The 6 Best Lawn Care Scheduling Software Solutions for 2024
Looking for lawn care scheduling software for your business? We’ve reviewed 6 of the best apps on the market to help you choose!
As more businesses dot the lawn care landscape, companies must leverage the right software solutions to stay competitive and efficient.
In 2024, the top lawn care scheduling software options offer a range of features to streamline scheduling, time tracking, and job costing, among other business solutions. These tools can help lawn care companies optimize scheduling, improve customer satisfaction, and ultimately grow their market reach.
In this article, we’ve compiled a list of the seven best lawn care scheduling software solutions available today.
We’ll examine each one’s key features, see what real users say about it, and score it based on an identical set of criteria.
Let’s start with a quick overview of the list.
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…
9.5 
14-day free trial
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
-
Best-in-class GPS time clock
-
Integration with payroll systems and workflow in minutes
-
Labor compliance in-app functionality
-
Scheduling for individual workers and teams
-
Job-tracking with real-time data
-
Job costing for all types of jobs
-
Reporting with analysis and insights
Easy to use for field workers
Great customer support
Accurate time- and mileage tracking
Field staff need onboarding
De- or re-activating employees could be easier
Not easy to edit time entries
Highlights
Scheduling
Workyard’s dedicated scheduling solution is designed for mobile teams and field workers like construction professionals, lawn care experts, and service professionals. Simply drag and drop entries using its visual calendar dashboard to assign team members to projects and tasks.
Not only does Workyard help sort and organize jobs, it also prevents miscommunication and delays by providing additional information around tasks. Team managers like you can add checklists, photos, and notes to make sure assigned team members have everything they need to complete the job.
Use Workyard to schedule and assign multiple jobs to any worker. You can also assign several team members to the same job or multi-day jobs. Job duration can be set for specific start and end times.
Use Workyard’s construction scheduling software to:
- Schedule multiple jobs for any worker (or several workers to the same job)
- See schedules by week, month, or task
- Organize schedules by job type, deadline, date, and others
- Repeat scheduled projects or tasks
- Track job completion
Workyard integrates its digital team calendar with its GPS live tracking, allowing you to see team members’ real-time location. You can also look up your crew’s location history to provide additional verification of their presence on a work site should customers or homeowners ask.
Workyard’s mobile app syncs employees’ schedules in real-time to keep everyone updated on tasks and assignments. The app keeps file attachments visible on the mobile calendar so everyone stays on the same page. Field employees can also take photos and send notes to your office to update management about lawn care jobs’ statuses.
Use Workyard’s integrations to easily sync jobs from your CRM, simplifying scheduling and team assignments in a few clicks.
GPS Time Clock
Use Workyard’s time clock to track hours out in the field or on the road.
Workyard’s highly precise time clock uses live phone-based GPS tracking alongside personalized geofencing to accurately pinpoint workers’ locations. Make sure every service personnel’s worked minute is accounted for and keep your labor costs accurate with Workyard.
Field workers don’t need to punch time cards manually — Workyard automates clock-in and clock-out for every employee. You can see exactly where your team members are at the start and end of every shift.
You can also track employees using Workyard’s live map during working hours to ensure they’re at the right place and on schedule.
Use Workyard’s GPS tracking solution to keep vehicle trip reimbursements accurate. The app also shows any detours or side trips made during work-related journeys.
With its precise GPS tracking, Workyard makes sure every time card submission and timesheet is correct, reflecting actual labor costs so you can keep projects profitable.
See why 50,000+ workers and over 10,000 contractors use Workyard (and why construction managers and leaders like you have rated us 4.9 of 5 stars on Capterra). Explore Workyard and start a 14-day free trial today to see how we can speed up your construction and workforce management.
Job Costing
Use Workyard’s live cost tracking solution to capture job costs by recording and analyzing time card submissions.
Group and filter job costs by:
- Employee
- Project type
- Duration of project
- Cost code
- Date
As soon as the app receives log and time card submissions, it automatically calculates job costs. The platform determines labor expenses for every task and team member, updating your dashboard in real time.
