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You charge $75/hr.
You actually earn $31.
The Real Rate Tracker calculates what you actually make per hour — after revisions, admin, dead-end calls, and unpaid prep. The number is almost always lower than you think.
Your hourly rate is a guess. A flattering one.
You picked a number — maybe from what others charge, maybe from what felt right. But that number assumes every hour you work is a billable hour. It's not.
Revisions that weren't in scope. A two-hour "quick call" that went nowhere. Invoice chasing. Admin. Research you didn't charge for. Every one of those hours reduces your real rate — and most freelancers have no idea by how much.
Five tabs. One clear picture.
Fill in your hours and income. The tracker does the math and shows you what's actually happening in your business.
Hours Log
Log every session — billable and non-billable. Client work, admin, revisions, calls, invoicing. Every hour that touches a project goes here.
Income Log
Record every payment received — client, amount, date, project. Ties directly to your hours so the tracker can calculate your real rate per project.
Expense Log
Track what you spend to operate — software, tools, subscriptions, equipment. Deducted from your income to show net earnings per hour.
Rate Dashboard
Your real numbers at a glance: total hours worked, billable vs. non-billable split, gross income, expenses, and — the number that matters — your actual effective hourly rate.
Monthly Summary
Month-by-month breakdown of income, hours, and effective rate. See patterns: which months were actually profitable, and which just felt busy.
What your tracker actually shows you
Most freelancers see a gap between their quoted rate and their real rate. The tracker makes it visible — so you can close it.
Up and running in 15 minutes
Make a copy to your Google Drive
One click. Works on any free Google account — no paid plan needed.
Log last month's hours and income
Start with what you already know — even rough numbers give you a useful baseline.
Check your real rate on the Dashboard
The tracker calculates it automatically. The number might surprise you — that's the point.
Log every session from now on
Takes 2 minutes per day. After 30 days, you'll have more data about your business than most freelancers have ever seen.
Use the Monthly Summary to adjust your rates
Not based on confidence or what others charge — based on what your hours are actually worth.
One price. Yours forever.
No subscription. No monthly fee. Pay once and track your rate for as long as you freelance.
Questions
Do I need a paid Google account?
No. The tracker works on any free Google account. Just make a copy to your Drive and it's yours.
How do I get it after purchase?
You'll receive a Google Sheets link immediately after payment. Open it, click File → Make a copy, and it's in your Drive.
I already track hours in a spreadsheet. Why do I need this?
Most freelance hour logs track time but don't calculate anything. This one separates billable from non-billable hours, deducts expenses, and shows your effective rate automatically — no formulas to build yourself.
Can I customize it?
Yes. It's a Google Sheet — you can add columns, rename categories, or adjust anything. The core formulas are structured so changes don't break the Dashboard.
What if I charge project rates, not hourly?
That's exactly who this is for. You still log hours and income — the tracker reveals what your effective hourly rate is, even when you're not charging hourly. That's the whole point.
What if I also want the Freelance System and the Pricing Guide?
The Orvale Freelance Bundle includes everything — Freelance System, Real Rate Tracker, and the Pricing Your Creative Work PDF guide — for $57 instead of $64. See the bundle →