Harvest alternative: build your own timesheets with AI

Harvest is a time tracking and invoicing tool for teams that bill by the hour: timers, timesheets, projects, budgets, invoices and expenses, with reporting. Many small teams only need the middle of that: hours logged against projects every week, checked by a manager, and totals they can invoice from.

Pricing checked October 2026 on getharvest.com/pricing

Is there a cheaper Harvest alternative for approving timesheets?

If you need hours logged against projects, approved by a manager and exported for invoicing, building your own timesheets from this blueprint covers it without a per-seat fee. Harvest lists timesheet approvals on its Enterprise plan, from $14 per seat per month billed annually; Teams is from $9 (checked October 2026). Keep Harvest if you want timers, mobile apps, invoicing and expenses in one product.

Harvest compared with building your own

Compared	Harvest	Build from the blueprint
Price	Free (1 seat, 2 projects); Teams from $9, Enterprise from $14 per seat per month, billed annually.	Free blueprint. You pay for your AI builder and hosting.
Logging time	Timers, daily and weekly timesheets, calendar imports, apps.	Weekly timesheet in 15-minute steps, with a quick phone form.
Approval	Timesheet approval on Enterprise; approved time is locked.	Manager approval locks the week; admins can withdraw approval with a reason.
Rates and budgets	Billable rates, budgets, profitability on Enterprise.	Project rate fixed at approval; budget burn with 80% and 100% warnings.
Invoicing	Built in, with payment integrations.	CSV of approved hours for your invoicing tool.
Expenses	Included.	Not included (see the Expense Reports blueprint).
Who maintains it	The vendor.	You.

Which should you choose?

Build your own if

You chase people for their hours every month before you can invoice.
You want a manager to approve and lock hours before they reach an invoice.
You need budget warnings on client projects without paying for an Enterprise plan.
Your team already invoices from another tool and only needs clean, approved hours.

Pay for Harvest if

You want running timers, desktop and mobile apps, or calendar imports.
You want invoicing, payments and expenses in the same tool.
You need cost rates, profitability reporting or capacity planning.
You need accounting integrations or SSO.

What the blueprint covers

Clients and projects with an hourly rate (or non-billable), a budget in hours and an owner; who is assigned to which project; a weekly timesheet per person with entries in 15-minute steps; submit the week, withdraw before approval, approve (which locks it) or reject with a comment; an admin can withdraw an approval to unlock a week; the rate is fixed onto entries when they are approved; billable amounts and budget burn; warnings to project owners at 80% and 100% of budget; Friday and Monday reminders to submit; reports by project, client and person; CSV export of approved hours for invoicing; an activity log.

What you give up

Running timers and desktop or mobile apps, calendar imports, invoicing and payments, expense tracking, cost rates and profitability, capacity planning and forecasting, fixed-fee projects, tasks within projects, required notes as a setting (v1 always allows notes and requires one only for a week with no hours), accounting integrations and SSO. These matter to agencies running their whole billing on one tool. A team of 5 to 100 people needs hours entered on time, checked by a manager, and totals it can trust when it invoices. If you also want invoicing and timers in one product, Harvest's Teams plan covers them; timesheet approval is listed on its Enterprise plan.

Read the Timesheets blueprint

Harvest alternatives: questions people ask

What does Harvest do that this blueprint doesn't?

Running timers, desktop and mobile apps, calendar imports, invoicing and payments, expense tracking, cost rates and profitability, capacity planning and forecasting, fixed-fee projects, tasks within projects, accounting integrations and SSO.

Is Harvest free?

Harvest has a free plan for 1 seat and 2 projects (checked October 2026). Teams start on the paid Teams plan, from $9 per seat per month billed annually.