Harvest Forecast - Detailed Review
Productivity Tools
Harvest Forecast - Detailed Review Contents
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Harvest Forecast - Product Overview
Harvest Forecast Overview
Harvest Forecast is a versatile productivity tool that integrates seamlessly with other popular applications to enhance team management, project planning, and financial tracking. Here’s a brief overview of its primary function, target audience, and key features:
Primary Function
Harvest Forecast is primarily used for team planning, project scheduling, and budget management. It helps businesses predict budget spend, track project health, and ensure that projects stay on schedule and within budget. By connecting tracked time to scheduled time, it provides a comprehensive view of how projects will progress over time.
Target Audience
Harvest Forecast serves a wide range of businesses, including startups, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and large enterprises. It is particularly useful for teams that need to manage multiple projects, track time, and monitor budgets effectively.
Key Features
Team Overview and Project Scheduling
Allows you to plan and schedule your team’s time for upcoming projects, ensuring that workloads are balanced and projects are staffed appropriately.
Time Tracking Integration
Works in tandem with Harvest to track actual time spent on projects and compare it with scheduled hours, helping you stay on budget and adjust plans as needed.
Resource Allocation and Availability Management
Enables you to manage team availability, allocate resources efficiently, and avoid conflicts in scheduling.
Drag and Drop Interface
Provides an intuitive interface for easy scheduling and adjustments.
Capacity Planning and Project Timelines
Helps in visualizing project timelines and ensuring that your team has the capacity to handle the workload.
Customizable Views and Real-Time Updates
Offers customizable views to suit different needs and provides real-time updates to keep everyone informed.
Budget Tracking and Client Management
Allows for detailed budget tracking and client management, ensuring that projects are profitable and client expectations are met.
Mobile Access and Calendar Sync
Offers mobile access and calendar synchronization for convenience and seamless integration with other tools.
User Permissions and Notifications
Includes features for managing user permissions and sending notifications to keep the team informed.
Overall, Harvest Forecast is a powerful tool that helps businesses streamline their project management processes, ensuring that projects are completed on time and within budget.
Harvest Forecast - User Interface and Experience
User Interface Overview
The user interface of Harvest Forecast is crafted to be intuitive, user-friendly, and highly functional, making it an excellent tool for team managers and project coordinators.Interface Layout
Harvest Forecast offers a clean and organized interface with two primary views: the Projects view and the Team view. In the Projects view, you can see a list of projects on the left side, while the main area displays a calendar view of who is working on what and when. You can easily switch between Day, Week, or Month views, allowing you to zoom in or out to see more or fewer days at once.Scheduling and Assignments
Scheduling time assignments is straightforward and visual. You can drag and drop time blocks to assign tasks to team members, and even split assignments by hovering over the break between days. This drag-and-drop functionality makes it easy to manage and adjust schedules without unnecessary hassle.Capacity Management and Visualization
One of the standout features of Harvest Forecast is its capacity management and visualization tools. The interface includes a heat map that visually indicates where team members are overcommitted or underutilized. This allows managers to quickly identify and rebalance workloads, ensuring that no team member is overwhelmed or idle.Integration with Harvest
For users of Harvest’s time tracking software, Forecast integrates seamlessly. This integration brings together scheduled time and tracked time, providing a comprehensive view of project progress. You can easily view reports in Harvest directly from Forecast, enhancing predictability and project management.Editing and Flexibility
The interface allows for flexible editing of all elements in almost any view. This means you can make changes quickly without having to switch between different screens or modes. The high-level approach of Forecast, where the minimum time assignment is one hour, simplifies the scheduling process without requiring minute-by-minute details.Additional Features
Forecast also includes features like high-level vacation planning, nice color coding, and the inclusion of team members’ faces through Gravatar integration. These elements make the tool more engaging and personal. Additionally, you can filter the schedule by team or person versus project view, which helps in managing resources efficiently.Ease of Use
The overall user experience is highly intuitive. Forecast is web-based, so there is no software to install, and it can be accessed from any up-to-date browser with an internet connection. The simplicity of the interface and the ease of creating, editing, and filtering assignments make it accessible to a wide range of users.Conclusion
In summary, Harvest Forecast offers a user-friendly interface that is easy to use, highly visual, and integrated well with other Harvest tools. Its features are designed to simplify team scheduling, capacity management, and project visualization, making it a valuable tool for enhancing productivity and team efficiency. Harvest Forecast - Key Features and Functionality
