How to send Zendesk Time Tracking time to Harvest

By Jake Marsh · Updated

To send Zendesk Time Tracking time to Harvest, create a personal access token in Harvest ID > Developers and note the Account ID shown with it. Install Meterwell, set Time tool to harvest, paste the token into Harvest personal access token and the ID into Harvest account id. Map each organization to a Harvest project, and from then on solving a ticket sends each agent's time as one Harvest entry per agent and day.

Before you start

  • Use the right Harvest user. To post time on each agent's own timesheet, create the token as a Harvest Administrator, or a Manager allowed to edit teammates' time. Otherwise entries are made as the token's user with "(for Agent Name)" in the notes.
  • Assign people to projects. In Harvest, assign every agent, and the token's user, to the client projects they'll log time against.
  • Know your tasks. Harvest needs a task on every time entry. Note the task ids you bill support under.
  • Time Tracking in Zendesk. Zendesk's Time Tracking app is on Suite Growth and above and Support Professional and Enterprise, as its setup article shows. On other plans, agents add time in the Meterwell sidebar.

Steps

  1. Create the token. In Harvest ID, open Developers, click Create new personal access token, and copy the token and the Account ID.
  2. Install Meterwell from the Zendesk Marketplace and choose Team or Scale.
  3. Fill in Harvest. Time tool harvest, the token in Harvest personal access token, the ID in Harvest account id.
  4. Set a task rule. In Task rules, add at least default = <task id>, and rules such as type:incident = 8083365 if different ticket types go to different tasks.
  5. Handle non-billable time. Harvest takes billable from the task, so add nonbillable = <task id> pointing at a non-billable task. Tickets your Billable rules mark non-billable switch to that task.
  6. Map organizations. Open each client's organization, click Choose a project in the Meterwell sidebar, pick the Harvest project (and optionally a task) and save.
  7. Check the connection. Open a ticket as an admin and click Check the Harvest connection. It confirms the token, how many projects it sees and whether Time Tracking was found.

What each Harvest entry contains

FieldValue
ProjectThe ticket's override, else the organization's project, else Default project
TaskThe ticket's task, else the first matching task rule, else the organization's task, else the default rule
PersonThe agent's Harvest user, matched by email or User mapping, when the token can post for teammates; otherwise the token's user
DateThe day the agent submitted the time, in the sending agent's time zone
HoursTheir time that day, rounded up to the next step if Round up to (minutes) is set, such as 6 or 15
NotesTicket number, link back, the subject (unless Send the ticket subject is off) and the [mw:...] marker

Harvest errors and fixes

MessageFix
"did not accept the token"Create a new token and paste it; check the account id
"Harvest needs a task for every entry"Add a task to the organization's mapping, or a default = <task id> rule
"Project is not assigned to this user"Assign the token user and the agent to the project in Harvest
"Locked"The entry is approved or invoiced in Harvest; change it there

What it costs

Meterwell is $100 a month per Zendesk account for up to 12 agents and admins (Team), or $9 per agent per month for 13 or more (Scale). Every feature and all three time tools are on both plans, with a 14-day trial; Zendesk asks for a card at install and bills monthly. Your Harvest subscription is separate. See the Meterwell setup guide.

Meterwell

Time to Harvest, Toggl or Clockify: send what agents track in Zendesk, mapped to client and project. From $100 a month per Zendesk account.

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Questions

Does the Zendesk Harvest integration need a Harvest admin?

Only to post on each agent's own timesheet. Any user's token works, but then entries are made as that user with the agent's name in the notes.

Can an agent's Zendesk email differ from their Harvest email?

Yes. Add a line to User mapping, such as dana@yourcompany.com = 4101, with their Harvest user id.

What if an agent tracked time on several days?

Meterwell sends one entry per agent per day, each dated the day that time was submitted.

Can I fix an entry after it was sent?

Yes. Edit or Delete it under Sent to your tool in the ticket sidebar, until Harvest locks it as approved or invoiced.

More Meterwell guides

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