Tracking Employee Hours: How to Track Worker Hours on Job Sites

To track worker hours on jobsites, you need verified timestamps, real locations, job codes, and travel time recorded as work happens. Crews move between sites and tasks, so the tracking method must follow the worker, not the project address.

Many contractors now use construction time tracking software that captures hours and movement in real time. So they get a clear record of when, where, and what was worked.

Key Takeaways:

• Use exact, location-verified timestamps.
• Log job and cost codes as tasks change.
• Track travel and site-to-site movement automatically.
• Support multi-site days and remote work.
• Accurate tracking improves payroll, job costing, overtime, billing, and compliance.

Next, we define what job site time tracking actually looks like in construction and why it requires a different approach than traditional workplaces.

What does job site time tracking mean in construction?

Jobsite time tracking means recording the exact time, location, and task as work happens on site. It follows the worker through every move of the day.

Construction crews need tracking that captures:

• Multiple job sites in one shift
• Task and cost code changes
• Remote or low-signal locations
• Driving between jobs
• Supervisor sign-offs
• Union, state, and prevailing wage rules

In construction, time tracking is a real-time log of labor and movement, not a single start-and-stop entry. It must reflect 

• where the crew was, 
• what they were doing, and 
• how long each phase took.

How contractors track worker hours today (methods and trade-offs)

Contractors use a range of methods to track hours in the field. Some work fine on stable jobsites, but most break down once crews move between locations or switch tasks throughout the day.

Paper time cards

Handwritten entries rely on memory, not real data. They offer no proof of where work happened, what task was done, or whether travel time was involved. Paper time cards get misplaced, rounded, or turned in late, and accuracy drops quickly when crews work multiple sites.

Spreadsheets

Hours entered into a spreadsheet still come from someone’s notes or texts. Mistakes are common, especially when supervisors retype information after long days in the field. These files can’t verify jobsite presence and aren’t ideal for mobile crews.

Punch clocks/kiosk tablets

Fixed devices at the jobsite gate work only when everyone enters and exits the same place. Large or spread-out projects cause bottlenecks, and the system fails completely for teams that visit several locations in a single shift.

Biometric clocks

Mounted fingerprint or face-scan devices confirm identity, but they’re stationary and require power. They’re not practical for remote areas, temporary sites, or fast-moving crews. Hygiene and privacy concerns also show up on busy jobs.

Mobile apps with geofencing

Geofencing can confirm a worker is inside a job site radius, but it can’t pinpoint where on the site work occurred. Precision is limited, and it doesn’t capture travel routes or multiple stops in a single day.

Mobile apps with real-time GPS

Real-time GPS captures the worker’s exact location at the precise time work occurs. It shows when they arrive, when they leave, and how they move between sites, automatically splitting hours and marking task changes. Travel time is logged as the crew moves, without relying on manual entries.

It does require a smartphone and steady battery habits. Data syncs offline but still needs an occasional signal. Also, tracking should stay limited to work hours to avoid privacy concerns.

Experience accurate GPS time tracking in action.

Try Workyard today

Jobsite time tracking method comparison

Contractors track hours in different ways, and each method handles accuracy and mobility differently. The table shows how these options perform on real jobsites where crews move between locations and tasks.

Criteria	Paper Time Cards	Spreadsheets	Punch Clock/Kiosk	Biometric Clock	Geofencing App	Real-Time GPS App
Accuracy	Low	Low-Medium	Medium	High (identity only)	Medium	High
Mobility	High	Medium	Low	Low	High	High
Location Proof	None	None	Fixed point only	Fixed point only	Radius-based	Exact GPS
Multi-Site Support	Poor	Poor	Very poor	Very poor	Moderate	Excellent
Job Code Tracking	Manual	Manual	Limited	Limited	Partial	Automatic or prompted
Travel Time Tracking	None	None	None	None	Limited	Automatic
Admin Workload	High	High	Medium	Medium	Low-Medium	Low
Best For	Simple, single-site crews	Supervisors collecting hours centrally	Fixed, long-term jobsites	Secure identity needs on static sites	Single-site projects	Multi-site crews, service techs, fast-moving teams

Real-time GPS apps offer the strongest accuracy, mobility, and travel tracking, making them the best fit for multi-site crews and fast-moving teams.