Key Features and Functionality of Harvest Forecast
Harvest Forecast is an integral component of the Harvest productivity toolset, offering several key features that enhance resource planning, project management, and team coordination.Resource Planning and Scheduling
Harvest Forecast allows you to create schedules for your resources and projects. This feature helps in tracking your utilization targets and preventing team members from getting overbooked. You can visualize your team’s capacity for the future, recognizing tight deadlines across your entire project list.Project Milestones and Task Assignment
Forecast integrates directly with your Harvest projects and tasks, enabling you to create project milestones and assign tasks using a drag-and-drop interface. This feature is particularly useful as it fills the gap in Harvest’s project module by providing a Gantt chart view, which can be exported to CSV.Capacity Visualization
The tool offers both project and team perspectives, allowing you to view staff availability and designations for either a day or a week. This capacity visualization helps in managing team workload effectively and identifying who needs more work and who is already overbooked.Budgeting and Financial Integration
Harvest Forecast syncs with your financial data, ensuring that budgeting and reported hours are accessible and up-to-date. This integration helps in refining your plans by comparing planned schedules with actual performance, which is crucial for project profitability, budget, and delivery timeline.AI-Driven Insights (Indirectly through Integrations)
While Harvest Forecast itself does not explicitly mention AI integration, it can be enhanced through integrations like Metric AI. This integration allows you to ask AI-powered questions and receive custom dashboards with charts, reports, and KPIs, providing actionable analytics to drive informed decisions. However, this is not a native feature of Harvest Forecast but rather an additional integration.Benefits
- Improved Resource Management: By visualizing capacity and assigning tasks effectively, you can ensure that your team is utilized optimally.
- Enhanced Project Planning: Creating project milestones and tracking deadlines helps in better project management.
- Financial Clarity: Integrating financial data ensures that you have a clear view of project costs and profitability.
- Collaboration: The tool fosters a collaborative environment where growers, managers, and sales teams can coordinate their forecasts seamlessly, though this is more relevant in the context of agricultural forecasting tools like Pylot’s Harvest Forecast.
Harvest Forecast - Performance and Accuracy
When Evaluating the Harvest Forecast Tool
When evaluating the performance and accuracy of the Harvest Forecast tool from GetHarvest, it’s important to focus on the specific features and functionalities it offers, as well as any available data on its effectiveness.
Key Features
- Harvest Forecast is primarily a scheduling and time tracking tool. It allows users to schedule their team across projects and visualize their time and availability.
- The tool integrates with other project management systems, which can enhance its utility in managing project resources and time.
Performance
- The tool is designed to be simple and user-friendly, making it easier for teams to manage their schedules and track time.
- It helps in optimizing team utilization by providing a clear view of who is available and when, which can lead to better project planning and execution.
Accuracy
- While the tool is effective in scheduling and time tracking, there is limited information available on its accuracy in predicting long-term project outcomes or resource needs.
- The accuracy of Harvest Forecast is more related to its ability to reflect the current and planned schedules of team members rather than predictive analytics.
Limitations
- Unlike some other tools in the AI-driven product category, Harvest Forecast does not use advanced machine learning models or real-time data analytics to predict future outcomes or resource needs.
- It does not provide predictive insights into potential delays, resource shortages, or other project risks, which are features often found in more advanced project management tools.
Areas for Improvement
- To enhance its performance and accuracy, Harvest Forecast could benefit from integrating more advanced AI capabilities, such as predictive analytics and resource forecasting.
- Adding features that analyze historical data and current trends to predict future project needs could make the tool more comprehensive and valuable for long-term project planning.
Conclusion
In summary, while Harvest Forecast is a useful tool for scheduling and time tracking, its capabilities are more focused on current project management rather than predictive analytics or long-term forecasting. For users seeking more advanced predictive features, other tools might be more suitable.
Harvest Forecast - Pricing and Plans
Harvest Forecast Pricing Structure
Overview
Harvest Forecast offers a straightforward pricing model focused on simplicity and scalability.
Pricing Tier
- Single Pricing Plan: Harvest Forecast has a single, simple pricing tier. It costs $5 per person per month, with no additional fees for clients or projects.
Features
- Team Scheduling and Capacity Analysis: This plan includes powerful tools for team scheduling, capacity analysis, and project planning.
