The 6 Best Field Reporting Software Solutions for 2024
Looking for field reporting software for your construction business? We’ve reviewed 6 of the best apps on the market to help you!
The fast-paced nature of field work always risks overscheduling, fumbling communication, and missing appointments. When you’re in the field, it’s also easy to lose valuable data.
You can accidentally delete photos from your device or have difficulty deciphering what you quickly wrote on your report. Details you swear you’ll commit to memory may be forgotten when it’s time to write it up.
Without accurate and timely field reporting, resources can be lost, productivity can decrease, and quality of customer service can drop.
But thanks to field reporting software solutions, businesses have transformed how they tackle their tasks to focus on optimizing business operations, employee productivity, and customer satisfaction.
This guide highlights key features, pricing, and the pros and cons of six field reporting software options for your construction business. Let’s take a look…
Top Picks
Below, you’ll find a summary of each app we’ve reviewed, with our scores, each app’s ideal use cases, its pricing, the availability of any free trials or free tiers, and the platforms on which the app is available. Each app has been thoroughly investigated and analyzed for users like you, with pros and cons, key features, integrations, and real user reviews.
Let’s take a look…
9.3 
14-day free trial, (no card needed)
8.0
7-day free trial with no credit card required
7.9
15-day free trial with no credit card required
7.8 
Free demo only
8.1
10-day free trial with no credit card required
EDITOR’S NOTE: We created Workyard – the first app reviewed here – to address issues we encountered while struggling to track and manage construction payrolls for over 700 workers in over 50 construction businesses. We built the Workyard app from the ground up to support construction companies like yours, with industry-essential features like the industry’s most accurate time clock app with GPS and geofencing, intuitive contractor scheduling, construction cost tracking tools, and more.
Learn more about how Workyard works on our main website, or sign up for a 14-day free trial today to see what Workyard can do for your business.
Workyard
Scoring
Key Features
-
Accurate GPS time clock
-
Real-time job progress updates via mobile app
-
Hassle-free scheduling with shared digital team calendar
-
Automatic job cost tracking with timecard submissions
-
Customizable reports and dashboards
-
Integrations with leading apps and existing systems
-
Built-in labor compliance
Simple and easy to use for field teams
Real-time technician and field worker ETAs
Cost codes for easy tracking
Team communication features can be improved
No integrated billing and invoicing features
Does not offer a forever-free plan
Highlights
Workyard is designed to streamline various tasks associated with managing a construction crew.
It has field reporting software features like scheduling, time and project tracking, job costing, reporting, and communication, allowing construction businesses to gain better visibility into labor costs, project profitability, and overall team productivity.
GPS Time Clock
Workyard’s automated geofencing time tracker lets your team focus on their work while ensuring timely clock-ins and clock-outs and accurate timesheets, payroll, and job tracking.
Workyard’s time clock app accounts for every minute your team members work, and all time cards have detailed change logs and GPS timelines.
You can avoid late clock-ins by setting up geofences. The app will automatically clock in your team members once they arrive at a site or geofence. It will also clock them out when they leave the site at the end of the day.
Field teams are busy throughout the day and often forget to clock out at the end of their shifts. Workyard handles this by automatically detecting when they fail to clock out and trimming their time cards to the last job site they visited.
Scheduling
Scheduling is also made easy with Workyard. The shared digital team calendar helps organize jobs efficiently by allowing you to group jobs by project or employee and use custom labels.
Communicate what needs to be done with detailed job descriptions, checklists, and more. Then, you can dispatch the schedules instantly via the Workyard app. The mobile calendar is updated in real time, and everyone will receive instant notifications.
Job Tracking
Aside from capturing job site arrival and departure times, you can view real-time field progress, including job site visits and task completion.
From the Workyard Project Hub, you can view all active projects by project name, customer, geofence location, and group.
The live project activity feed also lets you view updates from the field, which you can filter by project and location, project groups, customers, activities, team members, and task labels.
When your team members update their time cards and share job progress with receipts, notes, and photos, all updates will be saved and shared with their team or supervisors.
Job Costing
You don’t need to wait days or weeks to determine your project labor costs.
Workyard’s live construction cost tracking software automatically captures all labor costs with every time card submission. It also captures your team’s hours worked per job or cost code and attributes travel or driving times and mileage to relevant jobs.
