BigTime is a professional services automation (PSA) platform founded in 2003 in Chicago, serving 3,000+ professional services firms and 80K+ daily users, with native QuickBooks integration and unified time tracking, project management, resource scheduling, and smart billing.

Strengths and Features

✅ Serves 3,000+ professional services firms with 80K+ daily users, built for billable-hour teams such as consultancies, agencies, and accounting firms
✅ Native QuickBooks Desktop and Online integration with about 2,000 active integrations and a 4.5/5 Intuit Marketplace rating (366 reviews)
✅ One-click invoicing from project data with WIP accounting to the general ledger; official data shows 3-5 days faster month-end close and 10-20% more revenue captured
✅ AI assistant AVA offers guidance, Expense Agent processes expense reports 4x faster with 95% fewer errors, and Resource Agent matches staff to projects
✅ Resource management with drag-and-drop scheduling, availability heatmaps, and AI demand matching, officially lifting billable utilization by 8-12 points
⚠️ Built for professional services firms with complex, steep learning curves, overkill for freelancers and very small teams
⚠️ Pricing scales with user count and add-on modules (AI, QuickBooks, advanced reports), so monthly costs rise noticeably as features expand
⚠️ Core value depends on the whole team filing timesheets on time; teams with weak discipline struggle to realize claimed margin gains
⚠️ Dense, finance-oriented interface raises the barrier for general members without financial backgrounds

Product Information

Category Productivity

Tags project management Time Tracking Productivity Invoicing AI Assistant Resource Management Billing QuickBooks Integration Project Accounting Professional Services BigTime PSA

Company bigtime

Service Region United States

Official Website https://www.bigtime.net/

Recommendation Score 4 pts

Published 2026-08-09

Detailed Notes

Overview

BigTime was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Chicago, United States. It is a PSA (Professional Services Automation) platform built for billable-hour teams in consulting, agencies, accounting, and legal services. The platform unifies time tracking, project management, resource scheduling, invoicing, and project accounting in one system, with a native QuickBooks integration that connects to the general ledger. Official data shows it serves 3,000+ professional services firms and has 80K+ daily users, making it a flagship "time + project + finance" product in the productivity space.

BigTime positions itself as the "financial brain behind every project," covering the full chain from quoting and staffing to project delivery, invoicing, and collections, with AI capabilities such as the AVA assistant, Expense Agent, and Resource Agent. Its modular design lets firms solve today's pain point (such as billing) first and then scale into resource management and quoting, backed by about 2,000 active QuickBooks integrations so delivery and finance run on one set of logic.

Key Strengths

One PSA workflow: Quote, staff, deliver, invoice, and collect on one platform, removing the cost of switching between 2-3 tools; service teams can see the value in automated invoicing and billing.
Native QuickBooks integration: Supports both QuickBooks Desktop and Online with a 4.5/5 Intuit Marketplace rating (366 reviews) and about 2,000 active integrations, so accounting ties in without middleware.
Project-level margin visibility: Real-time budget vs. actual tracking and WIP accounting; official data shows 3-5 days faster close and 10-20% more revenue captured, catching margin leaks before month-end.
Data-driven resource scheduling: Drag-and-drop scheduling, availability heatmaps, and AI demand matching, officially lifting billable utilization by 8-12 points and project margins by 15-20%.
AI embedded in the financial core: AVA guides users, Expense Agent processes expenses 4x faster with 95% fewer errors, and Resource Agent matches people by seniority, availability, and margin.

Product Ecosystem

Time & Expense

Built-in timer and expense entry with time grouped by project and task, providing the raw data for billing and margin analysis.

Project & Portfolio

Project management, budget control, and portfolio views with real-time budget vs. actual tracking for project-level financial health.

Resource Management

Drag-and-drop scheduling, availability heatmaps, and AI demand matching that surface over-capacity and bench time before projects start.

Scoping & Quoting

A margin-aware quote builder and automatic SOW generation, converting approved quotes into projects to cut sales-to-delivery handoff loss.

Reporting & Online Payments

Built-in reports with Power BI, Tableau, and Excel pull; online payment features shorten collection cycles and lower DSO.

BigTime AI

AVA assistant, Expense Agent, Resource Agent, Insights Agent, and BigTime MCP covering guidance, expense automation, and natural-language reporting.

Limitations

Steep learning curve: Depth targets professional services firms with dense interfaces, so general members need training and non-finance users face a higher barrier.
Costs rise with features: Billing is per user plus add-on modules (AI, QuickBooks, advanced reports), so monthly costs climb noticeably as the firm scales.
Depends on timesheet discipline: Margin analysis and billing accuracy rely on everyone filing timesheets on time; teams with weak discipline cannot realize the claimed gains.
Overkill for freelancers: For simple timing, lightweight time tracking tools offer better value; BigTime suits teams with project and finance processes.

Use Cases

Consultancies, agencies, and accounting firms (★★★★★): Unified billable-hour tracking, invoicing, and accounting reconciliation directly support delivery and margin management.
Teams already on QuickBooks (★★★★★): The native integration connects time and books with minimal manual reconciliation.
Growing professional services firms （★★★★☆）: Modular expansion into resource management and quoting suits firms evolving from time tracking to full PSA.
Freelancers and micro teams （★★☆☆☆）: Weighted toward features and price; lightweight tools are better for simple time tracking.

Pricing

Plan	Price	Highlights
Free trial	$0 (trial period)	Access to core features
Essentials	~$10/user/month (annual)	Time tracking, project management, basic billing
Professional	~$20/user/month (annual)	Resource management, advanced reports, more integrations
Growth / Enterprise	~$30/user/month or custom	AI features, deep QuickBooks integration, dedicated support

Note: Prices are public reference ranges; check the official website for current rates. AI and some integrations are often billed as add-on modules.

FAQ

How do I choose between BigTime and Toggl or Harvest? Toggl and Harvest are lightweight timing and simple invoicing tools for freelancers; BigTime is a full PSA platform covering resource scheduling, project accounting, and margin management for service teams. See remote team tool comparison for guidance.
How does BigTime integrate with QuickBooks? Native support for QuickBooks Desktop and Online syncs time, expense, and invoice data to the general ledger, with about 2,000 active integrations rated 4.5/5 on the Intuit Marketplace; see automated invoicing and billing for the finance workflow.
Is BigTime suitable for freelancers? Features and pricing target professional services firms; freelancers usually only need timing and invoicing, so lightweight tools suffice. See freelance productivity tips.
What can BigTime AI do? AVA provides guidance, Expense Agent automates expenses (4x faster, 95% fewer errors), Resource Agent matches people by seniority and margin, and Insights Agent turns natural language into reports, and can connect to AI automation platforms to extend capabilities.
How do I improve collections with BigTime? Generate invoices from project data in one click with online payments, combined with automated billing systems, to shorten cycles and lower DSO.

Visit BigTime Website →