This product assessment is based on a synthesis of 5 recent reviews focusing on organizational use cases and business problems addressed by Harvest. A primary use case across all reviewers is time tracking and billing. Harvest is also frequently employed for project management, cited by 3 out of 5 reviewers, who find it useful for keeping projects on time and within budget. One reviewer highlighted additional functionality, using Harvest for quote/estimate entry, tracking, and approvals, as well as monthly invoicing. The consistent focus on time tracking and project management suggests a strong value proposition for organizations needing to monitor project timelines and financial performance.
Pros
Effective time tracking for billing purposes
Facilitates project management by tracking time against projects
Helps keep projects on time and within budget
Supports quote and estimate management
Streamlines monthly invoicing
Time tracking and billing
5 mentions
Positive reviews by 100% of reviewers
Why it matters:
All 5 reviewers mention using Harvest for time tracking, which directly supports accurate client billing and project estimation. Reviewers appreciate the ability to track time spent on projects by individual team members, which helps in managing project budgets and forecasting future project costs.
“Harvest has been a staple in my business since at least 2008 for time tracking and project management.”
Project management
3 mentions
Positive reviews by 100% of reviewers
Why it matters:
Project management is another key application, cited by 3 of the 5 reviewers. They use Harvest to manage projects, keep them on schedule, and maintain budget control. One reviewer mentions using Harvest for quote/estimate entry, tracking, and approvals, in addition to monthly invoicing and project tracking.
“Harvest has been a staple in my business since at least 2008 for time tracking and project management.”
Describe how you use Harvest in your organization. What are the business problems the product addresses and what is the scope of your use case?
From 5 reviews
Summary
This report synthesizes 5 recent reviews to understand how organizations use Harvest and the business problems it addresses. A primary use case is time tracking and billing, mentioned by all 5 reviewers. This is closely related to project management, which 3 of the 5 reviewers also cited as a key application. These reviewers find Harvest useful for keeping projects on time and within budget. One reviewer also uses Harvest for quote/estimate entry, tracking, and approvals, as well as monthly invoicing.
We tie Harvest time tracking in with our Basecamp project management software to keep track of individual team member's time spent on projects so that we can bill our clients accurately, as well as having a record of project time spent so we can more accurately estimate similar projects the next time.
Pros
Built-in timer to use while working. Easy start & stop functions.
Ties in well with other project software to have all connected.
Breaks down team member's time for the day, week, etc and shows capacity.
Allows users to put in note for their work sessions.
Cons
Some browsers make it harder to create a Harvest project directly from a tied Basecamp project and you need to go in to Harvest directly, create the project there, and then link to Basecamp.
Likelihood to Recommend
Because of the functionality of other project management software, we do not fully utilize all of the functions that Harvest offers because they are already used in other programs (invoicing, etc), so some of it is overkill and you are paying for features you may never use in the Harvest app.
We use Harvest as a time tracking tool, which in turn helps us manage our projects (keeping them on time and on budget). We also connect to Forecast which helps us with our resourcing and forecasting, and to send invoices to clients at the end of the month. It's an integral process to managing our people and pipeline.
Pros
Flexibility in how we are tracking time and budget
Easy linking to Forecast
Report pulls for where time was spent
Cons
Including profitability in reporting
Custom dashboards with widgets to help us know what our top projects were, or by specific tasks within a project
Overtime alerts (for full days or specific tasks within a project)
Likelihood to Recommend
It's great for our use right now, but as we get into bigger, more complex projects, I worry that it's not going to hold up with the more robust project management needs we'll have. Also, as a non-billable employee, its value is less useful to me even though I know it could be more helpful
Harvest application is used within our organization for Quote/Estimate entry, tracking and approvals, as well as Monthly Invoicing and Project Tracking. The application makes it easy to work within a team to ensure all Estimates are billed in a timely manner through the reporting function. It also makes it simple to look within a project and track historical billing and paid-to-date amounts for each customer.
Pros
Create Estimates
Track Invoices
Review open balances for each customer
Create reports
Cons
Time tracking - we use a different application for time tracking (GPS Enabled), but would like to enter each employees time in Harvest without having to create new access employees to do so. Perhaps even just be able to upload a report.
