(650) 332-8623A No-Nonsense Review of Connecteam: Features, Pricing, Alternatives, and More!
Is Connecteam the best app for your construction business? This in-depth review explores everything you need to make an informed choice!
Connecteam is a fast growing employee management app targeting a number of industries including construction, cleaning services, field services, food and beverage, homecare, manufacturing, and retail.
Started by two brothers Lirit Shmueli and Hadar Shmueli, Connecteam aims to provide businesses with “all the tools to connect your deskless team”, regardless of which industry your company operates in.
In this no-nonsense review, I examined Connecteam’s broad approach with its benefits, pitfalls and what it means for your construction/trades business. Let’s dive in.
Paid subscription starts at $29 / mo.
Productivity-oriented dashboard
Free tier offers a good range of features
Good onboarding experience
Lacks dedicated job costing functionality
Not primarily focused on construction / trades
Some users complain that some tasks involve too many steps (ex. scheduling, viewing labor costs)
What Is Connecteam?
Connecteam is a multi-functional, workforce management mobile solution for businesses and managers overseeing mobile (or “deskless” as Connecteam calls it) teams.
The company characterizes its customer base as businesses managing employees who work “hands-on jobs – they fix doors, clean floors, manage stores, load crates, guard gates, set plates…” Connecteam aims to provide the ‘right app’ for businesses employing blue collar workers.
Connecteam Review: Platform Overview
Connecteam’s employee management app offers the following features across three primary “hubs”:
Operations Hub
- Time clock
- Job scheduling
- Forms
- Tasks management
Communications Hub
- Chat
- Updates
- Directory
- Surveys
- Events
- Knowledge Base
- Help Desk
HR & Skills
- Time off
- Courses
- Quizzes
- Documents
- Recognition
- Rewards
- Celebrations
- Timeline
- Employee ID card
- Org chart
Getting Started with Connecteam
I found that signing up with Connecteam is straightforward and easy.
Sign-up
First off, Connecteam asks for your personal details and business email. The sign-up page also asks how you heard about Connecteam.
The platform then customizes your app based on your chosen role, business size, and industry type. The page asks you to select the hub features you will use for the duration of the free trial.
As I was reviewing Connecteam from the perspective of a construction team manager, I selected the typical run of options: time clock, schedule, forms and checklists, and task management. These are all under the ‘Operations’ hub.
Lastly, the platform asked if I wanted to insert my company logo (this step can be skipped). I was also required to provide my phone number.
Onboarding
The onboarding process starts with an intro video walking you through the platform’s sections and features.
One thing I noticed right away is how Connecteam groups its features under hubs in the dashboard. It also calls features like chat, directory, time clock, and time off ‘products.’
After finishing the video, the platform sets up a user ‘journey’ to familiarize you with its products. A $5 coupon for upgrades is offered as an incentive to finish the tutorial in 24 hours. These include getting started with the time clock and scheduling features, as well as a one-on-one session with a Connecteam representative.
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Connecteam Review: The Web App Experience
Connecteam’s dashboard is compact, designed to view tasks and updates at a glance.
A Quick Actions bar at the top of the page allows you to quickly add users, admins, tasks, or updates.
Further below, the dashboard displays Engagement for users throughout a given period as well as a more granular daily activity i.e. interaction with the Connecteam app.
The left menu groups products into the three main hubs mentioned earlier, with the option to add new products (presumably as you go up the paid tiers).
The first item on the left menu is the overview, which serves as the home button and takes you to the main dashboard. Clicking ‘Activity’ brings up a list of recent activities and details.
‘Users’ opens a directory of team members and admins together with details on their last login. The next item caught my eye: ‘Smart groups’ are user segments that update automatically based on roles, departments, locations, and other categories. Connecteam prefaces this section with an intro video to acquaint you with the product.
Clicking ‘Get Started’ takes you to a separate page where you can group users by department, branch, gender, and teams.
Connecteam Review: The Mobile App Experience
On the mobile app, the same walkthrough tutorial greets mobile users together with the discount coupon.
The mobile dashboard replicates the Quick Actions bar from the web version, offering you the ability to create tasks, clock-in, find people, and view schedules on the go.
The bottom of the screen houses the icons Feed, Assets, Chat, Profile, and Admin. One thing to note is that ‘Assets’ stands for ‘products’ in the mobile app. Clicking ‘Assets’ opens up the same hubs as in the web dashboard.
