Use Case — Consultants

Stop leaving billable hours on the table

Consultants lose billable hours to forgotten time entries, vague invoices, and clients who push back on charges they don't understand. FlowQi connects your work, your time, and your invoices, so every hour you deliver gets paid.

  • Billable hours
  • Service invoicing
  • Engagement tracking
  • Client management
  • Retainer billing
Consultant reviewing client engagements and billable hours in FlowQi
Sound familiar?

You deliver more than you bill.

I billed 35 hours but I know I worked at least 48. The rest just disappeared because I logged them too late.
A client pushed back on my invoice. I couldn't show them a clear breakdown of what I did and when. It was embarrassing.
I have three different billing models across five clients — retainers, hourly, and fixed-fee projects. I track all of it in three different spreadsheets.
My invoicing is always two weeks late because I have to piece together the hours from email, calendar, and notes before I can send anything.
I know one of my clients is not profitable, but I can't prove it because I don't have clean data on what I actually spent on them.

Consultants don't lose clients over bad advice. They lose money because the link between the work they do and the invoice they send is broken.

What FlowQi gives you

Built for consultants who bill for their expertise.

One platform for your clients, your time, and your invoices — connected from day one.

AC
Retail Enterprise client · Zürich
● Active retainer · €150/h
MC
Margaret Chen CFO · margaret.chen@acmecorp.com
Primary contact
Timeline Details Engagements Billing
Q2 strategy memo sent — 14-page board report You · Today, 09:15
Email
Board advisory call — 60 min · Q2 roadmap review You + Margaret · Yesterday, 14:00
Meeting
Q2 planning workshop scheduled · 4h block Margaret invited · Mon, Sep 14, 10:00
Upcoming
Invoice INV #2026-0141 sent · €2,820.00 You · Mon, Sep 7 · Paid Sep 8
Invoice
Q2 Board Report v3.pdf shared with Margaret You · 2.4 MB · Sep 9, 16:22
File
Review financial projections · due Sep 11 Assigned to you · Priority: high
Task
Prefers bi-weekly status reports · Mon mornings You · Mon, Aug 31
Note
Retainer renewed — €150/h · 40h/month Margaret · Aug 26
Deal
Active engagements
Q2 Strategy ReviewOn track · 28/40h this month
Process OptimizationIn progress · 12/20h
M&A Due DiligenceStarting Sep 14 · 60h scoped
Recent documents
PDF
Q2 Board Report v3.pdf 2.4 MB · Sep 9
DOC
Advisory MSA 2026.docx 186 KB · Aug 26
XLS
Financial projections Q2.xlsx 340 KB · Sep 8
Billing snapshot
YTD revenue €14,250
Outstanding €3,085
Avg. rate €148/h
€150/hretainer
3engagements
42hthis month
Timesheets/Active engagements/September 2026
Active engagements — September
1 retainer near cap
Retail · Q2 Strategy Retainer · 40h/month
€150/h
28 / 40h €4,200 On track
Industrie · Process Audit Fixed-fee project · 60h scoped
€125/h
38 / 60h €4,750 In progress
Hemler Advisory — Retainer Monthly retainer · 20h/month
€140/h
19 / 20h €2,660 Near cap
NovaGroup — Advisory series Hourly · 10h engagement
€180/h
4 / 10h €720 Started
Mon 7 Tue 8 Wed 9 Thu 10 Fri 11
3.5hRetail · Strategy memo
4hIndustrie · Process map
1.5hHemler · Retainer call 2hRetail · Board prep
2hNovaGroup · Advisory
2.5hRetail · Exec summary
Billing/New invoice/Retail
Invoice #2026-0142 · Retail
Draft
Time entries to bill · September
Strategy memo draft 3.5h €150 €525
Board prep materials 2h €150 €300
Financial review session 2.5h €150 €375
Executive summary 3h €150 €450
Q2 planning workshop 4h €150 €600
Board advisory call 2h €150 €300
6 entries · 17h selected €2,550
Your Consultancy BV INV #2026-0142
Bill to Retail
Bahnhofstrasse 1
8001 Zürich, CH
Issued Sep 29, 2026 Due Oct 29, 2026
Description Hours Rate Amount
Q2 Strategy Review — advisory hours 13h €150 €1,950
Board advisory & planning 4h €150 €600
Subtotal€2,550.00
VAT 21%€535.50
Total due€3,085.50

Ready to invoice every hour you actually work?

Try FlowQi free
Why it works

The business case in 60 seconds

For the consultant who needs to decide.

Bill what you earn

Stop losing revenue to forgotten entries. FlowQi captures hours as you work — so your invoice reflects what you actually delivered.