Workyard also synchronizes job cost data and timesheets with existing accounting systems for quick processing.
Job Tracking
Wondering whether your lawn care service professionals are on the job?
Track tasks and assignments with Workyard’s job-tracking software. The dashboard provides you with project and customer details as well as employees’ arrival and departure from geofenced locations.
You can use Workyard to easily:
- Capture job progress with the mobile app
- Increase transparency around project activity
- Speed up business processes
- Improve billing and job estimates with labor costs
Workyard’s platform provides key data from the field, including:
Labor time and costs. Every timecard submission includes hours worked per job and/or cost codes.
Site visits. Every employee clock-in and clock-out is automatically captured.
Worksite vehicle trips. Relevant driving trips to each job site are tracked and recorded.
Project updates. Every worker assigned to a job can share progress updates with notes and photos.
Receipts. Team members have the autonomy to record receipts and attach them to the relevant job.
Reporting
Use Workyard to create customizable reports and dashboards in minutes. Access key metrics to derive insights for better business and workforce management.
You can generate and customize the following reports in Workyard with a few clicks:
- Time cards (detail, summary)
- Time card notes
- Time off summary
- Pay period time
- Project and cost code time (detail, summary)
Create the following reports in minutes:
Task report. Filter and group entries by time, cost code, and project code
Project report. Create project reports on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis
Progress report. Export current project notes in PDF and CSV format, including image attachments
Employee time report. Create reports on teams’ worked hours, labor costs, and activity on job sites
With its customized reports, Workyard helps you understand project labor costs and employee productivity in detail.
Labor Compliance
Worried about whether your crew’s rates and hours are compliant with labor laws and regulations? Workyard puts these worries to rest with its built-in labor guidelines for managing compliance.
The app is fully aligned with Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) guidelines. It stores employee records in an online archive you can access anytime. The app also creates automatic audit trails to document time records for every employee on your team.
Workyard sets rules for mandatory breaks and overtime by state to help you stay compliant with labor regulations anywhere in the U.S.
Integrations
The Workyard app seamlessly integrates with accounting and payroll systems for streamlined business processing. Workyard’s native integrations include QuickBooks, Gusto, Oracle NetSuite, Rippling, and others.
Workyard exports employee and project data to other systems within minutes for streamlined billing, invoicing, and job cost reporting.
The platform also exports data to CSVs for use in Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets. Workyard’s open API allows you to connect to more systems not already on the list.
Reviews
Workyard users say the app excels in time-tracking and job cost tracking. However, some workers say they don’t like the GPS tracking.
iOS user RHEC615 says Workyard is the best for time-tracking accuracy:
iOS Review:
Best app – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
By far the best app I’ve ever used for work. Most consistent and accurate app hands down. Haven’t had any difficulties at all, was very easy to use. I will never use another app for clocking my hours at work.
Android user Kenneth Mastache is happy with the app’s performance on his Android tablet:
Google Play Review:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
very good app…
Workyard user Jami C. says he appreciates the app’s customization and cost tracking features:
Capterra Review:
Best program yet ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: Overall I am very pleased with Workyard, I highly recommend this to all industries.Pros: I like the customization and job cost tracking in Workyard. I have the ability to individualize employee permissions and geofence tracking as needed. Also to allocate time and money per job in detail is a huge time save for me and helps us make accurate business decisions. The organization settings make this app perfect for a broad scope of industries. Above all the platform is self guiding and easy to use and a real person in customer support is readily available if needed.
Cons: If I had to pick something for improvement I’d say task and schedule. I’d like mobile notifications or task options for high importance items and due date reminders. An in app employee customizable mobile friendly task list with a check off for task completion would be perfect!
Pricing
Free Trial?
14-day trial with no credit card required
Time Tracking
Annual: $6 / mo. per user + $50 base fee
Monthly: $8 / mo. per user + $50 base fee
Workforce
Management
Annual: $13 / mo. per user + $50 base fee
Monthly: $16 / mo. per user + $50 base fee
Workyard makes scheduling easy!
