Harvest alternative for agency billing
An agency comparing Harvest with Agency Billing Hub should start with the work after time has been logged: who checks it, how it reaches the invoice, and where payment and accounting records go. Both products support tracked-work invoicing. The useful choice is the surrounding workflow, rather than a claim that only one product connects hours to a bill.
Selected documented features, checked 2026-10-13. Not a hands-on review.
Short answer
ABH may fit a small agency billing tracked project work and recording receipts collected elsewhere. Starter supports up to three users and sales tools; Pro supports larger teams and retainers. Choose Harvest when payment connections, accounting sync or its reporting are required. ABH has no customer integrations, so an existing connected workflow deserves careful review.
Free: one user, one client, one project, 20 tracked hours and three invoices per month, with an invoice watermark. Starter supports three users; retainers require Pro. Client payments are collected externally.
Harvest and ABH: selected workflows
| Workflow | ABH | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| Tracked work to invoice | Time linked to clients, projects and tasks; invoice lines trace logged work. [ABH] | Timesheet hours and expenses can become invoice content. [S3] |
| Review before billing | Single and bulk time-entry approval; invoice and expense approval are not available today. [ABH] | Enterprise lists timesheet approvals; invoice and expense approval were not verified. [S1] |
| Retainer workflow | Pro includes flat-fee and capped-hours usage; invoice generation is manual. [ABH] | Advance balances applied to later invoices; current tier mapping is unverified. [S4] |
| Client collection | Record external receipts manually; no client payment processing. [ABH] | Stripe and PayPal payment connections. [S3] |
| Invoice schedules | Recurring invoice schedules are not available today; Pro retainer invoices are manual. [ABH] | Recurring invoices documented; time-based recurring invoices remain drafts. [S4] |
| Accounting connections | Customer integrations are not available today. [ABH] | QuickBooks Online and Xero invoice/payment connections. [S3] |
| Subscription structure | Flat workspace subscription with plan seat caps. [ABH] | Paid starting seat prices plus disclosed usage charges. [S1] |
| Planning and profitability | Resource planning and true margin dashboards are not available today. [ABH] | Reporting and analysis documented; eligibility varies by tier. [S5] |
Sources: ABH: Agency Billing Hub plans and caps, checked 2026-10-13, ABH: Agency Billing Hub tracked-work invoicing, checked 2026-10-13, ABH: Agency Billing Hub integration and collection limits, checked 2026-10-13, S1: Harvest pricing, checked 2026-10-13, S3: Harvest invoicing and payments, checked 2026-10-13, S4: Harvest standard, recurring and retainer invoices; tier mapping unresolved, checked 2026-10-13, S5: Harvest reporting and analysis, checked 2026-10-13.
Where ABH may fit better
Consider ABH if your agency wants a workspace subscription around project records, checked hours and externally received payments. Starter and Pro include a pipeline, proposals, contracts, onboarding and email templates. Finance, growth, onboarding and template data are Owner-only; a Member seat does not give another colleague access to those modules. Confirm that this responsibility model matches who prepares your client paperwork.
Pro adds included-hours retainers and period usage alongside flat-fee retainers. Treat the allowance as something to review against the agreement before billing an overage. Retainer invoice creation is a manual action. Read ABH retainer billing and the retainer invoice guide for the actual workflow rather than assuming recurring collection.
For a choice between existing vendors, read Harvest vs Toggl for product-specific time and invoice caveats, or FreshBooks vs Harvest for the accounting and time-led billing distinction.
Where ABH is weaker today
Pricing snapshot and the cost questions to ask
ABH prices are USD per workspace per month: Free USD0, Starter USD9.99 and Pro USD19.99. Free permits one client, one project, 20 tracked hours and three invoices monthly, with one user and an invoice watermark. Starter permits three users; Pro permits unlimited users. Both paid plans list unlimited clients, projects, tracked hours and invoices. Retainers require Pro. These are monthly subscriptions; no annual discount is asserted. [ABH]
Harvest publishes USD starting prices: Teams USD11 per seat monthly, or USD108 per seat annually, equivalent to USD9 monthly. Enterprise starts at USD17.50 per seat monthly, or USD168 annually, equivalent to USD14 monthly. Enterprise Plus requires a quote. Free has one seat and two projects; its client cap is unverified. Additional invoices, projects, clients and tasks can incur usage charges. Allowances and overage rates were not verified. [S1]
Request a quote covering your normal volume, not just headcount. An annual equivalent requires annual billing and is not a monthly offer. Check taxes and payment-provider charges separately. ABH takes no transaction fee because it does not process client money; your bank or processor can still charge fees. The workspace model alone does not establish complete savings.
Who should pick Harvest
Choose Harvest when your invoice must connect to Stripe or PayPal and then copy invoice/payment records into QuickBooks Online or Xero. Those documented connections are concrete reasons to keep a connected billing process; ABH would require external collection and separate accounting work. [S3]
Choose Harvest when its reports answer operational questions your agency relies on. Reporting and analysis are documented, with tier eligibility to check before buying. [S5] Recurring invoice generation is another documented reason: time-based recurring invoices remain drafts, and recurring invoices cannot draw from retainers or pull fixed fees. Its help article uses older plan names, so confirm current entitlement. [S4]
Switching from Harvest without losing the record
ABH supports CSV import of clients and projects. That does not promise a Harvest-specific migration, automatic field mapping, historical time import or transfer of invoices, payments and agreements. Verify what your current account can export, keep historical records in the current system, and decide how you will answer questions about invoices issued before the change.
Use an isolated sample workspace with fictional data to check one project, a few time entries and one representative invoice. Review the public invoice view and PDF, then manually record a sample external receipt. The time-tracking invoice guide helps define what should be written in a work record. Separately evaluate Pro if retainers are essential; a Free test cannot validate that workflow.
Frequently asked questions
Is ABH cheaper than Harvest?
ABH charges per workspace while Harvest publishes starting seat prices plus usage charges. Compare the required tier, seat count, usage, taxes and external payment fees. No complete savings figure is established.
Do both products invoice tracked time?
Yes. Harvest documents timesheet-based invoices, and ABH links invoice lines to logged work. This comparison does not claim exclusive time-to-invoice transparency. [S3, ABH]
Can ABH collect client payments?
No. Receive money through your chosen external bank or provider, then record the receipt manually in ABH. Payment collection inside ABH is not available today.
Does a Pro retainer create invoices automatically?
No. ABH tracks flat-fee and capped-hours retainers on Pro, but invoice generation is manual. A recurring invoice schedule is not available today.
What can I import when switching?
ABH supports client and project CSV import. Historical time, invoices, payments and contracts are not promised as imports. Retain the previous billing record and verify a sample before committing.
Make the next invoice easier to explain.
Free: one user, one client, one project, 20 tracked hours and three invoices per month, with an invoice watermark. Starter supports three users; retainers require Pro. Client payments are collected externally.