Comparisons

Backbone vs. Harvest

Harvest and Backbone both link time tracking and invoicing. Harvest is a US tool with an English interface, per-seat prices in US dollars and many integrations. Backbone is built for Austria and Germany and runs on one sentence: tell ChatGPT, Claude or another AI app with MCP support what to do, Backbone does it, you approve.

Backbone vs. Harvest
Published
Updated
Reading time
6 min read
On this page
  1. In short: both link time and invoices
  2. At a glance
  3. In detail
  4. What invoicing looks like
  5. When Harvest is the better fit
  6. When Backbone is the better fit
  7. Switching from Harvest
  8. Ask Billy about Backbone vs. Harvest
  9. How Backbone does it

Harvest and Backbone both turn tracked hours into invoices. Harvest charges per person in US dollars, has an English interface, many integrations such as QuickBooks Online and Xero, and since 2026 an MCP connection for AI tools. With Backbone you say it in your AI chat and approve. Built for Austria and Germany: a German interface, invoices with a mandatory-details check under § 14 UStG, payment reminder levels with statutory late interest, receipts and an export for your accountant.

The short decision: if your team works internationally and in English, with QuickBooks or Xero, Harvest fits. If your agency is based in Austria or Germany and you'd rather run your back office from your AI chat, take a look at Backbone.

In both tools your team tracks hours per client and project, and the hours become an invoice. The difference comes after that: what happens when the invoice stays unpaid, where the receipts go and what your accountant gets at month end.

At a glance

HarvestBackbone
Time trackingYesYes
Invoices from tracked hoursYesYes
Mandatory-details check for Germany and Austrianot listedYesbefore every invoice
Automatic payment remindersYesreminder emailsYeson a schedule, in every plan
Payment reminder levels with statutory interest (AT/DE)not listedYesreminder, 1st and 2nd notice
Receipts matched to bank transactionsexpenses logged on projectsYes
Hand-over to your accountantvia QuickBooks Online or XeroYesone ZIP with a CSV report
German interfaceNoEnglish onlyYes
Prices in eurosNoUS dollarsYes
Works inside ChatGPT and ClaudeYesHarvest MCPYesplus Grok and other AI apps with MCP support
Public APIYesComing soon
Desktop and mobile appsYesComing soonMac app for time tracking

"Not listed" means Harvest's own pages name no such feature; we do not guess. Prices and plan details are in the table below.

In detail

Harvest facts from getharvest.com (pricing, features, integrations, privacy policy) and its Help Center, read on 8 October 2026.

HarvestBackbone
PricingFree: $0, 1 seat, 2 projects. Teams: $11 per seat a month, $108 a year ($9 a month). Enterprise: $17.50 per seat a month, $168 a yearSolo €19, Growth €29, Agency €49 a month incl. VAT
Billing modelPer seat; according to Harvest, additional invoices, projects, clients and tasks are billed by usagePer workspace; plans differ by people and volume, scheduled payment reminders in every plan
CurrencyPrices in US dollarsPrices in euros
Trial30 days, no card7 days, card required
InterfaceEnglish only; invoice labels can be translatedGerman and English
InvoicesFrom time and expenses, online payment via Stripe and PayPalFrom time; mandatory-details check under § 14 UStG before issuing, gap-free numbering, cancellation with a credit note, small-business and reverse-charge options
Payment remindersAutomatic, customisable reminder emails for overdue invoicesReminder, first and second notice on a schedule, with statutory late interest and the €40 flat fee under Austrian and German law
Expenses and receiptsLog expenses on projects and bill them onUpload receipts; AI reads them and matches them to the bank transaction; bank statements
BookkeepingIntegrations with QuickBooks Online and XeroZIP with receipts, invoices and a CSV report for your accountant
DataController: Bending Spoons S.p.A. (Italy); transfers outside the EEA possible under EU Standard Contractual ClausesStored in an EU region
AI and MCPHarvest MCP for ChatGPT, Claude and CursorBilly, our AI assistant, works in plain words, in the app, receipts and payment reminders included; connector for ChatGPT and Claude (MCP)
APIPublic APINo public API yet, coming soon
AppsDesktop apps for macOS and Windows, mobile apps for iOS and AndroidWeb; desktop app for time tracking coming soon

Worked example for an agency of 6: Harvest Teams costs 6 × $11 = $66 a month billed monthly, or 6 × $108 = $648 a year billed annually. Backbone doesn't charge per seat: Agency is €49 a month incl. VAT for the workspace. How many people each plan covers is on the pricing page.

What invoicing looks like

Create an invoice

Backbone: the week's hours go onto the invoice as line items in one click, then create and send.
Harvest, invoice view (screenshot from Harvest's features page)
Harvest: a finished invoice with invoice ID, issue and due date, client and four service lines with quantity, unit price and amount.Source: Harvest features page “Invoicing & payments”, as of 03.11.2026

When Harvest is the better fit

  • Your team works in English and bills in US dollars. Harvest is built in English, and its prices are in dollars.
  • You like separate tools for separate jobs. Time and invoices in Harvest, the books in QuickBooks Online or Xero, connected through integrations. Backbone has no accounting integrations; it has an export.
  • You rebill expenses to projects. In Harvest you log travel or materials on the project and add them to the invoice. Backbone collects receipts for the bookkeeping but does not rebill them to projects.
  • You need native apps or an API today. Harvest has desktop apps for macOS and Windows, mobile apps for iOS and Android and a public API. In Backbone, these are coming soon.

