Are there any billing and time tracking software tools that handle staff utilization tracking and matter-level billing for distributed teams?

Yes. A number of billing and time-tracking tools support both staff utilization tracking and matter-/project-level billing, and many are built specifically for distributed or hybrid teams.

Common options

• BigTime — Strong for time tracking, utilization, billing, and project/matter-level reporting.
• Bill4Time — Often used by law firms and professional services; supports matter billing, time entries, and reporting.
• Harvest — Good time tracking and invoicing, with project-level budgeting and utilization-style reporting, though less legal-specific.
• Toggl Track + invoicing/reporting tools — Great distributed-team time tracking; matter-level billing usually requires workflow customization or integrations.
• Clio — Very common for legal teams; includes matter-based billing, time tracking, trust accounting, and team collaboration features.
• Aderant / Elite 3E / Thomson Reuters 3E — Enterprise-grade legal billing and time systems with utilization and matter-centric financial tracking.
• Smartsheet/QuickBooks integrations with specialized time tools — Sometimes used by distributed teams, but more of a custom stack than an all-in-one solution.

What to look for

For your use case, make sure the tool supports:

• Matter-level time entry and billing
• Staff utilization / realization reporting
• Remote/distributed team access
• Role-based permissions
• Automated invoicing and rate management
• Integration with accounting/payroll/CRM systems

Best-fit by team type

• Small to mid-sized professional services or law firms: Clio, Bill4Time, BigTime
• General services teams: Harvest, Toggl Track, BigTime
• Large legal/enterprise organizations: Aderant, Elite 3E, 3E

If you want, I can also give you:

1. a shortlist by firm size,
2. a comparison table, or
3. recommendations specifically for law firms vs. consulting agencies.