The 7 Best HVAC Software Solutions for 2024

The numbers don’t lie: Americans spend more than $10 billion each year on HVAC repair and maintenance services. And with all new residential air-conditioning and heat pump systems now required to meet energy efficiency standard, the demand for HVAC services—and the HVAC software designed to meet them—will continue to rise.

Even if you account for inflation, the demand for HVAC maintenance remains high. This is because consumers are tightening their wallets and prefer paying for regular maintenance over buying new equipment. In fact, U.S. HVAC services market is estimated to grow to up to $35.8 billion by 2030, which means more growth opportunities and more technicians to manage for HVAC businesses.

To grab a piece of the billion-dollar HVAC industry, you need to replace your pen and paper with HVAC software designed to streamline your operations. Your competitors already have, after all.

The right HVAC software can help you automate time-consuming tasks, improve customer service, and gain valuable insights into your business performance, ultimately giving you an edge over the competition.

In this article, we’ll explore the top HVAC service software solutions–including their key features, pros, and cons–so you can cut your research hours and go straight to implementation in no time.

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Top Picks

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.

Scoring

Key Features

• GPS time clock with location tracking

• Job progress tracking

• Real-time job costing

• Simplified service scheduling with notifications

• Insightful data reporting

Highlights

Workyard tops our HVAC service software list with its versatile, resilient workforce management features for HVAC businesses. 

Powered by GPS technology, Workyard’s industry-leading time clock doesn’t stop tracking in the background, even in low- or no-reception areas. It lets technicians enter their own hours while in the field, with each time entry automatically syncing to the team’s timesheet for quicker, more accurate payroll processing. 

Workyard’s simple visual calendar enables managers to breeze through task scheduling while ensuring field techs know when to complete dispatched jobs, and where. 

With an integrated job-tracking tool, Workyard can also help technicians provide real-time task updates with notes and photos, calculate costs incurred, and generate insightful reports to help HVAC admins make data-driven decisions. 

Let’s take a quick dive into Workyard’s features. 

High-Accuracy GPS-Powered Time Clock

Customer disputes over the number of hours worked by service technicians aren’t unheard of. Workyard’s GPS-enabled time clock keeps a record of technicians’ hours, so they always have something to back them up in rare instances when clients complain (or if there’s uncertainty around their exact hours).

Field techs can clock in or out manually with just a tap of their mobile phones. Managers can also set up geofences around the job site, so Workyard can automatically log the workers in as soon as they arrive at their assigned location and trim their clock-out times to the last site exited. Thus, technicians no longer need to worry about forgetting to clock in or out.

Workyard’s time clock and timesheet

Unlike the built-in GPS trackers for many work vans or trucks, Workyard’s GPS offers continuous location tracking. So even if the worker steps out to meet clients or pick up supplies, the GPS time clock will continue tracking their locations with pinpoint accuracy. It also goes beyond the geofenced job site assigned for the project, giving workers the flexibility to work wherever they need to and get paid every single time.

All time card entries instantly reflect on the team’s timesheet, making it easier for managers to review, edit, or approve time cards. The map-based team view also points them to each technician’s specific locations at any given time, ensuring accurate dispatching or scheduling decisions. 

Workyard’s advanced time and location tracking system can also: 

• Track vehicle’s travel times, routes, and driving mileage for easier reimbursements
  
• Send push notifications to remind service techs to take required meal breaks
  
• Insert meal breaks into time cards if workers forget to take them during their shifts
  
• Tag tasks to a project and cost code to automatically track costs incurred in completing each task
  
• Continue working even in offline mode and instantly sync data to timesheets once the connection is restored
  

Up-to-Date Job Progress Tracker

Whether you’re in the field or the office, Workyard lets you collaborate with your team to resolve project issues and complete tasks on time. 

Workyard’s job progress tracker is seamlessly incorporated into the scheduled task, allowing service technicians and managers to exchange updates in one place. 

Workyard’s job progress tracking

To keep everyone in the loop, you can add a checklist, insert task notes, upload photos, or share attachments in the activity stream within each task. All communications are safe and secure so you can easily revisit the thread anytime to check the task’s status. 

