The construction industry has a unique set of requirements for time tracking. Choosing a solution that works for your company is an important decision. Check out this comparison of the top time tracking solutions for construction contractors.
If you’re looking to improve productivity on the job site, paper timesheets look like a great place to start. But once you start testing out new technology on the job site, many contractors have realized that it’s not always as easy as installing an app and calling it a day.
There are a lot of time tracking solutions built for office workers, and few that translate well to the construction industry. From practicality to technology requirements to business needs, contractors face a lot of specific challenges to tracking time.
Let’s see how well the most popular time tracking solutions meet the needs of a construction company.
What to look for in a time tracking software
Does it match the way my company tracks time?
Some contractors require individuals to fill out and turn in their own time cards. Others require employees to punch a time clock for more accountability. It’s also common to have supervisors track time for all employees. And some forward-thinking companies are looking for a way to eliminate manual time entry altogether. When choosing a time tracking solution, you need it to be compatible with the way you track time at your company.
John Hughes, CEO of ContractorNerd, highlights the importance of selecting the right tools for construction time tracking. “At ContractorNerd, we understand how essential accurate time tracking is for managing labor and keeping projects on schedule. The right tool not only helps with productivity but also builds accountability among team members. A well-implemented time tracking system can be the difference between meeting deadlines and costly delays,” Hughes explains.
Will it connect with my construction management software?
Time tracking for construction provides critical cost and productivity data for the project management team. Ensuring that labor costs flow directly into your Project Management or ERP system is important to getting the more accurate job costing.
Having verified job costing enables your team to ensure that you aren’t going over budget and stop it in time on current jobs and better estimate for future jobs going forward. It’s also important that the data feeds into your Payroll solution so there is no manual entry required. Not only is time wasted keying data from your time tracking solution into your payroll solution, but it leaves room for errors and people getting paid incorrectly.
In an ideal process, data from your time keeping system is fed into your project management and ERP solution to populate labor hours/costs for job costing and payroll purposes.
How does it prevent errors and labor fraud?
In our experience on real construction job sites, buddy punching and employee time theft is an industry-wide problem. When you choose your time tracking system, it’s important to choose one that uses an error-proof and fraud-proof method. At SmartBarrel, we recommend using facial verification to provide documentation of the workers’ presence at the time of the activity. This provides a two-way accountability log which allows both employer and employee to verify the accuracy of timesheet data.
6 Best Construction Time Tracking Solutions [2023 Edition]
SmartBarrel
- Facial Verification
- PPE Detection
- Mobile App
- Kiosk Mode
- Portable Time Clock
- Cost Code Tracking
- Procore Integration
Construction Time Tracking Reviews
SmartBarrel
Designed specifically for construction job sites, SmartBarrel’s time tracking software and hardware products are super simple to use.
Read on to get the details of why SmartBarrel is a great choice for construction companies.
Construction-Specific
SmartBarrel’s time tracking software is designed for the construction industry. From our durable portable time clock to the simple-to-use admin interface to our best-in-class Procore integration, everything we build is created with construction teams in mind.
Error and Fraud Prevention
SmartBarrel uses facial verification to confirm worker identity. By capturing a photo with every punch, companies using SmartBarrel can achieve 100% time tracking accuracy. From the mobile app to the job site time clock, the SmartBarrel system is designed to eliminate manual work from construction time tracking.
Cost Codes
The SmartBarrel time tracking system allows you to identify user time entries with a cost code in your construction management system, enabling accurate, real-time cost and productivity tracking.
Product Suite
SmartBarrel offers a mobile time tracking app, a kiosk mode for crew time tracking, and a portable time clock for big jobs and big crews. For the back office and payroll teams, the SmartBarrel software provides real-time attendance tracking, job site reporting, and more.
Integrations
SmartBarrel has direct integrations with Procore, CMiC, and Microsoft Power BI. SmartBarrel’s integration with Procore is the first time tracking system to connect directly into Procore’s Timesheets feature, which allows you to report actual timesheet data against your budgeted cost codes in real time. SmartBarrel also provides exports for Quickbooks, Viewpoint, Foundation Software, and other providers.
Ratings & Reviews
The SmartBarrel time tracking solution is loved by field and office alike. In reviews, SmartBarrel customers rave about the customer service. SmartBarrel has a rating of 5.0/5 on SoftwareAdvice.
Get The Best Construction Time Tracking Solution
Raken
Raken is a construction management software that contains a time tracking feature.
Time Tracking
Raken allows workers to track time through a mobile app or through the web browser. Raken’s time card solution is designed for site supervisors or foremen to enter time for their workers. For time tracking, the Raken kiosk app allows multiple employees to clock in using a single device.
Error and Fraud Prevention
Raken’s primary tool for accuracy and verification is GPS tracking, which allows you to see the location of the device where the time was logged. Raken does not have a way to identify employees or verify that they were present. In this way, the product seems designed for smaller teams where timecard accuracy and buddy punching are not a concern.
Cost Codes
Raken allows tracked time to be associated with cost codes and synced with your payroll provider or Procore. This information is entered by the supervisor or foremen when the timesheet is filled out.
Integrations
Raken has integrations with payroll systems like Quickbooks, ADP, Foundation and Sage, as well as a Procore integration.
Workyard
Workyard is a workforce management software company that serves the construction and service industries.
Time Tracking
Workyard offers a mobile app for time tracking. Workers can clock in and out on the mobile app.
