Today we’re launching one of the most requested features for Harvest: the ability to record start and end time on timesheets.

Right now, when you record time in Harvest, you can only put in the duration of a task (such as “1 hour“). With this new feature, instead of typing in the duration, you can put in the start and end time of the task, such as “9am-12pm“. Harvest will then calculate the duration for you and record the start/end times, which are then shown on the timesheets, time reports, and invoices. Here’s a quick demo video of how it works:

To get this started, just go to Manage > Account Settings, click on the Edit Preferences button and turn the feature on under Timesheet timestamps. Once the timestamp feature is enabled, go back to the timesheet’s day view. In place of the duration field, you’ll now notice two new fields for start and end time. Here are some tips on how to use the new fields:

  • To start the timer: leave the fields blank, or type in the start time and leave the end time blank.
  • You can type in your time in the following format: 3, 3.15, or 3,15. Type in “a” or “p” for AM/PM. Or leave it blank and let Harvest figure it out.
  • Type in “.” (period) for the time now.
  • You can also set a preference for time format (12 hour vs 24 hour) on the Edit Preferences page under Account Settings.

Here are some limitations with the new feature that you should know:

  • Once you turn on the new feature, it will apply to the entire account. So everyone on your Harvest account will see the new start/end time fields.
  • Unfortunately, you will not be able to put in start/end time via any 3rd party tools (such as the Harvest Widget or iPhone app). You can still use those tools – and if you start a timer on your iPhone, Harvest will still record the start and end times. But if you add a duration on a widget or iPhone, there won’t be any timestamps saved.
  • The Week View will not be editable once you turn on timestamps.

We’re really excited about this new feature for Harvest Timesheets, and we hope you find it useful! Kudos to Barry for making this long-awaited feature live.

Thank you all for your feedback and support. Please let us know if you have any questions or feedback!