Harvest
Time Tracking
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Billable Hours Tracker for Business Owners

Harvest is the ideal solution for business owners looking to increase profitability by 10-15% through accurate billable hours tracking and seamless invoicing integration.

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How much revenue is your team leaving on the table?

Most agencies run at 55-60% utilization. Even a small improvement means significant revenue. See what closing the gap looks like for your team.

Number of people who track billable time
$
Blended rate across roles (junior, senior, lead)
55%
Percentage of total hours that are billable. Industry average is 55-60%.
75%
A realistic target for service businesses is 70-80%.
Monthly revenue gap $0
Revenue at current utilization $0/mo
Revenue at target utilization $0/mo
Extra billable hours needed per person/day 0h
Annual revenue opportunity $0

Start tracking team utilization

Walk through the entire flow below. Start a timer, check your reports, and create a real invoice — all in three clicks.

Go ahead — start tracking!

One click and you're timing. Try it right here: start a timer, add an entry, edit the details. This is exactly how it feels in Harvest.

  • One-click timer from browser, desktop & mobile
  • Works inside Jira, Asana, Trello, GitHub & 50+ tools
  • Duration or start/end — your call
  • Day, week & calendar views to stay on top of it all
  • Friendly reminders so no hour gets left behind
Acme Corp
Website Redesign
Homepage layout revisions
1:24:09
Content Strategy
Blog calendar planning
1:30:00
SEO Audit
Technical audit report
0:45:00
Brand Guidelines
Color system documentation
2:15:00
Logo Concepts
Initial sketches round 1
1:00:00
Today's total 6:54:09

The Strategic Imperative of Billable Hour Tracking

Tracking billable hours is essential for business owners aiming to enhance profitability and operational efficiency. Businesses that effectively track billable hours can experience a 10-15% increase in profitability within a year. This improvement stems from better revenue forecasting, project budgeting, and resource allocation. Conversely, inaccurate time tracking can result in significant revenue loss. For example, if each team member under-records just 15 minutes daily, a 20-person firm might lose revenue equivalent to hiring a new employee annually. This underscores the necessity of precise and consistent time tracking.

Moreover, distinguishing between billable and non-billable time is crucial for revenue generation. Billable time refers to tasks directly chargeable to clients, such as consulting sessions or project work, while non-billable time includes internal activities like administrative tasks. Business owners must clearly define these categories to avoid underbilling or overbilling clients. By ensuring accurate and detailed billing, businesses can build trust with clients, reduce disputes, and maintain compliance with industry-specific billing ethics.

Essential Features of an Effective Billable Hours Tracker

A robust billable hours tracker is indispensable for business owners managing diverse client projects. Essential features include automatic timers and manual time entry options, providing flexibility to capture time as work progresses. Harvest excels in this regard with its one-click start/stop timers and manual entry capabilities, ensuring precise time capture for both billable and non-billable hours. Additionally, project and task management functionalities are critical, allowing users to categorize work, set budgets, and track progress against estimates.

Integration with invoicing and accounting systems is another vital feature for seamless data transfer and financial reconciliation. Harvest integrates with platforms like QuickBooks and Xero, enabling automated billing processes. Detailed reporting and analytics further empower business owners to gain insights into team productivity, project profitability, and resource utilization. Harvest's comprehensive reports on time, expenses, and budgets offer actionable data to enhance decision-making and optimize operations.

Best Practices for Implementing and Optimizing Time Tracking

Implementing effective time tracking requires clear policies and consistent practices. Business owners should develop firm-wide time-tracking guidelines, defining expected frequency and detail level. Training team members on real-time logging can prevent memory-based inaccuracies and lost billable hours. For instance, professionals who track time as tasks are performed can recover over 10% of lost billable hours, significantly boosting revenue.

Using consistent billing increments, such as 6 minutes for legal firms or 15 minutes for consultancies, enhances accuracy. Harvest supports detailed time entries with descriptive explanations, facilitating transparent invoicing and client communication. Regularly reviewing tracked data allows for the identification of inefficiencies, preventing scope creep and enabling proactive project adjustments. By maximizing billable time through effective delegation and automation, businesses can streamline operations and improve profitability.

Analyzing Project Profitability and Driving Growth

Understanding project profitability is crucial for business owners aiming for sustainable growth. Calculating project profitability involves comparing revenue against total costs, including both direct and indirect expenses. Many teams underestimate indirect costs, which can reduce net profit by 20-30% if unaccounted for. Harvest assists business owners by providing detailed project analysis with progress graphs and summary reports, enabling informed financial decisions.

Leveraging insights from time tracking data can optimize resource allocation and improve operational efficiency. Business owners can identify profitable projects and clients, guiding future pricing strategies and service offerings. Continuous monitoring and adaptation of time tracking practices ensure businesses remain competitive and poised for growth. By integrating these practices, Harvest helps companies exceed project completion rates, which currently stand at only 57% within budget and 51% within timeline, according to industry studies.

Track Billable Hours with Harvest

Harvest's interface allows business owners to track billable hours accurately and manage invoicing seamlessly.

Screenshot of Harvest's billable hours tracking interface for business owners.

Billable Hours Tracker for Business Owners FAQs

  • When choosing a billable hours tracker, look for features like automatic timers, manual time entry, and seamless integration with invoicing systems. Reporting and analytics capabilities are also essential for understanding team productivity and project profitability. Harvest offers these functionalities, along with flexible billing methods and mobile access for team collaboration.

  • Ensuring accuracy in time tracking involves implementing real-time logging, using consistent billing increments, and training team members on proper time-entry practices. Harvest supports one-click timers and descriptive time entries to help maintain accuracy and transparency, reducing the risk of under-billing or over-billing.

  • Harvest integrates seamlessly with popular invoicing systems like QuickBooks and Xero, enabling efficient data transfer and automated billing processes. This integration ensures that tracked time and expenses are easily converted into professional invoices, streamlining financial reconciliation for business owners.

  • Yes, Harvest offers detailed project analysis with progress graphs and summary reports to help business owners understand project profitability. Users can compare revenue against total costs, assess net profit margins, and make informed financial decisions to drive business growth.

  • Tracking billable hours is crucial for enhancing profitability, improving revenue forecasting, and ensuring accurate client billing. Effective time tracking can lead to a 10-15% increase in profitability by optimizing resource allocation and reducing revenue loss from inaccurate tracking.

  • Billable hours are tasks directly chargeable to clients, such as consulting or project work, while non-billable hours include internal tasks like administrative duties. Clearly defining these categories helps avoid under-billing or over-billing clients and ensures accurate invoicing.

  • To maximize billable time, use Harvest's automatic timers to capture time as tasks are performed and delegate non-billable tasks when possible. Regularly review tracked data to identify inefficiencies and adjust project plans proactively, ensuring optimal resource utilization and profitability.

  • Yes, Harvest offers mobile access via iOS and Android apps, allowing team members to track time on-the-go. This feature enhances flexibility and ensures accurate time capture regardless of location, supporting remote work and mobile teams.