The problem
Corporate clients agree a planning fee, then ask for one more venue shortlist, a second site visit and a changed date. A sole planner running 4 events a month who does 3 unbilled hours on each, at $60£45€54A$86C$85 an hour, gives away $718£540€643A$1,037C$1,015 a month, and small costs paid on the client's behalf, such as parking, last-minute printing and props, slip through too.
What the AI does
Harvest is time tracking and invoicing software. Make a project for each event with the agreed hours as its budget; budgets update as time is tracked, so you can see when an event passes what was quoted and tell the client before doing more. Log expenses against the same project as you pay them. Harvest's invoicing page says you can create invoices from the time and expenses already tracked, take payment through PayPal or Stripe, and copy invoices and payments to Xero or QuickBooks Online.
A worked example
A freelance corporate event planner in Manchester runs about 4 events a month on a fixed planning fee plus agreed extras at $60£45€54A$86C$85 an hour. They set up a Harvest project per event with the quoted hours as the budget and log expenses as they pay them.
Before
About 3 hours of extra work an event unbilled: 4 × 3 = 12 hours, $718£540€643A$1,037C$1,015 a month at $60£45€54A$86C$85 an hour
After
Clients told when hours pass the quote, with about half the extra hours (6 a month) agreed and billed
What it's worth
About $359£270€321A$518C$508 a month billed that used to be given away, against about $9£7€8A$13C$13 to $11£8€10A$15C$15 for Harvest. That's 6 extra hours a month at $60£45€54A$86C$85 an hour, counted in full because it's billing for work already done, not new sales. Half the extra hours being agreed is an assumption; some clients will say no, which is still worth knowing before doing the work. Harvest Teams is $9 (about $9£7€8A$13C$13) a seat a month billed annually or $11 (about $11£8€10A$15C$15) monthly.
How to set it up
- Start Harvest's Teams plan; the free plan's 2 projects won't cover one project per event.
- Make a project for each event with the hours you quoted as its budget, and your hourly rate for agreed extras.
- Track time from your phone or browser as you work, including travel and site visits.
- When the budget is nearly used, email the client with what's left and a price for extra work before doing it.
- Log expenses you pay for the client against the project, keep the receipt, and raise the final invoice from the tracked time and expenses.
What goes wrong
- Tracking only works if you start the timer. Set a reminder at the end of each day to fill in any gaps.
- Billing extra hours needs a contract that says how extras are charged. Without it, clients will argue.
- Harvest is priced per seat in dollars. An assistant who tracks time is another seat.
- Profitability reports are on Enterprise only; Teams shows budgets and hours, which is enough here.