As a team grows, may want to compare estimates with actual effort, resource managers need to understand capacity, and finance teams need to see project costs and revenue while work is still underway.
This is where the choice of time tracking setup matters.
Some teams benefit from a dedicated tracker that works across several project management tools. Others want time entries, Jira estimates, resource planning, and financial reporting to work together in one place.
If your team uses Jira to plan and manage work, here are five apps worth considering alongside Harvest: ActivityTimeline, Tempo Timesheets, Everhour, Toggl Track, and Clockify. Each takes a different approach to time tracking, reporting, and project financials.
What to consider when choosing a time tracking app
Before comparing individual tools, it helps to identify what you need your time data to do.
- Where should time entries live? An external tracker can be convenient when employees split their time between several tools. A Jira-native setup can be useful when logged hours need to inform issue estimates, sprint reporting, and project analysis directly.
- How do you manage project budgets? Some teams need billable hours and invoice totals. Others also track labor costs, fixed budgets, cost centers, and spending against estimates.
- Do you need resource planning? Time tracking shows what has happened. Resource planning adds visibility into upcoming work, availability, and workload distribution.
- How do you handle approvals and reporting? Consider whether managers approve individual worklogs or complete timesheets, which reports are available, and how easily finance teams can export the information they need.
- What does the full setup cost? Compare the capabilities you will actually use, the number of people who need access, and whether planning or financial reporting requires additional products or subscriptions.
With these questions in mind, let's look at the options.
At a glance: five Harvest alternatives
App | Best suited for | Key capabilities |
|---|
ActivityTimeline Advanced Edition | Jira-centric teams that connect time tracking with planning and financial reporting | Native Jira worklogs, resource planning, budgets, cost and revenue tracking, forecasting |
Tempo Timesheets | Teams with established timesheet processes and broader Tempo requirements | Time tracking, approvals, reporting, Tempo Accounts, financial management through an additional app |
Everhour | Teams that combine client billing with time tracking across project management tools | Timers, project budgets, billable rates, invoicing, Jira integration |
Toggl Track | Teams tracking time across multiple applications | Timers, browser extension, reporting, integrations with other tools |
Clockify | Teams looking for a time tracker with free and paid plans | Timers, timesheets, billable rates, approvals, budgeting, invoicing on eligible plans |
Harvest remains another option, particularly for teams that want time tracking, expense management, and invoicing in one external platform.
1. ActivityTimeline Advanced Edition: Time tracking, planning, and finances in Jira
Best for: Agencies, consultancies, IT services teams, and PMOs that want to connect Jira work with project costs, revenue, and resource capacity.
ActivityTimeline combines resource planning, timesheets, reporting, and financial management in one Jira app. Its Finances module uses Jira worklogs as the basis for financial reporting, connecting recorded effort with estimates, budgets, and planned work.
Key capabilities
- Native Jira worklogs. Teams can log time from Jira issues, ActivityTimeline Workspace, and timesheets. Entries are recorded as Jira worklogs, so the same data can support time reporting and Jira-based project analysis.
- Calendar-based time tracking. ActivityTimeline can import events from Google Calendar, Outlook, and other iCalendar feeds. Depending on the configuration, users can treat completed events as worklogs automatically or review them and assign them to Jira issues.
- Worklog categories and attributes. Categories can distinguish billable, non-billable, and other types of work. Additional attributes can capture information such as cost centers, client details, or CAPEX/OPEX classifications.
- Flexible budgets. Budgets can be scoped to a Jira project, selected epics, or a JQL filter. Teams can set a manual budget or calculate one from Jira estimates and applicable cost rates. Budget allocations can also be distributed across categories, positions, components, or people.
- Cost and revenue tracking. Rates can be configured by user, position, or category, with hourly and monthly rate options and date-based adjustments. Financial transactions can represent items such as hosting costs, contractor expenses, retainers, and milestone revenue.
- Forecasting and financial reports. The Finances module includes views for budget versus spend, forecasted costs and revenue, and detailed financial records. ActivityTimeline also offers planning and Planned vs. Actual reporting to help teams compare estimated, scheduled, and recorded effort.
