Getting Started With Harvest

Our Welcome page will help you set up your account and learn about the Harvest workflow. You’ll be brought to the Welcome page right after you sign-up for your Harvest trial.

Create Projects

First, you must set up a project before you can track time. Click Create Projects on the Welcome page, and you’ll go right to the Create New Project form. To create a new project:

1. Assign a Client. You can Add A New Client from the drop-down menu.
2. Name your project.
3. Choose an Invoice Method if you’d like to invoice for your project.
4. Set up a budget, or add one after the project is saved.
5. Click Choose People & Tasks. You can Add a New Task from the drop-down menu. Don’t forget to check tasks as billable, so that they’ll be pulled into your invoices.
6. Assign people to the project. People must be added under Manage > People to be assigned to a project, but you can always set up the project first and add them later.
7. Save your project, and you’ll see it under Manage > Projects.

Track Time

Now you’re ready to track time. You can get to your timesheet from the Track Time link on the Welcome page.

1. Click New Entry.
2. Choose your project and task.
3. You can start a timer by clicking Start Timer, or you can enter a duration, and click Save Entry.

Invoice Clients

After you track time, you’re ready to invoice! You can get to the invoice screen from the Invoice Clients link on the Welcome page. To create an invoice:

1. Click Create Invoice, and pick your client.
2. To pull in hours from your timesheet, choose to invoice Based on project hours and expenses, and click Next Step. Remember, tasks must be checked as billable on your project (under Manage > Projects) in order to be pulled into an invoice.
3. Fill out the Create Invoice page, and click Create Invoice.
4. You’ll see a draft of the invoice. You can add a subject, due date, taxes, customize the orders of the rows on your invoice, and more.
5. Click Save Invoice. You can send your invoice right away, or save a draft and send it later.

Invite Co-Workers

Lastly, you can build your company’s team by adding people to your account. Click Invite Co-Workers on the Welcome page to begin filling out someone’s profile. To add a person your Harvest account:

1. Enter their name and email address. The email address must be unique for every person on the account.
2. Choose Permissions. Set a rate and department if you wish.
3. Click Save. An email will be sent to your teammate to let them know how to sign in to Harvest and change their password.

You’ve now set up your Harvest account! From here, you can continue to track time, invoice, and add projects, clients, and coworkers to Harvest. If you need more help, you can get to our Help/FAQ or Contact Us from the Welcome page.