Managers can also access the Project Hub section of the app to get a bird’s-eye view of each project’s performance. This section provides a breakdown of hours, mileage, travel time, and costs per project. These can be further drilled down to gain more data-driven insights. 

Real-Time Job Costing

Workyard’s construction costing software breaks down each project into different buckets to give a more detailed view of where time and money are spent.

With every clock-in, service techs can choose which project and cost code to tag their current task to. Every hour recorded automatically goes directly to the cost code and project it has been linked with. This way, managers can have a more granular view of how much time and labor costs are spent on each task. 

Workyard’s job cost tracking

Workyard’s Job Costing section consolidates all data and organizes them by project. Simply click on each project, and you’ll get a live view of the total project cost and how it was distributed into different tasks or cost codes. 

By examining job labor costs more closely, managers can pinpoint exactly where they overspend. Workyard’s dashboard also shows which workers get paid the most (or the least) and whether they’re hitting their budget or not.

Effortless Service Scheduling

Workyard’s contractor scheduling software helps managers organize their team’s schedule in one compact visual calendar. 

Inserting a new task only takes one click. You can assign it to an individual tech or let multiple members collaborate on it. A task watcher can be designated to oversee the assignment from start to finish, ensuring deadlines are always met. 

Workyard’s service scheduling

Managers can dispatch a one-off job on the spot or set the task on repeat for projects requiring maintenance work on a daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly basis. 

Workyard provides all essential details and scheduling templates so you can revise schedules without starting from scratch. 

You can reschedule tasks by dragging and dropping them to the new date. Duplicating a task only takes a few clicks, allowing you to populate the calendar with similar entries quickly.

Bulk editing is also available. To do so, switch to a task list format, select the tasks you want to edit, and apply the changes in one go.

Workyard’s flexible scheduling tool also does the following:

• Add custom labels to each task to keep things organized
  
• Assign each task to a project or a geofenced location
  
• Add notes, photos, checklist, and attachments to ensure service techs won’t miss any crucial detail
  
• Automatically send email or app notifications to workers each time a task is added or updated

Customizable Reports and Dashboard

Workyard collects every detail you enter into the system and automatically generates reports to help you make data-driven decisions. 

Workyard’s dashboard greets users with a summary of projects your team is working on and the labor costs they have incurred so far. It allows managers to review active projects at a glance and keep their fingers on the pulse of how profitable they are.

Workyard reports and dashboard

Time card reports give insights into how service techs spend their time at work. They also help you verify time card submissions and whether they comply with the company’s clock-in, clock-out, and meal break guidelines. 

Choose between a summary report or a more detailed account of hours recorded, time spent driving, and mileage driven by field techs during their shifts. You can further customize the report by choosing the person (or group of technicians) you want to generate it about, along with time and date settings.

The Project Hub also offers a wealth of insightful data you can review to get a better picture of each project’s current status. 

By clicking on an individual project, you’ll access a detailed breakdown of the number of hours, labor costs, and driving mileage spent working on it. This gives you the data you need to keep your budget on track, streamline your billing processes, and improve future estimates. 

Reviews

Workyard has made its mark as construction management software, but its benefits extend to any type of field service business. 

User reviews reflect this fact as people from diverse field service backgrounds share their thoughts on what it’s like to use Workyard for their day-to-day operations. 

As of this writing, Workyard has generated the following reviews from different platforms: 

Losing data is always devastating, especially for HVAC businesses relying on their software to keep their customer databases intact. The iOS user below learned this the hard way but bounced back successfully with the help of Workyard.

Better than most ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
We were using another app to clock employee hours until out of the blue it started deleting hours. Ended up losing all my information and the company told me there was nothing to do about getting them back. I almost went back to paper but decided to give Workyard a try. We’ve been using it for a few months and it’s been rock solid. It’s been so reliable we’re thinking about upgrading to the plan that gives us reporting on all our labor costs across projects. 

