Timely vs Harvest: Which Time Tracking Tool is Best?

Are you tired of wondering where on earth your day went? It’s time to stop playing hide-and-seek with your productivity and start tracking your time like a pro!

Time tracking is a crucial aspect of project management and productivity. It helps individuals and teams to keep track of their time and optimise their workflow. However, with so many time tracking tools available in the market, it can be challenging to choose the right one.

In this article, we will compare two popular time tracking tools - Timely vs Harvest. 

Both tools offer robust features, integrations, and pricing plans. However, they differ in terms of usability and user experience. So, which tool should you choose? Let's find out!

What is Timely?

Timely is a time tracking tool designed for individuals and teams to manage their time more efficiently. It offers features such as automatic time tracking, scheduling, project management, team management, and invoicing. 

Timely's automatic time tracking feature eliminates the need for manual input, making it more efficient for users. It also offers a mobile app for tracking time on-the-go.

What is Harvest?

Harvest is a time tracking tool that helps individuals and teams to track their time and manage their projects more effectively. It offers features such as time tracking, invoicing, project management, expense tracking, and team management. 

Harvest's simple and straightforward design makes it easy for users to navigate and use. It also has a mobile app for tracking time on-the-go. Harvest offers two pricing plans - Free and Pro - to suit different user needs.

So, how do Timely and Harvest compare against each other?

Usability

When it comes to usability, both Timely and Harvest offer intuitive and easy-to-use interfaces. 

Is Timely user-friendly?

Timely has a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to use for both individuals and teams. Its automatic time tracking feature makes it effortless to track time, eliminating the need for manual input. Users can also manually adjust time entries if needed. Additionally, Timely's scheduling and project management features are well-designed and intuitive.

One of the key features that make Timely user-friendly is its ease of use. The interface is simple and straightforward, making it easy to navigate and use. The automatic time tracking feature also eliminates the need for users to constantly remember to track their time.

However, some users have found the learning curve for using Timely to be steep. The initial setup and customisation of the tool may take some time to get used to. You have to download Memory onto your computer system so that it can read the content on your browser and apps etc. Some users have also noted that the mobile app is not as user-friendly as the web version.

To improve usability, Timely could work on simplifying the setup process and improving the mobile app's design and functionality. Additionally, providing more customisation options for project management could also enhance usability for certain users. Overall, Timely is a convenient and efficient tool for managing time.

Is Harvest user-friendly?

In terms of usability, Harvest is generally considered user-friendly, thanks to its clean and intuitive user interface. The platform is designed to be easy to navigate and provides a straightforward approach to tracking time and invoicing clients.

One of the key features that make Harvest user-friendly is its ability to integrate with other tools and applications, such as project management software like Asana, Trello, or Basecamp. This integration allows for seamless data sharing and eliminates the need for manual data entry.

Another usability feature of Harvest is its ability to customise invoicing templates and automate recurring invoices. This saves time for business owners and freelancers, allowing them to focus on their core work instead of administrative tasks.

Like Timely, some users have reported that the mobile app is not as user-friendly as the desktop version, and that it can be difficult to navigate. Additionally, some users have reported that the reporting feature could be more intuitive and easier to use.

Harvest is a great option that simplifies time tracking and invoicing for businesses and freelancers. Its clean interface, integration capabilities, and customisable invoicing templates are some of the features that make it stand out. However, there is room for improvement in areas such as the mobile app and reporting features.

Our winner for usability goes to Timely. 1-0.

Features

Both Timely and Harvest offer a wide range of features to suit different user needs.

What can you do with Timely?

• Automatic Time Tracking: Timely uses AI to automatically track the time users spend on tasks and projects. This feature eliminates the need for manual time tracking and helps ensure accurate billing.

• Project Management: With Timely's project management feature, users can create and manage projects, set project budgets, and assign tasks to team members. This feature allows users to stay on top of their projects and ensure that everyone is on the same page.

• Time Reporting: Timely provides detailed time reports that show users how they've spent their time, what projects they've worked on, and how much time they've spent on each task. This feature helps users identify areas where they can improve their time management and increase productivity.

• Team Collaboration: team members can communicate and collaborate on projects in real-time, which helps ensure that everyone is on the same page and working effectively.

• Invoicing: Timely's invoicing feature allows users to create and send invoices directly from the platform. Users can customise their invoices with their own branding and set up recurring invoices for regular clients. This feature helps users streamline their invoicing process and get paid faster.

• Mobile App: this app means users can track their time on the go and stay connected with their team, even when they are offline.

