Hour Cap vs Harvest
Harvest is a well-established time tracker with Xero invoice syncing. Hour Cap is purpose-built for teams who bill hours through Xero. Here's where they differ.
Side-by-side comparison
Both tools track time and push invoices to Xero. The differences are in the details.
| Feature | Hour Cap | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| Xero invoice grouping | Entry, project, date, member | Project, task, person, detailed |
| Group by date | ||
| Retainer management | Dedicated retainers | Monthly budget reset |
| Billable rate cascade | Project → Member → Org | One type per project |
| Xero tracking categories | 3-level cascade | Client-based only |
| Duration input | 1h30m, 1:30, 8h, 30m | Decimal or HH:MM |
| Timesheet approvals | Full workflow | Premium plan only |
| Timer across midnight | Auto-splits by day | Keeps accumulating |
| Void and re-invoice | ||
| Free plan | 1 user, full features | 1 user, 2 projects |
Billable rates that cascade automatically
Harvest makes you choose one rate type per project: a flat project rate, per-person rates, or per-task rates. You can't combine them on the same project, and there's no org-level default to fall back on.
Hour Cap cascades rates automatically. Set a rate on a project and it applies to all entries. If none is set, it falls back to the member's rate, then to your org default. No configuration per project required.
Xero tracking categories that actually cascade
Harvest only populates Xero tracking categories based on the client. If you need to track by project, department, or team, you're stuck managing it manually in Xero after the invoice lands.
Hour Cap lets you set tracking categories at the project, client, or org level. The most specific setting wins, so your Xero reports always have the right categorization without manual cleanup.
Retainers as a first-class feature
Harvest has monthly budget resets and a separate retainer invoicing concept where clients pre-pay a balance. But the budget and invoicing are disconnected. There's no real-time progress tracking, no alert thresholds, and no one-click invoice for the current period.
Hour Cap has dedicated retainer management. Set an hours budget, pick a billing period, configure alerts when usage hits a threshold, and invoice the current period directly from the invoice wizard.
- Weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, or custom periods
- Real-time progress bars on your dashboard
- Alert thresholds when usage hits a percentage you set
When Harvest might be a better fit
We believe in being transparent. Harvest does things Hour Cap doesn't.
Desktop and mobile apps
Harvest has native desktop apps for Mac and Windows, mobile apps for iOS and Android, and browser extensions. Hour Cap is a web app optimized for desktop browsers.
Expense tracking
Harvest lets you log expenses with receipt photos and include them on invoices. Hour Cap is focused on time-based billing.
Mature integrations
Harvest integrates with 50+ tools including Asana, Slack, and project management software. Hour Cap is focused on the Xero workflow.
Pricing at a glance
Hour Cap
Built for XeroPrices in USD. Annual billing saves 17%.
Harvest
Prices in USD (annual). Approvals require Premium tier.
A 5-person team on Harvest Premium pays $70/mo for approvals and profitability reporting.
The same team on Hour Cap Business pays $30/mo with approvals, retainers, and full Xero integration.
Ready to switch?
Start tracking time in minutes. Connect your Xero account and your contacts sync automatically. No migration needed.