Guide
From Timesheet to Invoice: Connecting Time Tracking with sevDesk and lexoffice
·5 min read·digitalWAS solutions
Connecting time tracking with sevDesk or lexoffice means that the hours, expenses and services your team records on site reach the invoicing software your accounting already runs on, without anyone retyping them. digital scaleUp solutions provides the billing basis and deliberately has no invoicing module of its own. This article walks from recorded time to paid invoice, lists the typical retyping errors, explains bank reconciliation via finAPI and shows the whole workflow step by step in a table.
From hour to invoice
Between the work at the customer's site and the money on the account lie several stations: record, review, hand over, invoice, send, reconcile. In many small businesses they are connected by paper, spreadsheets and e-mail, and every media break costs time and produces errors. Three kinds of data belong on an invoice by effort: time (working time and project time per job from one entry, see time tracking for trades), expenses (material, parking, travel, subcontracted work) and services (flat rates such as call-out or maintenance). All three arise on site, so they must be recorded there and flow on without a second entry.
Typical retyping errors
Manual transfer into an invoicing program produces the same mistakes every time: transposed digits and generous rounding, forgotten expenses whose receipts stay in the van, hours booked to the wrong job for the same customer, double entry by fitter, office and payroll, and delay, because retyping is unpopular and piles up until the invoice goes out three weeks after the work. When a customer then disputes an item, there is no time report with date, time and activity. The fix is not more care when retyping. It is removing the retyping.
Why scaleUp is deliberately not a second invoicing program
Your accounting already runs in sevDesk or lexoffice, often with direct access for your tax adviser, receipt capture, VAT returns and dunning. A second invoicing program next to it means two customer databases that drift apart, two invoice number ranges, invoices archived in two places and payments booked in one system while staying open in the other. scaleUp is the billing basis instead: time, expenses and services are recorded where they arise and handed to sevDesk or lexoffice without retyping, while invoice, booking, dunning and archiving stay in the accounting software. See the product page for the full module list.
Step by step: from timesheet to invoice
| Step | Who | What happens | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Create the job | Office | Customer from the CRM, job with cost centre | Hours have a destination |
| 2. Record time | Fitter, field staff | Clock in and out, project time per job on the phone | Time available at once |
| 3. Record expenses and services | Fitter, field staff | Material, travel, flat rates on the job | Nothing gets lost |
| 4. Review and approve | Site manager, office | Check the time report per job | Approved billing basis |
| 5. Hand over | Office | Time, expenses and services go to sevDesk or lexoffice without retyping | Items in the accounting software |
| 6. Invoice | Accounting | Check and send in sevDesk or lexoffice | Receivable created |
| 7. Reconcile payment | Accounting | Match bank transactions via finAPI | Open items visible |
| 8. Post-costing | Management | Compare recorded cost with the quote | Better pricing next time |
The job is the bracket: it belongs to a customer in the customer file, knows its cost centre and collects everything recorded against it (see customer management software with customer file). The office no longer types but reviews, and approval turns recorded data into a billing basis. In sevDesk or lexoffice the invoice keeps its usual layout and number range. Via finAPI, bank transactions are matched so that an invoice still open after 30 days becomes visible. With every cost attached to the job, post-costing in the finance and controlling module is a report, not a chore.
Prerequisites and automation
Before the first handover, clean up duplicate customers so that the customer in scaleUp and in the accounting software is the same, define hourly rates and flat rates, settle billing rules such as rounding, and name one person who approves hours and hands over to accounting. Late invoices usually come from forgetting: rule-based workflows in scaleUp run across all modules and can, for example, create tasks and follow-ups or send notifications when a job is completed, while webhooks, an API and the n8n connection reach external systems. Which workflows pay off first is covered in workflow automation for SMEs.
Data protection and hosting
Hours and expenses are employee data, invoices contain customer data. digital scaleUp solutions is hosted in Germany, developed in Berlin and designed to comply with the GDPR; you sign a data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR with the provider. sevDesk, lexoffice and finAPI have their own contracts, so check data processing and possible third-country transfers there as well. General criteria are in GDPR-compliant CRM software.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need sevDesk or lexoffice?
For the path without retyping, yes, one of the two. Without a connection, time reports still provide the basis, but with manual transfer.
Can I post-cost fixed-price jobs?
Yes, and that is where it matters most. Record hours as on any other job; the fixed price is invoiced, the real hours are post-costed.
What does the connection cost?
It is part of digital scaleUp solutions: Starter 49 euros per month for up to 5 users, Business 129 euros per month for up to 25 users, Enterprise priced individually. Your sevDesk, lexoffice and bank accounts remain your own contracts.
Get started
Try digital scaleUp solutions free for 30 days, no credit card required, or book a consultation to walk through the process with your accounting. More answers are in the FAQ.