When Backbone is the better fit

  • Your AI chat should run the whole back office. Both connect to ChatGPT and Claude. With Backbone the same connection also does invoices, reminders and receipts: "Which receipts are missing for September?" or "Who is late paying?". Nothing goes out without your OK. It works in Grok and other AI apps with MCP support too.
  • Simple, built for here. Ready in minutes, no accounting knowledge needed. Time, invoices, reminders and receipts together, in German or English. Backbone checks the mandatory details for Austria and Germany before an invoice goes out, so you don't have to.
  • Getting paid should take care of itself. In every plan, reminder, first and second notice go out on a schedule, with statutory late interest and the €40 flat fee where the law allows.
  • Month end should feel calm. Receipts and bank statements sit next to time and invoices. You download one ZIP, and your bookkeeper gets their own login.
  • Retainers matter. Backbone knows monthly target hours and shows which hours go over and can be billed extra.

Switching from Harvest

There is no direct import from Harvest. Export your time entries and invoices from Harvest and keep them: invoices for 8 years in Germany (§ 14b(1) UStG), 7 years in Austria (§ 132(1) BAO). In Backbone, add your clients and projects, continue your number sequence under Settings › Numbering, and start at the turn of a month.

More: time tracking, invoices, pricing.

Ask Billy about Backbone vs. Harvest

Ask Billy

Hi, I'm Billy, the friendly ghost in Backbone. Ask me about this topic or how to get it done with Backbone.

Why this one matters to us

My goal is to optimise and automate back-office tasks so that we founders can focus on what matters most.

Automating back-office work with AI agents and AI integrations is the future – that's why I built Backbone!

LucaLucaFounder, Backbone

How Backbone does it

Invoices done right. In the app, or in a chat with ChatGPT, Claude and many more.

  1. Bill your hours

    What you tracked goes on the invoice.

    In the chat

    Which hours are still open for Kinetik Studio?

    Backbone connectorlist_unbilled_time
    • 21–27/09/2026 · Design system · 8.00 h
    • 21–27/09/2026 · Website relaunch · 4.50 h

    Create a draft invoice and add those hours.

    Backbone connectorcreate_document
    Backbone connectoradd_time_to_document

    Here's the draft.

    • Draft · Kinetik Studio · €1,425.00
    • 12.5 h at €95.00 · plus 20% VAT
    In the app

  2. Switch on dunning

    Set it once. Runs by itself.

    In the chat

    Switch on dunning: first reminder after 7 days, then 14 and 28.

    Backbone connectorupdate_reminder_settings

    Automatic reminders are on.

    • Payment reminder after 7 days
    • 1st notice after 14 days
    • 2nd notice after 28 days
    In the app

  3. Who's overdue?

    One question, every open invoice.

    In the chat

    Which invoices are overdue?

    Backbone connectorlist_dunning
    Overdue
    3
    Nordlicht GmbH
    RE-2026-0118 · 21 days
    €4,280.00
    Kinetik Studio
    RE-2026-0124 · 9 days
    €1,190.00
    Fernweh Reisen
    RE-2026-0131 · 4 days
    €942.50
    Total€6,412.50

    Nordlicht has been open the longest.

    In the app

  4. Track your time

    One sentence in the chat. The hours are in your week.

    In the chat

    Log 3:15 hours for Kinetik Studio, website relaunch: homepage wireframes, round two.

    Backbone connectorlog_time

    Logged.

    • Sun 27/09/2026 · Kinetik Studio · Website relaunch · 3:15 h
    • Homepage wireframes, round two
    In the app

  5. Receipts matched automatically

    Upload the statement. Clear matches assign themselves.

    In the chat
    Erste_Bank_10-2026.csv

    Here's the Erste Bank statement for October.

    Backbone connectorupload_file

    Imported. Where receipt and payment clearly match, they're already matched:

    • Bürobedarf Lindner KG · 14/10/2026 · −€86.90
    • Café Morgenrot · 13/10/2026 · −€23.40
    • Fotostudio Weiss · 09/10/2026 · −€350.00
    • Druckerei Nordwerk GmbH · 02/10/2026 · −€149.00
    In the app

  6. Off to your bookkeeper

    Month complete. One link, done.

    In the chat

    Send October to my tax adviser.

    Backbone connectorsend_to_bookkeeper
    Send to bookkeeper
    To
    Kanzlei Rehm & Partner[email protected]
    Period
    October 2026
    Contents
    48 receipts · 2 statements
    Expires in 28 min28 min
    In the app
  • Invoices under German and Austrian lawLive
  • ZUGFeRDLive
  • XRechnungLive
  • ChatGPT, Claude and many moreLive
  • Cards in the chatLive

More on invoices

Try 7 days

Say it in your AI chat. Backbone does the rest, you approve.

Try 7 days

You pay €0.00 today. 7-day trial, card required, cancel monthly

General information, not legal or tax advice and no review of your case. Details on providers and laws can change. For your case, follow your tax adviser.

Sources: getharvest.com (pricing, features, integrations, privacy policy) · Harvest Help Center