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Timer for InDesign

Time tracking in InDesign, all the way to the price to bill.

A timer panel in InDesign: start it on a job, lay out as usual, and the time you really spent working becomes the amount to bill your client.

Try the demo See pricing

InDesign 2025 (20.2) or later · Mac and PC · from €11.90 a month

The ChroKo panel open in InDesign, timer running on a job: active time measured, breaks excluded
What the timer measures

What the timer counts in InDesign.

The panel listens to the events InDesign reports itself, and infers idle time from the silences between them. It never reads the content of your documents.

Selections and attributes

Selecting a frame, some text or an image, changing its attributes: every gesture extends your active time.

Context changes

Moving from one frame to another or from one document to another: the timer follows your path through the layout.

Opening, placing, saving

Creating, opening, placing an image or some text, saving, undoing or redoing: all signs that you are at work.

Silences, set aside

A few minutes of proofreading remain active time; beyond the threshold you choose (5 minutes by default, from 1 to 30), the time becomes idle.

Timer screen of the ChroKo panel: start the timer on a job, sessions to validate
From timer to invoice

From time spent in InDesign to the amount to bill.

  1. Start the timer on the job. One click in the panel, on the work in progress. You can also add time manually.
  2. Work as usual. The timer follows your activity in InDesign. Away for more than 15 minutes? It asks you when you come back whether that time should count; forgotten for hours? It warns you.
  3. Validate the session. Elapsed, active and idle time stay separate: you keep the billable time, count or remove a break, correct if needed.
  4. Bill. For time spent, the amount is the validated time multiplied by your rate; at a fixed price, you see the time still covered or the lost income. A PDF timesheet goes with your invoice.
A fixed-price job in InDesign: amount to bill, time still covered by the fixed price, extra revision round
Uses

For layouts that grow longer with every proof.

Brochures and catalogs

Dozens of pages, hundreds of images: the real time of every document, to compare with your quote.

Menus and price lists

Restaurant menus, wine lists, seasonal menus: recurring updates finally priced right.

Reports and magazines

Templates, styles, long layouts: know what each issue or edition really costs you.

Corrections on proofs

Every revision round counted: at a fixed price, the rounds beyond those planned are billed at a set price per round.

Installation

Install the timer in InDesign (.ccx).

  1. Download the InDesign .ccx file from the Download page.
  2. Double-click it: the Creative Cloud app installs the plugin.
  3. In InDesign, open the Plugins › ChroKo menu and sign in.

The plugin works with a subscription (€11.90 a month or €99 a year). To discover it first, the online demo shows every feature for 15 minutes, with sample data. Your own work numbers stay on your computer.

One single timer

The same timer in your other apps.

One job, one timer, five apps: same jobs, same clients, same rates, and time adds up wherever you work.

Photoshop

What the timer counts in Photoshop, its uses and its installation.

Time tracking in Photoshop

Illustrator

What the timer counts in Illustrator, its uses and its installation.

Time tracking in Illustrator

Premiere

What the timer counts in Premiere, its uses and its installation.

Time tracking in Premiere

After Effects

What the timer counts in After Effects, its uses and its installation.

Time tracking in After Effects

Questions about the timer in InDesign

How do I count author’s corrections on a 40-page document?

Start the timer on the job for each revision round. At a fixed price, the panel counts the rounds and shows the time still covered by your price or the lost income; rounds beyond those planned are billed at a set price per round.

Is on-screen proofreading counted?

Yes, as long as it does not exceed the idle threshold (5 minutes by default, adjustable up to 30): a shorter gap between two gestures remains active time. Beyond that, you choose when validating the session.

What if I switch from InDesign to Photoshop or Illustrator on the same project?

The timer and your data are shared by Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere and After Effects: install ChroKo in each app and you find the same jobs, clients and rates everywhere. Time spent in one or the other adds up on the same job, on the same computer and with the same subscription.

Which version of InDesign do I need?

InDesign 2025 (20.2) or later, on Mac or PC. One subscription covers 3 computers, and all the apps on the same computer count as one.

Your time in InDesign,
finally billed.

€11.90 a month or €99 a year, no commitment. Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere and After Effects included.

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