Harvest Time Tracking Review (Pros & Cons, Pricing, More)

Harvest is one of the best time tracker that works best for freelancers.

It provides all the features, including invoicing, team management, expensing, and more.

When I tested Harvest as a freelancer, I discovered it best suited for individuals, small organizations, and medium businesses.

While the software has all features, it still lacks features like a desktop app for Windows or Linux. However, you do get an easy-to-use interface with free time-tracking options.

For freelancers who want to track time without invoicing, Harvest might be the best free solution.

But we’ve just scratched the tip of the iceberg, so let’s talk about everything you need to know about Harvest, my experience with it, and the perfect alternative to Harvest.

💻 Harvest Time Tracker Review

Harvest is a time and productivity tracking software that makes tracking time across projects, getting instant reports, and generating seamless invoicing and payments easier.

A key highlight of Harvest is its ability to integrate with more than 50 tools like Asana, Trello, Basecamp, and many more.

Moreover, for freelancers and small businesses looking to track their employees’ time, Harvest provides a free and easy solution too. Harvest has established itself as one of the most popular productivity-tracking tools, and its portfolio speaks for itself.

Big brands like ACLU, DELL, Amnesty International, Yale, and much more use the time tracker.

According to Harvest’s official website, they have over 70,000+ users who spend their time with Harvest, make a lot of savings, and ultimately build a team of experts.

However, after spending my fair share of time with Harvest, I realized that the pricing is slightly higher than other competitors like Time Analytics.

However, the tool justifies its price tag by providing some of the most useful features a small to midsize business would need. So, let’s talk about the features that Harvest provides.

 Source: Harvest website

Time Tracking Features

Harvest provides a lightweight, simple-to-use time tracker that helps you track hours and projects. The time tracking tool is fast, efficient, and easily used in any business. I tested Harvest’s time tracker on my desktop and mobile, which was fairly straightforward.

One thing I missed was the lack of a desktop app. It can be vital for companies looking to efficiently manage their employees’ time.

Moreover, you can also integrate the time tracker with your workflow. With over 50+ integrations, Harvest makes it easier for you to collaborate and introduce new systems for every specific task. Lastly, the time tracking tool also lets you add automated custom reminders. These reminders will help your team track time regularly and accurately.

Here’s a recap of Harvest’s time-tracking features:

• Track time from browser, desktop, and mobile
• 50+ integrations available
• Custom reminders to track time consistently.

Reports & Analysis Features

Reporting features are the most important in any time tracking tool. After tracking time, you need to have a selection of visual reports to help you make important decisions from the data. After using Harvest for a fair bit, I found out that my work progress would decrease at a specific time of the day.

Harvest made me realize I wasn’t working efficiently in the latter part of the day. So, I started optimizing my day, and my productivity has increased drastically. The reporting features let you  dive deep into the details and gain additional insights.

Companies can view specific employees’ data and gain important information to make important decisions.

Here are some of the reporting features that Harvest lets you leverage:

• Get budget updates
• Gain insights about the team’s performance
• Keep track of internal costs
• Analyze time spent on a project and task
• Get advanced data to capitalize on your company’s performance on

Invoicing and Payments

Harvest simplifies the whole invoicing and payments system of your organization. Turning your team’s tracked time and expenses into invoices means you don’t need to calculate payments annually.

The software collects payment quickly with the integrated online systems, so you accountants can do other high-focus tasks. What I experienced with Harvest was that it streamlines the invoicing and creates accurate bills based on the data it gets.

Since the software has many integrations, PayPal and Stripe can let your clients pay, and you can pay your employees easily.

Here are the invoicing and billing features at a glance:

• Easily create accurate invoices using the team’s time and expenses
• Pay or receive payments easily with Stripe and Paypal integrations
• Automatically copy Harvest invoices into Quickbooks and other accounting software

Integrations

Harvest lets you track time easily with in-built integrations. Instead of going from tab to tab, moving from software to software, and changing screens, everything is built in so you can just access them with a click of a button.

Here are all the integrations that are available in Harvest:

• Asana
• Basecamp
• GitHub
• Slack
• Trello
• Quickbooks Online
• Xero
• Stripe
• Paypal
• Chrome
• Jira etc.

Support Options

• Email Support
• Support Form
• Twitter Support

Harvest Pricing

• Free Version: $0 (1 seat and 2 projects)
• Pro Version: $10.80 per seat per month, billed yearly (Unlimited seats and Unlimited Projects)

Pros and Cons of Harvest

Harvest Time Tracking Reviews and User Ratings

Harvest FAQ

How do I get the free plan?

If your trial account fulfills the requirements for the free plan, you have the option to sign up for the free version during the upgrade process. To do this, navigate to the “Upgrade Your Harvest Plan” page and locate the link that says “Switch to the free version” below the available plan options. Simply click on the link to initiate the switch and complete the sign-up process for the free version.

What occurs when my trial period concludes?

At the end of your 30-day trial period, you have the option to upgrade to a paid plan. If you choose not to upgrade, your trial account will be automatically deactivated. Rest assured, we don’t collect credit card information during the trial, so there won’t be any charges.

While your trial account will be deactivated, your data will be preserved. If you decide to give Harvest another try in the future, your data will still be available to you.

If you prefer to switch to the free plan, you can do so at any point during your trial. During the upgrade process, you’ll have the option to select the free plan as long as your account meets the requirements.

Are there any discounts available for my team?