Why accurate jobsite tracking matters

Accurate hour tracking shapes every major cost on a jobsite. When time theft eats up to 7% of total payroll, even minor gaps in daily reporting can be costly for construction teams.

A 25-person crew losing just 12 minutes per worker per day can waste $36,000 per year, especially in a sector where workers earn $25 to $31 per hour.

Accurate tracking directly protects your margins across every workflow:

• Payroll accuracy: Eliminates overpayment, missed breaks, and incorrect overtime calculations
• Job costing: Ensures labor is assigned to the correct phase or cost code
• Labor burn: Reveals how fast each phase is consuming hours so overruns are caught early
• Overtime: Prevents avoidable OT caused by rounding or inconsistent clock-outs
• Client billing: Uses verified hours and locations to strengthen billable claims
• Union + prevailing wage: Helps match classifications and rates to actual hours worked
• Travel time disputes: Removes guesswork by automatically capturing movements between sites

When even small daily discrepancies can snowball into tens of thousands of dollars in losses, accurate jobsite tracking becomes essential for both profitability and compliance.

Essential features for tracking worker hours on jobsites

Tracking hours in the field only works if every record is verifiable and tied to real work. These features make that possible.

• Real-time GPS timestamps: Precise GPS coordinates confirm crews clocked in at the actual jobsite, not a nearby lot or street.
• Job and task coding: Hours are tagged to demo, rough-in, pour, or finish work so managers can see when a trade starts slipping.
• Travel time capture: Drive time between sites is logged automatically, giving subcontractors accurate, dispute-free travel records.
• Offline mode for remote sites: Crews can clock in without service on rural builds, with all data syncing once the signal returns.
• Overtime and meal break automation: OT and break rules apply instantly, preventing missed break penalties or incorrect overtime on long shifts.
• Foreman or kiosk mode: Supervisors clock in crews from a shared device. Ideal for shutdowns, restricted-access sites, or phone-free zones.
• Audit trail: Every edit and timestamp is tracked, providing proof when clients question billed hours or site attendance.
• Payroll and accounting integrations: Verified hours push directly into QuickBooks, Sage, ADP, or Paychex to eliminate manual entry and payroll delays.
• Job costing reporting: Labor is broken down by phase or crew so supervisors can spot overruns early.

Field-tested jobsite workflows

Here’s how accurate hour tracking works across common field setups, from mobile crews to remote-site operations.

Multi-site crews

Crews that move between several jobs in a day record hours as they arrive and leave each site, with GPS timestamps and automatic travel-time capture, assigning labor to the correct project without any manual tracking.

Electrical and plumbing service techs

Service technicians clock in once, tag each job as they complete it, and rely on automatic travel logs to produce accurate, verifiable labor records for every service call.

Concrete crews on remote sites

Concrete teams working in areas with no cell service use offline clock-ins that store data locally and sync automatically later, ensuring pour prep, finishing, and curing hours are captured correctly.

Landscaping teams with many stops

Landscaping crews switch jobs throughout the day with one tap, letting GPS timestamps verify each stop, and building clean labor data for route-based maintenance work.

Foreman-led kiosk workflows

On sites where phones aren’t practical, the foreman clocks in the crew from a shared device, creating a verified audit trail for shutdowns, restricted-access work, or large team deployments.

Job phase and cost code tracking

Workers code hours to phases like excavation, rough-in, or finish work as tasks change, giving supervisors real-time insight into which activities are burning labor faster than budgeted.

This infographic shows how accurate time tracking works across real jobsite workflows, from mobile crews to remote projects.

When to use GPS vs geofence vs photo check-in

Different verification methods offer different levels of accuracy. This comparison shows when each one works best on a jobsite.

Method	Accuracy	Best Use Case	Limitations
Real-Time GPS	Highest	Multi-site crews, cost code tracking, travel logs	Requires a smartphone
Geofence	Medium	Single-site, recurring daily work	No exact timestamps or precise location
Photo check-in	Manual but strong	Secure identity verification at entry points	Slower and depends on worker compliance

Each method has trade-offs, but only real-time GPS delivers the precision needed to track moving crews, task changes, and travel, while also reducing wage theft and buddy punching. Geofence and photo check-in work best for fixed, single-site jobs.

Compliance considerations for jobsite hour tracking

Accurate hour records are essential for meeting construction wage rules, preventing claims, and keeping payroll audit-ready. These are the key requirements that depend on precise tracking.