Click Here to Find Out More
LawnPro
Scoring
Key Features
-
Scheduling with free-form drawing for group selection
-
Informative dashboard with 7-day profit forecasting
-
Time-tracking for time spent on job, driving, and breaks
-
Branded invoicing and estimates
-
Online payments options
Useful scheduling features (ex. free-form drawing)
Good client-facing features (ex. communications)
Easy to navigate
Automation feature difficult to use
Range of features can be overwhelming
Poor customer service
Highlights
LawnPro is lawn care business software serving landscaping, snow removal, and electrical contractors among other businesses.
It provides tools for scheduling, time tracking, and invoicing. You can schedule jobs by dragging and dropping calendar entries, or drawing around a group of visits to schedule them to a crew.
The app also allows you to create a repeating set of visits, reschedule an entire day’s events with a few clicks, or sort the schedule by filters.
LawnPro offers an informative dashboard with up to seven days of profit forecast based on your current numbers. It also offers branded invoicing and estimates, multiple online payment options for clients, and auto-send invoices.
The software includes a time-tracking tool in the form of a start-and-stop job timer. It tracks time worked on jobs, time worked for the day, driving, breaks, and other work-related time expenditures.
LawnPro integrates with numerous apps and services via Zapier.
Reviews
LawnPro users say it has a great concept, but needs to be more user-friendly, especially for field workers.
iOS user Jjbinkssss says the app concept is great, but the reality is less glamorous:
iOS Review:
This could be a great option but… – ⭐
The concept and UI are great but the delivery and support is atrocious. I’ve lost countless hours of work and had embarrassing situations to explain to customers because of my reliance on a system that simply cannot deliver a reliable result. Crashes, updates not saving, emails not going out, loop issues in coding ( hundreds of emails were sent to multiple clients within minutes) this software is unpolished and doesn’t seem to be getting better after using it for over a year.
An unnamed Lawnpro user says the app is great for the most part, but it needs to be more friendly for field workers:
Capterra Review:
For most part this is a great program. ⭐⭐⭐
Overall: For me this program mostly is great. If the company would make it app field friendly with minus that you can read in a brighter setting and add recurring invoicing so I don’t have to make a manual invoice out every month just so my clients have line items. My rating stars would be higher. These 2 items are crucial to my business functioning smoothly.Pros: Has a lot of great features. 2 way Quickbooks sync, 2 way free style text messages. Great customer portal. Customers can prepay and when invoices created it will apply payment from credit on file. Has a full function mobile app, best I have seen in trying many apps,can be limited by employee job. Online payments available through PayPal and stripe (I personally do not like Stripe takes 7-10 days to get your money)
Cons: Menu’s on the program are to dark with thin fonts and makes it very hard to use it in the field. Does not have recurring invoicing for jobs that are the same every month. Only way to do that is create a contract but then you have no line items.
Pricing
Free Trial?
Free tier (1 user only)
Plan 2
(3 Users)
Annual: $29 / mo. per user
Monthly: $39 / mo. per user
Plan 3
(7 Users)
Annual: $79 / mo. per user
Monthly: $97 / mo. per user
Plan 4
(15 Users)
Annual: $159 / mo. per user
Monthly: $179 / mo. per user
Yardbook
Scoring
Key Features
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Scheduling with auto-notifications
-
One-click route optimization
-
GPS tracking with timesheet population
-
Invoice generation from job assignments
-
Team and client communication tools
Robust free tier for SMBs
Implements client feedback
Good client-facing features (ex. homepage)
High payment processing fees from partners
Time clock not intuitive
Requires onboarding
Highlights
Yardbook is a dedicated landscaping and lawn care business software solution. It offers tools for sales, business operations, finance, and records management.
The platform allows you to schedule one-off or repeat jobs, with automatic notifications for clients. Its mobile app allows you to track job progress and completion in real time.
The app offers one-click route optimization with its GPS tracking solution. Its time clock app records clock-in and clock-out. It also offers team and client communication via text and email.
