> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hiveku.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Bill for Your Hours and Usage > Log billable hours and usage for a client, by hand, with a timer or on a project's tasks, and turn what you pick into a draft invoice **Commerce > Usage** collects the work you bill by the hour or by the unit: time and usage you log by hand, and hours your team logs on project tasks. Everything waits there as unbilled until you pick it and turn it into an invoice. This guide bills Theo Nakamura at Lanternwick Café for three hours of barista training, an espresso machine service visit, and an hour and a half spent dialing in their new grinder, logged on a project. It turns all three into one draft invoice, which is not sent. ## Log time or usage by hand **1. Open Usage** Click **Commerce** in the left rail, then **Usage**, then **Log usage**. ![The Usage and time tracking page with Start timer, the Log usage button outlined, and the Unbilled and Billed tabs](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt/images/how-tos/commerce/hrs-01-usage-page-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt\&q=85\&s=72605930c8f0c7fa8fd2baa06226cd6d) **2. Log billable hours** Pick the **Client** and type a **Description**: it becomes the line on the invoice. Type the **Quantity**, keep **hours** as the **Unit**, and type the hourly **Rate**. Click **Log**. ![The Log usage dialog with Client Theo Nakamura, Description Barista training for your new staff, and Quantity 3, Unit hours, Rate 85.00 outlined, and the Log button outlined](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt/images/how-tos/commerce/hrs-02-log-usage-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt\&q=85\&s=eb43ec6398502630907564107cc639ec) **3. Log usage in any unit** For anything else you bill by the unit, type your own **Unit**: visits, kegs, pages. Northwind logs one espresso machine service visit at \$65. ![The Log usage dialog for Theo Nakamura with Description Espresso machine service visit outlined, and Quantity 1, Unit visit, Rate 65.00 outlined](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt/images/how-tos/commerce/hrs-03-log-a-visit-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt\&q=85\&s=43fbe369e0c6991d99062e88e3d977bf) Each entry is listed on the **Unbilled** tab, under **Other usage**, with who logged it and the client. ## Or time it as you work Click **Start timer**, pick the **Client**, say **What are you working on?** and set the **Hourly rate**. Click **Start**. ![The Start timer dialog with Client Theo Nakamura, What are you working on? Holiday drink menu tasting, Hourly rate 85.00, and the Start button, each outlined](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt/images/how-tos/commerce/hrs-04-start-timer-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt\&q=85\&s=1faca2bf21e80cae2dfd49470391bed5) The button counts the time. When you finish, click it to **Stop**, and the time is logged on **Unbilled**. ![The Usage page with the timer button reading 0:00:12, Stop, outlined, next to Log usage](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt/images/how-tos/commerce/hrs-05-timer-running-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt\&q=85\&s=bc6d8f490285f24e56a7a1d434534812) Northwind's timer ran for only a few seconds and was never stopped, so nothing from it was logged or billed. > [!WARNING] > > Keep the Usage page open while the timer runs. If you go to another page, the timer stops and its time is not logged. ## Bill a project's hours Hours your team logs on a project's tasks reach Usage once the project knows who to bill. Northwind's "Lanternwick Café bar setup" project is billed to Theo. **1. Choose who to bill** Open the project in **PM Projects**, click **...** at the top and then **Project settings**, and open the **Billing** tab. Pick the client under **Bill to**. Tick **Default hourly rate for this project** and type the rate: a person's own bill rate is used first, and this rate covers everyone without one. Click **Save billing**. ![Project Settings for Lanternwick Café bar setup with the Billing tab outlined, Bill to Theo Nakamura outlined, Default hourly rate for this project ticked with 85.00 outlined, and the Save billing button outlined](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt/images/how-tos/commerce/hrs-06-project-billing-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt\&q=85\&s=9ad29b9a3ee7547244a741a61907a64c) **2. Log time on a task** Open a task and its **Time** tab. Under **Manual**, type the **Hours** and **Minutes**, check the **Date**, and say what you did. Leave **Billable** ticked and click **Log Time**. The **Timer** tab times it instead. ![The task Dial in the new grinder with the Time tab outlined, Hours 1, Minutes 30 and Date 10/21/2026 outlined, the note Set the grind and recipe for the house espresso, Billable ticked and outlined, and the Log Time button outlined](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt/images/how-tos/commerce/hrs-07-log-task-time-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt\&q=85\&s=a7802681500b6c9d83692b7737f9e029) On **Unbilled**, the hours are listed under the project and the task, at the project's rate. ## Turn it into an invoice **1. Pick what to bill** On **Unbilled**, tick what to bill. Ticking a project ticks all its hours. The bar at the top counts what you picked and its total. Click **Create invoice from selection**. An invoice is for one client, so pick one client's entries at a time. ![The Unbilled tab with the project Lanternwick Café bar setup and its task's 1.5 hours ticked, and both Other usage entries ticked; 3 records selected, \$447.50, outlined, and the Create invoice from selection button outlined](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt/images/how-tos/commerce/hrs-08-select-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt\&q=85\&s=0148803faa0455958880280fd8fb871f) **2. Find the draft** Hiveku creates a draft invoice and moves the entries to the **Billed** tab, each with the number of its invoice. Click the number to open it. ![The Billed tab outlined, listing the three entries for Theo Nakamura, with the invoice number NW-2026-001003 beside each outlined](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt/images/how-tos/commerce/hrs-09-billed-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt\&q=85\&s=e7707bd52e7d9e876e70349a266ac8b3) **3. Read the draft invoice** The invoice is a **Draft**, with one line for each task's hours (named after the project and the task) and one for each kind of usage. It is dated today and due by your default payment terms: Net 30 for Northwind. Click **Edit** to change the lines or add notes, and **Send** when it is ready. Northwind keeps it as a draft. ![Invoice NW-2026-001003 with the Draft badge outlined, the Edit button outlined, Bill to Theo Nakamura, \$447.50 due Nov 20, 2026, and the three lines outlined: Lanternwick Café bar setup, Dial in the new grinder (hours) 1.5 at \$85.00; Barista training for your new staff (hours) 3 at \$85.00; Espresso machine service visit (visit) 1 at \$65.00](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt/images/how-tos/commerce/hrs-10-draft-invoice-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt\&q=85\&s=54d4f84a5ab318d28ff404ae9b10ae27) ## Good to know * **Hours logged before the project had a client** are not on Usage yet. The **Unbilled** tab says how many, with **Choose who to bill**; once the project has a client, **Add hours** brings them in. * **Hours with no rate** are logged as not billable and marked for review on **Unbilled**. Click the badge to set a rate and bill them. * **Each entry is billed once.** After it is on an invoice, it stays on **Billed** with that invoice's number. * **More:** to send the invoice, see [Create and Send an Invoice](/how-tos/commerce/send-an-invoice). [Project Management](/how-tos/pm-projects) covers projects and their settings. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.