I realized I was "donating" $20k/year to my clients. Here is how I’m fixing it.
Hi everyone! I’m Matei, and I just added VigilBill to my product list.
I spent years freelancing and always hated manual timers. Last month, I finally did the math: by forgetting to start/stop timers for small tasks, I was losing about 4 hours of billable time every week. At a $100/hr rate, that’s a $20,160/year hole.
I decided to build a solution that fits my own needs:
100% Local-first: No cloud syncing of your sensitive window titles.
Silent & Automated: It detects what you're working on without you hitting a button.
Privacy-focused: All data stays in a local SQLite database on your machine.
I’m currently in the validation phase and I’ve built a logic-based calculator on the landing page so other freelancers can check their own 'revenue leak'.
I’d love your feedback on two things:
Does the $20k/year math resonate with your experience as a freelancer?
Would the 'local-only' privacy feature be a deciding factor for you to switch from cloud trackers?
Check your numbers here: vigilbill.com
To add some more context on why I’m obsessed with the local-first architecture:
Most automated trackers today act like 'spyware' by default—sending every window title, app name, and active URL to their cloud servers. For freelancers working under strict NDAs or in sensitive sectors, that’s a massive security liability.
I built VigilBill to keep everything in a local SQLite database on your own machine. No cloud, no syncing, no 'leaking' your client list to a third party.
Do you feel like current time-tracking tools are crossing the line when it comes to privacy, or is the convenience of cloud-syncing still more important to you?