Importing Data into Toggl Track
Import data from Harvest or Clickup in a few simple clicks. This guide runs you through the import process, and some troubleshooting tips.
Introduction
The Toggl Track Data Importer makes it easy to move your project and time tracking data from Harvest or ClickUp into Toggl Track. In just a few steps, you can preserve your entire project structure, billing rates, and time entry history — saving hours of manual setup and keeping your historical data intact.
This is a paid plan feature. Only Organization Admins can import data.
Why Use the Data Importer?
- Save setup time: Automatically create clients, projects, and tasks instead of manual data entry
- Preserve history: Import up to 12 months of time entries in a single operation
- Maintain structure: Keep project hierarchies, billing information, and client relationships intact
- Seamless transition: Eliminate the gap between systems with one consolidated import
- Match your team: Users are automatically matched by email, so everyone's data goes where it belongs
What Gets Imported
The importer brings over the essential project and time tracking data from your source system. Here's exactly what comes across:
| Data | From Harvest | From ClickUp |
|---|---|---|
| Clients | Yes (name) | Yes (ClickUp Spaces → Track Clients) |
| Projects | Yes (name, billable status, budgets) | Yes (ClickUp Lists → Track Projects) |
| Tasks | Yes (active tasks with budgets) | Yes (all tasks including subtasks with "Subtask: " prefix, including closed ones) |
| Time Entries | Yes (past 12 months) | Yes (past 12 months) |
| Billable Rates | Yes (workspace, project, and task levels) | No |
| Team Members | Matched by email to your workspace | Matched by email to your workspace |
How It Works: Step by Step
1. Open the Importer
The importer is available via this link: https://track.toggl.com/harvest-importer/. You must be an organization admin or workspace admin to access it.
2. Select Your Source
Choose whether you're importing from Harvest or ClickUp.
3. Connect Your Account
- Harvest: Authorize via OAuth (we'll prompt you to log in and grant permission) or enter a Personal Access Token if you're in development mode
- ClickUp: Provide your ClickUp API access token
4. Review the Preview
Before importing, you'll see:
- How many clients, projects, tasks, and time entries will be imported
- The date range of time entries (typically the past 12 months)
- Estimated import duration
- Which users will be matched to your workspace and which will need to be assigned later
- Any warnings if your workspace exceeds recommended limits
5. Start the Import
Click the "Start Import" button. Your import will begin and you'll see real-time progress updates.
6. Monitor Progress
Watch the status dashboard as each phase completes:
- Fetching data from your source
- Creating clients
- Creating projects
- Creating tasks
- Creating time entries
- Completing the import
Typical imports take 5–30 minutes depending on how much data you have.
7. Import Complete
Once finished, all your entities will be in Toggl Track and ready to use.
User Matching and Assignment
How User Matching Works
During the preview, the system matches users between your source system and Toggl Track by checking email addresses. Users who exist in both systems are matched — their time entries will be assigned to them automatically.
What About Unmatched Users?
If a user exists in your source system but hasn't been added to your Toggl Track workspace yet, their time entries will initially be assigned to the admin who ran the import. Don't worry — this is temporary and easy to fix.
Assigning Unmatched Users After Import
Once an unmatched user joins your Toggl Track workspace:
- Return to the import dashboard
- You'll see a button to "Assign Users" with the count of unmatched users
- Click the button to run the assignment process
- Their time entries will be reassigned to them, and their billing rates will be set up automatically
This user assignment process also applies the correct billable rates for each user, including:
- Workspace-level rates
- Project-specific rates
- Task-specific rates (if configured in Harvest)
What's NOT Imported
To help you plan your transition, here's what the importer doesn't bring over and why:
Data Not Imported
- Invoice data: Toggl Track doesn't track invoice history, so this stays in your source system
- Expense data: Expenses aren't time tracking, so they're not part of this import
- Project codes or notes: Harvest project codes aren't available in Track; notes can be added manually
- Budget reset schedules: Monthly budgets are created, but automatic monthly resets aren't supported — you can enable recurring projects manually in Track if needed
- Custom fields: Only standard fields are imported
- Archived or deleted data: Only active entities are imported
- Time entry exact start/end times: All time entries use 09:00 AM as the default start time (Track uses a date + duration model)
- Per-entry billable rates: Track uses a rate hierarchy instead of per-entry rates
ClickUp-Specific Limitations
- No billable rates: ClickUp doesn't store billable rate data, so rates can't be imported
- Task estimates: ClickUp task time estimates are imported as Track task estimated hours
- Spaces become clients: ClickUp Spaces are imported as Track Clients, providing grouping for your imported projects
Harvest-Specific Limitations
- Cost-based budgets: If a project uses cost-based budgeting (dollars), only the amount will be stored — Track doesn't have cost budgets
- Fee-based task budgets: Task fees aren't imported; only hour-based task budgets are supported
- Per-person hour budgets: If a project budgets hours per team member, the total project hours are imported instead
Important Things to Know
Requirements
- Organization or Workspace admin: Only admins can run imports
- Paid plan: You need an active or trialing Toggl Track subscription
- Feature access: The importer must be enabled for your workspace (contact support if you don't see it)
Limits and Constraints
- Maximum 5 imports per workspace: This limit prevents accidental duplicates and keeps things organized
- No concurrent imports: Only one import can run at a time per workspace
- Idempotent: You can safely run the import again without creating duplicates — the system remembers what's already been imported
Re-Importing
If you run the import a second time:
- Entities that were already created in the first import are skipped (no duplicates)
- New entities added since the last import will be created
- Failed entities from the previous import will be retried
Things That Might Work Differently Than Expected
ClickUp Task Statuses
Track only has two task states: active and done. When importing from ClickUp, all closed tasks become "done" in Track. You can reopen them anytime.
