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Roundup · 2026

Best time tracking
for agencies.

Honest roundup of the 5 best time tracking products for agencies in 2026, with pros, cons, and 'best for' framing for each. Picks tuned to agency-specific needs: approvals, retainers, margin reports, capacity planning.

Disclosure

This roundup is published by Tempough — #1 on the list, unsurprisingly. We tried to be honest about where each tool wins, including where competitors beat us. Disagree? Reach out via the contact form.

What agencies actually need

A time tracker for an agency is doing a different job than one for a freelancer. Five things matter:

  1. Approvals + org-chart routing — timesheets need to route to the right manager, not fanout to everyone.
  2. Retainer billing as a first-class concept — recurring monthly + ad-hoc charges in the same workspace, not bolted on.
  3. Margin reporting — so you can answer "which clients are actually profitable?" inside the tool.
  4. Capacity planning — so taking on new work doesn't overload the team.
  5. Modern UX — so the team actually uses it.
#1

Tempough

● Our top pick
Best for

Agencies wanting one tool for time + capacity planning + retainers + margin

Pricing

Team $11/seat — Team Pro $13/seat

Built for the agency feature set specifically — approvals with org-chart routing, retainer billing, capacity planning, and margin reports that include OT-aware cost math. The full set bundled at $11/seat/mo (Team), which is half of what Harvest Pro + Forecast costs.

When we're not the right pick

If your billing logic needs overtime + retainer drawdowns + multi-rate cards at the line-item level, BigTime is the right answer. If you want a sales pipeline + delivery + invoicing in one platform, Productive.io is the right answer. If you're a 200+ person agency with PSA admins and revenue recognition, Kantata is the right answer. We rank ourselves #1 here because most agencies under ~50 people don't need any of those — but they exist on the list for a reason.

Pros

  • Forecasting + capacity planning bundled at $11/seat — Harvest charges separately for Forecast at $5/seat
  • Margin (P&L) reports with overtime-aware cost math at Team
  • Approvals workflow with direct-manager org-chart routing
  • Retainer billing built in — recurring monthly + ad-hoc charges in one flow
  • Team groupings for multi-account agencies (Team Pro), branded invoices, client portal

Honest cons

  • Smaller integration marketplace than Harvest — we ship webhooks + REST API instead
  • No native iOS / Android apps yet (PWA-installable web app)
  • Single-currency per workspace (multi-currency billing is a known gap)
  • No DCAA compliance for federal government contracting agencies
Try Tempough free → Tempough for agencies → →
#2

Harvest

Best for

Established agencies that want a brand-recognized product and can absorb the new usage fees

Pricing

Pro $13.75/seat/mo + Harvest Forecast $5/seat/mo

The OG agency time-tracking-and-invoicing product. Mature, well-known, with a large integration ecosystem. The 2026 catch: usage-based fees rolling out on top of seat pricing, and Harvest Forecast remains a separate $5/seat product.

Pros

  • Strong brand recognition with agency operations + finance teams
  • Mature invoicing + payment processing, deep Zapier integration library
  • Harvest Forecast (separate product) is more mature than newer alternatives
  • 20+ year track record

Honest cons

  • New usage-based fees on top of seat pricing make annual costs unpredictable
  • Harvest Forecast is a separate $5/seat product — agencies pay twice for one workflow
  • No project margin / cost rate / P&L reporting at all
  • Feature evolution has slowed significantly
See getharvest.com ↗ Read Tempough vs Harvest comparison →
#3

Productive.io

Best for

Larger agencies that need full PSA — sales pipeline + delivery + invoicing in one platform

Pricing

Starter $11/seat — Ultimate $39/seat (5-seat minimum)

A full agency PSA (Professional Services Automation) — sales pipeline + deal management + delivery + invoicing + capacity. If you run a 30+ person agency that wants CRM and time tracking in one system, Productive is the right scale. Heavier setup than Tempough but more comprehensive at the high end.