For example, a consultancy managing a fixed-fee project can compare the original estimate with actual worklogs and forecasted spending. That gives project managers an opportunity to review scope or resource allocation before the budget period ends.
What to consider
ActivityTimeline is focused on planning, time tracking, and project financial visibility rather than end-to-end invoicing. Teams that need to issue invoices, collect payments, or manage employee expense reimbursements may want to keep a dedicated billing or accounting tool in their workflow.
The Finances module is available in the Advanced Edition for Jira Cloud. Teams using Jira Data Center should check the current edition and feature availability before choosing a setup. Smaller teams that mainly need timesheets, approvals, and planning may find that the Standard Edition covers their requirements.
2. Tempo Timesheets: Established time tracking and approvals
Best for: Organizations that need structured timesheet processes and want to use the broader Tempo ecosystem.
Tempo Timesheets provides time tracking and reporting for Jira, with features for timesheet approvals, account-based work classification, and worklog management. It is available for Jira Cloud and Data Center, subject to the current product and deployment requirements.
For organizations with established time-entry procedures, Tempo can support a consistent process for recording and reviewing work across teams. Tempo Accounts can help classify time against customers or internal activities, while reporting supports analysis of recorded effort.
Teams that need financial management can consider Tempo Financial Manager, previously known as Cost Tracker. It extends time data with project cost, revenue, and budget functionality, including CAPEX/OPEX classifications. Capacity planning and forecasting can be addressed through Tempo's other products.
What to consider
Tempo's capabilities are distributed across its product ecosystem. When comparing it with other options, map the features your team needs to the relevant apps and licenses, including timesheets, financial management, and capacity planning.
Also consider deployment requirements, the approval process your organization follows, and how you want to manage budgets over a project's lifecycle.
3. Everhour: Time tracking with client billing
Best for: Teams that work across multiple project management tools and need time tracking connected to client budgets and invoicing.
Everhour combines time tracking, project budgets, billable rates, and invoicing. Its integrations support teams that use tools such as Jira, Asana, ClickUp, or Trello, making it an option for organizations whose work is distributed across several platforms.
With its Jira integration, users can access time tracking and budget information in the issue view. Depending on the integration configuration, time entries recorded in Everhour can be sent to Jira's native worklogs.
Key capabilities
- Timers and time entry connected to supported project management tools.
- Project budgets and billable rates.
- Alerts when projects approach budget thresholds.
- Invoicing and client billing on eligible plans.
- Reporting on recorded time and project progress.
Everhour can suit an agency that needs to track client work in several tools while maintaining a billing workflow. For example, a team might use Jira for software delivery and another platform for client projects, while tracking billable time across both.
What to consider
Review how synchronization works in your specific setup, including its direction and whether entries created directly in Jira are included in Everhour reporting and invoicing. Teams should also check how historical worklogs are handled when introducing the integration.
Everhour's primary focus is time tracking and billing, so teams that need detailed resource scheduling or financial forecasting based on Jira estimates should evaluate those requirements separately.
4. Toggl Track: Tracking time across applications
Best for: Teams that want a dedicated time tracker for work spread across several tools.
Toggl Track focuses on time entry, timers, reporting, and integrations. Its browser extension can make it easier to start tracking time while working in supported applications, including Jira.
For teams that switch between project management, communication, and productivity tools throughout the day, this approach keeps time tracking available in multiple contexts rather than tying it exclusively to Jira.
Key capabilities
- Timer-based time tracking and manual entries.
- Browser extension for supported applications.
- Reporting on tracked time and billable work.
- Integrations with a broad range of tools.
- Project budgets, labor costs, and profitability reporting on eligible plans.
Toggl Track can be a good fit when a team values a dedicated tracking experience and needs to collect time across different platforms. Its paid plans offer different levels of reporting and project management functionality.
