Time Tracking for Field Workers

Keeping track of employee hours is vital for any business – and especially challenging for companies with field service teams. Deskless and field workers make up roughly 70–80% of the global workforce (shrm.org), spanning industries from construction and HVAC to telecom installation and equipment maintenance. These on-the-go employees don’t sit at a desk, so traditional punch clocks or spreadsheets often fall short. Without a proper system, businesses risk inaccurate payroll, time theft (43% of hourly workers admit to it), and lost productivity.

At Brocoders, we’ve seen this pattern across our clients, which are service companies that operate nationwide – from SafeRacks managing 50+ independent installers to Revenue Boosters running amusement route collections across multiple states. Each faced the same issue: field visibility, fragmented tools, and compliance challenges. The solution wasn’t another generic app. It was a tailored, connected system built around how their teams actually worked.

Hybrid Service Companies and Their Unique Needs

Many field service businesses are hybrid operations – they sell products and also install or service them in the field. For instance, SafeRacks sells storage systems online and dispatches installers across the U.S. Managing both product sales and mobile crews requires tight coordination between orders, routes, and payments.

Time tracking in these hybrid environments isn’t about punching a clock – it’s about linking labor hours to specific jobs, customers, or installations. A technician might start the morning assembling equipment in the warehouse and spend the afternoon installing it off-site. A good system captures all productive hours in one place and maps them to the right project.

When Brocoders built a custom scheduling platform for an Installation company, the system automatically matched installers to nearby jobs, synced status updates in real time, and logged on-site work hours – even offline. This visibility helped reduce scheduling calls, travel time, and payroll errors.

Challenges in Tracking Field Work Time (and Why It Matters)

Field operations face recurring pain points:

Verifying remote attendance: When employees start their day on a job site, GPS check-ins or geofences confirm location and timing. For Revenue Boosters, integrating route data directly into a mobile app meant managers could see when collectors actually reached each arcade location.

Preventing time theft: GPS-based clock-ins, photo verification, and geofencing reduce buddy punching. These safeguards cut costs without creating friction for field teams.

Reducing admin load: Manual spreadsheets or logs slow payroll and reporting. Automated systems capture time data once and sync across accounting and operations.

Ensuring accurate payroll and billing: Automated overtime, PTO, and job-based calculations improve both employee satisfaction and client billing. Brocoders clients typically see fewer disputes and faster pay cycles once the process is digitized.

The takeaway is fit: a tool works best when it reflects your real workflows, not when you bend your operations around it.

Benefits of Dedicated Field Time Tracking Software

• Accurate, location-verified attendance via GPS or geofencing.
• Reduced time theft through validation and visibility.
• Streamlined payroll through automated, approved timesheets.
• Productivity gains through transparent tracking.
• Better communication with customers and installers using real-time job updates.
• Integration with payroll, dispatch, and reporting tools for one consistent view.

When we helped Revenue Boosters rebuild their route management SaaS, the field app captured check-ins, cash collections, and repair times. The result: faster reporting, fewer errors, and a scalable architecture ready for other operators to adopt.

Key Features to Look For in Field Employee Time Tracking Software

🌐 GPS & Geofencing: For location-verified clock-ins and fraud prevention.
📱 Offline Mobile App: Field staff can log work even without connectivity.
⏱️ Automation: Auto clock-in/out or travel logging to minimise missed punches.
📊 Job Association: Link hours to specific projects or clients for accurate billing.
💰 Payroll Integration: Automated timesheets and payout workflows.
🔔 Notifications: Missed shifts, overtime alerts, or task updates.
📊 Reporting: Insights into overtime, job costs, or efficiency trends.
🔒 Security: Role-based access and privacy-safe location tracking. 🛠️ Customisation: Adapt fields, rules, and terminology to your workflow.

In our builds, we always start with how teams actually operate. Many Brocoders clients discovered they didn’t need a massive enterprise suite – just a focused tool or custom layer on top of an existing backend.

Choosing a Time Tracking Solution that Works for You

Define your use case to avoid overpaying for features you won’t use. List must-haves: team size, GPS, offline support, payroll sync, and the ability to customise rules and job codes. Prioritise onboarding and support – the best tools fail if field teams don’t adopt them.