The Android user review below echoes the most common pain points of field service businesses. These include service techs forgetting to clock in and a lack of real-time location tracking for job dispatching–problems Workyard has successfully addressed. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
App is amazing, it allows me as a technician if I accidentally forget to sign in to a customer that I’ll have proof I was there with the GPS location. It’s overall makes it easier on management because they can see where all the techs are and when new customers call in they’re able to call the nearest tech to pick up more business. Overall a very needed app for any business that has several techs or employees that are mobile. And it makes tracking hours easy.

The Capterra user below finds Workyard a bit on the premium side, but its ease of use and time-saving features justify its price.

Due West Construction Workyard review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: The team from work yard is very helpful and always available to assist.

Pros: The ease of set up and use on the daily for our employees. The time saving for our administration team.

Cons: Little expensive but the time we are saving is off setting the cost.

Pricing

Boost HVAC techs’ productivity with Workyard’s precise time clock

See How it Works

Scoring

Key Features

• AI-powered scheduling

• Map-based dispatching tool

• Time and job cost tracker

• QuickBooks integration

• Business analytics reporting

Highlights

With Service Trade’s Smart AI technology at their fingertips, dispatchers can swiftly pinpoint the perfect technician for the job based on location and expertise. 

In addition to providing complete equipment history, Service Trade’s Smart AI can also predict what can happen to the equipment based on frequently reported issues. It highlights potential risks and recommends fixes, helping service techs provide proactive repair solutions before the equipment totally breaks down.

ServiceTrade dispatching software

While Service Trade’s AI technology is valuable, it comes at a premium cost. Its high price tag may scare away small, bootstrapped field service businesses. 

Unfortunately, Service Trade’s native integrations are extremely limited. Although it plays nicely with QuickBooks and a handful of other platforms, the options are somewhat slim. Sure, there’s always an API for custom integrations, but access to this feature comes with a hefty price tag for ServiceTrade users.

Reviews

AI can do many wonders if executed perfectly. In the case of Service Trade, however, it may take time before the technology becomes much more refined. Hence, iOS users like the person below are “putting up” with Service Trade’s smart assistant for now in the hopes of eventual improvements.

Testing Patience: Field Tech Edition ⭐ ⭐

Sure, it’s a tech genius when the connectivity stars align, but in the low bars zone, it’s like dealing with a moody AI roommate. It’s a mix of great features and a sprinkle of chaos, leaving you questioning if you accidentally signed up for a reality show called “Testing Patience: Field Tech Edition.

(Click here for more ServiceTrade iOS reviews)

The Android user below likewise finds many faults in Service Trade’s mobile app. Many features were missing, and things marked as not visible in the work order turned out otherwise.

⭐

My company uses this for work orders as a service technican. It is actually not usable on android. Missing many features. Will send customers photos and notes on a work order that you have marked as not visible to the customer. Not worth even looking at if you use android phones.

(Click here for more ServiceTrade Android reviews)

Integrations are Service Trade’s weakest point, and it became evident when the Capterra user below had to use and sync many apps with Service Trade just to complete crucial business transactions.

Great product with areas to improve ⭐⭐⭐⭐

While this application makes dispatching and scheduling so much easier, it is lacking in almost every other area that makes a business run and does not make the integration process easy, so we find ourselves using multiple different apps when we’d prefer to just use ServiceTrade as our primary for everything including accounting and billing.

(Click here for more ServiceTrade Capterra reviews)

Pricing

Scoring

Key Features

• Equipment and inventory management

• Advanced quote and estimation system

• SMS communication for both techs and customers

• On-site SOP and checklist enforcement

• Mobile time clock for technicians

• Access to detailed customer history

Highlights

ServiceTitan boasts extensive customization options for large field service businesses. This flexibility allows large enterprises to scale their operations without ever outgrowing the software. 

The platform enables technicians to quickly generate quotes using estimate templates, showcase pictures and pricing, offer “good, better, best” options, and even accept on-site payments from customers.