Workyard also takes into account worker’s comp costs and overtime rules and segments them by employee, customer, project, and cost code. With Workyard, you get real-time and detailed job cost reporting in only a few clicks.
Labor Compliance
When you’re busy running your business, the need for systems to keep it business-compliant sometimes gets overlooked. Workyard protects your business with built-in labor compliance and equips you with risk management tools.
Its employee classification lets you easily import and onboard workers to ensure they’re set up with the correct worker type, exemption status, and meal break and overtime policies.
It automatically calculates overtime based on federal, state, or local rules. Workyard also keeps accurate records and allows unlimited storage of GPS-verified time records.
Reporting
You can also get critical insights into your time and project data with Workyard’s customizable dashboards and reports.
Drill into employee time reports by getting a detailed breakdown of exact punches, break times, total regular and double overtime hours, travel times, and mileage. You can also get a summarized view to check total hours and mileage per day.
Workyard lets you group and pivot job cost data by employee, cost code, period, etc. You can also electronically send your timesheets broken down by job or cost code to your accounting system.
Integrations
Workyard integrates with your existing payroll and accounting systems as well as CRM and invoicing software. It also allows you to import employees, 1099 contractors, customers, projects, and cost codes and export time for job costing and payroll.
It also offers ready-to-go integrations with QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Online, ADP Run, ADP Workforce Now, Foundation Software, Sage 100 Contractor, Gusto, Rippling, and more.
Reviews
Workyard has earned consistently good scores on the App Store, Play Store, and Capterra. Across 62 reviews, the app has received an almost perfect score of 4.9 on Capterra.
See what other Workyard users have to say below.
SimmyLuvsChrist gave the iOS app a five-star rating because of its easy clock-in and real-time updates. There’s no need to refresh the app, and users can easily find the information they need.
iOS Review:
Life made easy! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Being able to clock in with ease has been one less stress. The app is easy to use, and I can locate the information I need without issue. There is not a delay in updates or a constant need to refresh the app.”
Lou Minor gave the Android version five stars because it helps organize job sites and their teams’ time cards.
Google Play Review:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Definitely helps with organizing job sites and work crew time cards.
Joseph H., a construction company co-owner, is one happy customer. He is pleased with what Workyard offers, from product features to customer support.
Capterra Review:
Happy customer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall, I’m pleased with the product and customer service and support. I like the ease of being able to track our employees’ time and accuracy of presence on a job. We are able to utilize the time clock feature so we can give an accurate accounting of billable time to our clients. A lot of our services are billed out by the hour rather than by the job.”
Pricing
Free Trial?
14-day trial with no credit card required
Time Tracking
Annual: $6 / month per user + $50 base fee
Monthly: $8 / month per user + $50 base fee
Workforce Monitoring
Annual: $13 / month per user + $50 base fee
Monthly: $16 / month per user + $50 base fee
Track every minute and report every move with Workyard
See how it works
FieldBin
Scoring
Key Features
-
Time and location logs for mobile clock-ins and clock-outs
-
Drag-and-drop scheduling and quick dispatching
-
Job progress reports in real time
-
Timesheet reports on job-specific time expenses
-
Digital estimates via text or email
-
E-signatures for quick approvals
-
Time, materials, and profits reporting
-
Inventory management in a centralized platform
-
Integration with QuickBooks
Push notifications and alerts
Service plans for recurring jobs
“On my way” and two-way text messages
Some onboarding and new user challenges
Customer service response can be quicker
Highlights
FieldBin offers various back-office solutions to improve workflows, automate processes, and run a more efficient field service business.
Its work order scheduling feature allows you to assign and schedule tasks via its drag-and-drop functionality, making it easy to dispatch and manage multiple jobs.
Employees can log in and out, take breaks, and switch tasks via mobile devices. They can send SMS and emails to customers with geo-tagged time stamps. FieldBin also automates requesting customer reviews after the job has been completed.
You can quickly generate an estimate and email it to clients, who can sign electronically. Since FieldBin syncs with the inventory management system, you have the most up-to-date information on your estimates.
FieldBin’s reporting tools also provide essential data about your employees, clients, inventory, and financials to aid in strategic business planning and decision-making.
Its customer communication tools send service reminders by SMS and email to update them on upcoming appointments, with an option to confirm or change the service request date.
