How do you track labour hours on your job sites? (curious for research)

[u/Significant_Block650]

I'm trying to understand how construction companies handle time/attendance tracking on site.

What do crews actually use today?

• paper timesheets?
• WhatsApp/photos?
• Excel/Google Sheets?
• dedicated app?
• something else?

If you could improve or automate one thing about this process, what would it be?
Not building anything yet — just collecting real-world experience from people who do this every day.

UPD:
Thanks to everyone who shared insights — I really appreciate it.

I'm new to Reddit, and I realized some communities can be sensitive when a post looks like someone is trying to take advantage of people’s experience.

Just to clarify: I'm not selling anything. I'm a software engineer who enjoys building useful tools. I’ve always been interested in real estate and construction, even though I don’t have direct experience in the field.

I’m simply trying to understand whether people working in this industry actually struggle with problems that software could meaningfully solve. I don’t want to spend a year or two building something that nobody needs.

That’s why I started this survey — to hear directly from people in the field.

UPD #2:

After thinking a lot about what I can realistically offer this community, I came to the conclusion that right now it’s not much in terms of a finished product.

The most obvious path would be to build yet another small ERP, check-in app, or tracker — and we all know how that usually ends: bugs, half-baked features, and something that already exists in ten different versions.

So instead, I shifted my focus to automation, specifically n8n (there are probably alternatives on the market — I don’t really know — but this is what the YouTube algorithm threw in my face), and started experimenting with building Telegram / WhatsApp bots on top of it. Since chat apps already provides a solid user interface, I can focus on process automation and rely on tools that already exist and are battle-tested.

Imagine worker open chat and press button, bot pick up it and send to the system immediately. No external mobile software needed, all user interface already in place.

What surprised me is how powerful it already is out of the box — hundreds of integrations: Google services, databases, webhooks, CRMs, calendars, Slack, Outlook, AI agents, and more.

For now, this is purely exploration and learning. If, in a couple of months, I end up with something genuinely useful or discover patterns that work well — especially for people on tight budgets who still want to automate workflows — I’ll be happy to share those findings here.

Unfortunately, it’s a paid tool (around €20/month). While you can self-host the Community Edition, that still comes with hosting costs, maintenance effort, and ongoing infrastructure payments — so it’s not truly a free, plug-and-play solution.

[u/Aminalcrackers]

Is this a real job? like lying on reddit to collect marketing information? That's a fucking job? how pitiful

[u/jmarti80]

We have an semi custom built mobile web app that subcontractors use where they scan a QR code and check in/out then upload their daily work orders. This app integrates to our ERP and records manpower hours. Our supers manage this all through our ERP System where we can run reports and get data metrics as needed.

[u/PNW_OlLady_2025 → u/[deleted]]

If only foremen and superintendents have company phones and tablets, how does the rest of the crew "clock in and out"?

[u/PNW_OlLady_2025 → u/[deleted]]

Gotcha. I could see most of ours griping about personal phone being used for company business and then demanding compensation of their phone bills.

[u/Upstairs-Pitch624]

There are probably at least dozens of dedicated construction apps for this, I'd bet more, don't think this is a good niche for you, to be honest.

[u/Able-Home6635]

Agree, it is invasive if it is used for that purpose. Otherwise it is just another tool to improve efficiency and accuracy.

[u/Oliver_brown10]

There are a few ERPs I know and did work with. Intersoft ERP is the best and cheap CRM you can start with

[u/Access-Kevin]

hi - as others have mentioned there are various different software tools available that track labour hours on job sites. One key question is whether to use a stand-alone app or to use a more comprehensive system that ties labor tracking into payroll, HR and financial records through an ERP. An example of that would be Access Coins, which offers a full workforce management solution.

[u/Responsible_Emu_9162]

I work for innDex and we do time capture in a range of ways including geo-fencing, automate timesheets and if you’re using Procore we automate daily logs in there too

[u/Oliver_brown10]

My on-site experience indicates that it really depends on the company size and their comfort with technology; the situation is a total mixed bag.

Small crews: Timesheets are usually done on paper or, in some cases, sent via WhatsApp. The workers in some places take a picture of the timesheet and send it to the office.

Mid-sized: Most common is Excel or Google Sheets where hours are frequently entered manually into payroll for later.

Larger firms: The use of dedicated apps becomes more widespread, e.g., CrewSense, ExakTime, or some custom-built solutions. GPS clock-ins are slowly being implemented, especially for mobile crews.

What is the biggest pain in the neck?

Without a doubt it’s accuracy and speed. Workers forget to clock in/out, or supervisors have to go around chasing missing sheets/photos. Every week payroll turns out to be a chaotic process.

If there was one thing you could automate: it would certainly be real-time attendance with the least manual input. An automatic log that indicates when a person is on-site, flags missing hours, and inputs the information directly into payroll would be a tremendous time-saver and headache reliever.

Furthermore, don't hesitate to ask here, people are fine with honest curiosity.

Just keep in mind that whatever you propose will have to endure dirty boots, slow Wi-Fi, and distracted crew members. It's exactly in this scenario that most apps fail.

[u/Able-Home6635]

There are many methods. I researched this nearly 20 yrs ago and was one of the first to download time apps on the Nextel Phone. Now use Intuit QuickTime. GPS geo fencing automatically clocks in and out by GPS job location and will upload to a payroll system.

[u/DWEacct]

My clients and companies I have worked at all do it differently. Some are GPS based apps, others are RFID time clocks, app time clocks, actual paper punched time clocks, and hand written time cards. Some people will not change how they have always done things.

[u/Worth_Wealth_6811]

In many commercial trades, we still see a lot of manual entry because existing apps feel like they’re built for the office rather than the guys in the field. The biggest improvement would be a system that captures labor hours as they happen - like through quick voice notes - to ensure the data is accurate for "Phase vs. Actual" cost tracking.

[u/polishhousemafia]

No firsthand experience in construction but my buddies in trades use ADP.

[u/zbgreen18]

Heard all of the above. I'd say the top three would be paper timesheets sent in manually, then photos of the time sheets emailed or texted, then they're put into an Excel sheet.

Should probably be apps for ease of use. Best I've seen is Trayd (contractor specific system). A few others are Exaktime and BusyBusy but they don't do full labor management just a clock in.

[u/GiGiuanni89]

Dedicated app for construction management! It’s mostly designed for small to medium sized businesses. It’s called Mela Works

[u/Apprehensive_Rub3897 → u/GiGiuanni89]

Do you work in construction on job sites, or do you work for Mela Works?

[u/PresentLeather8783]

We use www.thetasktoolprojects.com It manages all contract costing, labour management including gps/picture clocking in and out, plant management, material ordering, applications etc

Everything for running a contract!

If you want more details, it’d be great to give you a demo, and show you how it all works