This one seems focused, clean, and actually built for how freelancers and small agencies work. Setup took literally five minutes.

It feels like it was designed by someone who actually does this work every day.The invoicing workflow is where it really shines. I pick a client and it pulls every billable hour automatically, rounds it to 15-minute increments the way I bill, groups it by project, and applies the correct rates. I can still add flat-fee lines, discounts, or custom items easily. Once sent, the invoice locks so nothing accidentally changes later. Super professional.

Expenses are handled really well too. I log them with categories, attach receipt files, mark them billable, and they pull straight into the invoice under a clean “Expenses” section. The receipts even travel with the invoice so the client has everything in one place. No more separate reimbursement emails or worrying about double-billing.

The public invoice pages are excellent. Clients get a clean, branded-looking page with a one-click PDF download. I get a “Viewed ✓” indicator when they open it, which makes follow-ups way less awkward. It just feels professional.

Being able to easily add or account for custom card processing fees when clients want to pay by card will make a noticeable difference in my cash flow and how transparent I can be with clients. Huge win.

What I love most is that HS doesn’t try to be everything. No bloated project management features, no unnecessary CRM stuff, no feature creep. It does time tracking -> expenses -> invoicing -> getting paid extremely well, and stays out of your way otherwise.

I haven't tried API or MCP yet so not sure how good they are.

Two small things I’d love to see added:Recurring invoices:
1. I have a couple of monthly retainer clients and recreating similar invoices every month is the only repetitive task left.
2. Automatic tax/VAT calculation based on client location or saved rules (right now I add tax manually, which is fine but could be smarter).

Overall, I’m really impressed. Grabbed the lifetime Studio deal and it’s already paying for itself in time saved and faster payments.