Reviews
Although FieldBin has an iOS and Android mobile app, it has no published reviews on the App Store or Play Store. There’s a handful of reviews on Capterra, though, where it got a five-star rating.
Capterra Reviews:
For construction business owner Noah B., FieldBin helped them go paperless and more organized.
Fieldbin allowed us to not only go paperless. It also introduced us to a new level of organization! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Just a wonderful experience overall. Absolutely in love with the fast customer support for day-to-day questions we have had with the software.”
Mike B., a utility company lead technician, gave FieldBin a five-star rating because of its ease of use and smooth operation in day-to-day scheduling.
Simple. Easy to use. Great value. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
We use FieldBin mainly for day-to-day scheduling. Our technicians found it easy to use compared to our previous scheduling tool. Also, this new software runs a lot smoother. We also have started tracking our inventory with FieldBin, the system makes it easy for our techs to select what parts they used.”
Pricing
Free Trial?
7-day free trial with no credit card required
Basic
$19 per month for one user
Sync
$65 per month for 1 to 5 users
Build
$99 per month for 6 to 15 users
BlueFolder
Scoring
Key Features
-
Scheduling and dispatch
-
Robust work order management features
-
Field service management on mobile device
-
Customizable customer portal and CRM
-
Automatic work order creation for recurring jobs
-
Signature capture for work orders
-
Asset and equipment management
-
Built-in custom reports for billings, labor, expenses, and profitability
Personal, billing, and service dashboards
Customer and service history
Attach important documentation on work orders
No long-term subscription contracts
Takes time to learn, especially for non-tech-savvy users
Invoicing and payment systems can be improved
Map function needs work
Highlights
BlueFolder’s field reporting software helps you track all your data in one system, enabling your teams to work more efficiently and streamline your job management.
Its team scheduling capabilities allow you to view everyone’s calendars by hour, day, week, or month. You can also integrate calendars with Google Calendars, Outlook, and iCal. Easily assign any unassigned work to your employees, and they will receive instant dispatch notifications via text or email.
Because your employees are always in the field and on the go, they can make service calls faster and more accurately on their mobile devices. They can manage work orders, record and complete billable activities, capture customer signatures, and more.
BlueFolder also offers custom reports to help you keep track of key metrics and access critical data such as billings, expenses, and profitability.
There are also three types of dashboards with filtering capabilities for easy service billing tracking.
Reviews
BlueFolder only has a few reviews on the App Store for its 3.3 rating. However, it registered a higher score of 4.7 for 71 reviews on Capterra. Meanwhile, there are no published reviews for its Android app.
According to iOS user Joeoooooooooo, he canceled his BlueFolder subscription three months ago but was still charged for a three-month subscription. Hence, this one-star rating.
iOS Review:
BlueFolder is a scam ⭐
I canceled this service three months ago, and they charged my account for three months of service today, claiming that I had not canceled. I have not logged into this account for over three months. They deducted $630 from an account that I was not using, which caused it to go negative. They then laughed when I asked for a refund. Stay far away from this crooked company!”
Capterra Reviews:
Kavindu Githsara K., a system specialist in an e-learning company, considers BlueFolder a valuable tool for their company with its tracking, customization, and reporting capabilities.
The key to effortless asset management ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall, BlueFolder has been a valuable tool for my company. Its ability to track and manage all of our company’s assets in one platform, its ability to customize fields and forms, and powerful reporting capabilities have greatly improved our asset management. While the software has a bit of a learning curve and requires a bit of effort to fully set it up and customize it, the benefits of BlueFolder far outweigh the cons for our business.”
For Malinda M, a service manager at a facilities service company, Workyard deserves a five-star rating for its user-friendliness and features like work orders and reports.
I finally found the software I’ve been looking for ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Blue Folder is an excellent company that is dedicated to providing software that meets your specific needs. They are attentive and supportive throughout the process. The software is user-friendly and easy to navigate. It allows for easy addition of special fields, tracking of work orders, and generation of reports. I truly believe that the software setup couldn’t be any easier. A big thank you to the team at Blue Folder! Matt and Paulina, thank you for your patience with navigating my request.”
Pricing
Free Trial?