Location Tracking
Workyard allows you to track the location of your employees during the day. The geofence feature in Workyard is designed for reminding employees to clock in when they arrive on the job site. The product does not appear to have a geo-fencing restriction feature, meaning your payroll or compliance team would need to manually check location data to verify accuracy.
Error and Fraud Prevention
As with many time tracking solutions, Workyard allows users to manually enter and submit their time. For time that is tracked using the punch clock feature, the only information that is gathered is about the location of the device. While GPS data can be helpful, we recommend using facial verification to confirm the identity of workers every time.
Cost Codes
Workyard allows tracked time to be associated with cost codes and synced with your payroll provider.
Integrations
Workyard integrates with a variety of payroll and construction management software like Quickbooks, ADP, Foundation, Sage, and Procore.
Quickbooks Time (Tsheets)
Tsheets (now called Quickbooks Time) has long been the cornerstone of time tracking for construction companies. Its direct connection to Quickbooks makes it an easy way for teams to make the switch away from paper timesheets. While it can be a step in the right direction, contractors with multiple crews and enterprise companies may be better served with a time tracking system that is designed for the industry.
Time Tracking
Quickbooks Time allows users to track time through a mobile app, or through their web browser. Users can use a start/stop timer to track time, or can enter their time manually through a timesheet. As with most standard time tracking tools, time entries are not verified.
Error and Fraud Prevention
Quickbooks Time relies on GPS data to verify the accuracy of time tracking data. While this is a popular technique for ensuring the employee is on site, we recommend using a biometric solution like SmartBarrel to provide verifiable proof of employee time.
Cost Codes
Quickbooks Time allows tracked time to be associated with cost codes in Quickbooks.
Integrations
As a part of the Quickbooks ecosystem, Quickbooks Time integrates with most software indirectly through the Quickbooks accounting suite.
Connecteam
Connecteam is a workforce management tool that serves a variety of industries. The describe themselves as being “for deskless teams”. As a result, their product offers several upgrades that are helpful for construction contractors… but it’s not designed to solve all of the problems you can experience on a construction job site.
Time Tracking
Connecteam’s time tracking app allows workers to clock in and out using their mobile phone. A kiosk option for team leaders allows employees to clock in and out using a single device.
Location Tracking
Connecteam allows you to track and view the location of your workers through the GPS on their mobile device. This feature works well for delivery service companies or other businesses that have employees on the road, but it’s much less useful on a construction job site.
Error and Fraud Prevention
Connecteam describes their GPS tracking feature as being the right tool to eliminate buddy punching and other time card problems. In our experience, buddy punching is a persistent problem, and employees are quick to find workarounds for the most common solutions like GPS tracking, PIN codes, or key fobs.
Cost Codes
Connecteam does not have the ability to associate timesheet data with construction cost codes.
Integrations
Connecteam integrates with Quickbooks.
Clockify
Clockify is a popular time tracking software and mobile app that is built for white collar work and remote teams. So why are we including it here? Clockify advertises themselves as a construction time tracking tool, and construction companies that are looking for time tracking solutions are likely to see the product and consider it as an option. And with their attractive free plan, it’s easy for contractors to get started on the product before they recognize its limitations.
Time Tracking
Clockify provides a mobile app and kiosk option for team clock-ins. Time is entered manually, or logged with a basic press-to-start time clock.
Location Tracking
Clockify logs the location of employees when they clock in or out, which allows you to verify whether the user was in the right location at that time. Clockify doesn’t appear to offer geo-fencing, which makes it more difficult to use for clocking time on construction job sites.
Error and Fraud Prevention
Clockify appears to be a great choice for small, office-based teams. When it comes to field time tracking, the simple time clock and manual entry system makes it easy for employees to enter time incorrectly or edit it after the fact. With no employee verification features in place, Clockify has all of the vulnerabilities to buddy punching, rounding, and fraud that other time tracking products have.
Cost Codes
Clockify does not provide cost code functionality within their dashboard.
Integrations
Clockify is not construction-first, and is missing integrations with most construction-specific software like Procore or CMiC. They do integrate with Quickbooks and Sage.
What is construction time tracking software?
Construction time tracking software is a specialized solution designed for the construction industry. It automates and simplifies the process of recording and managing time-related data in construction projects. This software allows contractors and project managers to track and monitor the time spent on various tasks and activities, providing accurate measurement of labor hours and resource utilization. It integrates with other project management tools, streamlines payroll processes, and generates comprehensive reports and analytics. Construction time tracking software enhances project management, optimizes resource allocation, and provides valuable insights for efficient and profitable construction project execution.
How does construction time tracking software work?
Construction time tracking software helps contractors and project managers keep track of time in construction projects. It works by using a computer program or application that lets them record and manage time-related information. They can create schedules, assign tasks, and see how tasks are progressing in real-time. The software also helps them measure how much time is spent on different activities and how resources are being used. It can connect with other tools they use, like payroll systems, to make things easier. The software generates reports and data to show how the project is going. Its goal is to make time tracking simple, improve project management, and help construction projects run smoothly.
Why you need time tracking software
How does construction time tracking software connect to my accounting, payroll, or construction management software?
The bottom line
Construction time tracking solutions provide a record of time and attendance for every employee on the job site.
For construction contractors with large teams that want a fool-proof, excuse-proof solution, we believe they are best served by SmartBarrel’s suite of time tracking products which offer a portable time clock, a mobile app, desktop administration tools, and strong integrations with construction management software.
