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Enable the Harvest timer for agents

Updated Wednesday, October 28, 2026 · Marc Staine

Make the supported Harvest timer available to agents so they can start time tracking from a case with useful case and Company context. Supportbench supplies the timer context; Harvest handles its own sign-in and time-entry history. The administration page contains an availability switch rather than a credential or mapping editor.

Applies to: Supportbench Core. Location: Settings → Integrations → Harvest. Requires Administer all integrations.

Before you begin

  • Confirm the team uses Harvest and identify the agents who need the timer. Prepare an approved case and linked Company for the first check.
  • Review What agents can do and Audit on the settings page. Separate account availability from an individual agent’s current Harvest session.
  • Agree where the team will inspect actual time entries. Opening a timer or saving this switch is not evidence that time was recorded.

Configure and verify

  1. Open Settings → Integrations → Harvest and review the current Enable Harvest for agents state, capabilities and audit information.
  2. Turn on Enable Harvest for agents and wait for the success message. The switch saves immediately; there is no separate Save button. If saving fails, the switch returns to its previous state.
  3. Open the representative case and use its supported Harvest timer action. Inspect the case ID, case name, Supportbench link and linked Company context supplied to the timer.
  4. If Harvest requests sign-in, use the intended agent’s existing Harvest account. This prompt does not mean Supportbench must be installed again.
  5. Complete an approved test through Harvest’s own time-tracking flow, then verify the actual entry in Harvest. Inspect the correct customer/project choice there before recording operational time.
  6. Repeat the context check for a case without a linked Company when that occurs in your workflow. Missing Company context should be explained from the case relationship, not assumed to be a credential failure.

Settings reference

Connection and operating controls

SettingWhat it controlsHow to choose
Enable Harvest for agentsActivates or deactivates the available integration.Enable it for teams that use Harvest time tracking.
Capabilities / AuditDescribes the supported timer behavior and retained configuration metadata.Review the scope before introducing it to agents.

Behavior to know

  • This page has no credential, OAuth or field-mapping inputs. Its switch changes availability of the existing timer integration.
  • The timer receives case ID, case name and link, plus the linked Company context. It does not establish that every desired Harvest field is configured automatically.
  • Harvest owns time-entry creation and history. Do not infer Supportbench activity time or a saved Harvest entry merely from opening the timer.

Recommended use

  • Pilot a representative customer case and verify the handoff context before asking the whole team to use the timer. Context checks prevent time being recorded against the wrong customer or project.
  • Keep individual Harvest session recovery separate from the account switch. Repeatedly disabling/enabling the integration is not a remedy for one expired provider session.
  • Communicate an availability change to the affected team through its normal process. Check actual time-entry handling in Harvest separately from the Supportbench setting.

Worked example

  1. An agent is investigating a production issue for a B2B customer. They open the Harvest timer from the case and verify the case identifier and linked Company context.
  2. They complete any required Harvest sign-in and choose the appropriate provider-side project/task before recording time.
  3. After the approved test, they confirm the entry in Harvest. The support lead does not treat a successful timer launch as proof that time was saved.
  4. For a later case without Company context, the agent checks the case relationship and the provider’s selection instead of changing shared integration settings.

Troubleshooting

ProblemWhat to check
The timer is unavailableCheck Enable Harvest for agents and the supported case action. Verify the saved account state before assuming a provider authentication problem.
Harvest asks me to sign inUse the intended agent’s existing Harvest account. A provider session can expire independently of account availability in Supportbench.
The Company context is blankCheck whether the case has the intended linked Company. The timer cannot supply a relationship that is absent from the case.
The timer opened but no time entry appearsInspect the completed provider-side tracking flow and Harvest history. Opening the timer does not create evidence of recorded time by itself.
I cannot find OAuth or mapping fields hereThey are not controls on this administration page. Use the provider’s supported account/time-entry configuration for that work.
I cannot change the switchVerify Administer all integrations. An agent’s ability to use the timer is separate from authority to change shared availability.
  • Integrations → Use the data synchronization log
  • Organization → Configure agent roles and division access

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