Before switching from Harvest, separate unbilled work from unpaid invoices. The first still needs a bill. The second needs payment collection, not another invoice.
1. Export the records you need
Use an administrator account for company-wide exports. Harvest exports different records from different screens; a time CSV is not a complete account backup.
- Time history: Settings → Import/Export → Export all time produces a CSV.
- Invoice copies: Export all invoices in the same settings section provides a ZIP of PDFs by email.
- Clients and contacts: Manage → Clients → Import/Export offers CSV or Excel exports.
- Projects: use Export on the Projects page. Include archived projects if you need their history.
Check Harvest's export guide and project export instructions for permissions and formats. Instructions checked 7 September 2026.
Open the downloads before cancelling. Check the date range and a known old project. Save any expense receipts, estimates and supporting documents your business needs as well.
2. List what remains to bill or collect
Export Harvest's Uninvoiced report and record outstanding invoices separately. For each balance, note the client, period, amount and the system responsible for the next action.
For fixed-fee work, use the agreed fee and amounts already invoiced. Multiplying all historical hours by a rate can create a charge the client never agreed to.
3. Choose a cutover date
For example, stop recording in Harvest on 30 September and start in the replacement on 1 October. Finish September's billing in Harvest. Leave an unpaid September invoice in your collection records; do not recreate it as October work.
If you must carry unbilled work across, record exactly which entries moved and remove them from the old billing queue only after reconciliation. Tell everyone which system to use from the cutover date.
4. Test one invoice before moving the team
Use a client with mixed staff rates and at least one non-billable entry. Check hours, descriptions, rounding and the resulting invoice total. Confirm that previously invoiced work is excluded.
Ask the new vendor what its importer preserves: rates, notes, billable status and invoice history may need separate handling. Hour Cap has no direct Harvest importer. If you move here, retain your exports, sync clients from Xero and recreate active projects for new work.
Still choosing? See the Harvest alternatives comparison. Keeping Xero? Check how Harvest invoices and payments transfer before disconnecting it.