Yardbook generates invoices directly from jobs. You can also set up recurring invoice templates on the platform and accept credit card payments.
Yardbook integrates with numerous apps via Zapier.
Reviews
Yardbook users say they were generally happy with the app but wanted more security from the platform.
Yardbook user Robert C. says working with the app has been a good experience, but cites security concerns for leaving:
Capterra Review:
Good software, but major security issue. ⭐⭐⭐
Overall: Yardbook has been a good experience, but I am switching my business off it because it does not offer 2 Factor Authentication. This poses a security risk because all of my business and customer information can be exposed to a hacker or someone who gains access to my user ID and password. Too risky for me, and I have asked the company to set up 2FA, which they cannot offer as of now.Pros: Organize customers, offer electronic billing, schedule jobs, run revenue reports
Cons: No 2FA security, not able to seemingly customize database fields
Pricing
Free Trial?
Free tier
Business
$34.99 per mo.
Enterprise
$49.99 per mo.
Connecteam
Scoring
Key Features
-
Auto-scheduling with employee availability visibility
-
Shift reminders with in-app chat and instant updates
-
Time-tracking app with digital timesheets
-
Team messaging channels and notification
-
Timesheet export to payroll
Plenty of useful features for small businesses
Great customer support
User-friendly
GPS tracking may fail on weak connection
Occasional app crashes
Limited integrations
Highlights
Connecteam is an employee management solution serving construction, cleaning services, field services, homecare, retail, and other industries. It primarily targets businesses with ‘non-desk’ or mobile teams.
The software provides tools for scheduling, time tracking, team communication, HR, payroll, and more.
You can build team schedules in minutes from templates, previous schedule duplicates, or with the app’s auto-scheduler.
The app also provides visibility into employees’ availability, preferences, and qualifications so you can optimize schedules. It enables you to set up regulatory limitations and ensure equal shift distribution.
You can use the in-app chat to send shift reminders and communicate with employees. Once they receive schedules, team members can accept or reject them, increasing accountability and minimizing scheduling mistakes. The app notifies teams of schedule updates via its web platform and mobile apps.
Connecteam tracks time worked during shifts with options for setting up digital geo-fencing. The app enables you to approve timesheets individually or in bulk. It also integrates digital timesheets with payroll to reduce administrative tasks.
The platform automatically calculates overtime, breaks, and time off, helping you track project costs and hours.
Connecteam integrates with payroll systems, including Gusto, QuickBooks, Paychex, and Xero.
Reviews
Connecteam users were mostly satisfied with its performance, but reported issues with the scheduling and mobile experience.
iOS user NunyaGdBusiness says the app needs a little more improvement to earn five stars:
iOS Review:
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 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.
2.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.
Android user Karen Kaufman says the app is clunky to use for scheduling:
Google Play Review:
⭐⭐
Very clunky app that’s required by my employer for scheduling shifts. The UI is circa 2008; the notifications require opening the app to figure out if a shift is changed, added, or cancelled. It does not have the option to export my work schedule to another calendar (e.g., Google calendar) so my spouse can see my work schedule. I have to manually transfer all this information whenever my schedule is posted or something changes.
Connecteam user Renee C. says they were very happy with the app, except when it crashes:
Capterra Review:
Connecteam streamlines your time tracking, and keeps your team connected! – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: Overall we are very happy to be using Connecteam and our staff all agree it has made things much easier. From time tracking, to job briefings, milage reports, and gathering documents, there is nothing you cant do on Connecteam!Pros: Connecteam’s time tracking is amazing! To be able to select from multiple jobs and sub-jobs, add notes, and even attachments such as milage, meals, hotels etc, it keeps our time tracking streamlined and simple. This helps our accounting department to be able to invoice for the exact amount of time spent at each clients facility, and gives a large overview of exactly where and what our staff was doing.
Cons: Occasionally the app crashes, and it makes it difficult for our staff to sign in/out for the day. It is rare, but when it does happen, it causes a disturbance.
Pricing
Free Trial?