Missing search function on Estimate Tab (like on the Invoice & Projects tab)
Be able to copy project to Quickbooks for the initial setup instead of waiting until an Invoice is created to link to the QB software
Likelihood to Recommend
I've used Harvest previously at my prior employers office and the functionality worked well for their service based company, as well as my current construction based organization. This software works extremely well for small to medium sized businesses, and integrates well with Quickbooks Online for easy accounting efficiencies. The clear and easy to understand dashboard is great for project managers to have a detailed picture of the profit & loss on a job, as well as open amounts still waiting for collections.
VU
Verified User
General Manager in Finance and Accounting (11-50 employees)
Harvest has been a staple in my business since at least 2008 for time tracking and project management. My team uses the timer option to help them see quickly how long they've been working on something and it helps them to stay on track. For me, the reporting makes it so simple to see if things are staying within budget and when it's time to invoice. This software has never been glitchy or problematic in any way which is very refreshing. It's the only software I use that never gives me any grief. Highly recommend.
Pros
Timer time tracking is very easy to use
Reporting of tracked time on projects
Ability to easily assign different team members and their billable rate
Great customer support
Cons
The invoicing portion isn't suitable for all businesses
Invoicing process forces you to got back to the main page to create your next invoice vs their being a button when an invoice is finished to create another
The integration with Quickbooks has never worked well for me
Likelihood to Recommend
Harvest is very well suited for time tracking and project management for my team. It's not well suited for invoicing for my business so I only create invoices to then transfer to Quickbooks.
We use Harvest to do all our client project time tracking as well as internal time tracking and expense management. It's widely used and adopted in our organization.
Pros
Expense Tracking
Project Time Tracking
Utilization on Project
Time Management on Projects
Cons
Task Time Tracking
Detailed Reporting
Dashboards
Likelihood to Recommend
I think Harvest is well suited for handling time and expense tracking and management for a growing organization that needs and easy to use and self service type of tool
VU
Verified User
Director in Finance and Accounting (51-200 employees)
As a dedicated user of Harvest, I've found it to be an invaluable asset in both tracking time and managing project timelines. Initially, I adopted Harvest for personal time management, but its utility quickly extended to overseeing our team of contractors. The intuitive interface simplifies the logging of hours spent on various tasks, fostering a more organized workflow. Additionally, Harvest excels as a predictive tool for future project planning. By analyzing past project data, I can accurately estimate the duration and resource allocation for upcoming proposals. This not only streamlines our proposal process but also enhances our efficiency in project execution. Moreover, Harvest’s reporting features offer deep insights into productivity trends, allowing us to identify areas for improvement and adjust our strategies accordingly. Overall, Harvest has become an indispensable tool in our arsenal, significantly contributing to our operational effectiveness and strategic planning.
Pros
Track time
Track billing
Invoicing
Cons
It can be a little wonky on reporting
I wish invoicing was a little easier
I wish it could be easier to set up unusual tasks
Likelihood to Recommend
Harvest is ideally suited for a variety of scenarios, particularly in the realms of freelance or consulting work, where accurate hour tracking for billing is crucial. It excels in small to medium businesses managing team projects, allowing for effective resource allocation and time management across multiple concurrent projects. For budgeting and forecasting, Harvest provides valuable data, aiding in accurately estimating the duration and cost of future projects based on past data. It's also highly beneficial for remote or distributed teams, thanks to its cloud-based platform that facilitates seamless coordination. Additionally, its detailed reporting features enhance client transparency, fostering trust through clear communication of time spent on projects. However, Harvest may be less suitable for larger enterprises with complex integration needs or specialized industries requiring more niche features. Small startups or individuals on tight budgets might find the cost challenging, especially if they don't fully utilize all its features. Lastly, for those needing only basic time tracking, simpler or free tools might be more appropriate, making Harvest an unnecessary expenditure for basic needs.
We use Harvest between our graphic design and interior design departments to track billable time, as well as analyze hours spent on projects for time and billing efficiency. Harvest allows us to seamlessly track time between departments and collaborative projects which is especially helpful with employees working from home as well as from different states. Overall using Harvest has allowed us to improve our billing process on projects with our sales team.