Clients who trust you

Send invoices with a full, itemized breakdown. Clients see exactly what they're paying for — disputes disappear.

One platform, every client

Retainers, hourly, fixed-fee — manage every billing model in one place. No more tracking three clients in three spreadsheets.

Live in under a week

No IT setup. No implementation project. Most consultants are fully running within days, not weeks.

Book a demo No obligation. We show you exactly how it works for your practice.
How it works

Plan hours. Log hours. Invoice what you delivered.

01

Set the budget — hours and rate per project

Every engagement gets a planned hour budget and an hourly rate. 40h at €150/h. A 20h retainer at €125/h. Set it once — FlowQi tracks everything from there.

02

Log as you work — see planned vs actual in real time

Hours land on the right project automatically. Open any engagement and instantly see: 28 of 40 hours logged, €4.200 of €6.000 used, 12 hours remaining. No spreadsheet. No math.

03

Invoice in one click — hours become line items

Every logged entry becomes an invoice line: date, description, hours, rate, total. Fully itemized. Clients see exactly what they're paying for — disputes become rare.

Every hour logged against the client and engagement it belongs to
1 click from approved hours to an itemised invoice
Live planned vs. logged hours per engagement, before you invoice
Why FlowQi

You're probably already using something. Here's the difference.

Most consultants track time in one tool and invoice in another — with a manual step in between. FlowQi removes that gap entirely.

FeatureExcel & calendarToggl + invoicing toolFlowQi
Time trackingManual, always lateGood tracking, no contextPer task, per service, per client
Service billing (hourly, retainer, fixed)One model only, manualRequires export + rebuildAll models in one place
Hours → invoice linesManual rebuild every timeExport only, manual invoiceOne click — hours become line items
Itemized invoice breakdownNot possibleBasic, no service contextFull breakdown per service type
Client & engagement managementEmail and contacts onlyNot includedBuilt in — engagement history, docs, notes
Budget visibility per clientOnly after invoicingHours only, no budget linkLive — see budget vs. hours in real time
Retainer trackingManual in spreadsheetNot supportedMonthly retainer balance auto-tracked
Multi-client overviewOne tab per clientProjects list onlyAll clients, all status in one view
Setup timeInstant, but scales badlyFast, but two tools to maintainRunning in under a week

Built for consultants who keep client work private

Your data, your rules

Encrypted in transit and at rest. Role-based access per client. Not used to train general-purpose AI models, important when handling sensitive client work.

99.9 % availability target

Your billing data is available when you need it. No surprises at invoice time.

Your data is yours

Fully exportable at any time. No vendor lock-in. You own every entry.

Client-level access control

Share only what each client needs to see. Full control over what's visible to who.

FAQ

Questions consultants ask us

What is consulting software and how is FlowQi different?

Consulting software is a platform that helps advisory firms run their engagements end-to-end — from pitch and proposal through project delivery, time tracking and client invoicing. Most consulting software stops at one stage (a CRM, a time tracker, or a billing tool). FlowQi connects the whole cycle in one platform, so billable hours never leak between tools and consultants can actually see project margin in real time.

Can I handle different billing models for different clients?

Yes. FlowQi supports hourly billing, fixed-fee projects, and monthly retainers — all in the same platform. Each client can have a different model. You track hours the same way regardless, and the invoice is calculated accordingly.

How does FlowQi turn hours into invoices?

Every time entry is tagged to a client, engagement, and service type. When you’re ready to invoice, FlowQi pulls all unbilled entries and generates invoice line items automatically — with a full breakdown of what was done, when, and at what rate. You review, adjust if needed, and send.

What if a client disputes a charge?

FlowQi invoices include a full itemized breakdown — date, task description, hours, and rate per line item. Clients see exactly what they’re paying for. In practice, disputes become rare because there’s nothing vague about what’s on the invoice.

Can I manage retainer clients in FlowQi?

Yes. Set a monthly retainer budget per client. FlowQi tracks hours against the retainer in real time — so you always know how much of the retainer has been used and whether you’re running over or under.

Does FlowQi work for solo consultants, or only firms?

Both. Solo consultants use FlowQi to track every hour, manage multiple clients, and invoice without admin overhead. Firms use it to consolidate time across consultants and generate consolidated client invoices.

Does FlowQi connect with other tools?

Connect your own AI tools over MCP. Invoices are created and sent from FlowQi, built from the hours you logged, so you don’t enter anything twice.

Ready to bill every hour you deliver?

Request a free trial of FlowQi — full access to every module, no risk.