LOCATION
Miami, FL
CONTRACTOR TYPE
Specialty
TRADE
Heavy Civil, Concrete, Millwork, Earthwork
NO. OF EMPLOYEES
300+
INTEGRATIONS
General Asphalt Co., LLC has been building South Florida’s roads and highways since 1966. Now a third-generation, family-owned company, they handle concrete, milling, earthwork, striping, and lighting on public and private projects. With more than 300 field employees, General Asphalt needed a way to track time and cost codes accurately and with less manual effort each week.
CHALLENGES
Before SmartBarrel: Two Different Systems, Hours of Reconciling Time and Cost Codes between NovaTime and Paper Timesheets
Before SmartBarrel, General Asphalt tracked time through a mix of NovaTime, a time tracking tool, and paper timesheets. Field employees logged their hours in NovaTime, then foremen filled out separate paper timesheets to record what cost code they worked on that day. Every pay period, payroll admins had to manually reconcile the two, matching NovaTime hours to paper timesheets where they had the hand-written cost codes.
That manual matching alone cost General Asphalt’s team up to 20 hours per week, according to Shakira Fragoso, HR Specialist at General Asphalt. She said,
"Before implementing SmartBarrel, we had to manually match the paper timesheets with the hours from NovaTime, relying on employees to accurately document the jobs they worked on. This process was time-consuming, inefficient, and left room for errors."
This process also often created confusion for payroll staff, sometimes dealing with illegible writing, forcing them to call foremen to verify what cost codes were actually performed, taking up to 15 hours per week. Once finalized, all this data then had to be rekeyed into their ERP, Vista. This made an already slow, manual process even slower.
Despite their best efforts to tie any loose ends, it was still common to have inaccurate cost codes and missed or incorrect punches resulting in payroll reruns. Payroll corrections and retroactive pay not only left workers unhappy with incorrect paychecks, but also overburdened payroll admin with rework.
SOLUTION
35 Hours of Manual Admin Work Eliminated and Accurate Hours Straight into Vista
With SmartBarrel, General Asphalt has one system that takes care of time tracking and eliminated paper timesheets altogether. Employees now clock in directly at the jobsite using SmartBarrel’s time clock or mobile app. Both work the same way: the worker types in their phone number and takes a picture. In the background, AI confirms the worker punching in matches previous punches, giving them a layer of verification they never had. Foremen review hours, assign cost codes, and sync the data directly into Vista so payroll staff see it instantly.This process alone has eliminated nearly 20 hours of manual admin work per week.
With foremen assigning cost codes in the field directly in SmartBarrel, they’ve also eliminated back and forth phone calls with payroll admin for corrections that used to took up to 15 hours per week. General Asphalt also eliminated payroll reruns altogether giving workers accurate paychecks each week. Workers get paid correctly on time, and payroll staff isn’t overworked fixing errors.
Describing the shift, Shakira said,
"SmartBarrel transformed our paper-based, manual payroll process into one centralized system. We no longer rely on paper timesheets; everything is stored in one place, and supervisors can easily review and approve employee hours. The platform has also allowed us to accurately track work hours, travel time, and project-specific hours, giving us much better visibility and reporting."
RESULTS
One Single Source of Truth, Complete Accuracy and Renewed Focus on Valuable Tasks
Since rolling out SmartBarrel, General Asphalt has eliminated nearly 20 hours of manual admin work that used to go into matching NovaTime entries with paper. They’ve also reclaimed an additional 15 hours a week that used to go towards calling foremen for cost code verification and dealing with inaccuracies.
"Payroll processing is much faster because there is less manual data entry, fewer corrections to make, and no paper to manage."
The payroll team has felt the shift in more than just hours saved. Shakira said,
"Resolving payroll issues more quickly has had a positive impact on both our team and our employees. Our payroll staff spends far less time researching and correcting errors, allowing them to focus on more valuable tasks. Employees are happier because their time and pay are more accurate, resulting in fewer questions and concerns.
With 300-plus field employees now clocking in through SmartBarrel, General Asphalt has traded a slow, manual process for real-time, accurate labor data, without adding headcount to its payroll team.
Why SmartBarrel For Concrete and Asphalt Contractors
- Built for crews that move all day: Paving, milling, and striping crews can work several road segments in a single shift. Workers punch in at the jobsite and foremen assign the cost code that matches the work actually performed, so hours land against the right job before payroll sees them.
- Excuse-free clock-in: Device, kiosk, and mobile app options, backed by biometric facial verification and geofencing, close every gap paper timesheets left open. Built-in LTE captures punches on roadway and site work where there is no WiFi to depend on.
- Cut the admin, not the accuracy: General Asphalt eliminated nearly 35 hours of manual admin work a week by replacing manual reconciliation, paperwork and phone calls.
- One system for time tracking and cost codes: Employees clock in once at the jobsite, it’s automatically tied to the correct project, and foremen assign the right cost code, all before it gets to payroll.
- Support that sticks around: General Asphalt’s implementation was tailored to their setup, and SmartBarrel’s team has stayed responsive and hands-on nearly a year later.