Pros
Project time management can be set up for multiple projects and multiple tasks within each project to allow for more accurate billing.
We can use Harvest in conjunction with the workflow organization tool Trello so that we can dedicate projects, attach, and view time spent on projects so that information is easily accessibly to anyone who needs it across multiple departments.
Harvest sends/emails regular time analysis reports so you can see where your time has been spent between projects.
Cons
It would be nice if time tracking for a day on one project would just show cumulatively instead of showing each time entry that was started and stopped.
As a project manager I would like to be notified with other team member time reports to know when time has been logged and be able to check for accuracy.
Likelihood to Recommend
It's helpful to collect billable design time between multiple designers in order to create accurate invoices for customers.
Also helpful for managing multiple departments and analyzing time spent on different tasks on a project.
Employees are able to track time from different time zones which is especially helpful when working from home, or when travelling for work.
Our entire company uses Harvest to capture the timesheets for our staff for given tasks, roles and projects; and then use that information to run reports to be used as data for billing. This is the basic minimum requirement that we needed. The ability to apply different rates to specific tasks and run reports and insights on that specific task is very valuable.
At this time we are not using it to send and receive invoices because the software we we coming from didn’t offer that and we had developed other processes. Although I can see that it is part of the Harvest suite. So far I enjoy how user-friendly and intuitive Harvest is.
Pros
Time tracking is very easy for even non-technical users
Reports are intuitive and easy to understand
Billing function is available
Easy to manage tasks, roles and projects for any given client
Cons
I’m still trying to figure out how tasks best associate to a specific project. There’s a couple different places to edit that and I’m a little confused as to best practice.
Does not integrate into basecamp which is our project management system
Likelihood to Recommend
Harvest salt or immediate need for a replacement time tracking system that had become out of financial reach. It was a simple solution that everyone in our organization picked up really quickly. For myself at the administrative level, I have had no trouble adding clients, adjusting tasks, migrating tasks and running reports.
I am unsure as to the best practices at this time for a particular clients that have very specific price rate associated to very specific roles, it will still list the roles that we do not want in the drop-down menu and I would really like to eliminate that. I do not want room for error or for any particular user to pick the wrong task. It still lists them as non-billable but there are no non-billable hours associated to that client, so we don’t need those at all on the drop down.
We implemented Harvest for time tracking and expense management across multiple clients and at one point had a few hundred consultants billing through it. It was used across the organization and solve time tracking in preparation for invoicing clients as well as expense management for clients reimbursement and company reimbursement. It was also use to pay hourly contractors.
Pros
Excellent user experience... well designed, intuitive interfaces, etc.
Slick mobile app
Robust reporting
Easy to create invoices
Cons
More flexibility in the ability to set sub projects and better standardization of tasks.
Complete integration of forecasting and time-tracking.
Better integration with quickbooks online and bill.com.
Likelihood to Recommend
Excellent for individual contractors to track their time and expenses to bill clients. Excellent for small / medium agencies and consultancies to track time and expenses and bill clients as well as forecast resources plans for burn rates. Excellent for internal corporate teams trying to track time on projects.
We use it across the whole organization to clock-in and clock-out. We also use it for dozens of clients. It helps us to track the amount of time so we can bill our clients correctly. The software helps us stay on budget for each of our clients by allowing us to input a specific budget amount and receive notifications when we are close to hitting that limit.
Pros
Project budget management - You can add a budget for each project, which we use for our individual clients.
Precise time tracking - By rounding up to the next 6 minutes (1/10th of an hour), it makes for easy time tracking and efficient money to time billing.
Easy syncing - I can start tracking time on my phone and turn on the clock from my computer. It automatically syncs across all my devices.
Cons
All-User Notifications - Although a notification can be sent out to the primary account, as employees it would be nice to receive those emails as well.
Likelihood to Recommend
I've found Harvest to very useful when needing to track time for multiple projects in a month, whether those are individual projects or with multiple clients. It is not useful enough just for tracking an employees hours, there are cheaper options.
