Timesheets - Logging Time to Projects

Learn how to accurately log time to sold project roles, business operations, and pitches in Harvest to improve project reporting.

June 29, 2026 By John Grigg

This guide explains how to log your daily time against sold project roles, business operations, and pitches in Harvest. Proper role-based time tracking ensures accurate project reporting and gives project managers a clearer view of the budget burn.

This guide applies to all billable employees and operations staff who track time using Harvest. You should use this workflow at the end of every day or week when submitting your timesheets.

Instead of tracking time against generic tasks like "meetings," "travel," or "prep work," you must now log all time associated with a project to the specific role that was sold to the client.

Before adding a new row to your timesheet, identify which of the following scenarios applies to the work you are doing:

Time Tracking Scenario	When to Use
Billable Project Roles	When logging daily time—including travel, prep, and meetings—against a sold client role (e.g., Engineer).
Business Operations	When performing non-sold support work for a project, such as procurement, warehouse logistics, or booking accommodations.
Pitch Time	When spending time preparing responses or strategies to win new client work.

Navigate to Harvest in the Week view to begin.

Log time to a billable project role

Step #1: Click the green + icon to add a new row to your timesheet. — Click the green + icon to add a new row to your timesheet.

Step #2: Search for and select the appropriate project name. — Search for and select the appropriate project name.

Step #3: Choose the correct phase for the project. — Choose the correct phase for the project.

If you are unsure which phase to select, ask your project manager.

Step #4: Click the role dropdown menu. — Click the role dropdown menu.

Step #5: Select your assigned role, such as Engineer *. — Select your assigned role, such as Engineer *.

Roles with an asterisk (*) are official titles from the rate card. If your specific role is missing, contact your project manager to have it added to Harvest.

Step #6: Click Save row. — Click **Save row**.

Log time to business operations

If you are supporting a project through logistics, travel booking, or procurement, and your role was not explicitly sold to the client, log your time under business operations.

Step #7: Click + Add row. — Click **+ Add row**.

Step #8: Search for and select the project you are supporting. — Search for and select the project you are supporting.

Step #9: Select zBusiness Operations as the phase. — Select **zBusiness Operations** as the phase.

The "z" prefix is used internally to push operational phases to the bottom of the list to keep the billable roles tidy.

Step #10: Select the specific operational task you performed, such as zTravel and Accomodation, and save the row. — Select the specific operational task you performed, such as **zTravel and Accomodation**, and save the row.

Log pitch time

It is important to track the time spent trying to win new work.

Step #11: Click + Add row. — Click **+ Add row**.

Step #12: Select the project you are pitching for. — Select the project you are pitching for.

Step #13: Click the phase dropdown and select the option beginning with an exclamation mark, such as !Pitch. — Click the phase dropdown and select the option beginning with an exclamation mark, such as **!Pitch**.

Step #14: Select !Pitch - General as the role. — Select **!Pitch - General** as the role.

On very large pitches, specific roles may be pre-planned and allocated in the dropdown. In those rare cases, select the role you were assigned instead of the general pitch option.

Step #15: Click Save row. — Click **Save row**.

Enter hours and notes

Once your rows are set up correctly, record your time and add context for the project manager.

Step #16: Click into the text field for the appropriate day and row. — Click into the text field for the appropriate day and row.

Step #17: Enter your hours. You can use decimals (e.g., 7.5) or colons (e.g., 7:30). — Enter your hours. You can use decimals (e.g., `7.5`) or colons (e.g., `7:30`).

A standard full work day is 7.5 hours.

Step #18: Click the note icon inside the time entry field. — Click the note icon inside the time entry field.

Step #19: Type a short update (e.g., "Supporting projection study") and click Save entry. — Type a short update (e.g., "Supporting projection study") and click **Save entry**.

Q: What should I do if my exact role isn't listed in the dropdown?

A: Speak to your project manager to have the correct role added to the project in Harvest.

Q: Where should I put my time if I'm not sure?

A: Ask your project manager directly or post your question in the #timesheets Slack channel. Do not guess, as miscategorized time creates difficult reporting problems.