Billing Rates
Toggl Track uses a rate hierarchy instead of per-entry rates:
- Workspace level (default for everyone)
- Workspace member (specific user's default)
- Project level (default for everyone on that project)
- Project member (specific user on that project)
- Task level (specific task only)
When you import from Harvest, these rates are set up automatically — the system figures out which level each rate belongs to and applies it correctly.
Budget Behavior
- Hour-based budgets: These import directly and work as expected
- Fee-based budgets: Not imported (Track doesn't support monetary budgets at the project level)
- Monthly resets: Budgets are imported as totals, but they don't reset automatically each month — you can enable recurring projects in Track's settings if you want that behavior
Time Entry Times
All imported time entries use 09:00 AM UTC as the start time (even if Harvest had different times). This is because Harvest primarily tracks date + hours, not exact times. If you need different times, you can edit them manually after import.
ClickUp Lists Become Projects
ClickUp's hierarchy (Spaces → Folders → Lists) is organized during import:
- Spaces become Track Clients, providing a client grouping for your projects
- Lists become Track Projects
- Folders are used for organization but don't create separate projects
Troubleshooting
Import Failed
What happened: The import encountered an error and couldn't complete.
What to do:
- Check that your Harvest/ClickUp account is still connected
- Make sure your subscription is still active
- Try starting a new import — the system will skip already-imported data
Workspace Not Eligible
What happened: You don't have permission to run imports for this workspace.
Reasons:
- You're not a organization or workspace admin (only admins can import)
- The workspace is on a free plan (paid plan required)
- The importer hasn't been enabled for your organization (contact support)
No Users Matched
What happened: The system couldn't match any users by email.
Reason: Users must exist in both systems with the same email address to be matched.
What to do:
- Verify email addresses match in both systems (case-insensitive, but must be exact otherwise)
- After import, invite the unmatched users to your Track workspace
- Run the "Assign Users" process to reassign their time entries
Some Entries Failed
What happened: Most of your data imported successfully, but some entities failed.
Good news: This doesn't stop the import. You'll see warnings showing which entities failed.
What to do:
- Check the specific warnings in the dashboard
- Run the import again — failed items will be retried
FAQ
Q: Can I undo an import? A: Not automatically. Imported data is added to your workspace and merged with existing data. If you need to remove imported data, contact support for assistance.
Q: Can I import from both Harvest and ClickUp? A: Yes. Each import is independent, and you can run multiple imports to your workspace (up to 5 total). The system prevents duplicates.
Q: How long does an import take? A: Typical imports complete in 5–30 minutes, depending on:
- Number of projects and tasks
- Number of time entries (more entries = longer)
- Workspace size (more users = slightly longer)
If your workspace has more than 5,000 entities, it may take 30+ minutes.
Q: Will an import affect my existing Track data? A: No. Imports only add new data. Existing projects, tasks, and time entries in Track are not modified.
Q: Can I re-import to get new data? A: Yes. The system is idempotent, meaning:
- Data you've already imported stays as-is
- New entities added since the last import will be created
- Failed entities will be retried
Q: What if a user was in Harvest but isn't in my Track workspace? A: Their time entries will be assigned to the admin who ran the import. Once they join your Track workspace, use the "Assign Users" button to reassign their entries and set up their rates.
Q: Do you import invoices or expenses? A: No. The importer focuses on time tracking and project data. Invoices and expenses stay in your source system.
Q: Can I customize what gets imported? A: The import brings over all entities from your source account. For fine-tuned control over what gets imported, contact support to discuss your needs.
Need Help?
If you run into issues or have questions, we're here to help:
- Check this guide — Most common questions are answered above
- Review the warnings — Your import dashboard shows specific issues that occurred
- Contact support — Reach out with details about what didn't work as expected
We're committed to making your transition to Toggl Track smooth and seamless.