Timely's features are designed to help businesses and freelancers stay organised, save time, and increase productivity. The automatic time tracking feature is particularly unique and valuable, as it eliminates the need for manual time tracking and ensures accurate billing. The platform's project management, time reporting, team collaboration, and invoicing features also help users streamline their workflow and stay on top of their projects.

What can you do with Harvest?

• Time Tracking: Harvest allows users to track time spent on tasks and projects in real-time. This feature enables users to accurately bill clients based on the time spent on a project.
• Invoicing: One of their selling points is their invoicing feature that means users can create and send invoices directly from the platform. Invoices can be customised with branding, payment terms, and itemised charges and created directly from the hours tracked by employees.
• Project Management: their project management feature allows users to manage projects, assign tasks to team members, and track project progress. This feature helps ensure that projects are completed on time and within budget.
• Reports: Harvest provides users with a range of reports, including time and expense reports, project budget reports, and invoice reports. These reports allow users to analyse their business performance and identify areas for improvement.
• Expense Tracking: With this feature users can easily track expenses related to a project, including receipts and billable expenses. This helps ensure that all project-related expenses are accurately recorded and billed to clients.
• Team Collaboration: Harvest's team collaboration feature allows team members to work together on projects and share project information. This feature helps ensure that everyone is on the same page and working towards a common goal.

Harvest's features are designed to help businesses and freelancers manage their time and finances more efficiently. The time tracking and invoicing features are particularly valuable, as they allow users to accurately track their time and bill clients based on that time. The platform's project management, reporting, expense tracking, and team collaboration features also help users streamline their workflow and stay on top of their projects. 

If any of these things are something you’re struggling to stay on top of then it could be time to use Harvest!

The winner for features has got to be Harvest. 1-1.

Pricing

Pricing is a crucial factor when choosing a time tracking tool. 

How much does Timely cost?

Timely offers three pricing plans - Starter, Premium, and Unlimited. You can view the pricing options depending on your team below or visit their website for the most up to date information.

How much does Harvest cost?

Harvest offers two pricing plans - Free and Pro. The Free plan is free for one user and includes basic features such as time tracking and project management. The Pro plan costs more per user per month and includes advanced features such as invoicing and expense tracking. Check their website for the most recent pricing options. 

When it comes to pricing and simplified pricing system, Harvest is the winner. 1-2.

Customer Reviews

Both Timely and Harvest have positive reviews from users. Timely has a 4.8/5 rating on G2, with users praising its automatic time tracking feature and user-friendly interface.

Harvest has a 4.5/5 rating on G2, with people mentioning that they love its invoicing and reporting features. This is a big selling point for Harvest.

Overall, both tools are receiving positive comments from customers and are therefore clearly good tools to be implementing in your business. Our winner has to be Timely though, 2-2.

Integrations

Timely offers a variety of integrations with other popular software tools to help users streamline their workflow and increase productivity. 

Timely integrates with Asana, a project management tool, Trello, a project organisation tool that uses to-do lists and Zapier which is an automation platform that will connect to 2000 apps and automate your workflow. 

It also integrates with Google calendar so that your daily tasks are clear in Timely when you’re logging your hours and Slack so that you’re aware of how long you spend on communication messaging with team members. 

It can also integrate with Microsoft Teams and Google Meets so that your meeting time is recorded and QuickBooks, an accounting software that helps users streamline their invoicing and billing processes. There are many more integrations available, just visit their website to learn more about them.

Harvest also offers a broad range of integrations that make your workflow easier. Some of hte tools are the same as those mentioned above for Timely; Quickbooks, Slack, Asana, Trello and Zapier. 

It’s safe to say that these apps will more than likely integrate with most of the tools you use on a regular basis and that you need to track. This will make everything a lot easier to manage overall.

The integrations available with both of these tools mean it is a draw between them. 3-3.

When to choose Timely

Timely is ideal for anyone looking to get on top of their time tracking and gain an awareness of how much time it takes for them to complete tasks. 

This app is a great choice for freelancers and independent professionals who need to track their time and manage their projects efficiently. OR for small businesses that need a tool that’s affordable. Timely works great for remote teams, meaning employers can gain an overview of time used for certain projects, despite not being physically in an office with their employees. Timely can also be great for you if you just want to manage your time more efficiently and become more productive. 

When to choose Harvest

Simialr to Timely, Harvest is a tool that helps people and businesses get on top of their time tracking but also invoices and reports. Their invoicing and billing features make it a great choice for service-based businesses such as consulting firms, law firms, and marketing agencies. It is also ideal for small and medium-sized businesses, remote teams, and freelancers and independent professionals, much like Timely. 

The main difference between these tools is that Harvest offers the extra invoicing and reports features, so perhaps this is what will have the most effect on your decision.

Happy time tracking!