Updated October 11, 2026
How to move your data out of Harvest
Harvest’s CSV exports leave things out, like rates and which time is already invoiced. Its API has the full picture, and Sheaf uses it to copy everything in one go. Nothing in Harvest changes.
Import from Harvest Done
- People with rates and capacity7
- Clients14
- Tasks11
- Projects with budgets26
- Time entries each with its rate9,842
- Expenses214
1,206 entries were already invoiced in Harvest and stay marked as billed.
What comes over
| People | Names, emails, billable and cost rates, weekly capacity |
|---|---|
| Clients | Names and addresses |
| Tasks | Names |
| Projects | Client, billing method, rates, and hour, money or monthly budgets |
| Time entries | Every entry with date, person, project, task, notes, hours and its rate |
| Invoices | Number, client, dates, lines, tax, discount and status (paid, sent or draft); invoice numbering continues where Harvest left off |
| Already-billed time | Linked to the invoice it was billed on, so it won’t be billed twice |
| Estimates | Number, client, lines and status |
| Expenses | Date, project, category, amount and notes |
Step by step
- Create a Sheaf accountSign up at sheaf.guestleaf.app. It’s free during beta and doesn’t need a card. You’ll land on the import screen.
- Create a Harvest personal access tokenSign in to Harvest, open id.getharvest.com/developers and click “Create new personal access token”. Name it anything, like “Sheaf import”. Use an administrator’s account so the token can read everyone’s time.
- Copy the token and your account IDThe developers page shows the token, and lists your Harvest accounts with their IDs. Copy the token and the ID of your team’s account.
- Paste both into Sheaf and press ImportIn Sheaf, open Import from Harvest in the sidebar. Sheaf reads people, clients, tasks, projects, time entries and expenses page by page and shows progress as it goes.
- Check a few numbersOpen Reports and compare last month’s hours and billable amount with Harvest’s. Look at a project or two to see their budgets.
- Invite your teamImported people appear on the Team page. Send each one an invite and they’ll see their full history when they sign in.
- Import again on switch dayRunning the import again only adds what’s new, so do it once more on the day you move. Then revoke the token in Harvest.
The Harvest switch checklist
A calm way to move a team without losing a billable hour. Print it or keep this tab open.
- Note your Harvest renewal date and the billing cycle you’re on
- Archive finished projects and old clients in Harvest (lowers usage fees and keeps the import tidy)
- Export past Harvest invoices as PDFs for your records
- Create a Sheaf account and run the import
- Compare last month’s hours and billable amount in both tools
- Invite your team and ask everyone to track in Sheaf for a week
- Send your next invoice from Sheaf
- Run the import once more, then revoke the Harvest token
- Turn off auto-renewal or cancel in Harvest before the renewal date
Questions
Do I need to be a Harvest admin?
You need access to the data you want to bring over. An administrator’s personal access token can read all people, projects and time entries. A regular member’s token only sees what that person can see in Harvest.
Is my Harvest token stored?
No. It is used during the import and then thrown away. You can also revoke it in Harvest as soon as the import finishes.
What if I import twice?
Running the import again only adds what’s new since last time. Nothing is duplicated, so you can import now, keep working in Harvest for a while, and import again right before you switch.
Will time I already billed in Harvest show up as unbilled?
No. Entries Harvest has already invoiced are marked as invoiced in Sheaf, so they won’t be added to a new invoice.
What doesn’t come over?
Approval history, invoice payment records and receipt images. Past invoices come over with their lines and status (paid, sent or draft), so keep Harvest’s PDF exports if you need the exact original documents.
Not ready to switch today?
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Harvest is a trademark of its owner; Sheaf is not affiliated with it.