- Project Productivity and Budgeting: It helps in boosting project productivity and profitability by allowing you to visualize plans, keep budgets on track, and adapt to changes.
- Notes and Links: Users can add links and notes to each scheduled item, making it a one-stop shop for team members.
- Transparent Project Plans: The tool enables creating transparent project plans that align the team and help in daily organization.
Free Option
- Free Trial: Harvest Forecast offers a free 30-day trial with no credit card required. This trial is fully featured, allowing you to experience all the capabilities of the tool before committing to a paid plan.
Additional Notes
- Billing and Discounts: Both the people who schedule and those being scheduled count towards the per-person pricing. Discounts are available for nonprofits, educational institutions, and teams of 50 people. Yearly payments also offer a discount.
Key Points
- No Multiple Tiers: Unlike Harvest’s time tracking and invoicing tool, Harvest Forecast does not have multiple pricing tiers.
- Unified Pricing: The $5 per person per month rate applies universally, making it easy to scale as your team grows.
- No Hidden Fees: There are no additional costs for clients or projects, providing a clear and predictable billing structure.
This structure ensures that users can easily anticipate and manage their costs without the confusion of multiple plans or hidden fees.
Harvest Forecast - Integration and Compatibility
Integrating Harvest Forecast with Other Tools
Integrating Harvest Forecast with other tools is a straightforward process that enhances productivity and streamlines workflow management. Here’s how it works and its compatibility across different platforms:Connecting Harvest and Forecast
To integrate Harvest with Forecast, you need to connect your Harvest and Forecast accounts. Here are the steps:- Go to the Admin panel in Forecast, then to the Integrations section, and locate the Harvest integration. Enter your Harvest account name, username (which should be the email address used in Harvest), and password. Click “Activate” to complete the setup.
Syncing Projects and Time Registrations
Once connected, you can sync projects, time registrations, and other data between Harvest and Forecast. Here’s what you can achieve:- Project Sync: When a new project is created in Harvest, it can automatically trigger the creation of a new project in Forecast. This helps in reducing discrepancies between the two platforms.
- Time Registrations: Time registered in Harvest projects can be synced with Forecast projects. This allows you to view time registrations from Harvest directly in Forecast, helping you keep track of project time from both platforms.
Triggers and Actions
The integration supports various triggers and actions, making it highly customizable:- Triggers include events like new project creation, time entry updates, contact creation, expense creation, and more. These triggers can kickstart automated workflows in Forecast.
- Actions include creating new projects, tasks, clients, and other elements in Forecast based on changes in Harvest.
Compatibility Considerations
- Time Approval: It’s important to note that the integration is not compatible with Harvest’s Time Approval feature. Using Time Approval locks time registrations, preventing the integration from synchronizing changes correctly.
- Multiple Platforms: While the primary integration is between Harvest and Forecast, you can also use third-party services like Zoho Flow or Zapier to connect these tools with over 1000 other apps, enhancing your workflow automation.
Device and Platform Compatibility
The integration between Harvest and Forecast is web-based, meaning it can be accessed and managed from any device with a web browser. There are no specific device or platform restrictions mentioned, making it accessible across various environments.Conclusion
In summary, integrating Harvest Forecast with other tools like Harvest is a seamless process that automates many aspects of project management, time tracking, and invoicing. By following the setup steps and being aware of the compatibility considerations, you can efficiently manage your workflows across multiple platforms. Harvest Forecast - Customer Support and Resources
Customer Support
For any questions or issues, you can reach out to Harvest’s support team in several ways:
- Email Support: You can contact the support team directly via email at
support@harvestapp.com. - Contact Form: There is a contact form available on the Harvest website where you can describe your issue and attach any relevant screenshots, videos, or documents.
- Business Hours: Support is available Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM ET, ensuring you get timely assistance during business hours.
Additional Resources
Harvest and Forecast provide a wealth of resources to help you get started and make the most of the tools:
Help Center
The Forecast Help Center is a comprehensive resource that includes guides on getting started, managing schedules, projects, teams, and clients. It covers topics such as adding time assignments, scheduling time off, analyzing team time, and managing project budgets.
Integration Guides
There are detailed guides on how to connect Harvest and Forecast accounts, which helps in integrating tracked time with scheduled time. This integration allows you to predict budget spend, monitor project health, and make informed scheduling decisions.
