One of the key tools to managing the work on your job sites is time tracking software for construction companies. Working remotely is a fact of life for construction companies and working productively despite distances between the office and the job site, shouldn’t be an obstacle to productivity or getting the job done on time.
In this blog post, we’ll talk about time tracking software for construction, why you need it, what are some must-have features, and how you can use time tracking software to improve your business processes.
What is Construction Time Tracking Software?
Time tracking software allows your employees to clock in and out of a job on a mobile phone or tablet. In most cases it replaces traditional timesheets or spreadsheets.
Why do you Need Time Tracking?
If you’re manually tracking employee hours using spreadsheets or pen and paper, then you may be using less than accurate numbers for your payroll and job cost calculations. Each time you rekey information there is potential for data loss, as well as additional time completing repetitive tasks for your office personnel instead of being able to complete other types of work.
Here are some reasons Time Tracking Software will be a benefit for your construction company.
- Clear view of which employees worked at each site or project.
- Ability to capture costs accurately so you can compare actual versus estimated budget.
- Add labor hours to the appropriate job so you can track costs and bill accurately.
- Capture time for equipment use, including rentals, and add the costs to the job.
- Precise timesheets that capture employee hours, billable and non-billable time, as well as overtime so that your payroll and invoicing are super accurate.
→ Read more about construction accounting
How to Use Construction Time Tracking to Improve Your Business Processes
In addition to payroll, the information you gather from your Time Tracking Software can be used to help you plan and manage your business more profitably.
Managing your workforce well starts with an understanding of the number of hours worked in various ways, including how much overtime, staff work, regular hours, and more, including travel time. To plan better for future projects, you need to understand who clocked in, and at which project, so that you can manage your workforce for current projects, various phases of your project, and future projects.
- Regular reviews of your data can give you a better understanding of how long it takes your crew to complete certain job functions. This information will improve your ability to estimate future projects.
- Labor hours that are much higher than budgeted can reveal project obstacles and show you when to adjust your project schedule.
- A review of your time tracking data can also help you plan how you’ll hire and contract subcontractors for future projects.
Here are Three Time Tracking Software Features You Need
Tracking labor hours is a critical part of job cost accounting. Without accurate time tracking, you could be missing your budget targets for your construction projects. Here’s what to look for when you invest in time tracking software.
- Online and Offline Access. Because Construction is a project-based industry, you need software that will go where your workers are. Make sure your software has GPS and/or Geofencing capability so you can easily track work hours for specific projects. You’ll also want to ensure that your software can capture time data from the field even when internet access is unavailable, so that the information can be uploaded when your team is back online.
- Instant Updates for Job Costs. With sophisticated construction time tracking, you’ll be able to deliver a detailed breakdown of labor, overtime, equipment usage, and more directly to your job management applications.
- Integration to your Construction Accounting Software Reduce the number of times you transfer data between software programs so that you can be more productive. A direct link will also help you eliminate errors from rekeying, or mismatched data.
Summary
Running your construction business is not an easy job but using remote time tracking software can make it easier to track the progress of your jobs without having to be on site. And with accurate data you collect and distribute to your construction accounting and job costing software, it’s easier to estimate, budget, and plan for future projects.
Take advantage of powerful construction accounting and time tracking software. Talk to us about how mobile time tracking can help you improve your business.
Sign up for more great construction accounting content on the JOBPOWER blog.
You may also like
