Time Management Tools: Harvest Review

It’s an age-old problem—there’s never enough time to get everything done. And for busy consultants, it’s frustrating to spend additional time on time management tasks, such as tracking the hours for multiple projects, tracking subcontractor hours, invoicing clients and managing payments.

That’s why one day I put on the breaks and decided to research online time tracking tools. At first, the idea of putting my precious time-related data online seemed like a high-security risk. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that even if there were a security breach, my data was, well, pretty boring stuff. No one could benefit from it.

Making the Switch

Just in case you haven’t made the switch to web-based time tracking software, consider the advantages:

1. You don’t have to install software. Not that installing software is difficult, but it’s one more thing that could go wrong.
2. If you travel for work, or just prefer working in a coffee shop, your time sheet is always available online.
3. The better online services have a desktop widget, making it easy to start and stop time tracking with the click of a mouse.
4. Your contractors and virtual employees will have easy access to their time sheet and everyone’s data is aggregated.
5. Many online applications are intuitive and look great. The interfaces have that nice web 2.0 look. As far as I’m concerned, an attractive-looking system is more fun to use.
6. Some web-based time tracking systems sync up data with your web-ready mobile device.

Doing The Research

There appear to be a nearly infinite supply of time tracking programs and I was determined to find the one that would be best for my business at a reasonable price point. Most of the time tracking services charge by the number of projects, clients, users or a combination of these factors.

First, I pored over the recommendation sites to make a list of possibilities. Then I explored the pros and cons of each application, creating a matrix of the benefits and drawbacks, including the pricing. I was serious. I knew I’d be spending more time with this tracking system than with my loved ones.

I tried out several services by using their free trial period and then aborted when I wasn’t satisfied. But finally, one seemed to shine above the rest. It was Harvest Time Tracking.

Harvest Time Tracking

I’d been attracted to the crisp look and intuitive interface of Harvest from the start, but it cost a bit more than I wanted to pay every month. In the end through, it won me over. I liked the fact that in addition to collecting and reporting time data, Harvest makes it easy to create, send and track invoices. It also has a desktop timer widget for both Mac and PC (I need both), making it easy to start and stop tracking time for more accurate invoicing. You can also change the colors of the application, which is a nice little perk.

I’ve used Harvest for nearly a year now and I’m amazed that I only had to use the Help feature once. Some of it’s more advanced features include project estimates, good reporting capabilities, and expense tracking. It also allows for time approval by a manager so your subcontractors or employees can use the system from their virtual locations while you approve their time. You can import Basecamp project management data into it and export data to Excel and Quickbooks.

Finally, I like their social conscience. Harvest has a New Founders Program that provides a one-year free Harvest subscription for one new and worthy company each month.

Who Has Time?

Let’s face it, there are many time tracking applications out there, but who has time to test them all? Harvest seems to be one of the more ideal applications for the consultant who is a sole proprietor or small business owner. And I’m sticking with it.

Check out Harvest Time Tracking