Pros

  • Built-in sales pipeline / CRM — opportunities flow into projects
  • Deeper "agency operations" features (utilization targets, scenario planning, sales-to-delivery handoff)
  • Better fit for agencies with formal sales pipelines and 50+ people
  • Modern UI, well-designed

Honest cons

  • Higher cost — Ultimate at $39/seat for the full PSA, 5-seat minimum
  • Heavier setup — requires configuring pipeline stages, opportunity types, etc., even if you only want time tracking
  • Overkill for agencies under 15 people who don't have a formal sales pipeline
  • Some agency-shaped features (org-chart routing) are weaker than Tempough's
See productive.io ↗ Read Tempough vs Productive comparison →
#4

BigTime

Best for

Mid-market agencies with complex billing rules (retainers + T&M + fixed-fee blends, multi-rate cards)

Pricing

Premier $40/seat/mo

A mid-market PSA built for shops with complex billing structures — multi-rate cards, retainer drawdowns at line-item level, multi-entity consolidation. If your billing rules can't be expressed in a handful of cases, BigTime is built for that complexity.

Pros

  • Sophisticated billing rules — overtime rates, role-based rates, retainer drawdowns
  • Multi-entity / multi-currency at scale
  • Industry vertical depth (accounting, AEC, consulting templates)
  • Mature reporting + revenue recognition

Honest cons

  • Pricing starts at $20+/seat and climbs to $40+ for Premier
  • UI feels like mid-2010s enterprise software
  • Requires implementation phase (not self-serve)
  • Overkill for agencies with simple billing models (T&M + fixed-fee + retainers)
See bigtime.net ↗ Read Tempough vs BigTime comparison →
#5

Toggl Track

Best for

Small agencies (1-5 people) where time tracking is the main need and invoicing happens elsewhere

Pricing

Free up to 5 users — Premium $20/seat/mo

Toggl is the polished timer that small agencies often start with. Free tier supports up to 5 users. The catch: no invoicing, no margin tracking, no real capacity planning (Toggl Plan is a separate product). Workable for a 3-person creative shop, frustrating once you grow.

Pros

  • Best-in-class timer with idle detection, keyboard shortcuts, Pomodoro
  • Free tier for up to 5 users
  • Reliable Chrome extension + native mobile apps
  • Plays well as a "pure data source" for export-and-aggregate workflows

Honest cons

  • No invoicing — bolt on FreshBooks or Harvest as you grow
  • No project profitability tracking (no cost rate concept)
  • Toggl Plan (forecasting) is a separate $9/seat product
  • Becomes a stack-of-tools problem as the agency scales past 5 people
See toggl.com/track ↗ Read Tempough vs Toggl comparison →

At a glance

Quick TL;DR.

Feature
Tempough
Harvest
Productive.io
BigTime
Toggl Track
Starting price$11/seat (Team)$13.75/seatStarts $11/seat$40/seat (Premier)Free or $20/seat
Approvals + org-chart✓ (Team+)✓✓✓✗
Capacity planning✓ (Team+)Separate $5/seat product✓✓ (higher tier)Separate $9/seat product
Cost rates + margin✓ (Team+)✗✓ (Ultimate)✓ (higher tier)✗
Retainer billing✓✓✓✓ (complex rules)✗
Sales pipeline / CRM✗✗✓✗ (limited)✗
Time per channel/phase✓ (phases)✗✓✓Via tags
Setup complexitySelf-serveSelf-serveHeavier setupImplementation phaseSelf-serve

Pricing reflects publicly listed plans as of 2026. Each vendor's own pricing page is the source of truth.

FAQ

In our experience: (1) approvals with org-chart routing so timesheets go to the right manager; (2) retainer billing built in, not as a hack; (3) margin reporting so you know which clients are profitable; (4) capacity planning so taking on new work doesn't overload the team; (5) modern UX so the team actually uses it. The 5 tools here all hit those criteria differently — choose based on size + complexity.

Try our top pick free.

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