Another thing to note is that the mobile app offers admin functions via the Admin tab. It allows you to view team members, manage time off, and follow employees’ activities. It also gives you quick access to job scheduling, time clock, tasks, and updates.
Connecteam Review: Key Features
What is Connecteam’s Communication Hub?
Connecteam’s communication hub includes chat, updates, a directory, surveys, events, and knowledge base. In my free trial, the products included were chat, updates, and directory.
Chat
‘Chat’ includes typical team communication features such as one-on-one conversations (more commonly known as DM), team chats, channels, and file attachments. Similar to the previous sections, Connecteam provides an introductory video tutorial as well as quick pop-up prompts to help you along the way.
Updates
‘Updates’ is a team communication tool used to instantly share announcements and messages to team members. Updates can include company news, weather information, employee recognition, even birthdays and anniversaries. Mobile users cannot skip or choose the type of updates they want to see, which could potentially lead to a cluttered feed.
Directory
This product is the equivalent of a phone book and organizes contact details of employees, clients, suppliers, and vendors.
You can add or remove products as you wish. Aside from the products covered above, the Communication Hub includes Text Messages, Help Desk, Events, Surveys, and Knowledge Base.
What is Connecteam’s Operations Hub?
Connecteam’s operations hub includes its time clock, forms, job scheduling, and quick tasks. All of these products were available in my free trial.
Time Clock
The Time Clock tab opens with the lobby, which shows active and archived user time clocks. You can add new time clocks, as well as search and filter by name, status, date created, etc. You can also edit time clock names and assignments. Time clocks can be duplicated, archived, and deleted via the three-dot sub-menu on each one.
Finally, accessing a time clock opens the ‘Today’ dashboard which shows currently clocked-in employees as well as their locations when they clocked-in. The dashboard offers controls for accessing timesheets, job insights, and user activity.
Connecteam’s time clock product comes with the usual package of related features: auto clock-out, geofencing and GPS tracking, equipment tracking, overtime and breaks, pay rate, schedule synchronization, payroll integration, and automated notifications.
The timesheet tab shows an overview of time cards with job-specific data like projects, shifts, customers, and work sites. Of course, these update as you add more jobs to Connecteam. Admins can manage timesheet approvals, monitor conflicts, and perform bulk actions.
Connecteam’s mobile app offers employee and admin functions for its time clock. Employees can clock-in to Connecteam and out to start and end shifts, view timesheets, and make scheduling requests via the time clock.
Admins can access timesheets, view requests, and check employee status. The app allows employees to chat directly within the app.
Connecteam’s app allows you to change jobs while on the time clock. It will search your current location when you shift to a new job. The app will record your location at clock-in and clock-out together with project/customer data. You can also attach notes to your shift records.
Forms
When opening Forms, the platform asks whether you are creating a new form from scratch, using a template, or creating one from an existing file using its AI tool.
The product helps you create and manage digital forms. Admins can customize fields, set permissions, and track submissions. You can also automate reminders, share forms externally, and save forms as templates.
Job Scheduling
Schedule opens up with a lobby similar to Time Clock. Clicking ‘Access schedule’ shows the calendar along with quick action buttons like ‘Weekly Summary’, ‘Requests’, ‘Job lists’, ‘View options’, and more.
You can organize Schedule by jobs or users, allowing you to track shifts based on roles, locations, or specific tasks. Admins can create single, multiple, and repeating shifts, as well as import shifts from Excel.
Schedule also allows you to edit multiple shifts, display daily / weekly / monthly views, and filter based on job types or employee availability.
Quick Tasks
This product allows you to create tasks for teams, track task progress, and set up notifications once tasks are viewed or completed. Users can create single tasks or multiple tasks from the admin dashboard, mobile app, or user desktop.
Admins can control who can create tasks and set permissions for specific users. You can also delegate task management roles, or restrict access.
There are four tabs overhead providing a quick overview of task groups: Tasks Created By Me, My Tasks, All Tasks, and Archived Tasks. These display how many tasks are in each one (ex. 2 archived tasks, 5 total tasks, etc.) along with other information including sub-tasks, start and due date, and assignment.
What is Connecteam’s HR & Skills Hub?