ServiceTitan dispatcing software

The app’s Uber-style GPS tracker allows customers to follow the technician’s real-time location on a map, addressing potential inquiries about their ETA. This feature is a significant improvement over the standard estimated arrival windows offered by other software (like Housecall Pro).

However, the lack of publicly available pricing information suggests the costs are substantial. Moreover, ServiceTitan’s implementation process is long and complex, often requiring multi-year contracts and dedicated training. 

While ServiceTitan offers powerful tools and features, it requires considerable investment in both time and money. Potential users should weigh these factors carefully before committing themselves to a purchase or subscription.

Reviews

ServiceTitan may have all the bells and whistles that appeal to office-based dispatchers or managers, but its mobile app leaves a lot to be desired. The iOS user below details how using the app made things more complicated for service technicians on their team.

App not optimized for mobile ⭐

The company I work for has struggled to find an effective app that suits both technicians in the field as well as office personnel. While this app does provide a decent medium for technician and office to enter job details, it is plagued by poor mobile development. Just about every day I struggle with losing a well thought out description of work performed as the app loves to just close the current sheet you attempt to fill out. Resizing on mobile is a cancer and often soft locks to the point you must close the app and reopen to fix.

(Click here for more ServiceTitan iOS reviews)

The Android user below shares the same sentiment as the iOS user above. ServiceTitan became almost unusable, and the user couldn’t do anything unless the app was restarted.

⭐⭐

Fixed needed: 1. Since I’ve been using this app for the past 7 months, I always find myself needing to refresh the app when I pull up to a customers house. When I try to hit the “arrive” button, it does nothing unless I refresh the app and try again immediately. 2. Just purchased new phone last week(Pixel 8 Pro). Since using this app on the new phone, I am no longer able to upload pictures of the job onto the customers account. The screen freezes and pics are not added. Please fix these issues.

(Click here for more ServiceTitan Android reviews)

ServiceTitan gets more favorable reviews from Capterra users. For instance, the user below comments on ServiceTitan’s complicated setup and implementation but highlights the specific features they love.

The best CRM for the trades ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pros: We love how easy ServiceTitan makes things on our customers. Automated text messages when a technician is on the way, ability to pay their invoice online, and fast online scheduling with real time availability makes us very simple to do business with!

Cons: The implementation and setup is quite the process. New feature onboarding requires a lot of research and figuring out for yourself. ServiceTitan helps as much as they can but not having a dedicated account rep anymore makes this a little challenging.

(Click here for more ServiceTitan Capterra reviews)

Pricing

Scoring

Key Features

• Drag-and-drop job scheduling

• On-the-spot/scheduled dispatching

• GPS employee time tracking

• Easy service estimates

• Built-in paperless invoicing

• Professional price book templates

Highlights

When it comes to balancing a user-friendly interface with a robust feature set, Housecall Pro hits it out of the park. Its drag-and-drop scheduling calendar simplifies appointment management. Its built-in invoicing and service estimates are also seamlessly integrated, allowing for quick conversions into scheduled jobs. 

Housecall Pro dispatching software

Housecall Pro offers a flat cost for up to 15 users, making it an ideal choice for small contractors looking for a comprehensive solution without breaking the bank.

While a useful feature, Housecall Pro’s map-based location tracking isn’t updated in real time — it only refreshes every few minutes. This delay can be problematic for dispatchers needing to assign the closest technician to a job and potentially leads to slower response times.

Reviews

Housecall Pro reserves its escalated phone support for its highest-paying users, leaving everyone else (including the iOS user below) struggling to find prompt resolutions for their technical issues.

Good app but… ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really like the app and it does make things a lot easier for the most part. Some issues I have are a complete lack of phone support, they use a chat feature to communicate about issues and problems and it is extremely slow.

I spent the better part of an hour trying to resolve an issue about Quickbooks integration and Sales tax error codes and still did not get my issue resolved and still haven’t and I have over a hundred errors that I try to resolve and once I do that, 60 more pop up because the sales tax issue isn’t resolved. I don’t have time to read all the articles they send me or watch all of the videos. Poor poor customer support.

