advanced reporting with Everhour:

Everhour's report builder provides:

• Cross-project reports: Aggregate time across all Jira projects
• User reports: See all time logged by specific team members
• Date range filters: Custom periods (this week, last month, Q4 2024, etc.)
• Jira custom fields: Filter by epic, sprint, label, component, assignee
• Export options: Excel, CSV, PDF, or share via email
• Budget reports: Time vs. budget, burn rate, profitability
• Billing reports: Billable vs. non-billable hours, client invoices

Why Everhour is faster: Native Jira requires manual CSV exports per project → combine in Excel. Everhour generates cross-project reports in seconds with one click.

When to use native Jira:

• Small team tracking sprints only
• No client billing needed
• Basic burndown charts sufficient
• No budget requirements

When to use Everhour:

• Client billing (agencies, consultancies)
• Project budgets and alerts needed
• Cross-project reporting required
• Need detailed financial tracking
• Want better UX (timesheets, calendar view)

Migration: Switching to Everhour is seamless—install add-on (5 minutes), all existing Jira time logs sync automatically, enhanced interface appears inside Jira, no disruption to team workflow.

No problem. Unlike other tools, you can invite and pay only for those Jira users who are going to track time and use Everhour.

This flexibility allows you to:

• Invite only team members who bill clients
• Add project managers who need budget visibility
• Exclude stakeholders who only review work
• Scale up or down as team needs change

Each invited user gets full access to Everhour's features including budgets, reporting, and billing—while other Jira users continue working normally without seeing any time tracking data.