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Harvest ID is such A Big Deal that this is the second post we’re dedicating to it here on the Harvest Blog. Albert has already told you all about the thought process behind this tremendous project and its benefits behind the scenes; now, I want to dive into what this new integrated sign-in system means for you as you use Harvest and Forecast day to day—and even introduce a brand-new feature that couldn’t have existed before.
Simpler sign-in
The first thing you might notice when you sign in to Harvest ID is that it’s the same sign-in page no matter what—whether your company recently changed its name, you’re part of more than one account, or you want to go to Forecast instead of Harvest, you can go right to https://id.getharvest.com and enter your email address and password.
Before this, if you were signing in to a Harvest account, you first needed to go to your Harvest web address, a unique URL for your particular account. It’s not always easy for everyone to remember that web address, though—especially if they have to know more than one of them—and so we’ve done away with it completely in the sign-in process. Now, clicking the Sign In button on our main page will take you straight to the Harvest ID sign-in page, where an email address and password is enough for us to know exactly which account you’re trying to access or give you a list of all your accounts so you can choose the right one.
You might not even need a password to sign in. While quicker sign-in was originally a major benefit of our Google Apps integration, setting it up wasn’t the most intuitive process, and you still needed to create a Harvest password even if you were only ever going to sign in with Google Apps. Harvest ID has allowed us to simplify this integration and widen it to all Google accounts, so even if you just have a personal Gmail address, accessing your Harvest or Forecast account is now as easy as clicking the Sign In with Google button and giving Harvest permission to authenticate you via Google.
Smoother switching—everywhere
I mentioned that you might see a list of your different accounts when you sign in. An increasing number of our customers are taking advantage of the integration between Harvest and Forecast and using both apps to keep tabs on project progress. With more and more people working on projects for different companies or freelancing alongside their day job, it’s also not unusual for someone to be part of multiple Harvest accounts and/or multiple Forecast accounts. In these cases, there’s no need to sign in to each account separately—just sign in once using Harvest ID and you’ll get that list of accounts to choose from. Once you’re in one account, click your name at the top right and select Switch Accounts to get back to the list and jump right into another account faster than you can unlock your own front door.
Perhaps one of the best parts of our new sign-in system is that it’s not just for the web. Before, we had the same basic key—email address, password, and, in the case of Harvest, web address—but a different lock for every device. For example, our Android app (somewhat ironically!) couldn’t use the Google Apps integration. Now, we’ve implemented Harvest ID across our web apps, Mac and mobile apps, browser extensions and add-ons, and Platform-enabled integrations, giving you the same experience and benefits no matter which app or device you’re using.
Stronger security
Harvest ID isn’t all about making sign-in faster and easier; we’ve also made several customer-facing improvements around security. When you change your Harvest ID password, for example, the new password applies to all the accounts attached to that Harvest ID—sort of like putting your whole gated compound on immediate lockdown rather than changing each lock on each door one at a time.
I’m especially excited to tell you about this next security-related feature because it’s fresh out of the oven. The Security section of your Harvest ID gives you the lowdown on every time your accounts have been signed in to—IP address, location, and device. This can help you keep an eye out for any unauthorized access to your account, like if you see someone has signed in from a country that you’ve never stepped foot in. If that happens, or even if you just realize that you’ve left yourself signed in to a computer you no longer have access to, you can easily end a particular session—making sure that no more actions can be taken by anyone who had access via that session—or end all of your sessions and immediately reset your password, ensuring that you’re the only person who can sign in to the accounts associated with your Harvest ID.
And much more
Harvest ID improves the Harvest and Forecast experience in so many ways that I’m tempted to go on and on—but since we’re all about time here, I know you’re probably ready to spend your time doing something else! If you do want to know more, I recommend checking out the Harvest ID section of our Help Center for more information and answers to FAQs. If you don’t find what you’re looking for there, you’re more than welcome to give us a shout and we’ll help you out with any questions you might have!
As for the future, Harvest ID has already done so much for us and for you, but we’re going to ask even more of it. Its flexibility will allow us to work on a lot of features that weren’t possible before, and we’re looking forward to sharing them with you. Stay tuned for updates!
