Accrue vs SparkHours
A California-only web tracker and a 13-state app, compared on supervisor signing, forms, coverage and price.
The short answer
SparkHours is a web tracker for California associates (AMFT, APCC and ASW) at $10 a month or $100 a year after a 14-day trial with no card, and supervisors sign from an emailed link. Accrue covers all four license families with cited board presets in 13 states, on iPhone, Android and the web, and today the supervisor signs on the trainee's phone. If you are a California associate who wants emailed supervisor signing, look at SparkHours. If you want program and board ledgers on your phone, or you are outside California, look at Accrue.
Side by side
| Feature | SparkHours | Accrue |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | California associates working toward the LMFT, LPCC or LCSW license: AMFTs, APCCs and ASWs. | Therapy trainees and associates in marriage and family therapy, professional counseling, clinical social work and doctoral psychology. Schools can ask for a program package. |
| License types and states | California only. AMFT, APCC and ASW tracks, with LMFT and LPCC tracking in one account. | All four license families. Cited board presets in 13 states, listed on Requirements by state. Every other state gets a labeled placeholder ledger with no invented figures. |
| Platforms | Web, at app.sparkhours.com. Its site does not describe a mobile app. | iPhone, Android and the web, on one account. |
| Logging | Pick the week, site and supervisor, then enter hours by category. It checks the week as you save, and allows unlimited sites and supervisors. | A plus button with remembered choices, a session timer, and site schedules and class meetings confirmed in one tap. |
| Board and program requirement tracking | A dashboard of countable hours, weekly pace and projected completion date. Entering a degree date switches practicum trainee rules to associate rules. | One logged activity counts toward several independent board and program ledgers, each under its own cited rule. Accrue is a record-keeping aid and does not decide whether hours are accepted. |
| Supervisor signatures | The supervisor signs from an emailed link, by drawing or typing, one week or many at once, with no account. Each signature records a SHA-256 hash and an audit trail. | The supervisor signs a weekly summary on the trainee's phone with a drawn signature. |
| Forms and exports | Prints California BBS form 37A-525 for AMFTs and MFT trainees, form 37A-638 for APCCs and ASWs, and the in-state experience verification forms 37A-301, 37A-675 and 37A-201. Signed weeks and logs stay exportable. | Weekly summaries, a comprehensive PDF, CSV hours, the California BBS weekly log and experience verification forms filled in, and filing guidance for Texas LPC and New York LCSW. Review every form with your supervisor. |
| Moving your hours in | Its site says remaining paid time carries over for people coming from Track Your Hours. It does not describe a general importer. | Imports its own CSV template, free at the clinical hours log template. A file from another tracker can be rearranged into that template first. |
| Price | $10 a month or $100 a year. | $4.99 a month, $49.99 a year or $89.99 once. See pricing. |
| Trial | 14 days, with no credit card required. | 7 days on the monthly plan and 14 days on the annual plan. The one-time purchase has no trial. |
Prices and features checked 13 November 2026; they change, so check each product's own site.
Where SparkHours is stronger
- Supervisors sign from an emailed link with no account, so the trainee does not have to hand over a phone. They can sign one week or many at once.
- Each signature records a hash and an audit trail.
- It is built for one board, so its pages, dashboard and forms all speak to California associates.
- It lets you copy a week between the LMFT and LPCC logs in one account.
Where Accrue is stronger
- Cited board presets in 13 states and four license families, with the rule and the date checked on every ledger. Accrue also covers California.
- One logged activity counts toward several independent board and program ledgers.
- iPhone and Android apps as well as the web.
- A session timer, and site schedules and class meetings confirmed in one tap.
- The California BBS weekly log and experience verification forms filled in, and filing guidance for Texas LPC and New York LCSW.
- A one-time $89.99 option as well as monthly and yearly plans.
Moving your hours to Accrue
Accrue does not have a direct importer for SparkHours. Its site says signed weeks and logs stay exportable, so download what your account offers. If you can get your hours into a spreadsheet, you can rearrange them into Accrue's template.
Accrue imports its own CSV template today:
- Download the template and open it in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets.
- Copy your hours in, one row per activity, with the date, activity, duration as h:mm, site and supervisor. Leave client names out.
- Save the file as CSV. In Accrue on iPhone, open Hours, tap Export, and choose Import a spreadsheet.
- Review the sites and supervisors Accrue created and any row it could not read. Importing the same file again does not add the same rows twice.
Each imported row is then counted against your program and board ledgers. Accrue does not have a direct importer for another tracker's files, and a counted hour is a record, not a sign that a board or program has accepted it. The template columns are on the template page.
Common questions
- Does SparkHours work outside California?
- Its site describes it only as a tracker for California associates, and it lists AMFT, APCC and ASW tracks.
- How much does SparkHours cost?
- As of November 13, 2026 its pricing page shows $10 a month or $100 a year, with a 14-day trial and no credit card.
- How does a supervisor sign in SparkHours and in Accrue?
- SparkHours supervisors sign from an emailed link, by drawing or typing, one week or many at once. In Accrue the supervisor signs a weekly summary on the trainee's phone with a drawn signature.
- Can I move my SparkHours hours into Accrue?
- Accrue has no direct importer for SparkHours. If you can export your hours to a spreadsheet, you can rearrange them into Accrue's CSV template and import that file.
- Does Accrue promise my hours will be accepted?
- No. Accrue is a record-keeping aid. The Board of Behavioral Sciences and your supervisors decide what is accepted.
Sources
Sources checked
Prices and features checked 13 November 2026; they change, so check each product's own site.
SparkHours and its name belong to SparkHours, as its site footer states. Accrue is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by SparkHours.
Accrue is a record-keeping aid and is not affiliated with any licensing board, accreditor or school. Your board and program decide which hours they accept.