FAQs
The Help Center also includes a section dedicated to frequently asked questions, addressing topics like keyboard shortcuts, supported browsers, and other common queries.
User Testimonials and Demos
Harvest provides live demos and testimonials from existing users, which can give you practical insights into how the tools work in real-world scenarios. These demos often cover features like team scheduling, capacity management, and visualizing workloads.
Trial and Setup
For new users, Harvest offers a 30-day free trial for both Harvest and Forecast. The setup guide helps you connect your accounts and set up your projects efficiently, ensuring a smooth onboarding process.
These resources are designed to make your experience with Harvest Forecast as smooth and productive as possible, providing you with the support and information you need to manage your projects effectively.
Harvest Forecast - Pros and Cons
When considering the integration of Harvest and Forecast, here are the main advantages and disadvantages to keep in mind:
Advantages
Disadvantages
Conclusion
By integrating Harvest and Forecast, you gain a powerful tool for managing projects, but it’s important to be aware of these limitations to ensure the tools meet your specific needs. Harvest Forecast - Comparison with Competitors
Harvest Forecast
Harvest Forecast integrates seamlessly with Harvest, a time tracking solution, to provide a comprehensive resource planning and scheduling tool. Here are some of its unique features:Key Features
- Scheduled Hours and Budgeting: It uses scheduled hours from Forecast to project how a project will pace over time, helping you stay within budget.
- Estimate vs. Actuals: You can compare estimated hours from Forecast with actual hours tracked in Harvest, allowing for course corrections and more accurate future estimates.
- Real-Time Budgets: As you schedule, you can see the remaining budget in real-time, helping you build realistic plans that maximize your team’s time.
- Visual Scheduling: Forecast organizes your team’s schedule into visual plans, making it easy to see who is overbooked and when you can take on new work.
Alternatives and Comparisons
Runn
Runn is a strong alternative to Harvest Forecast, offering real-time resource management with integrated time tracking and powerful forecasting capabilities.Key Features
- Dynamic Resource Management: Runn allows you to schedule resources, predict project delivery, and manage capacity, workload, and availability changes from a single dashboard.
- Integration: Runn integrates with Harvest, WorkflowMax, and Clockify, and offers API capabilities for custom integrations.
- Financial Insights: It provides insights into utilization, project variance, and overall financial performance, making it a comprehensive tool for resource planning.
Productive
Productive is another alternative that offers effective resource planning and team workload management.Key Features
- Workload Balancing: It helps balance your team’s workload and assigned tasks, showing who needs more work and who is overbooked.
- Project Migration: Productive allows easy migration from Harvest, importing projects, tasks, users, cost rates, and more, though it’s limited to projects edited within the last 365 days.
Motion
Motion is an AI-driven productivity tool that focuses on task and calendar management.Key Features
- AI-Powered Auto-Scheduling: Motion automates daily planning by intelligently prioritizing and allocating tasks into your calendar, ensuring deadlines are met.
- Real-Time Adjustments: It simplifies daily planning with real-time adjustments, though it has limited information about compatibility with external tools beyond basic calendars.
Reclaim
Reclaim acts as a personal assistant for your schedule, using AI to allocate time for tasks and protect focus time.Key Features
- Dynamic Scheduling: Reclaim adapts in real-time to changes in your calendar, ensuring high-priority tasks are given appropriate time slots.
- Integration with Google Calendar: It integrates with Google Calendar to provide real-time adjustments and protect focus time while scheduling meetings.
Key Differences
- Integration: Harvest Forecast integrates tightly with Harvest for time tracking, while alternatives like Runn and Productive offer broader integration capabilities with multiple tools.
- AI Capabilities: Tools like Motion and Reclaim rely heavily on AI for auto-scheduling and dynamic adjustments, which is not a primary feature of Harvest Forecast.
- Resource Planning: Runn and Productive are more focused on advanced resource planning, including workload balancing and financial insights, which might be more comprehensive than what Harvest Forecast offers.
Harvest Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions about Harvest and its Forecast Feature
What is Harvest Forecast and how does it work?
Harvest Forecast is a tool that integrates with Harvest to help users predict budget spend, monitor project health, and schedule tasks more efficiently. It uses scheduled hours from Forecast to visualize how a project will pace over time, allowing users to compare estimated hours against actual hours tracked in Harvest.How does Harvest Forecast help with budget management?