(Click here for more Housecall Pro iOS reviews)

Customer support is apparently not Housecall Pro’s strong suit, as many users (including the Android user below) complain about its chat support’s slow response time.

⭐

Customer service is absolutely the worst. You can’t speak to a human. Everything is done by chat, and it takes forever to get a response. They must have so many complaints that they don’t take care of that they screen the complaints by chat only.

You pay a high price for their poor service. You never get your problems resolved. If you are thinking about using this company, run to someone who cares about their clients and you get the customer service that you expect and deserve.

(Click here for more Housecall Pro Android reviews)

The Capterra user review below points out his favorite Housecall Pro features while not forgetting to leave constructive feedback behind.

The definitive solution to manage my service business efficiently ⭐⭐⭐

Pros: I like this platform because with just a few clicks, I can schedule appointments, send reminders to my clients, generate invoices and receive payments.

Cons: One of the areas where I think they can improve is the customization of the forms and templates. Although there is a good selection available, I would like more customization options.

(Click here for more Housecall Pro Capterra reviews)

Pricing

Scoring

Key Features

• Drag-and-drop dispatching board

• Performance tracking dashboard

• Work order management

• Invoicing and payment processing

• Visual price book

• QuickBooks integration

Highlights

FieldEdge’s integrated work order management system is activated as soon as a customer calls, giving the support techs everything they need to give personalized service. 

The work order page gives a complete history of every job ever quoted or completed. It also provides information on invoices, the customer’s current equipment, and other critical technical and logistical details. 

All crucial customer information can be reviewed at a glance. This eliminates the necessity to call the head office multiple times for verification purposes.

FieldEdge job management

On the flip side, FieldEdge lacks robust routing capabilities for field technicians. This can be a significant roadblock, especially for HVAC businesses with many technicians covering large service areas. 

Additionally, FieldEdge’s high price point may be a stumbling block for smaller or more agile businesses. The software’s comprehensive features come at a premium, which might not be justifiable for those operating on tighter budgets. 

Reviews

FieldEdge comes with a couple of fancy features that may require some learning curve. The iOS user below is looking for a simpler, more intuitive experience, which, sadly, FieldEdge can’t provide.

Pretty bad ⭐⭐⭐

This app is garbage. It’s very confusing and takes a long time to navigate through. I have used service titan and as hard as that was to learn and as much as I didn’t enjoy using it I miss it now looking back in retrospect, you can tell that whoever made field edge has had no experiences in the trades, it has a lot of useless steps and is a time waster.

(Click here for more FieldEdge iOS reviews)

Android users like the one below likewise find FieldEdge intimidating. Striking a balance between functionality and ease of use is an art form in itself, and FieldEdge may require a few more iterations before mastering it.

⭐

Clunky and over complicated, it’s like the app has been made unnecessarily complicated to make it seem super advanced or something. Not user friendly at all.

(Click here for more FieldEdge Android reviews)

The general consensus of most Capterra users (like the one below) is that FieldEdge lags behind in terms of user-friendliness, an opinion clearly echoing those provided for the previous two platforms we’ve reviewed.

Private review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pros: Our implementation specialist was great.

Cons: User friendliness and functionality of the site.

(Click here for more FieldEdge Capterra reviews)

Pricing

Scoring

Key Features

• Drag-and-drop dispatching board

• Separate board for field techs and contractors

• Collapsible job location map

• Built-in route planning

• In-app messaging

• On-site estimates and invoicing

Highlights

Field Complete might work for you if your HVAC business takes on large projects. The platform allows you to split these work orders into multiple jobs, so you can keep some tasks in-house and delegate the rest to subcontractors. This feature can be particularly handy during peak seasons. It also suits HVAC businesses focused on large-scale installations.

Field Complete dispatching software

Field Complete provides comprehensive tools to track subcontracted jobs and manage payments, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks. This makes it easier to maintain a clear overview of project progress and financials, ultimately boosting your HVAC business’ operational efficiency.

On the other hand, Field Complete’s lack of a built-in time clock or time-tracking feature for field technicians can be a significant drawback. Accurate time tracking is generally crucial for billing and payroll. Without it, your service techs might need to rely on multiple tools to handle their daily duties, adding complexity to the team’s workflow. 

