Harvest
Time Tracking
Sign up free

Log Hours As a Contractor

Contractors can face challenges in accurately logging hours, leading to potential billing issues. Harvest simplifies this process by offering precise time tracking, detailed reporting, and seamless integration with project management tools.

Try Harvest Free

What should you charge per hour?

Most freelancers and consultants dramatically undercharge. This calculator accounts for what most people miss: non-billable time, taxes, and overhead.

$
Accounting for vacation, holidays, sick days
60%
Most freelancers can bill 50-70% of their time. The rest goes to admin, marketing, proposals, and learning.
$
Software, insurance, equipment, accounting, taxes beyond income tax, etc.
Your break-even rate $0
Recommended rate (+20% buffer) $0
Billable hours per week 0h
Equivalent daily rate $0

Start tracking your billable hours

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

Effective Time Tracking for Contractors

Logging hours accurately is crucial for contractors who bill clients based on time worked. As of 2025, a notable 88% of freelancers and contractors are expected to use time tracking tools, highlighting the growing importance of organized time management. This ensures accurate billing, aids in meeting project deadlines, and enhances financial transparency. However, many contractors still face challenges such as manual entry errors and managing multiple clients simultaneously.

Harvest offers a comprehensive solution to these challenges. By streamlining time tracking and reporting, Harvest helps contractors manage multiple projects and clients more effectively. Its detailed reporting tools justify billable hours to clients, ensuring transparency and trust in the billing process. Moreover, Harvest integrates with project management tools like Asana, offering a seamless workflow from time tracking to task management.

Automated Time Tracking for Increased Efficiency

Automated time tracking can significantly boost efficiency and reduce costs for contractors. Industry statistics reveal that companies save up to $666,400 annually by automating time tracking, cutting down on unproductive hours and manual payroll processes. For contractors, this means less time spent on administrative tasks and more focus on project delivery and client satisfaction.

Harvest's automated time tracking feature simplifies this process further. It reduces the time needed to calculate timecards from seven minutes to just one, offering contractors a quick and efficient way to log hours. This automation also minimizes manual entry errors, ensuring that every hour worked is accurately recorded and billed. By providing real-time insights into labor costs and productivity, Harvest enables contractors to make informed decisions on project forecasting and resource allocation.

Integrating Time Tracking with Invoicing

Seamlessly converting logged hours into invoices is a common challenge for contractors, yet it is essential for ensuring timely and accurate payments. Many contractors can lose up to 8% of their annual payroll due to manual timesheet errors, which affects overall project profitability. The integration of time tracking with invoicing systems can mitigate such losses by providing accurate records for billing.

Harvest excels in this area by allowing contractors to generate invoices directly from their tracked time entries. This feature ensures that every billed hour is supported by detailed records, enhancing billing accuracy and client trust. Additionally, Harvest's integration with accounting systems streamlines the overall billing process, reducing the administrative burden and accelerating payment cycles.

Best Practices for Logging Hours

To effectively log hours, contractors should adhere to several best practices. These include transitioning from paper-based timesheets to digital systems, which significantly reduce manual entry errors and save time. Tracking time in real-time rather than at the end of the day helps ensure accuracy and prevents forgotten hours. Additionally, categorizing time by project and task provides a clearer picture of where time is spent, aiding in cost allocation and project management.

Harvest supports these best practices by offering a user-friendly digital time tracking platform that captures detailed data for each project and task. This level of detail helps contractors identify "time leakage" and optimize their workflows. By following these practices and utilizing tools like Harvest, contractors can improve their overall efficiency and profitability.

Log Hours with Harvest

See how Harvest helps contractors log hours accurately and manage projects efficiently with integrated time tracking features.

Harvest dashboard showing contractor time tracking features.

Log Hours As a Contractor FAQs

  • Contractors can log hours effectively by using digital time tracking tools like Harvest, which automate the process and reduce errors. Real-time tracking ensures accurate data collection and simplifies the transition from logged hours to invoicing.

  • Automated time tracking offers numerous benefits for contractors, including reduced administrative workload, minimized errors, and significant cost savings. Companies can save up to $666,400 annually by automating time tracking, leading to improved productivity and profitability.

  • Harvest integrates with project management tools like Asana, allowing contractors to streamline their workflow from time tracking to task management. This integration ensures that time spent on specific tasks is accurately recorded and billed.

  • Yes, Harvest allows contractors to create invoices directly from their tracked hours. This feature ensures accurate billing and enhances client trust by providing detailed, justified records of work performed.

  • Manual timesheets are prone to errors such as illegibility and missed punches. These errors can lead to inaccurate billing and payroll processing. Transitioning to digital systems like Harvest can solve these issues by providing automated calculations and real-time monitoring.

  • Real-time time tracking is crucial for contractors as it ensures data accuracy and prevents "time leakage" due to forgotten or unrecorded hours. This approach aids in delivering precise billing and optimizing project management.

  • Harvest supports managing multiple projects by organizing time tracking and invoicing for each project. This capability helps contractors keep track of billable hours and expenses across various clients and projects.