Harvest Forecast helps users keep projects on budget by visualizing scheduled hours projected over time. It allows you to compare your estimates from Forecast to actuals in Harvest, spot discrepancies, and adjust schedules to stick to your budget. This feature helps in identifying who is working fewer or more hours than anticipated and makes it easier to course-correct to maximize profitability.Can I use Harvest Forecast without the full Harvest suite?
While Harvest Forecast is integrated with the Harvest time tracking and invoicing tool, it is part of the broader Harvest ecosystem. To use Forecast, you need to have a Harvest account, as it relies on the time tracking data from Harvest to provide accurate predictions and budget management.What are the key features of Harvest Forecast?
Key features include the ability to track progress against your plan, compare estimates vs. actuals, analyze projects by week, and spot opportunities to course-correct. It also allows you to see tracked time from Harvest as your remaining budget in Forecast, helping you build realistic plans that maximize your team’s time.How do I integrate Harvest and Forecast?
To integrate Harvest and Forecast, you need to connect your accounts. There is a setup guide available that walks you through the process of connecting your Harvest and Forecast accounts, ensuring that your time tracking data is seamlessly integrated with your scheduling and budgeting tools.Is there a free trial or free version available for Harvest and Forecast?
Yes, Harvest offers a 30-day free trial that includes many of the Premium features, such as profitability reporting and timesheet approvals. However, during the trial, you cannot enable SAML-based single-sign-on. After the trial, you can switch to a free version if your account meets the free plan’s requirements.How much does Harvest and Forecast cost?
Harvest offers two main pricing plans: Harvest Pro at $11 per user per month and Harvest Premium at $14 per user per month. The Premium plan includes additional features like profitability reporting, timesheet approvals, and custom reports. There are also discounts available for yearly payments and for teams of 50 people, nonprofits, schools, and universities.Can I change my plan or add/remove users at any time?
Yes, you can change your plan at any time by going to the settings page and clicking on “change plan.” You can also add seats at any time and will be charged a prorated amount based on the number of days left in your billing cycle. However, you cannot remove seats during the current billing cycle, but you can indicate if you want to renew with fewer seats.Does Harvest support multiple currencies and languages?
Harvest does support multiple currencies, which is useful for international teams. However, the information available does not specify if Forecast specifically supports multiple languages, but Harvest itself can be used in languages other than English.How does Harvest approach accessibility and security?
Harvest prioritizes accessibility and security. The platform supports various accessibility features and ensures data security through measures like secure data storage and regular updates on status and uptime information. You can find more detailed information on security and accessibility in the Harvest Help Center. Harvest Forecast - Conclusion and Recommendation
Final Assessment of Harvest Forecast
Harvest Forecast is a comprehensive and intuitive tool that stands out in the productivity tools category, particularly for team scheduling, resource planning, and project management.Key Benefits and Features
- Team Scheduling and Resource Planning: Harvest Forecast allows users to plan staffing needs, schedule teams across projects, and optimize time to ensure project success. It provides a clear overview of team availability and workload, enabling better staffing decisions and workload management.
- Time Tracking Integration: The tool seamlessly integrates with Harvest’s time tracking features, allowing users to connect scheduled time with tracked time. This integration helps in monitoring estimates versus actuals and keeping projects on budget.
- Capacity Analysis and Conflict Detection: Harvest Forecast includes features like capacity planning, availability management, and conflict detection. These help in visualizing team workloads, identifying overcommitments, and rebalancing workloads efficiently.
- User-Friendly Interface: The drag-and-drop interface and customizable views make it easy for users to manage and adjust project timelines. Real-time updates and notifications ensure everyone is informed and aligned.
- Reporting and Analytics: The tool offers robust reporting and analytics capabilities, including budget tracking, client management, and task assignments. This helps in making informed decisions and streamlining team workflows.
Who Would Benefit Most
Harvest Forecast is particularly beneficial for businesses that rely heavily on project-based work, such as startups, SMEs, and enterprises. Here are some specific roles and teams that would find this tool valuable:- Project Managers: They can use Harvest Forecast to schedule teams, manage workloads, and ensure projects stay on track and within budget.
- Team Leaders: Leaders can gain a clear view of their team’s availability and workload, making it easier to assign tasks and manage resources.
- Producers and Coordinators: These roles can benefit from the tool’s ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and adjust schedules as needed.