Help Center

When you sign up, Clearmargin automatically creates your organization (workspace). Here's how to get up and running:

1. Add your first client — Go to Clients and click "Add Client." Enter their name and contact info.
2. A project is auto-created — When you add a client, a default project is created for them automatically.
3. Log your time — Go to Time and start logging hours to your project.
4. Track expenses — Add any costs in the Expenses section.
5. Check your dashboard — See how your business is doing at a glance.

That's it! You can send your first invoice whenever you're ready.

Solo Plan is designed for individual freelancers. You get all the core features: proposals, client management, time tracking, invoicing, expense tracking, and payments.

Teams Plan adds multi-user capabilities: - Invite team members with different permission levels - Track individual team member costs for accurate profitability - Role-based access (Owner, Admin, Member, Viewer)

Both plans include a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.

Yes! Clearmargin has a QuickBooks Online import built right in. Here's how it works:

1. Go to Settings > Data > Import and connect your QuickBooks account
2. Clearmargin uses read-only OAuth access — we never modify your QuickBooks data
3. Preview and select what you want to import before anything changes
4. Imports include clients, invoices, estimates, bills, time entries, and catalog items
5. Everything is processed in the background automatically

It's safe to re-import anytime — Clearmargin uses smart upsert logic that updates existing records and adds new ones without creating duplicates. You can disconnect your QuickBooks account anytime from the same page.

If you're on the Teams plan:

1. Go to Settings → Team
2. Click Invite Team Member
3. Enter their email address
4. Select their role:
5. - Admin — Can manage team members and all data
6. - Member — Can view and edit all data
7. - Viewer — Read-only access

They'll receive an email invitation to join your organization.

In Clearmargin: - Clients are the people or companies you work with - Projects are specific pieces of work for a client

Every client can have multiple projects. When you create a client, a default project is automatically created for them. You can rename this project or add more projects as needed.

All time entries, expenses, and invoices are tracked at the project level, then rolled up to show client profitability.

Use the default project that's created when you add a client. You can rename it to something like "General Work" or "Ongoing Support."

This is perfect for: - Ongoing clients with varied tasks - Maintenance and support work - Quick one-off requests

When a client accepts your proposal:

1. Go to the proposal and mark it as "Accepted"
2. Clearmargin offers to create a project from it
3. The project is created with:
4. - Scope items from the proposal
5. - Budgeted hours preserved for tracking
6. - Contract value recorded
7. - Link back to the original proposal

This gives you automatic scope tracking — you'll see alerts if actual hours start exceeding what was proposed.

Go to Time and use the quick log strip at the top:

1. Select the project
2. Enter hours (decimals work: 1.5 = 1 hour 30 minutes)
3. Add a description of what you did
4. Click Log

For more options, click "More options" to access: - Rate type (Standard, Overtime, Emergency) - Billable/non-billable toggle - Custom rate multipliers - Item association

Time entries that have been invoiced cannot be deleted — this protects the integrity of your invoice records.

Instead, you can archive invoiced time entries. This hides them from your active list while preserving the historical record.

If you haven't invoiced the time entry yet, you can delete it freely.

For expenses that repeat, set the frequency: - Monthly — Software subscriptions, rent - Quarterly — Insurance, some services - Annual — Yearly licenses, memberships

Clearmargin automatically includes these in your profitability calculations each period. You don't need to re-enter them — they're tracked automatically.

For one-time costs, you can choose how they affect profitability:

Expense — The full cost hits your books immediately - Use for: Most regular purchases, small equipment

Depreciate — The cost is spread over multiple months - Use for: Large equipment, assets with long useful life - Example: A $1,200 computer depreciated over 24 months = $50/month impact

This gives you more accurate month-to-month profitability for large purchases.

Two ways:

1. Smart Generation (recommended) 1. Go to Invoices → Generate Invoice 2. Select the client 3. Clearmargin pulls all unbilled time and expenses 4. Review and customize line items 5. Create the invoice

2. Manual Creation 1. Go to Invoices → New Invoice 2. Select the client 3. Add line items manually 4. Set due date and terms

The smart generator saves time and ensures you don't miss billable work.

