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Time Tracking
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Time Tracking for Salaried Employees

Harvest simplifies time tracking for salaried employees, enhancing productivity by 22% while ensuring compliance with FLSA regulations.

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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

Understanding FLSA Requirements for Salaried Employees

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets the legal framework for time tracking among salaried employees, distinguishing between exempt and non-exempt classifications. Employers must track time for salaried non-exempt employees to ensure compliance with minimum wage and overtime regulations. Non-exempt employees, though salaried, are entitled to overtime pay, and precise time records are mandatory.

Exempt employees, on the other hand, are typically not required to track time, as they meet specific salary and duties tests, including earning a minimum of $684 per week. However, although the FLSA does not mandate time tracking for exempt employees, companies can choose to implement it for internal efficiencies without affecting their exempt status. Employers must retain payroll records for at least three years to comply with federal laws, ensuring accuracy in employee classification to avoid legal repercussions.

Strategic Benefits of Time Tracking for Salaried Employees

Time tracking for salaried employees offers substantial strategic advantages beyond mere compliance. Implementing a system like Harvest can lead to an average productivity increase of 22% in employees who track their time. This boost in productivity often translates into a positive ROI for businesses, with 31% reporting improvements within six months of adopting automated tracking systems.

For service-based firms, detailed time tracking enhances project management by providing insights into workload balancing, accurate project costing, and resource allocation. This data supports better financial planning and client billing, ensuring profitability. Furthermore, tracking time can help prevent employee burnout by identifying overwork patterns, promoting healthier work-life balance, and ensuring fair distribution of tasks across teams.

Addressing Concerns and Building Trust in Time Tracking

Implementing time tracking among salaried employees can raise concerns about privacy and micromanagement. However, by addressing these concerns transparently and focusing on the benefits, employers can foster a culture of trust and autonomy. Communication is key: explaining the "why" behind time tracking, such as improved project management and prevention of burnout, helps employees see its value.

It's crucial to emphasize trends over minute-by-minute scrutiny. By using tools like Harvest, which offer comprehensive reporting, companies can review productivity trends over time rather than focusing on daily variances. This approach helps alleviate concerns about micromanagement while still providing valuable data for strategic decision-making.

Best Practices for Implementing Time Tracking with Harvest

Effective implementation of time tracking for salaried employees involves selecting the right tools and setting clear policies. Harvest is an ideal solution, offering integrations with platforms like Asana, Trello, and Slack, which streamline project management and time tracking in one cohesive system. Automated features reduce errors common in manual time entries by as much as 90%, ensuring accuracy in reports.

Employers should lead by example, with managers also tracking their time, and consider a phased rollout that includes a trial period to gather feedback and build employee comfort. Developing a written policy clarifying the use of time-tracking data and ensuring it won't affect salaries is essential. By doing so, businesses can leverage time tracking to enhance productivity without compromising employee trust or morale.

Time Tracking with Harvest

See how Harvest's time tracking enhances productivity for salaried employees, offering detailed insights and compliance with regulations.

Harvest time tracking interface for salaried employees

Time Tracking for Salaried Employees FAQs

  • For salaried non-exempt employees, the FLSA requires employers to maintain accurate time records to ensure compliance with minimum wage and overtime regulations. Exempt employees are not required to track time under the FLSA, but employers may choose to do so for internal management purposes.

  • Time tracking can increase productivity by 22% on average, as it helps employees manage their time more efficiently and allows employers to identify workload imbalances. Harvest provides detailed reports that support productivity analysis and project budgeting.

  • Yes, it is legal to track time for exempt salaried employees. While not required by the FLSA, employers can track time for internal management, project costing, and productivity analysis without affecting their exempt status.

  • By tracking time, employers can identify patterns of overwork and redistribute tasks to prevent burnout. This ensures employees have a balanced workload and promotes a healthier work-life balance. Harvest can help provide these insights through its detailed reporting features.

  • Best practices include selecting user-friendly tools like Harvest, clearly communicating the reasons for time tracking, and involving management in the process. It's essential to focus on trends rather than daily minutiae and to gather employee feedback through a phased rollout.

  • Time tracking aids project management by providing insights into resource allocation, task completion, and project budgeting. Harvest offers detailed reports that help managers make informed decisions and optimize project outcomes.

  • Yes, time tracking can lead to a positive increase in ROI, with 31% of businesses seeing improvements within six months of implementation. Harvest's automated systems reduce errors and enhance productivity, contributing to financial gains.