14-day free trial, no credit card required
The Small Business Plan
$0 – Free for life, access to basic features
Basic
Starting at $29 / mo.
Advanced
Starting at $49 / mo.
Expert
Starting at $99 / mo.
Jobber
Scoring
Key Features
-
One-tap scheduling with team member schedule comparison
-
Drag-and-drop visual calendar with color coding
-
Automated job booking based on preferences
-
Instant invoice generation with email or text follow-up
-
Client hub with online booking function
Good customer service
Easy to use
Flexible for multi-trade businesses
GPS tracking (Fleetsharp) needs improvement
Lack of invoice customization
Users report low value for cost
Highlights
Jobber’s job scheduling software targets cleaning and ‘green’ services like lawn care, landscaping, gardening, and tree care. It also serves general contractors and construction professionals.
Its one-tap job scheduling tool helps you assign, schedule, and dispatch crew members quickly. You can personalize your calendar with color coding and filter for jobs. When a client books online, the platform automatically schedules an appointment based on your preferences.
Contractors can use Jobber to map and route jobs, as well as track progress. The software tracks time and materials used for various jobs to keep estimates accurate.
The platform comes with a client hub where customers can book requests, review scheduled jobs, confirm job details, and receive updates on work progress. Clients can also make direct payments or request job changes using the portal.
You can message customers and send automated updates using Jobber’s communication tools.
You can use Jobber to generate invoices at job completion or on a pre-set schedule. You can also set up automatic reminders about due payments through email or text messages.
Jobber integrates with a broad range of business apps, like QuickBooks Online, Stripe, Zapier, MailChimp, CompanyCam, Google Local Services, and others.
Reviews
Jobber users say the app helps them with organizing jobs and routes. However, some users complained about the GPS tracking and the sales tactics.
iOS user Emisydet says the app helps them organize routes, but its outsourced GPS tracking partner is not really up to snuff:
iOS Review:
Great organizational tool – ⭐⭐⭐⭐
We love Jobber for logistics, organizing routes, setting up and keeping track of one-off and recurring jobs, materials, chemical services, etc, also the ability to upload pics and notes and to make changes to routes or job details without having to track down crews working on loud equipment. We don’t use the app for estimating, invoicing, or communicating with customers so we can’t speak to those features. The reports are very basic and have a lot of room for improvement – hence 4 stars.When we download reports we have to heavily edit them in excel to be useful. That gets annoying bc of time required which no landscaper has to spare. The report shortcomings might really matter to a small company using Jobber for all it’s capabilities – which we’re not. Hopefully improvements are on the way in that area.
The only GPS that syncs with Jobber is Fleetsharp/Linxup and Fleetsharp customer service is so bad that we switched back to Clearpath anyways.
Therefore we lost that connection betw our trucks and Jobber. Hopefully they expand that also? Still highly recommend Jobber to any service business. It’s done a lot to improve our efficiency.
Android user Gernot Ritzau says the app’s sales team is a little too forward:
Google Play Review:
⭐
Very aggressive sales on this app, someone called me at 10 o’clock at night for onboarding. I thought that was a little rude, I never had a chance to open the app and look through it, im sure it works ok, but the base price is 20 bucks a month, for an app, that seems very expensive and I’m not supporting the sales tactic of this company to get my business.
Jobber user Madonna G. is not happy either with the price or the features:
Capterra Review:
Customer service is beyond appalling! Features that you pay for just don’t work. – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: You can sign up and pay them money without ever speaking to anyone but when you want to cancel they say that you MUST call there office in the US and if you don’t and your subscription expires, you have no access to your account. Meanwhile, your clients are still getting appointment emails and the program keeps going along without you able to stop it.Customer service is beyond appalling, you send a request and you get a response after 4-6 days with a question and then you have to wait another 4 -6 days for another one-line email with another question – it is beyond frustrating. Features I am paying for just don’t work and it has been 8 weeks now and I am being asked the same questions over and over with no answers.