15-day free trial with no credit card required
Pro
Starts at $100 / month (includes two users)
Pro Plus
Starts at $210 / month (includes three users)
Enterprise
Starts at $440 / month (includes five users)
ServiceMax
Scoring
Key Features
-
Work order creation, monitoring, execution, and debriefing
-
ServiceMax Go technician mobile app
-
Real-time communication with team, experts, management, or back office
-
Feature-rich Service Board, ServiceMax’s scheduling environment
-
ServiceMax Installed Base for storing equipment data records
-
Remote Triage to avoid unnecessary truck rolls
-
Spare parts, trunk stock, and depot repair management
Voice, video, 1:1s, group messages, or broadcasts
Search, personalized views, and maps for dispatchers
Customer self–service portal
Can be clunky and difficult to use
Confusing UI
Slow customer support team response times
Highlights
ServiceMax’s field reporting software is designed for asset-centric businesses in various industries, including utilities, manufacturing, construction, and energy.
Its integrated suite of features and services helps optimize job scheduling, employee productivity, customer management, asset uptime, and social collaboration.
Its most comprehensive field service management platform is the ServiceMax Core, which uses various mobile tools to improve technicians’ in-person and remote service and productivity.
The Service Board allows you to schedule and dispatch work orders easily with one-click recommendations for times and resources. It also offers personalized views and notifications, search options, and other essential scheduling and dispatching features.
The technician mobile app ServiceMax Go provides information about work orders, locations, routes, and assets needing service. It’s also configurable and can access the asset and knowledge databases, parts search, checklists, and more.
Technicians also have secure and real-time communication with other mobile workers, experts, managers, and back office support via direct or group messages, voice, video, hotline, and broadcasts.
Reviews
The ServiceMax Go app has low overall ratings of 1.3 and 2.1 on the App Store and Play Store. But it did register a higher rating of 4.2 on Capterra for 41 ratings.
Learn more about what some users say about the app in the reviews below.
iOS user ‘not smiley’ gave the app a one-star rating because of how cumbersome it is and how it has only brought heartache and pain to their field teams.
iOS Review:
Absolute trash ⭐
My employer has had a variety of case management systems over the years. We were told this is the “industry standard.” This “industry standard” has nearly brought our field teams nothing but heartache and pain. This has been an “I think I’m about to quit my job!” kind of experience.” It’s not intuitive or efficient in any way. One might even say the makers of this app took a challenge accepted approach to how cumbersome can we make this. We see change over the years, and there are typical “growing pains” when starting something new. This is not that, we’re a year into it, and it is still by far the worst experience ever. That is all I can say, there is no positive feedback to provide.”
For Android user Jasper Perez, it’s also worth one star because the app keeps crashing and has become unusable.
Google Play Review:
⭐
App keeps crashing since its latest update. It was garbage of an app before but has become unusable. It’s affecting work, and honestly, the developers really don’t care, not like they ever did since, again, this app is trash.”
Shelby G., a QA and environmental manager for a pharmaceutical company, gave it a five-star rating. They have used it for years for work orders and find that the system works well with Salesforce.
Capterra Review:
ServiceMax fair review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I have used ServiceMax daily for years. We integrated ServiceMax with Salesforce, and this works well. Used for the field management and dispatch of work orders to national engineers, the system works well. It’s easy to train new staff and has a good and simple layout.”
Pricing
Free Trial?
Free demo only
No Tiers
Quote-based pricing
GoCanvas
Scoring
Key Features
-
Customizable field service tracking PDF and management app
-
Team reporting and site-specific data tracking capabilities
-
Essential field operations in one place for techs and dispatchers
-
Shareable forms for customers and team members via email and SMS
-
Signature and image capture
-
Integrations with ERP, CRM, and 1,000+ other business tools
Accessible from anywhere on any mobile device
Work offline mode
Barcode scanning and mobile payments
Some learning curve needed
Data transfer speeds can be improved
Issues with barcode readability
Highlights
GoCanvas’s field service report mobile app connects your team and customers on one platform.
It allows you to create and customize over 30,000 pre-built forms for precisely what your business needs. With its drag-and-drop functionality, you can easily reconfigure existing templates.
GoCanvas’s offline mode also allows field workers to capture data anytime and anywhere and automatically syncs all updates when they’re back online. You can set reminders and alerts, share forms with customers and employees, and view, download, or print form submissions.
GoCanvas safeguards all your sensitive data and information by providing secure access to all users. It also organizes work by folders and departments.
