My Hours vs. ClickTime

To calculate R&D costs, labor rates must be captured alongside time. This ensures that every claimable minute has an accurate associated cost and prevents finance from having to make the calculations separately.

My Hours features flexible labor rate assignment to all users. A default rate can be applied across all deliverables, or unique hourly labor rates can be assigned to users for specific projects.

As time is tracked, so is the labor rate, and My Hours will correctly calculate the totals for each time entry. Additionally, R&D expenses can be uploaded directly onto time entries along with copies of receipts to provide proof of expenditure.

This means that all costs are directly tied to specific R&D deliverables for ease of reporting.

Every R&D time entry must capture who did the work and what project/task it belongs to. The goal is to push as much of this work as possible to the time-entry stage, so finance is not recoding everything at month-end.

My Hours uses a clear hierarchical structure - Client > Project > Task - and time entries are tied to each of these. To organize tasks more cleanly, it’s possible to create task lists.

Time is also clearly linked to each user and their assigned team and supervisor, providing a fully mapped record without overcomplicating matters.

The correct classification and categorization are essential for successful R&D tax credit and expense claims. Every cost must be clearly labeled to indicate whether it falls under Section 174, Section 41, or both.

My Hours uses custom tags to classify costs on time entries. This is as simple as creating a tag for each type of R&D classification required. Tags can also be used for other types of categorization, such as noting cost centers or work types.

My Hours also supports the creation of custom fields, though they are limited to numerical fields only on time entries. Other types of custom fields can be created for users, clients, projects, and tasks. Plus, a default ID field is included for every project and task for easier tracking.

Time entries for R&D also require a verifiable chain that shows who reviewed the hours and how any corrections were handled.

Both platforms provide robust approval workflows, but they differ slightly in how they are approached.

My Hours enables managers to approve or reject their team’s time entries and includes a mechanism to prevent managers from approving their own time sheets. 

Rejected entries go back to the user for correction, with a timestamped note that explains the purpose of the adjustment.

ClickTime’s approval process operates similarly, only here project managers must approve timesheets before they are sent to the supervisor for final approval.

Approvals can also include a custom attestation to confirm that the hours reviewed are correct.

Both My Hours and ClickTime auto-lock timesheets to prevent further edits by the users who submitted them. Timesheet locking can occur right after submission or after approval.

No matter how good the time capture and approval processes are, finance ultimately needs to transform that data into structured reports for R&D forms, tax filings, and internal processing.

My Hours provides a range of flexible reports, including the Detailed report, which can be filtered by tags and custom fields to display granular data.

For example, you can create saved reports that pull time coded as R&D, broken down by project, user, and cost. Reports are exportable in XLS and PDF and can be emailed directly from My Hours.

My Hours also integrates with key business software, including accounting platforms QuickBooks and Xero. Integration with payroll and other finance platforms is possible by using Zapier.

Here’s an at-a-glance look at the best and worst of each platform:

Both My Hours and ClickTime support IRS-compliant R&D documentation, but one may be more suitable for your organization than the other.

My Hours gives finance teams control without the enterprise overhead and works best for smaller businesses and low-risk claims. It offers clean cost allocation, simple classification, and detailed reporting without heavy configuration.

ClickTime is ideal for larger organizations with higher-value or higher-risk R&D claims. Its deeper approval layers, flexible classification, and extensive integrations make it a stronger fit for complex environments where audit defense and scalability matter most.