Harvest
Time Tracking
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Track Time As a Contractor

Contractors often lose 10-15% of billable hours without real-time tracking. Harvest offers a comprehensive solution to track time accurately and manage projects efficiently.

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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
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1:30:00
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0:45:00
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2:15:00
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The Importance of Accurate Time Tracking for Contractors

Accurate time tracking is essential for contractors to ensure they are fairly compensated for their work. Industry research shows that 77% of professionals tend to underreport their billable hours when not using real-time tracking tools. This can lead to a significant loss of income, often between 10-15% of potential earnings. For contractors, who frequently juggle multiple projects, precise time tracking is vital for maintaining profitability and operational efficiency.

Harvest offers a comprehensive solution tailored specifically for contractors, providing project-based time tracking that helps manage multiple contracts efficiently. By distinguishing between billable and non-billable hours, Harvest ensures that contractors can invoice accurately and maintain transparency with clients. This capability not only supports fair compensation but also enhances client trust, which is crucial in the competitive contracting industry.

Leveraging Technology to Reduce Time Theft and Errors

Time theft and errors in manual timesheets can severely impact a contractor's bottom line. Research indicates that 43% of hourly workers admit to engaging in time theft practices, such as buddy punching or padding hours. Moreover, 80% of manually updated timesheets contain errors, potentially leading to a 70% loss in billable revenue. This highlights the importance of transitioning to digital time tracking solutions.

Harvest addresses these challenges by providing flexible time entry methods, both manual and automatic, to suit various contractor needs. While it doesn't offer features like geofencing, Harvest's robust time tracking tools allow contractors to manage hours effectively across different job sites. By automating invoicing based on tracked hours, Harvest minimizes errors and streamlines the billing process, ensuring contractors are paid promptly and accurately.

Enhancing Project Management with Integrated Time Tracking

For contractors, effective project management is closely linked to accurate time tracking. Real-time visibility into labor hours and project costs can significantly enhance budget management and project forecasting. Despite this, many construction firms still rely on outdated paper-based systems, with 40% using such methods. Transitioning to digital solutions can lead to a 5-10% reduction in labor costs and improved project outcomes.

Harvest integrates seamlessly with project management tools like Asana, creating a smooth workflow for contractors. This integration supports real-time project-based time tracking, enabling contractors to manage costs effectively and keep projects on schedule. With detailed reporting options, Harvest helps contractors organize invoices with line items for each time entry, providing clarity and accuracy to clients and enhancing overall project management efficacy.

Optimizing Contractor Operations with Automated Invoicing

Automated invoicing is a game changer for contractors who aim to optimize their operations and reduce administrative burdens. Many freelancers and contractors spend approximately six hours per week on unpaid administrative tasks, including invoicing. This time could be better spent on client acquisition or project execution, highlighting the need for an efficient invoicing process.

Harvest automates invoicing based on tracked hours, ensuring that contractors can bill clients efficiently and accurately. This not only reduces the time spent on manual invoicing but also helps prevent disputes over hours worked. By providing detailed reports, Harvest allows contractors to transparently communicate their work to clients, fostering trust and speeding up payment approvals. This efficiency is crucial for contractors aiming to maximize their productivity and profitability.

Benefits of Transitioning to Digital Time Tracking Solutions

The shift from manual to digital time tracking solutions offers substantial benefits for contractors. Automated systems can reduce administrative costs by up to 30% and increase return on investment within six months, as reported by 31% of businesses. Despite these advantages, 38% of companies in the U.S. still use paper timesheets, missing out on the efficiency and accuracy gains that digital solutions offer.

Harvest provides an intuitive and flexible time tracking tool that supports manual and automatic entries, catering to the diverse needs of contractors. By offering budget tracking and integration with project management platforms, Harvest ensures contractors have the tools they need to manage costs effectively. This transition not only enhances operational efficiency but also positions contractors to better handle compliance requirements and secure their competitive edge in the industry.

Track Time Efficiently with Harvest

Harvest offers comprehensive time tracking for contractors, ensuring accurate billing and efficient project management. Easily track billable hours.

Harvest time tracking tool for contractors interface.

Track Time As a Contractor FAQs

  • Contractors can accurately track billable hours by using digital time tracking tools like Harvest. These tools allow for real-time tracking and differentiation between billable and non-billable hours, ensuring precision and transparency in billing.

  • Digital time tracking solutions offer several benefits, including reduced administrative costs by up to 30%, increased accuracy, and improved project management. They enable real-time insights into labor hours and costs, enhancing efficiency and compliance.

  • Harvest integrates seamlessly with project management tools like Asana, allowing contractors to track time directly within their workflow. This integration ensures that all project-related hours are accurately captured and managed.

  • Real-time time tracking is crucial for contractors as it prevents underreporting of billable hours, which can result in a 10-15% loss of potential income. It also allows for proactive project adjustments and accurate client billing.

  • Automated invoicing benefits contractors by reducing the time spent on manual billing processes. It ensures accurate billing based on tracked hours, minimizes errors, and accelerates payment approvals, thus improving cash flow.

  • Manual time tracking methods can lead to significant errors, with 80% of timesheets containing inaccuracies. These errors can result in lost billable revenue and complicate compliance with labor regulations, making digital solutions a more reliable option.

  • While Harvest does not use geofencing or biometric verification, it provides robust time tracking tools that minimize time theft by accurately capturing hours worked across different projects. This ensures transparency and accountability.

  • Contractors should look for features such as real-time tracking, integration with project management tools, automatic invoicing, and detailed reporting. These capabilities ensure accurate billing, efficient project management, and compliance with labor laws.