With GoCanvas analytics, you can see what’s happening in your business in real time through dynamic dashboards and customizable layouts. Uncover trends and insights about how your business is performing to make data-driven decisions.
You can also schedule reports to be sent to relevant teams or departments.
Reviews
GoCanvas has solid scores across three major platforms, receiving its highest rating of 4.7 for over 1,500 reviews on the App Store. It also earned a satisfactory rating of 4.2 and 4.4 on the Play Store and Capterra.
Read some user reviews below.
GarynMike’s five-star rating is due to GoCanvas’s simple yet powerful reporting feature they can use for their clients.
iOS Review:
Powerfully simple… ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
If you’re looking to create an app that you and/or your employees can use to provide reports to clients, then this is it! Stop looking, start creating, start benefitting from the satisfied clients you can start servicing!”
But it’s a two-star rating for Android user Kurt Dunne, who had issues with the app when submitting his reports.
Google Play Review:
⭐⭐
Keeps on backing me out halfway through submitting my reports.”
Can A. gave GoCanvas five stars because their swimming pool maintenance company went paperless with it. It’s easy to customize, and the integration was smooth.
Capterra Review:
Amazing tool ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mobile use is very beneficial in our case, because it is very hard to deal with papers during swimming pool maintenance and field services. It is almost impossible to maintain paper forms neat and clean. Papers usually get wet and useless. I don’t even count field service people’s handwriting. We are very glad that issues related paper use are all gone and left behind in the past. GoCanvas is an amazing tool, easy to use, and very easy to customize. Our integration was smooth.”
Pricing
Free Trial?
10-day free trial with no credit card required
Pro
$49 / user per month (minimum of 3 users, billed annually)
Max
$79 / user per month (minimum of 3 users, billed annually)
TruAsset
Scoring
Key Features
-
Automatic work order generation
-
Customizable service requests by department
-
Comprehensive reporting for asset maintenance management
-
Purchase order and invoice tracker
-
Field service reporting for technicians on the go
-
Project coordination from centralized location
-
Contract management of outside vendors
-
Inventory stock management across multiple locations
-
Integrations with QuickBooks Online, Centrak, Asimily, etc.
Technician field service reports can be used for billing
Reporting templates and scheduled end-of-month reports
Contract expiration and renewal date tracking
PO and calendar modules don’t fit all workflows
UI can be more visually appealing
A mobile app would be convenient
No offline mode
Highlights
TruAsset’s computerized maintenance management software focuses on the management of healthcare facilities.
However, its other capabilities, including work order and service request, invoice and purchase order tracking, parts inventory management, and advanced reporting, also support users in different industries.
You can automatically generate work orders and flag any overdue or waiting for parts. You can also link assets or workspaces. Work orders can also be edited as necessary.
TruAsset also has comprehensive reporting features, providing critical data and insights into your service requests, assets, facilities, and departments to improve your operations.
Its field reporting software allows technicians to share progress and have customers sign off with electronic signatures to complete their field service reports. They can also manage projects right from their smartphones or tablets anywhere.
Reviews
There are not many online reviews for TruAsset, but you can find some Capterra reviews in which users gave it a five-star rating.
Capterra Reviews:
Kimberly B., a hospital safety officer and administrative assistant, gave TruAsset a five-star review because of its real-time data and customization.
TruAsset is an absolute asset for our company! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The TruAsset software is user-friendly and intuitive. Moving to TruAsset was such a good move for our company. You get real-time data and can customize the software to meet your needs. This leads me to the amazing people behind TruAsset. Whether you are starting from scratch or transferring from another database, they are with you every step of the way while getting started. They continue to always be available to fix problems or try to accommodate any features that fit your company’s needs.”
Gregory D. also gave it five stars because of its functionality and reasonable price.
Highly functional platform at a reasonable price ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
It has become invaluable to our organization. Powerful, flexible, web-based, with no licenses, TruAsset easily expands to an unlimited number of users within the organization. Accessible from anywhere there is an internet connection. Intuitive and easy to learn.”
Pricing
Free Trial?
Free demo only
No Tiers
Quote-based pricing
The Bottom Line
If you need solid field reporting software, one of these options should be a good fit that aligns with your requirements. Some offer versatile solutions across industries, while others are built for specific trades.
