The main Jira Harvest integration is Harvest Time Tracking (Official), Harvest's free app for Jira Cloud. It puts a Harvest timer on each Jira issue, fills the timer's notes with the issue ID and title, and links the time entry back to the issue. You can also add an Atlassian Marketplace app that writes Jira work logs, or build Zapier zaps. Where it stops: reviewers say Harvest's app doesn't log the time in Jira's own time tracking, each person sets the project and task on their own timer, and hours added later in Harvest's timesheet have no link to the issue. AI agents check that the hours match the work, and chase what's missing before the invoice.
What a Jira Harvest integration has to do
Your team does the work in Jira. You bill clients from Harvest. When the two aren't joined, people track time from memory at the end of the week, and the invoice says hours with no idea which issue they were for.
So a good connection does two things. It makes tracking time on an issue one click, so the hours are right. And it keeps the hours tied to the work, so the project lead can see what a feature cost and the client can see what they're paying for.
Three ways to connect Jira and Harvest
Most teams start with Harvest's own app.
Harvest Time Tracking (Official)
- How it works
- Harvest's free app in the Atlassian Marketplace, for Jira Cloud. It puts a Harvest timer on each Jira issue. You set the Harvest project and task, start the timer, and the notes fill with the issue ID and title. Each time entry links back to the issue, and you can see how much time was tracked on it.
- Good for
- Teams on Jira Cloud who bill from Harvest and want a timer where they already work.
- Where it breaks
- The app is rated 2.5 out of 5 from 145 reviews, and its last listed update was in June 2021. Several reviewers say it doesn't log time in Jira's own time tracking, and others say the timer didn't show on the issue or wouldn't let them log time for a past day.
Harvest Timer and Work Logs for Jira
- How it works
- An app by Twin Sun in the Atlassian Marketplace, paid through Atlassian. It starts and stops Harvest timers from Jira, links issues to the time entries, and creates Jira work logs from the time entries made in the app, so Jira shows time spent and time left.
- Good for
- Teams who need the hours in both Harvest and Jira's own time tracking.
- Where it breaks
- It writes work logs for time entries made from the app. Hours typed straight into Harvest don't come back to Jira. It has only a handful of public reviews.
A Zapier zap
- How it works
- Zapier connects Harvest triggers like New Time Entry and Timer Stopped to Jira actions like Add Work Log to Issue, and Jira triggers like New Issue to Harvest actions like Create Task.
- Good for
- One rule, like a Harvest task for each new Jira epic.
- Where it breaks
- Zapier has to find the right issue for each time entry, so the notes must hold the issue key. A zap that fails doesn't tell anyone, and hours go missing until month end.
Arkeo agents
- How it works
- Agents compare the hours in Harvest to the issues people moved in Jira each day. They remind people in Slack who worked on issues but tracked no time, tie each entry to its issue, and add up the billable hours per client before the invoice.
- Good for
- Teams that bill by the hour and lose hours between the board and the timesheet.
- Where it breaks
- Anything your rules keep for a person, like changing a billable rate or an hour a client disputes, goes to the owner in one message.
How to set up the Harvest Jira integration
These follow Harvest's Jira page and the app's Atlassian Marketplace listing. Open them for the screens.
- 1Check you're on Jira Cloud
Harvest's official app lists Jira Cloud. Each person who tracks time needs a Harvest login with access to the projects they bill to.
- 2Install the app from the Atlassian Marketplace
Open Harvest's Jira page and select Get the integration, or find Harvest Time Tracking (Official) in the Atlassian Marketplace. A Jira admin installs it once for your site.
- 3Start a timer from an issue
Open a Jira issue and find the Harvest timer. Set the Harvest project and task, then start it. The notes fill with the issue ID and title, and the time entry links back to the issue.
- 4
Decide where the hours count
Harvest's app keeps the hours in Harvest. If your team also logs time in Jira with Log work, agree which one is the record, so the same hour isn't counted twice.
- 5Add work logs in Jira, if you need them
To see Harvest hours in Jira's time tracking, add an app that writes work logs, or a Zapier zap from New Time Entry in Harvest to Add Work Log to Issue in Jira. Test it on one issue first.
Where the Harvest Jira integration stops
The timer makes tracking easier. It doesn't check the hours, and the work in the middle is making the hours and the work agree before you bill.
The hours stay in Harvest. The official app's listing says timesheets and reports are in Harvest, not Jira. In its Atlassian Marketplace reviews, people say it doesn't use Jira's time tracking fields, so the estimate and time spent in Jira don't move, and a developer who also clicks Log work counts the hour twice.
It only helps when someone starts it. One review says you can't record time for a past day from the Jira issue. Time added later in Harvest's timesheet has no link to the issue, so the hours for a feature are split between linked and loose entries.
Each person sets it up. The listing says the project and task are filled in once a person has set them, and one review asks for a way to tie a whole Jira project to a Harvest project. Until then each person sets their own, and a wrong project means the hours land on the wrong client's invoice.
And it hasn't changed in years. The app's last listed update was in June 2021, and it is rated 2.5 out of 5. Someone still compares the board to the timesheet before each invoice goes out.
The agents that do it
Each agent does one job from start to finish, in your own Harvest and the programs you connect. Your team talks to them in Slack or Teams.
Hours get logged while people still remember them.
- Finds missing or short timesheetsevery day
- Reminds the person in Slackby 4 pm
- Tells the team lead who's still missingFriday afternoon
Know a project is over budget before the invoice.
- Checks hours and money spent per projectevery day
- Compares it to the budgetper project
- Warns the project lead at 80 percentright away
No more lost hours at month end.
- Flags missing timeevery Friday
- Adds up billable hours per clientper billing period
- Builds the invoicesame day
Questions
Is my customers' information safe?
Yes. Agents work in your own Jira and Harvest and see only what their job needs. Customer details never go into public AI. Agents connect to AI through business-grade connections audited under SOC 2.
Is the Harvest Jira integration free?
Yes. The Atlassian Marketplace lists Harvest Time Tracking (Official) as a free app. You still need a Harvest account.
Does Harvest log time in Jira's work log?
Not with Harvest's own app. It keeps the hours in Harvest and links each entry to the issue. Apps from other makers in the Atlassian Marketplace, or a Zapier zap, can add Jira work logs.
Does the Harvest Jira app work with Jira Data Center?
The Atlassian Marketplace listing for Harvest's app says it works with Jira Cloud.
What does it cost?
You get the price on the call, along with the hours it saves your team.