No, not at all. I've been on my own for about 3 years (this time around). Billable hours is how I get paid. So keeping track of what I've done for my clients (in hours) is how I make sure I bring home the bacon I deserve.

Likewise, your company needs to be able to use your "billable hours" to prove they deserve the money they're going to bill the clients of your company. When you spend more time working up creative ways to bill your clients, you can better see the depth to which your company is outright lying. Sonia Seifert would be a great resource, if you could send your question to her.

PS. It is a big pain in the ass....

I actually am paid hourly and my stuff is all on the up in up. In fact... I usually check out Adholes on my lunch hour! : ) If you were freelancing this would not be "poor poor client". You'd need to get compensated on your time. It's also helpful in knowing how to bid on projects correctly. Guessing at manhours without tracking time just leaves a big question mark... I see your point, but if you aren't paid hourly - it really doesn't make a difference except in how the profit margin is measured. Good luck tracking your day!

Agreed Michael – at one agency I was told to bill all of my hours to somethign because it was just used for "internal purposes" to see what % of time was used on what account. A clever way to make employees complicit in something shady without them realizing it.

Many times, advertising agencies insist that their employees do stupid things. Inflating billing hours is one that is not only a violation of a client's trust, but also boldface lying and cheating (more often than not). Typical bullshit, which usually leads to first, being questioned by the client; then being fired by that client. By the way, welcome to the business. Poor-poor client indeed! And yet another reason why business people mistrust and disrespect our industry, and why they prefer to pay via flat fees to hourly rates. Agencies use to be compensated with a 15% commission rate on media and 17.65% markups on production; until that too was abandoned because it was yet another form of “conflict of interests.” When will we ever learn to not be such grease-balls? PS—never, ever pay a lawyer on an hourly fee basis. They will really show you the ins and outs of this butt-raping art form.

I understand. I worked at an agency that insisted that I report my time accurately (billing depended on it) but at the end of the year, they structured bonuses according to billable hours ... AND I was an account executive!!!!!!!!!!!! That means if I spent time on business development the hours counted against my bonus!!!!!!!!!! It drove me crazy. Still does.