An example is Workyard, which provides time tracking and workforce management software designed for construction and field services companies. It offers field service management functionalities such as scheduling, dispatching, geolocation, administrator dashboards, reporting, and more.
Try out Workyard’s field reporting capabilities for free, or sign up today for a 14-day trial period to experience those capabilities for yourself.
Our Scoring System Explained
Our 8-part scoring system was created to help you understand the potential value of any software we review simply and fairly.
We created it after reviewing dozens of software products, which we covered in depth, but without providing a direct and simple way for readers to compare products on their merits – without spending a lot of time looking through our articles for the information they needed to make an informed decision.
Every app we review will include Customer Support and Company scores, which we’ll explain in more detail below. Many of the factors reviewed in this article will also be consistent across most (or all) of our software reviews, with some differences:
The 8 factors assessed and their contribution to a product’s overall score may differ slightly from product to product based on various factors, such as the use case we’re reviewing for, the type of business these products are tailored to, and other considerations. However, all reviews will feature an 8-part score, weighted and combined to calculate each product’s overall score.
How We Score Software
All factors in our reviews are scored on a 10-point scale – technically 11 points – from 0-10. However, we only give products a score of 0 if it does not include an essential feature at all, and we try to avoid giving out 0 scores if a product can demonstrate any functionality in line with the specific factor being reviewed.
In general, the 0-10 range translates as:
- 9.0 – 10 – One of the absolute best in its category (amazing).
- 7.5 – 8.9 – Very good, but with some minor issues (very good).
- 6.0 – 7.4 – Mediocre performance with notable shortcomings (average).
- 3.0 – 5.9 – This feature is not ready for prime time (borderline).
- 1.0 – 2.9 – This feature actually makes its product worse (unacceptable).
- 0 – The product doesn’t include this important feature at all.
How We Calculate Overall Scores
The 8 factors reviewed are weighted based on an overall total of 100%:
- Ease of Use: 20%
- Time Tracking Accuracy: 20%
- Scheduling Features: 15%
- Job Tracking: 15%
- Integrations: 10%
- Customer Support: 15%
- Company: 5%
Methodology for Each Factor
Ease of Use
We evaluate a product’s ease of use based on three main considerations:
- How easy is it to set up this app?
- How easy is it for managers to use the backend dashboard?
- How easy is it for frontline workers to use the (mobile) app?
These three considerations cover the main ways you and your team would use the software being reviewed – when you first obtain it, when someone (a manager, executive, team leader, or similar role) needs to use it to manage people, money, data, and other things, and when workers you’re tracking use the app (usually a mobile version of the software designed for frontline and/or field team members) to clock in, clock out, record time worked, or address other day-to-day needs.
Time Tracking Accuracy
Every minute matters when you’re trying to control payroll costs. This factor accounts for various features and common needs in time-tracking apps, such as…
- How accurate or precise is its GPS tracking capability?
- How accurate – and how customizable – is its geofencing feature?
- How accurate is its travel and mileage tracking (if available)?
- Can it automatically clock workers in and out based on the above?
- Can you set and/or restrict rules for clocking in and out?
- Can the app continue tracking workers while offline?
- How easy is its mobile app and/or kiosk for frontline workers?
Scheduling Features
Many construction businesses prefer to manage as many aspects of employee labor activity as possible in a single app, which is why many time-tracking apps also include worker scheduling as a core feature.
When we consider a product’s scheduling features, we look at:
- Its dashboard customizability (daily, weekly, or monthly views).
- Its project-based scheduling and visibility.
- Its real-time updates and notifications for workers.
- Its real-time map views of worker locations for best-fit scheduling.
- Its recurring schedule (copies to subsequent weeks, etc.) functionality.
Job Tracking
This factor helps you understand if the software can also provide insight into specific projects, which is particularly handy when your business deals with many customers or clients who generally need shorter-term work. Effective job tracking typically also includes accurate job costing functionality for construction companies.
We assess several things when calculating a product’s job tracking score:
- Its project-based tracking for multiple projects per day/week/etc.
- Its ability to track multiple / many projects simultaneously.
- Its use of (and your ability to customize) construction cost codes.
- Any built-in job costing views.
- Any integrations for cost coding (QuickBooks etc.)
Integrations
No business can operate on a single app, which is why integrations with other apps and tools are such important aspects of modern business software.
To calculate a product’s integration score, we’ll examine:
- How many native integrations (the simplest connection) does it offer?