That’s why we often build hybrid systems: a lean custom interface on top of a proven SaaS core. For example, one of our clients needed a scheduling and event management layer over their existing toolset – so we built one that unified their workflows without replacing everything else.

The goal is to make software match your operations, not the other way around.

Best Time Tracking Apps for Field Workers (2025 Edition)

The market is full of time tracking tools, but only a subset truly fit the realities of field service work. Below are some of the top apps recognised in 2025 for managing mobile and distributed teams effectively. Each offers distinct strengths — from GPS precision to payroll integrations — and most can be customised through open APIs if you need deeper control or hybrid configurations.

Connecteam – All-in-One Platform for Deskless Teams
Connecteam is built specifically for mobile, deskless teams. It combines time tracking, GPS and geofencing, scheduling, forms, chat, and training in one app. Its flexibility makes it ideal for hybrid product/service companies managing remote crews. Connecteam also provides an external API, enabling integration with other systems or custom extensions — a good option if you plan to automate or tailor workflows later.

Buddy Punch – Time Tracking with Verification
Buddy Punch focuses on simplicity and verification. It includes GPS, photo-on-punch, and facial recognition to prevent buddy punching. Job code tracking and payroll integrations make it efficient for field-based operations. Buddy Punch’s API allows exporting and syncing data programmatically, useful for companies that want to plug time data into their internal reporting or payment systems.

ClockShark – Field Service & Construction Time Tracking
ClockShark caters to construction, contracting, and trade businesses. Its mobile app tracks time with GPS breadcrumbs, monitors crew activity, and offers job scheduling and photo attachments. It integrates with QuickBooks and supports automation via Zapier, giving teams flexibility to connect with other business tools or build hybrid setups without heavy coding.

QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets) – Seamless for QuickBooks Users
QuickBooks Time works best for teams already using QuickBooks for accounting or payroll. It syncs time logs directly into pay runs and invoices. Its open API and native integrations allow businesses to automate data flow between time tracking, project costing, and payroll with minimal manual work.

Timecamp – Project-Based Tracking with Automation
Timecamp provides automatic time tracking based on device activity, ideal for professionals juggling many small tasks. It supports project tagging, client billing, and integrations with major project management platforms. Timecamp’s public API lets developers extend features or connect it to proprietary CRMs and invoicing tools.

Harvest – Simple Time & Expense Tracking for Services
Harvest is known for its straightforward interface and solid reporting. It’s suitable for both office and field professionals who need to log hours and expenses quickly. Harvest also exposes an API for integrations with systems like Asana, Slack, and QuickBooks, allowing businesses to automate their project and payroll pipelines.

Clockify – Free and Flexible Time Tracker
Clockify stands out for being free yet robust. It supports GPS, offline tracking, and unlimited users. Its API makes it possible to connect Clockify with other internal systems or custom dashboards. This flexibility helps small teams grow into more advanced setups without replacing tools entirely.

Best Time Tracking Apps for Field Workers (2025 Edition)

Notes: Pricing is indicative and tier-dependent.

Each of these tools can stand alone or serve as a foundation for hybrid customisation. When considering your next time tracking solution, evaluate:

• How it fits your workflows and mobility needs.
• Whether its API or integration layer supports your long-term automation goals.
• The balance between off-the-shelf convenience and tailored performance.

Some companies start with an existing app and layer custom modules over it; others opt for fully bespoke solutions. Brocoders often builds both types — from ground-up MVPs to hybrid configurations combining proven backends with custom frontends — so the system fits your field operations precisely.

Conclusion

For hybrid product-and-service companies, time tracking underpins accurate payroll, resource planning, and customer experience. The objective isn’t to collect features; it’s to choose (or build) a system that fits your field reality. In our experience, the best outcomes come from lean MVPs that mirror day-to-day work and scale over time.

Brocoders helps service companies turn operational complexity into scalable software. From scheduling and routing to payments and time tracking, we’ve built solutions that power real businesses – fast.

Ready to fix field chaos? Let’s design a time tracking system that fits your workflow perfectly – and turns your operations into a product. 👉 Talk to Brocoders