Certainly! We provide various discount options for eligible teams. When you choose to pay for the entire year in advance, you will automatically receive a 10% discount applied to your account.

Additionally, we offer discounts upon request for the following groups: teams with 50 or more members, nonprofits, schools and universities, educators utilizing Harvest in a classroom environment, and students.

How can my team get a quote?

You can make use of our convenient pricing calculator to determine the cost for your team’s usage of Harvest and explore any applicable discounts.

What are the payment methods?

You have the flexibility to pay for Harvest using a credit card on a monthly or yearly basis. Opting for the annual payment option grants you a 10% discount on your total bill, providing you with cost savings.

If you have a team size of 10 or more seats and choose the yearly payment option, you can request an invoice during the upgrade process. This allows you to pay for your subscription using a check or bank transfer, offering an alternative payment method.

How does the app handle team size changes?

For monthly payments, you have the flexibility to add or remove seats at any time, and your price will be adjusted accordingly on your next monthly bill. If your team includes contractors, interns, or if you expect fluctuations in seat requirements, the monthly option is more suitable.

If you’ve paid for the year in advance, you can add seats anytime, and the charge will be prorated based on the remaining days in your billing cycle. While seat removal isn’t available during the current billing cycle, you can indicate in your account if you’d like to renew your yearly plan with fewer seats. Remember, yearly accounts enjoy a 10% discount, so if your seat requirements remain consistent, the yearly option is likely the best choice for you.

Can the billing frequency be changed?

If you’re on a monthly payment plan, you have the option to switch to yearly payment at any time, and you’ll receive a 10% discount as a benefit.

For those who have already paid for the year in advance, you can switch to monthly payment at the end of your current yearly billing cycle. However, please note that the 10% discount will no longer apply. To make this change, simply contact our support team during the month preceding your renewal.

⏰ Time Analytics as another option

                             Source: Time Analytics website

Time Analytics is the perfect alternative to Harvest because both are suited for similar audiences. Time Analytics helps you track your time easily, effortlessly, and stress-free. The billing and invoicing features are excellent, and if you want to improve your team’s overall productivity, then Time Analytics is the perfect alternative to Harvest.

What stands out the most about Time Analytics is that it lets you fully immerse yourself into the software with its 14 days trial, and no credit card is required. Like Harvest, Time Analytics has a proven record of providing its services to big companies like MIRAS, FIDELIS, Zabriskie Studio, and many more.

Now let’s talk about the features that make it a good alternative to Harvest.

Time Tracking

Time Tracking is made easy with Time Analytics. Many insightful reporting and analytics features also let you make important team decisions. For Time Tracking, you need easy-to-use software while still providing you with advanced features for companies that like customizability.

Time Analytics takes the cake for providing a more advanced time tracker than Harvest. It lets you select your project and tasks. You can even manually add time if you forgot to start the timer.

For the admin side of things, Time Analytics makes it easier to mark any activity as billable, so there’s no room for error. One thing I experienced with Time Analytics was that it lets you easily edit, move, or copy all entries. So if your workflow got messed up somehow, you can adjust it with a few clicks.

Here are the time tracking features you get to use by choosing Time Analytics:

• Select any project or task
• Start automatic time or add time manually
• Choose clients, tags, and a lot more
• Add notes to any hours recorded so your team can understand
• Mark your activity as billable
• Edit, copy, or move all entries

Time and Project Reporting

Reporting features are key for any time tracking tool, and Time Analytics does not miss. While experiencing the tool, I learned that you can easily do profit generation management, billability improvement, and transparency assurance.

But what does any of this even mean? First, you get a massive amount of data from your invoices that you can use to optimize your profits and see if there’s any improvement. But the biggest benefit I found was that you could make strategic decisions for future projects and optimize your company to generate more profit.

Here are the time and reporting features you get with Time Analytics:

• Get accurate project costs and profits with real-time tracking
• Create revenue estimates for each client and project
• Track billable and non-billable hours
• Fix money leaks
• Use current data to optimize your company’s pricing for future clients

Security

Security is where Time Analytics shines. While researching, I found that the software uses Data Encryption, SSL Encryption, Backups, and a lot more to protect the customer’s data and give them a safe working environment.

Here are the security features you get:

• Data Encryption (To store important data safely)
• SSL Encryption (Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate)
• Backups (Regular data backups)
• Automated Backups available for 7 days

Support Options

• Phone support
• Email support
• Contact form support

Pricing

• Free Trial: 14 days full-featured free trial without credit card
• Starter: $4.99 Per user, per month
• Optimum: $6.99 Per user, per month

Pros and Cons of Time Analytics

Time Analytics FAQ

Harvest vs. Time Analytics

Both Harvest and Time Analytics are great for people looking to manage their time and company better. Time Analytics takes the cake for having a more advanced time-tracking tool with many features. On the other hand, Harvest has a free feature ideal for freelancers who don’t want to pay hefty amounts early on in their careers.

All in all, both tools are ideal for freelancers and small to midsize businesses.

Get Started with Time Analytics

Time Analytics enables you to track time stress-free, and it makes your accountants focus on more important tasks. With advanced time tracking, reporting, team performance, and client billing features, you can improve your company’s profitability with the software.

Click here to get started with Time Analytics Today.

Saad Ali

Saad started his Content Writing journey in 2019 on Fiverr, where he catered to over 100 businesses in different niches like SaaS, Crypto, Meta, Gaming, Entertainment, and more.