Connecteam’s communication hub includes the following products: Courses, Documents, Celebration, Time Off, Org Chart, Recognitions, Rewards, and Quizzes. You can add or remove these according to your needs. In this review, I focused on Documents, Time Off, Celebrations, and Org Chart.
Documents
This product acts as a central repository for employees’ documents and forms. These can include federal employment forms, driver license, and other relevant paperwork.
Admins can manage employee documents, view and track document statuses, download or replace documents, and approve or reject uploads. You can also remind users/employees to submit missing documents or upload documents on their behalf.
Celebrations
This product is an employee affirmation tool to celebrate employees’ birthdays and work anniversaries. The Celebrations dashboard keeps track of how many members have their birthdays and start dates on record. It also shows upcoming and past celebrations.
Time Off
Time Off monitors time-off requests and PTOs in one place. Admins can set and customize time off policies (paid and unpaid), approve or reject time off requests, and add time on behalf of employees. The tool allows you to track approved time off, modify time off balances, and view time-off insights.
Org Chart
This tool provides you with a visual map of company/organization hierarchy. You can use it to automatically generate an organizational structure of all users in the company and customize information like role, department, or location. The tool allows you to zoom in, collapse sections, or bring up a specific employee card.
Integrating Other Business Apps With Connecteam
Connecteam integrates with well-known systems such as Gusto, QuickBooks, Paychex, ADP and more via Zapier. The platform also offers an API for customization.
Connecteam Might be a Good Fit for You If…
…you’re a business overseeing a service- and shift-based team.
Connecteam has built a lot of functionality around this type of business. It excels in streamlining routine tasks like scheduling, managing shifts, forecasting team availability, and others.
Both the web and mobile dashboards are equipped with quick menus, shortcut buttons, and actions. The reason for this, of course, is that most of the industries that Connecteam are service-based industries—cleaning, homecare, retail, and food and beverage.
If you’re a part of these industries and want an efficient workforce management app, Connecteam might suit your needs.
You Might Not Want to Use Connecteam If…
…you need a time-tracking and workforce management app built for construction and trades.
Connecteam doesn’t prioritize construction and trades as its primary audience. Instead, it targets a wide range of businesses and industries including hospitality, home care, manufacturing, and others. If you’re looking for an app expressly built for your construction crew and operations, it’s best to look elsewhere and not expect tailored solutions from Connecteam.
For example, Connecteam doesn’t include a dedicated job costing solution. You can only view labor costs for scheduled and actual labor after multiple steps through submenus in Job Scheduling. In contrast, Workyard provides a granular view of job costs per project, employee, customer, and more. A high-level overview of job costs is also immediately visible upon accessing your dashboard–no hunting around necessary.
Time clock, scheduling, smart forms, and more – in one app!
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Connecteam Review: Cost/Pricing
Connecteam offers the same pricing tiers for all three hub products (Operations Hub, Communications Hub, and HR & Skills Hub). Since my product review last year, Connecteam has expanded its subscription options to include a custom priced Enterprise tier.
|
Free Trial? |
14-day free trial, no credit card required |
|
The Small Business Plan |
$0 – Free for up to 10 users only |
|
Basic |
Starting at $29 / mo. |
|
Advanced |
Starting at $49 / mo. |
|
Expert |
Starting at $99 / mo. |
|
Enterprise |
Must contact sales |
Connecteam Reviews: What Real Users Say
Connecteam offers the same pricing scheme for all its products: Operations Hub, Communications Hub, and HR & Skills Hub. While the inclusions within each hub vary, the number of users per paid tier remains the same.
iOS user NunyaGdBusiness says the app has potential but needs fixing first:
iOS user NunyaGdBusiness says:
Could be great, but not quite there yet ⭐⭐
I’d be willing to raise my rating if you fix these two UI issues:
1. The “My availability” feature needs work. I have recurring times when I’m unavailable, so I toggled the “Repeat availability preferences” button on and set it to repeat until a date one year later. I later needed to edit the time, but there is no way to edit the whole batch of dates. The only way to edit is to go through all 52 dates and change each one individually. This is extremely time consuming and frustrating.
2. The single week view/layout is not intuitive. The “week summary” does not match the dates shown above and below it and there is nothing indicating which month the displayed week is in. This is super confusing.
