Harvest (software)

Harvest (software)
Name	Harvest
Developer	Harvest Forecast, Inc.
Released	2006
Programming language	Ruby on Rails, JavaScript
Operating system	Cross-platform
Genre	Time tracking, Invoicing, Project management
License	Proprietary

Harvest (software) Harvest is a proprietary time tracking and invoicing application designed for professional services firms, freelancers, and teams. It provides tools for time entry, expense logging, invoicing, reporting, and resource planning integrated with common project workflows. The product is used alongside project management, accounting, collaboration, and productivity platforms to streamline billing and utilization.

Overview

Harvest is a commercial SaaS product delivering time tracking, expense capture, invoicing, and reporting capabilities for businesses. It competes with and complements offerings from Intuit, Xero, Microsoft, Atlassian, and Google by focusing on billable hours, client billing cycles, and utilization analytics. The platform targets customers ranging from solo consultants and agencies to mid-market firms and integrates into ecosystems influenced by vendors like Salesforce, Slack Technologies, Dropbox, Adobe Systems, and Zendesk.

Features and Functionality

Harvest provides time entry via web, desktop, and mobile clients with timers and manual edits; it supports expense entry, currency handling, and multi-project billing. Reporting includes utilization summaries, profitability reports, and invoice aging tied to data visualizations similar to dashboards seen in products by Tableau Software, Power BI, Looker, and QuickBooks. Invoicing generates customizable invoices, recurring billing, and payment integrations comparable to Stripe, PayPal, Square, and Braintree. Resource planning and capacity features align with concepts found in tools from Smartsheet, Asana, Basecamp, and Wrike.

History and Development

Harvest launched in 2006 from a startup environment influenced by early web applications and frameworks popularized by companies like 37signals and platforms such as Ruby on Rails and Amazon Web Services. Founders built the product to address needs identified in consultancy and agency communities active around events such as SXSW and TechCrunch Disrupt. Over time the company iterated on APIs, mobile apps, and integrations, paralleling evolutions at Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Adobe Systems. Strategic partnerships and platform extensions reflected trends set by ecosystems including GitHub, Zapier, IFTTT, and Atlassian Marketplace.

Business Model and Pricing

Harvest operates on a subscription pricing model offering tiered plans for individuals and teams with limits on projects, clients, and advanced features; enterprise pricing and add-ons address larger organizations. The monetization strategy mirrors SaaS pricing approaches employed by companies like Salesforce, Shopify, ServiceNow, and HubSpot. Payment processing for invoices leverages partners similar to Stripe, PayPal, and Square, while billing administration integrates tax and accounting workflows used by businesses that also adopt Intuit QuickBooks Online and Xero.

Security and Privacy

Harvest implements data protection practices including encrypted transmission, access controls, and audit logging to align with industry norms discussed by organizations such as ISO, NIST, OWASP, and regulatory frameworks like General Data Protection Regulation. Authentication options and role-based permissions reflect patterns used by identity providers including Okta, Auth0, and Microsoft Azure Active Directory. Compliance considerations are relevant for customers operating under standards from HIPAA, SOC 2, and regional data protection laws in jurisdictions such as United States, European Union, and United Kingdom.

Integrations and Ecosystem

Harvest provides APIs and native integrations to synchronize time and invoicing data with platforms across accounting, project management, collaboration, and developer tooling. Notable integration categories include accounting with QuickBooks, Xero, and FreshBooks; project management with Asana, Trello, Basecamp, and Jira Software; communication with Slack Technologies, Microsoft Teams, and Google Workspace; and automation via Zapier, IFTTT, and Workato. Developer ecosystems and marketplaces from GitHub, Atlassian Marketplace, and Stripe influence extension patterns and third-party connector availability.

Reception and Use Cases

Harvest is widely used by creative agencies, consulting firms, legal practices, and software teams for time-based billing, project profitability analysis, and capacity planning. Reviews and comparisons often place it alongside Toggl, Clockify, FreshBooks, and Harvest competitors in feature evaluations by publications such as Wired, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and Inc.. Case studies highlight usage for client invoicing cycles, internal utilization tracking, and integration-driven workflows combining tools from Salesforce, Google, Slack Technologies, and QuickBooks.

Category:Time-tracking software