FLSA

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires correct regular, overtime, and minimum-wage calculations. Clean timestamps ensure crews are paid legally for all hours worked and protect contractors during audits or disputes.

California daily overtime

California pays overtime after 8 hours and double time after 12 in a single day. Contractors need exact clock-in/clock-out data, especially on long concrete pours or weather-delayed days, to avoid costly retroactive corrections.

7th day rules

Some states require overtime on the seventh consecutive day of work. Tracking schedules and hours accurately prevents accidental violations when crews work long project cycles or back-to-back site rotations.

Union pay classes

Union agreements often define different rates for skill levels, tasks, or equipment operation. Assigning hours to the correct job role or classification ensures workers are paid the right union rate for the work performed.

Prevailing wage

Public works projects require paying set wage rates by classification. Verified location data and phase-coded hours help prove that the correct rate was applied for the specific task and site.

Certified payroll

Certified payroll reports for government projects require detailed, accurate day-by-day hour records. Automated tracking keeps these reports consistent and audit-ready without manual reconstruction.

Break and meal documentation

Many states require tracking when breaks occurred and whether they were taken on time. Timestamped break records help contractors avoid penalties and prove compliance during wage claims.

Best practices for tracking worker hours on jobsites

Field work moves fast, so hour tracking needs simple, reliable routines. These best practices keep labor data accurate day after day.

• Capture exact start/stop times. Use real-time clock-ins so crews don’t rely on estimates, especially when shifts start early, run late, or change due to weather.
• Log job codes for every phase. Tag hours to demo, rough-in, pour, finish work, or punch list so project managers know where labor is actually going.
• Track travel time automatically. Let the system record movement between sites so subcontractors and service crews don’t underreport or round travel hours.
• Use offline-capable tools. Ensure crews on rural builds, new subdivisions, or remote infrastructure sites can still clock in without cell service.
• Review timesheets mid-week. Catch missing entries, incorrect codes, or potential overtime before payroll closes or budgets slip.
• Set clear jobsite expectations. Define how workers should clock in, code tasks, take breaks, and report changes to avoid inconsistencies.
• Use GPS verification to avoid disputes. Tie hours to precise locations so there’s no debate about whether a crew was on-site or how long a task took.
• Automate approvals. Let supervisors approve or flag entries quickly so payroll stays accurate and compliance issues are caught early.

How Workyard helps track worker hours on jobsites

Workyard is the GPS time tracking and job costing platform built for construction and field service crews who move across multiple jobsites.

Its field-ready features directly address the accuracy, compliance, and job-costing issues contractors face on active jobsites:

• Exact timestamp accuracy: GPS-verified clock-ins show exactly when and where crews started and ended work.
• GPS breadcrumb travel routes: Every stop and drive segment is captured through a clear GPS breadcrumb trail, showing how crews moved between sites.
• Job-switch reminders: Workers get prompts to switch tasks so hours map to the correct cost code.
• Offline mode: Crews can clock in without service on remote sites, with data syncing automatically later.
• Foreman kiosk mode: Supervisors clock in crews from a shared device on shutdowns or phone-restricted areas.
• Clean payroll integrations: Approved hours flow into QuickBooks, Sage, ADP, and Paychex with no manual entry.
• Cost-code job costing: Real-time labor data ties directly to cost codes, helping teams spot overruns early.

Workyard vs other construction time tracking tools

This snapshot shows how Workyard compares to leading construction time tracking tools across core jobsite requirements.

Platform	GPS Accuracy	Offline Mode	Job Costing	Job-Switch Reminders	Travel Time Tracking
Workyard	Real-time, high precision GPS with breadcrumb routes	Yes	Cost code-level, real-time	Yes	Automatic route + travel capture
ExakTime	GPS + geofence mix	Yes	Basic cost coding	No	Limited; relies on manual inputs
ClockShark	GPS pings + geofences	Yes	Project-level costing	No	Trip tracking available but less granular
BusyBusy	GPS + geofence snapshots	Yes	Detailed job costing	No	Limited auto tracking; requires user actions
Raken	Location tagging; not GPS-driven	Yes	Basic labor allocation	No	Not designed for travel tracking
Hubstaff	General GPS tracking (non-construction specific)	Yes	Basic project coding	No	Tracks movement but site-to-site construction workflows