What to consider
Check which plan includes the Jira integration and the reporting features you need. It is also worth confirming how time entries move between Toggl Track and Jira, especially if your team relies on Jira worklogs for sprint reports, remaining estimates, or other native reporting.
If invoicing is a core requirement, compare Toggl Track's billing workflow with the accounting and payment tools your organization already uses.
5. Clockify: Time tracking with flexible plan options
Best for: Teams looking for a dedicated time tracker with a free entry point and paid features for managing time and projects.
Clockify offers timers, timesheets, reporting, and integrations, with a free plan for basic tracking and paid plans that add more administrative and project management capabilities.
Its Jira integration can help users start and manage time tracking while working with Jira issues. The available synchronization behavior and feature set depend on the integration and plan, so teams should review the current documentation before deciding how to use the two systems together.
Key capabilities
- Timer-based and manual time entry.
- Timesheets and time reports.
- Billable rates and project tracking.
- Approvals and locked timesheets on eligible plans.
- Project budgets, expenses, and scheduling features on higher tiers.
- Integrations with other work tools.
Clockify can be a practical starting point for teams that want to introduce structured time tracking without immediately committing to a larger software budget. As requirements develop, paid plans can provide additional controls and reporting.
What to consider
Decide whether you need to record hours only in Clockify or whether Jira's native worklogs must also stay up to date. Verify which entries are synchronized, whether custom fields or Jira estimates are included, and which financial features require a paid plan.
These details matter when the team wants to use tracked time not only for timesheets but also for Jira-based project reporting.
What about Harvest?
Harvest remains a relevant option for teams that prioritize time tracking, expense management, and invoicing in one external platform. It supports time entry across web and desktop applications, mobile apps, and a browser extension. Its features include billable rates, project budgets, timesheet approvals, expense tracking, and invoicing, with availability varying by plan.
Harvest also offers a Jira Cloud integration and a separate product, Forecast, for resource scheduling.
For a team that works across multiple platforms and treats client billing as the main output of time tracking, this setup may be a natural fit. Teams that rely on Jira for estimates, sprint reporting, and project analysis should look closely at how the integration handles worklogs and what additional steps are required to bring time data into their Jira workflows.
The key is to evaluate the complete workflow, not just the timer.
How to choose the right setup for your team
The most suitable option depends on what happens after someone records an hour.
- If you mainly need time tracking across several tools: Compare Harvest, Toggl Track, and Clockify based on the tracking experience, reporting, integrations, and pricing model that fit your team.
- If client budgets and invoicing are central: Consider Harvest and Everhour, and compare their billing workflows with the accounting tools you already use.
- If your organization has structured timesheet approvals: Evaluate Tempo Timesheets and its reporting and account-management features.
- If you want to connect time tracking with Jira planning and financial reporting: Consider ActivityTimeline Advanced Edition and review how its native worklogs, budgets, resource planning, and financial forecasts fit your process.
Before making a decision, test a realistic scenario. Choose a project with an estimate, a budget, several contributors, and a mix of billable and non-billable work. Record time, review the reports, and see whether the information needed by project managers and finance teams is available without manual reconciliation.
Also compare the full cost of the setup: the required plan, the number of users, any additional apps, and the administrative work involved in maintaining integrations.
Final thoughts
Time tracking is most useful when it supports the decisions your team needs to make. For some organizations, that means accurate timesheets and straightforward invoicing. For others, it means understanding project costs, checking progress against estimates, and planning resources before a project runs over budget.
Harvest, ActivityTimeline, Tempo Timesheets, Everhour, Toggl Track, and Clockify approach these needs in different ways. The best choice is the one that fits how your team manages work, handles financial information, and uses Jira.
If your team already uses ActivityTimeline for resource planning, the Advanced Edition's Finances module is worth exploring as a way to bring budgets, costs, revenue, and forecasts into the same workflow.
You can try ActivityTimeline through the Atlassian Marketplace and evaluate how it works with your own Jira projects.
How does your team connect time tracking with Jira estimates, project budgets, and invoicing? Share your workflow and the tools you use in the comments. 👉🏻