Pros: Absolutely nothing worth the price they are asking. Super expensive with features that just don’t work and they don’t seem to care.
Cons: I signed up because of the payroll and employee scheduling capabilities but it turns out that during my first QB sync that this doesn’t work. It syncs employees time in at 5 hours earlier so I am having to manually input them every week. Appalling customer service – minimum 4 days to reply to emails (new person each time who asks the SAME questions over and over) its been 7 weeks and they haven’t worked it out yet.
Pricing
Free Trial?
14-day free trial, no credit card required
Core
Monthly: $69/ mo. per user
Annual: $49/ mo. per user
Connect
Monthly: $169/ mo. per user
Annual: $129/ mo per user
Grow
Monthly: $349/ mo. per user
Annual: $249/ mo per user
TurfHop
Scoring
Key Features
-
Schedule management for one-time and recurring jobs
-
Multi-location support for scheduling, invoicing, and reporting
-
Schedule-based route optimization
-
Auto-invoicing with client notification
-
Expense reporting with trend analysis
Streamlines invoicing and billing
Listens to client feedback
Easy to use
Users report occasional invoicing errors
Client emails
High merchant fees
Highlights
TurfHop is lawn care and landscape business management software serving both small businesses and enterprises. It offers tools for scheduling, booking, invoicing, and reporting among others.
You can schedule one-time and recurring jobs with a few swipes using its web calendar and mobile apps. The platform supports multi-location businesses, separating job schedules and bookings, invoices, clients, and performance analysis.
The platform optimizes daily jobs based on your schedule to ensure no jobs are missed on your work route. TurfHop also offers auto-invoicing, online payments, and client notifications for due payments.
You can forecast monthly and annual revenue using TufHop’s reporting and trends analysis. The app also gives you visibility into expenses to help you adjust daily spending.
TurfHop integrates with QuickBooks and Zillow.
Reviews
TurfHop users say the mobile app is robust, but some features need a little more polishing.TurfHop users say the mobile app is robust, but some features need a little more polishing.
iOS user ccall6273 says the mobile app is on par with the web platform for performance:
iOS Review:
Does what it’s supposed to – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The app lets you do everything the desktop version does. Essentially I can run my lawn care business from my phone, which is legit.
Turfhop user Michael U. says the app support is great, but the invoicing feature could use a little more work:
Capterra Review:
Great Software ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: Overall experience is great. I’m saving money and able to get more done. The support is excellent.Pros: Overall this is good software. It works well. It is much cheaper than what I used to use for 2 years and almost has all the same functionality. There are some interface options that could be tweaked and fixed here and there such as on the mobile version which I use a lot but it is highly functional and easy to use once you figure it out. The support is very excellent and I feel like they listen to me and any concerns as well. Great to use.
Cons: It has a few things that could be fixed. Like when I issue an invoice and choose the specific service date option, it does not allow me to click on today’s date. I must first click on yesterday then click outside the box on the page then scroll down and then click on the box again so there is enough room for me to see the pop-up calendar and then click on today’s date to select the service date as today. There are a few other examples of things I’ve encountered but can’t remember at this time. Overall it is highly functional however.
Pricing
Free Trial?
14-day free trial
Free
$0 / mo. (1 user)
Solo
$49 / mo. (2 users + unlimited employees)
Team
$129 / mo. (10 users + unlimited employees)
The Bottom Line
The lawn care scheduling software platforms above provide a comprehensive set of features designed around the unique needs of lawn care businesses.
From automated scheduling to mobile time tracking and job costing, these solutions help lawn care companies save time, cut down costs, and deliver timely service to their clients.
Choosing the right lawn care scheduling software will be a critical component of a successful landscaping business strategy. By investing in the right scheduling software for field workers, companies can better position themselves for growth and success this year.
Construction managers and field workers love the Workyard mobile experience. Our iOS and Android apps are designed around the needs of team managers in the construction business.
Our web platform simplifies team management, time tracking, scheduling, and more for construction managers.
Try Workyard free for 14 days and see how we can simplify your field service management and make your business more profitable!
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!