Reviews

As of this writing, Field Complete has only one review for its iOS app. Unfortunately, for the software, the iOS user below didn’t hold back, giving Field Complete a negative rating for its lack of intuitiveness. 

App is basically beta ⭐

So many parts of this app don’t work properly, updates have been slow. My company is dropping this provider because the app is basically unusable.

(Click here for more Field Complete iOS reviews)

While the dispatcher below finds Field Complete to be good overall, it fails to meet the mark for field technicians who frequently use the app to view dispatched jobs.

Good software for employee or technician scheduling ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pros: that if we assign work orders to techs sometimes they can’t see the jobs and they always have difficulties finding them.

Cons: that is very easy to use it but complicated for the employees or the technicians.

(Click here for more Field Complete Capterra reviews)

Pricing

Scoring

Key Features

• Built-in estimates and invoicing

• Online payment processing

• Business revenue reporting

• Client database

• QuickBooks Integration

Highlights

Joisit streamlines crafting estimates and invoices on the go. The app suits those who are hustling from one job site to the next.

Joist invoicing software

Joist’s plans offer online payment options, enabling clients to settle their bill even if they don’t have the cash on hand. Joist provides homeowner financing options, teaming up with a roster of lending institutions to ensure everyone can afford the services they need when they need them.

While Joist has its charms, it doesn’t offer a software suite to cover every aspect of your operations.

Reviews

Occasional glitches don’t define an app, but without responsive customer support to appease users, the app will continue to leave a negative impression. The iOS below learned this the hard way.

Great app mostly ⭐ ⭐⭐

The two reasons I gave it less than 5 stars are as follows:
1. Every time you navigate to a different app during estimate editing mode (example: to copy and paste from your notes), it closes the edit and doesn’t save any changes. The app refreshes each time you close a bid, etc. Makes for a lot of wasted time while it reloads ten times more frequently than needed. I have brought this up to the Joist team and they said they would look into it, but never fixed it.
2. The app keeps sending annoying messages to try to get me to sign up for PayPal payments, and no matter how often I decline, they keep throwing it in front of me each time I open the app. Like please stop wasting our time.

(Click here for more Joist iOS reviews)

Joist offers limited payment options (PayPal, Venmo, or credit card). PayPal is the least recommended one due to hefty deductions, leading the user below to leave less than 5 stars.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Been very beneficial for saving time by saving client info and getting paid instantly when your customer pays through the app. It does come at a cost in the form of paypal fees. For jobs over $1,000 I would reccomend getting paid by check.
The estimate option is still ok but then if you start an estimate on one app its not been very promising to use a different app for the invoice process. Bottom line, great app, paypal fees is the reason for the loss of one star.

(Click here for more Joist Android reviews)

Due to the limited number of Joist’s features, the Capterra user below recommends Joist for new businesses. He also pointed out features that are obviously not available in Joist (at least for now).

Joist to the rescue! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pros: It is so easy to use and very inexpensive. The free version is great for anyone starting a new business or crm.

Cons: I wish it had a scheduling feature and a good,better,best option for estimating.

(Click here for more Joist Capterra reviews)

Pricing

Final Thoughts

HVAC businesses face the unique challenge of harmonizing office employees with field technicians. One solution is to choose HVAC service software that can accurately track field workers while on the go and provide real-time updates to dispatchers. 

While Workyard is known for its precise time clock for the construction industry, its high-accuracy GPS location tracking system has also made it one of the best overall choices for HVAC service software. 

Workyard is designed for any field service business relying on technicians to go to specific locations at the right time. Case in point: Workyard helped D&S Electric’s Vice President Kathi Smith save an estimated $10,00 in payroll costs by replacing its old-school time reporting with Workyard’s pinpoint-accurate time clock.

Learn more about Workyard’s industry-specific features and how they can help your HVAC business get to the next level. Or, sign up for its 14-day free trial to start testing its features at no cost.

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!

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