Android user Ashley Herring loves that everything is centralized in one place:
Android user Ashley Herring says:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I was very surprised at how well this app was put together! The features were all nicely put into an easy-to-find place. The clear understanding of the cleaning specs, options for requesting time off/shift edit requests, chatroom options, and required site informational training are also available. The best part!? IT’S ALL IN ONE PLACE!! The Connecteam app developers have really outdid themselves & set a very high bar for everyone else!! T Sheets better step up their game! Way to go, Connecteam!
Connecteam user Josh M. cautions buyers to beware, though he acknowledges his employees find the app useful:
Capterra reviewer Josh M. says:
Buyer beware (you get what you pay for!) ⭐⭐
Overall: Their “customer service” is all online through chat, and they will always “put in a fix” and then expect you to go read some stupid newsletter to see if the fix has been implemented. …They clearly don’t care that their product is sub-par.
Pros: The employee use and ease is great. They love it. I hate it as the person who has to put things in, it’s so un-intuitive and I spend WAY too much time scheduling.Cons: They’ve clearly not done good product testing in this program, simples tasks like right-clicks and basic functions just aren’t there. It’s A LOT of mouse clicks to schedule anything. It is sold as a time saving program, but it’s not, and I consider myself pretty tech-savvy. It’s just very not user-friendly.
Scoring and Methodology
Based on my sign-up and onboarding experience with the free trial, here’s how I scored Connecteam:
Our score
Top Alternatives to Connecteam
Connecteam offers core functions for scheduling, workforce management, and time-tracking for an assortment of industries. But other competitors also offer similar features:
14-day free trial
7-day free trial
14-day free trial
14-day trial
14-day free trial
The Bottom Line
Connecteam calls itself “The World’s #1 Employee App,” which is a tall order for anyone.
It does a good job of helping admins manage on-site teams with its wide range of features and productivity-oriented dashboard. Connecteam’s strengths lie in a solid set of scheduling, communication, and workforce management tools that work well for specific industries.
However, it lacks a dedicated job costing solution – an essential feature for construction companies and contractors alike. If you’re looking for a high-level view of labor costs as well as granular insights into job costs for projects, worksites, and employees for your construction / trades business, Connecteam may not be the best choice for you.
Construction managers and field workers love the Workyard mobile experience. Our iOS and Android apps are equipped with a highly precise GPS time clock for accurate time-tracking in the field. Our web platform also offers cutting-edge solutions for scheduling, team management, and digital paperwork for construction managers.
Try Workyard free for 14 days and see how we can level up your construction/trade workforce management and make your business more profitable!
Connecteam is considered a reliable and trustworthy platform, widely used across various industries like construction, retail, and healthcare for managing deskless teams. It supports essential operations such as scheduling, communication, and task management, backed by positive user reviews and a straightforward onboarding process which enhances its credibility.
Connecteam offers a free plan called the Small Business Plan that is truly free for businesses with up to 10 users. This plan provides access to many core features suitable for small teams.
For larger businesses, Connecteam has paid subscription tiers divided into three hubs (Operations, Communications, HR & Skills) with prices starting at around $29 per month for 30 users, plus additional per-user fees. Accessing all features across these hubs can increase the total cost significantly.
Key points:
– Free forever plan for up to 10 users with basic features
– Paid plans start at $29/month for 30 users, with extra charges for more users
– Features are split across different hubs, so subscribing to multiple plans might be needed
– 14-day free trial available for paid plans
So, Connecteam is really free only under the Small Business Plan for small teams, while larger teams must pay for expanded functionality.
Connecteam prioritizes security with multiple layers of protection including data encryption, secure servers, and compliance with international security standards. These measures ensure that user data, from personal information to business operations, is well protected against unauthorized access and threats.
Yes, Connecteam tracks your location, but only while you are clocked in. Key details include:
– Connecteam uses a GPS feature called “Breadcrumbs” to track live employee location during work hours, updating the location every 5-10 minutes or after moving about 80 feet.
– Location tracking only starts when an employee clocks in and stops at clock out.
– Employees must set the app’s location permission to “Always” to allow tracking even if the app is in the background or closed.
– Employers can view either location stamps at clock in/out or a trail of movements during the shift, depending on admin settings.
– Geofencing can restrict clock-in/out to specific job sites and alert if employees leave those boundaries.
– Location data is never accessed by the employer outside work hours, and privacy is respected.
– The system minimizes battery and data usage with efficient tracking methods.
So, Connecteam tracks location strictly for work time management and compliance, ensuring privacy when off the clock.