When you generate an invoice:

1. Your unbilled time entries are converted to line items
2. Pass-through expenses become separate line items
3. Discounts are applied if configured
4. The source entries are marked as "invoiced"

This prevents accidentally billing the same work twice. The original time entries and expenses remain — they're just linked to the invoice.

Yes! When you send an invoice through Clearmargin: - The status changes from "Draft" to "Sent" - If the client opens the invoice link, it's tracked - You can see this on the invoice detail page

This helps you know when to follow up — if they've viewed it but not paid, it might be time for a gentle reminder.

The Dashboard offers two profitability views:

True Cost View (default) - Includes allocated overhead - Shows the *real* cost of serving each client - Better for: Pricing decisions, identifying unprofitable clients

Contribution Margin View - Excludes overhead allocation - Shows how much each client contributes after direct costs - Better for: Understanding which clients help cover fixed costs

Most users should focus on True Cost view for accurate profitability insights.

A client is flagged as unprofitable when their total costs exceed their total revenue. Common causes:

1. Scope creep — More hours worked than billed
2. Underpriced — Rate doesn't cover your costs
3. High overhead allocation — Big clients bear more overhead
4. Unbilled work — Time logged but not yet invoiced

Check the client's detail page to see the breakdown and identify the issue.

Go to Settings → Exports to download:

• CSV — Universal format for spreadsheets
• QuickBooks IIF — Import directly into QuickBooks
• Tax Summary — P&L format ready for tax prep

You can filter by date range and category. These exports include all the detail your accountant needs.

1. Go to your account (click your avatar, then "Account")
2. Find the password section
3. Follow the prompts to set a new password

For security, we recommend using a unique, strong password and enabling two-factor authentication.

Yes! Clearmargin lets you rename "Projects" to match how you think about your work: - Activities - Engagements - Jobs - Matters - Or any custom term

Go to Settings → Organization → General and scroll to the "Terminology" section to change this. The term updates throughout the app.

Items are reusable templates for things you commonly bill or expense. Go to Settings → Items to view and organize:

For charges (things you charge): - Service name and description - Default rate - Unit type (hour, flat, monthly)

For expenses (things you pay): - Expense category - Typical amount - Frequency

Items are automatically created as you add charges and expenses. You can organize them, fix typos, or update prices in the Items section.

1. Go to Settings > Data > Import and click Connect to QuickBooks
2. Sign in to your QuickBooks account — Clearmargin requests read-only access only
3. Once connected, you'll see a preview of your data with options to select what to import
4. Choose what you need — clients, invoices, estimates, bills, time entries, and catalog items are all supported
5. Click Import and Clearmargin handles the rest in the background

It's completely safe to re-import at any time. Clearmargin uses smart matching to update existing records and add new ones without creating duplicates. You can disconnect your QuickBooks account anytime from the same page.

Clearmargin uses Stripe Connect to let you accept payments directly from clients:

1. Go to Settings > Payments and click Set Up Payments
2. Complete the Express account onboarding — Stripe handles identity verification and compliance
3. Once set up, your invoices include a Pay Now link for clients

What's supported: - Credit and debit cards - ACH bank transfers

There are no platform fees from Clearmargin — you only pay Stripe's standard processing rates. When a client pays, their payment method is saved automatically for faster payment on future invoices.

Yes! When a client pays an invoice, their payment method is saved on file for faster checkout on future invoices. The next time they receive an invoice, their saved card or bank account will be pre-filled at checkout — they still review and confirm each payment.

Good to know: - Clients can manage their payment methods via the Customer Portal - You can remove a saved payment method from the client's detail page - For automatic recurring billing, use subscriptions instead — the client agrees to a specific amount upfront

Yes! Recurring billing is built into Clearmargin's project system:

1. Add a recurring charge (monthly, quarterly, or annual) to a project
2. Click Set Up Subscription on the charge
3. The client receives a secure Stripe Checkout link to enter their payment details
4. Invoices are generated automatically each billing cycle

Clients can manage their subscription — update payment methods or view billing history — through a self-service portal. You can cancel a subscription anytime, and it takes effect at the end of the current billing period.

Go to Settings → Billing and click "Manage Billing." From there you can: - Downgrade your plan - Cancel your subscription - View billing history

When you cancel: - Your account remains active until the end of the billing period - You can export all your data before it expires - Your data is retained for 30 days after expiration

We're sad to see you go, but we make it easy.