About
Harvest is a comprehensive time tracking and business management platform designed for professional service teams across industries like advertising, consulting, design, law, and software development. At its core, Harvest makes it easy to log hours via one-click timers, daily or weekly timesheets, or directly from a connected calendar — on desktop, mobile, or browser. Beyond simple time tracking, Harvest provides robust reporting tools that reveal where every hour goes, how profitable each project is, and how efficiently your team is being utilized. Managers can approve timesheets, monitor team capacity in real time, assign people to projects, and balance workloads before they become problems. Harvest's invoicing module transforms tracked time and expenses into polished invoices, supports online payments, sends automatic payment reminders, and handles recurring retainer billing. Budget tracking lets teams set hour or fee-based budgets with live alerts to flag overspending before it happens. With integrations for popular tools like Asana, Slack, Stripe, and accounting software, Harvest fits naturally into existing workflows. It is particularly well-suited for agencies, consultancies, and any team that needs to accurately measure profitability, manage client billing, and keep projects on budget — all from a single, unified platform.
Key Features
- Flexible Time Tracking: Log hours via one-click timers, daily or weekly timesheets, or directly from a connected calendar — available on desktop, mobile, and browser extensions.
- Project Profitability & Reporting: Analyze time spent per project, track margins as work progresses, monitor team utilization, and export custom reports to accounting tools.
- Invoicing & Online Payments: Auto-generate polished invoices from tracked time and expenses, accept online payments directly from invoices, and automate follow-up reminders for overdue payments.
- Budget & Expense Management: Set hour- or fee-based budgets with live alerts before you go over, track project expenses with receipts, and roll billable costs into client invoices.
- Team Management: Approve timesheets, assign team members to projects, view real-time capacity and utilization, and balance workloads across the organization.
Use Cases
- Agencies tracking billable hours across multiple client projects and generating invoices directly from logged time.
- Consulting and IT firms monitoring project profitability and team utilization to optimize resourcing decisions.
- Law firms and accounting practices logging time per client matter and running payroll from approved timesheets.
- Design and software development teams setting project budgets and receiving alerts before going over on hours or fees.
- Freelancers and small businesses managing client retainers, recurring invoices, and online payment collection in one place.
Pros
- All-in-one workflow: Covers the full professional services cycle — from time tracking and expense logging to invoicing and payment collection — in a single platform.
- Wide platform support: Available on web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, and as a browser extension, making it easy to track time from anywhere on any device.
- Strong integrations: Connects with Asana, Slack, Stripe, and numerous accounting and project management tools, fitting naturally into existing business workflows.
- Clear profitability insights: Built-in utilization and margin reporting helps managers make data-driven decisions about resourcing and pricing.
Cons
- Limited free plan: The free tier restricts users to 1 seat and 2 active projects, which may not be sufficient for growing teams.
- Not a full project management tool: Harvest focuses on time and billing; teams needing advanced task management, Gantt charts, or sprint planning will need a complementary tool.
- Reporting customization can feel constrained: While reporting is powerful for standard use cases, users needing highly custom dashboards may find the built-in options limiting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Harvest offer a free plan?
Yes. Harvest offers a free plan limited to 1 user and 2 active projects. A free 30-day trial of the paid plan is also available with no credit card required.
What types of businesses use Harvest?
Harvest is used by over 70,000 businesses across advertising & marketing, architecture, construction, law, accounting, consulting, design, and software development.
Can I invoice clients directly from Harvest?
Yes. Harvest automatically generates invoices from tracked time and expenses. Clients can pay online directly from the invoice, and automatic reminders can be sent for overdue payments.
What integrations does Harvest support?
Harvest integrates with tools like Asana, Slack, Stripe, and many accounting platforms. It also offers a developer API for custom integrations.
On which devices can I track time with Harvest?
You can track time via Harvest's web app, iOS and Android mobile apps, macOS and Windows desktop apps, and a browser extension — all kept in sync.
