Before Rize: Why Momentum Studio Needed a Better Way to Track Time
When Ben Jackson launched Momentum Studio—a boutique design agency serving fast-moving tech startups—he brought years of agency experience with him. But he also brought a critical frustration from his previous leadership roles: time tracking.
“I’m a trusting leader, but I don’t even trust myself to remember what I worked on two days ago. So how can I expect my designers to?” said Ben.
In the past, Ben relied on Harvest, a well-known time tracking tool that “felt like the old uncle in the space—reliable, but stagnant.” It required manual entry, and it created tension.
Designers often forgot to track time or guessed at it later. These inaccuracies meant leadership lacked a real-time view of work being delivered, and the data wasn't reliable for billing, resulting in additional administrative time spent rechecking timesheets.
So when Ben started Momentum, he knew one thing: manual timesheets were never going to scale.
The Challenge: Lost Hours, Broken Trust, and Too Much Admin
Momentum Studio operates on a retainer model. Each designer is allocated a set number of hours for each client, and every hour matters—both for accurate billing and internal margins.
But when designers failed to log time properly (or at all), it created cascading issues:
- Revenue leakage from untracked hours
- Mistrust between team members and leadership
- Manual oversight and spreadsheet wrangling that stole time from creative work
“It wasn’t just a financial issue—it was a relational one. You end up interrogating your team about time logs, and that breaks down trust.”
Why Rize Was Different: AI, Automation, and Out-of-the-Box Accuracy
Ben came across Rize on Product Hunt and immediately resonated with the positioning. Unlike manual tools that depend on start/stop timers and memory, Rize runs quietly in the background using AI to auto-track and tag time.
“I don’t even think about it. I just start work, and Rize tells me when it’s time to take a break. It captures my hours without me doing anything. That’s exactly what I wanted.”
Key Differentiators That Sold Ben on Rize:
- Automation-first: “Any manual task is an opportunity for someone to forget. Rize removes that completely.”
- Accuracy across all workstreams: Rize surfaces which client, project, or app you were working on—with no guesswork.
- Real-time dashboards and reports: Rize became the single source of truth for tracking utilization and billable hours.
- Privacy-conscious: The Momentum Studio team didn't want spy software. Rize provided a time-tracking solution that respected the team's privacy.
And just as importantly, Rize’s team offered real human support.
“I don’t think I’ve ever used a product where I’ve had that much human interaction with the people building it. They wanted feedback. They were improving the product in real time. That made a huge difference.”
The Business Impact: Better Margins, Less Stress, Happier Team
✅ Increased Team Focus
Rize's automated time tracking allows the Momentum Studio team to focus on their work, not time entries.
✅ Billing Confidence
Ben can now ensure clients are receiving the hours they pay for—and that designers are logging their actual work without guesswork.
✅ Team Accountability Without Tension
Rather than interrogating his team about manual time entries, Ben uses Rize data to have more constructive conversations.
✅ Reduced Admin Load
Instead of chasing timesheets and manually updating spreadsheets, Ben can now focus on leading his team.
Closing Thoughts from Ben
In the end, Rize was the solution Momentum Studio needed. It provided the visibility Ben required without forcing him to micromanage his team. The ultimate benefit, for both Ben and his designers, is the freedom to focus on what they do best.
As Ben puts it, Rize allows his team to "get deep into work and go where their creativity leads them without really having to think about time tracking."
Start a Rize free trial today and see how automated time tracking can help your agency ditch manual timesheets.
