A retainer status link you send once and never resend.
Every time a client asks “how many hours do I have left?” you’re sending something: a reply email, a screenshot, a PDF, a Loom. HourTab replaces all of that with one link. You send it at the start of the engagement. Your client bookmarks it. From that moment on, the answer lives at a URL — not in your inbox.
Free forever for your first retainer · no credit card.
Why a permanent status link beats everything you’re doing now
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Status emails reset to zero every time.
You send a summary. Your client reads it, then forgets it by Tuesday. Mid-cycle they want to request something large and need to know if they have the hours. They email you. You check your time tool, pull the number, write back. The summary you sent four days ago might as well not exist. A link they can open themselves stops this loop entirely.
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PDFs don’t update when you add more hours.
A monthly PDF is a snapshot. If your client gets it on the 5th and asks about hours on the 17th, the PDF is wrong. A live URL is never wrong — every time you import a new batch of entries, the page reflects the latest number automatically.
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Portals your client sets up once are the portals they never use again.
You send a Harvest client invite. They create a password, log in to see the report, then forget the URL and password by next month. You spend 5 minutes resetting their access. A link that requires no account has zero friction — and zero churn in client adoption.
How to set up a retainer status link in three steps
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1
Create the retainer. Enter hours per cycle, reset date, and client name. HourTab generates a unique URL for that retainer in under a minute.
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2
Import your hours. Export a CSV from Toggl, Harvest, Clockify, FreshBooks, or Hubstaff and paste it in. The link immediately shows accurate hours used, hours remaining, and each work log entry.
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3
Send the link once. Drop it in your first invoice, onboarding email, or Slack. Your client bookmarks it. Every future import updates the same URL — no new link, no resend, no explanation needed.
The link persists across billing cycles. When the month resets, you import a fresh CSV and the page resets automatically. Same URL, new numbers, zero client confusion.
“The goal is to make yourself the kind of consultant your client never needs to email for a status update.”
— Independent consultant on building client trust
A permanent status link is the simplest version of that goal.
Common questions
How do I send a retainer status link to my client?
Create a retainer in HourTab, import your time-tracker CSV, and copy the generated URL. Paste it into Slack, email, or your onboarding doc. Your client clicks it to see hours used, hours remaining, and the work log — no account required. Send it once; they bookmark it.
What does the client see at the status link?
A progress bar showing hours used vs. hours in the retainer, the count of hours remaining, the cycle reset date, and a timestamped work log listing each time entry. No billing details, no rates, no other client data.
Does the link expire?
No. The link stays live as long as the retainer is active. You can revoke and regenerate it at any time from your dashboard — useful if you end an engagement and want to close the client’s view.
Can I send the same link for multiple billing cycles?
Yes — that’s the point. The URL never changes. When the cycle resets, you import a new CSV and the page resets to zero automatically. Your client bookmarks the link once and it stays accurate every cycle, indefinitely.