BigTime
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Try BigTime free with no credit card required, then start from $20/user/month.
redeem nowWe start with direct ratings from our readers, then look at what real users are saying in practitioner forums and community spaces. We pair that with search demand data and profession-level persona analysis.
Editorial note: this was originally published in september of 2024
quick take
based on real user feedback, community sentiment, pricing value, and fit for target audience. see our full methodology
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BigTime is a Professional Services Automation (PSA) software built for service-based businesses like engineering firms, IT companies, and consulting agencies. The platform combines project management, time tracking, and billing tools in one place.
The software focuses on project workflows and resource management. Teams can track time, assign tasks, and manage client billing from one central location. The platform includes customizable billing rates, online payment processing, and detailed reporting tools that give insights into project progress. BigTime includes AI-powered capabilities through its AVA assistant, which provides 24/7 chat support, personalized tips, and predictive forecasting for profitability and resource utilization.
The software integrates with QuickBooks, Jira, and Salesforce through API and Zapier connections. Users can access BigTime through web browsers or dedicated mobile apps.
Available in three tiers - Essentials, Advanced, and Premier - pricing starts at $20 per user monthly. There's no free version, but you can try the platform through a free trial that doesn't require a credit card.
monthly search interest
18.1k/mo now
BigTime has held a stable search base in the 14,000 to 22,000 monthly range for over three years, with no dramatic growth or decline. The pattern suggests a mature tool with a consistent core audience in professional services, not a platform riding an AI trend. That stability is reassuring if you're considering building a billing workflow around it: this isn't a product likely to pivot or disappear, but it's also not gaining significant new ground.
Whether BigTime is worth it depends almost entirely on your team size and billing complexity. Pick your role below to see the honest breakdown.
overall sentiment
select your role to see what people like you are saying
Professional Services Manager
positiveIf you're running a team of 10 or more across multiple concurrent client projects, BigTime gives you the utilisation visibility and billing oversight that spreadsheets and simpler tools genuinely can't match. The time tracking interface gets adopted quickly with minimal training friction. The main frustration is reporting: dashboard customisation is limited, and occasional bugs mean you'll sometimes need to verify figures before presenting them.
strengths
concerns
Accountant/Bookkeeper
positiveThe native QuickBooks integration is the reason most accountants end up here, and it earns its keep: tracked time flows directly into invoicing without double-entry, and billing rate customisation handles complex client contracts cleanly. Reporting bugs can create data inconsistencies that need investigation before month-end, which is the main caveat. Solo practitioners will find it harder to justify the per-seat cost.
strengths
concerns
Freelancer/Small Agency Owner
mixedThe time-to-invoice connection is useful, and the mobile app means you won't miss billable hours on the road. But at $20 per user per month minimum, you're paying for resource management, DCAA compliance, and multi-project forecasting features you probably don't need. Harvest or Toggl Track paired with a simple invoicing tool will cost you less and create less friction for a two or three person operation.
strengths
concerns
Operations Director
positiveBigTime's predictive forecasting and resource utilisation reporting give you the forward visibility you need to make staffing and project decisions before problems surface. The Advanced plan at $35 per user per month is where the operational dashboards become meaningful. The limitation is customisation: if your reporting needs are specific, you'll hit the ceiling on what the default dashboards can show you.
strengths
concerns
“The starkest outlier is the consumer review platform score sitting at 1.9, though those complaints skew toward billing disputes and cancellation friction rather than product quality, which is worth bearing in mind when weighing the overall picture.”
Independent review coverage of BigTime is broadly positive for mid-sized professional services firms, with detailed analysis at The Digital Project Manager noting it performs well for consulting, engineering, and accounting teams that need precise billing and resource tracking in one place. Across commercial review platforms, the tool sits at strong aggregate scores from hundreds of verified reviews, with praise consistently pointing to the QuickBooks integration, customisable billing rates, and the time-to-invoice workflow. The criticism that does surface is specific rather than damning: reporting bugs that create reconciliation headaches, limited dashboard customisation that frustrates power users who want personalised views, and iOS app crashes that create real problems for field-based teams who rely on mobile capture. The starkest outlier is the consumer review platform score, which sits at 1.9 from 128 reviews, though the nature of those complaints skews toward billing disputes and cancellation friction rather than product quality, which is worth bearing in mind when weighing the overall picture.
For teams of 10 or more, yes, with conditions. The Essentials plan at $20 per user per month is reasonable if you need integrated time tracking, billing, and QuickBooks sync in one place. The Advanced plan at $35 per user per month earns its keep for firms that need DCAA compliance, multi-currency expenses, or client portals. For freelancers or teams under five, the monthly bill adds up fast relative to simpler alternatives, and you'll likely be paying for features you never use.
Professional Services Managers running multi-project teams across consulting, engineering, or IT services get the most from it. Accountants and bookkeepers who bill clients through QuickBooks will find the integration alone saves hours each month. It's less well-suited to Freelancers and Small Agency Owners with straightforward needs, where the platform can feel like overkill.
Reporting bugs are a recurring complaint, and they're not minor inconveniences when they affect billing data or project profitability figures you're presenting to clients. Dashboard customisation is limited for a platform at this price point, which means you'll often be working around the default views rather than building exactly what your team needs. The iOS app has crash issues that are a real problem if your team captures time from client sites.
If your primary need is straightforward time tracking with clean invoicing and a simple interface, Harvest wins on ease of use and pricing, with a functional free tier for solo users and $12 per seat per month for teams. BigTime is the better choice when you need resource utilisation tracking, project profitability reporting, and deeper QuickBooks integration across a team of 10 or more. The gap between them grows as your project complexity grows.
For Professional Services Managers, this is where BigTime actually earns its cost. Real-time visibility into staff utilisation across concurrent projects is one of the stronger features, and the ability to set different billing rates per client or project type means the financials stay accurate without manual adjustment. The reporting limitations are the main friction point at scale, so build time into your evaluation to stress-test the dashboards against your actual reporting needs before committing.
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