- How effective and easy-to-use are its integrations with payroll software?
- Does it have robust data import and export features?
Customer Support
Learning how to use a new app can be frustrating, even if it’s meant to be the most user-friendly app around. That’s why great customer support is so essential when considering which time-tracking app to use.
Customer support scores are calculated based on:
- Live support channels available (phone, email, chat, etc.).
- Live support hours (business hours only, 24/7, etc.).
- The strength of the product’s online help center and/or FAQs.
- What other users say about support in online reviews.
Company
A great company with a highly customer-friendly approach can often make up for shortcomings in their software products – at least up to a point.
When assessing this score, we’ll examine:
- Transparency (easy-to-find pricing, etc.)
- Trial period (duration, feature availability, credit card requirements, etc.).
- Subscription flexibility (contracts, required durations, etc.).
- Ease of cancellation or pausing subscriptions.
- Customer perceptions (online product reviews).
- Website (a minor consideration, but great companies tend to have great websites).
Any questions about our scoring system? Have any suggestions on how we could make it even better? Click here to send us your feedback – we’d love to hear from you!
Field reporting is gathering data, observations, and findings from a specific location or site, typically in a natural or real-world setting. It involves researchers, professionals, or field workers conducting on-site investigations, observations, and data collection to gain insights, document progress, or assess conditions related to their area of study or work.
The key aspects of field reporting include:
- Data collection: Field reporting involves collecting various data types through observations, measurements, surveys, interviews, or other methods. This data can be quantitative (numerical) or qualitative (descriptive). Examples include environmental readings, behavioral observations, photographic evidence, and interviews with local stakeholders.
- On-site documentation: Field reports document findings, observations, and data gathered directly from the field or site being studied. This ensures that information is captured in its natural context, providing a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of the subject matter.
- Structured reporting: Field reports are typically structured documents that present the collected data and observations in an organized and coherent manner. They often include an introduction, methodology, findings, analysis, and conclusions.
- Diverse applications: Field reporting is used in various disciplines and industries, including environmental studies, anthropology, sociology, archaeology, construction, field services, and scientific research. It allows for studying subjects in their natural environments, providing valuable insights that may not be obtainable through controlled laboratory settings.
The primary objectives of field reporting are to:
- Gather accurate and comprehensive data from real-world settings.
- Document observations, experiences, and challenges encountered in the field.
- Analyze collected data to draw meaningful conclusions.
- Communicate findings and recommendations to stakeholders or decision-makers.
Field reports promote transparency, facilitate effective communication, identify and solve problems, and enable data-driven decision-making across various industries and research domains.
Field reporting software enables field workers to capture data, observations, and findings directly from the job site or field location using mobile devices or tablets.
The best field reporting software should streamline data collection processes, improve data accuracy, enhance communication between field workers and office staff, and provide real-time visibility into field operations.
Some essential features to look for in the best field reporting software include:
- Mobile data capture: Field workers can use the software’s mobile app to record various data on-site, such as text notes, numerical readings, photos, videos, audio recordings, signatures, GPS coordinates, and more. This data is captured digitally, eliminating the need for paper-based forms and manual data entry.
- Customizable forms and checklists: The software often provides customizable digital forms, checklists, and templates tailored to the organization’s or industry’s specific needs. These forms can include drop-down menus, checkboxes, and conditional logic to ensure accurate and consistent data collection.
- Real-time data synchronization: As field workers input data into the mobile app, it is typically synchronized in real-time with a central database or cloud-based platform. This allows managers and stakeholders to access and monitor the data remotely as it is being collected.
- Geo-tagging and time-stamping: Field reporting software can automatically capture location data (GPS coordinates) and time-stamps for each data entry, providing valuable context and traceability for the collected information.
- Workflow management: Some field reporting solutions offer workflow management capabilities, allowing managers to assign tasks, schedule jobs, and track the progress of field activities from a centralized dashboard or interface.
- Data analysis: Collected data can be analyzed, filtered, and presented in various formats, such as customizable reports, dashboards, charts, and graphs. This enables data-driven decision-making and provides insights into field operations, productivity, and performance metrics.
- Integration and data sharing: Many field reporting software integrate with business systems, such as customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), or asset management systems. This allows for seamless data sharing and ensures that field data is accessible across different departments or stakeholders.
