LOCATION
Houston, Texas
CONTRACTOR TYPE
General Contractor
TRADE
Hospitality
NO. OF EMPLOYEES
50
INTEGRATIONS
ERP
Exceeding Expectations and Industry Standards: Meet Alphabet Construction
Alphabet Construction is a Houston-based general contractor specializing in high-stakes hospitality renovation projects nationwide. Known for their ability to deliver complex renovations on tight timelines, Alphabet runs multiple active jobs simultaneously, often with tightly managed field crews and high accountability. With rapid growth and a reputation for precision, they needed a more accurate, automated way to track labor and control costs in the field.
CHALLENGES
The WorldMark Oceanside, located in Oceanside, CA, was a complete guestroom, guest bathroom, and public space renovation, including replacement of the HVAC units and ADA upgrades.
Too Many Hours Lost to Manual Timekeeping — Alphabet Saw an Opportunity to Improve
Before SmartBarrel, Alphabet Construction was relying on manual processes to collect and process worker time from multiple jobs. Supers took physical timesheets and manually added them to Procore. Even minor discrepancies led to time-consuming back-and-forth. “We didn’t really have a system that was centralized,” said Eduardo Trevino, President, Alphabet Construction. “Sometimes they would send hours through either spreadsheets, texts, or emails. Then the Controller had to spend hours retyping all that into the system.”
Even with 50 employees, payroll processing took too long, and the risk of human error was constant. “It wasn’t efficient at all…it was a process that was tedious,” said Trevino. “It costs us time every single week.”
SOLUTION
Avenue Plaza, located in New Orleans, LA, underwent a complete plumbing system replacement, including domestic water and waste systems, and risers. In addition, the guestrooms, guest bathrooms, and corridors were completely renovated to a modern design while incorporating the history of the property
Facial Verification Replaced Paperwork — No Training Needed
Alphabet needed a way to simplify time tracking, eliminate manual entry, and get accurate data without relying on spreadsheets or chasing down field reports. SmartBarrel stood out because it offered verified hours with facial recognition, required no training to use, and gave the team full visibility into labor across every job.
Alphabet deployed SmartBarrel across its active job sites, equipping each location with field-ready time clocks featuring built-in facial verification. Workers could clock in and out in seconds with no training and no need to chase down foremen. “We didn’t have to teach anyone anything…it was very straightforward,” said Trevino. “They just went up to the time clock, entered their phone number, snapped a picture, and were clocked in.”
Time punches are automatically verified to get accurate timesheets, and all data shows up on the SmartBarrel dashboard instantly, giving the office full visibility into hours worked and project-specific labor data.
Still relying on spreadsheets to know who’s on site?
RESULTS
$40K Saved, Payroll Time Cut in Half, and “No More Buddy Punching”
With SmartBarrel, Alphabet eliminated manual timesheets and cut payroll processing time by 50-60%. “We used to spend 12 to 15 hours a week dealing with timekeeping,” said Trevino. “Now it’s maybe an hour.” That weekly time savings adds up to $800+ per week — more than $40,000 annually.
The numbers speak for themselves:
- $40K+ saved annually from verified hours
- 60% reduction in payroll processing time
- 15 hours saved weekly across 6-8 projects
- 100% elimination of time theft from buddy punching and inaccurate entries
- 80–90% less time spent by supers on timekeeping — now just 10 minutes per day!
With verified clock-ins and no manual entry, time theft was eliminated.
“Since we don’t have manual entry anymore, it’s pretty much eliminated this issue,” Trevino said. “The system makes sure everything’s accurate. There’s no more buddy punching.”
Supers, who used to spend time manually doing timesheets, now only spend about 10 minutes a day reviewing hours. This dramatic reduction has freed up hours of supervision time across multiple jobs.
Why SmartBarrel Works for PMs, Supers, and the Office Team
SmartBarrel’s ease of use was a game-changer for Alphabet’s lean team. “The system is simple and effective,” said Trevino. “No training, no headaches — just results.”
By eliminating manual work, reducing discrepancies, and giving the office real-time access to verified labor data, Alphabet can now run payroll faster, cost jobs more accurately, and scale its operations without adding overhead.
“It saves us time, saves us money, and makes the job easier,” said Trevino. “We’re not going back.”
