The best way to track hours on a job site is whatever method your crew will actually use consistently, captured close to real time, reviewed by you before payroll runs, and backed by a record you can produce if a dispute ever comes up. Here's how the common methods compare and how to run the process well.
Paper vs texts vs an app
| Method | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Paper timesheet | No tech needed | Filled in from memory Friday, easy to lose, no location record |
| Text/group chat | Fast, familiar | Scattered across threads, nobody reconciles it, no structure |
| Time tracking app | Timestamped, location-verified, feeds payroll directly | Requires the crew to actually use it |
Whatever you choose, the goal is the same: capture the clock-in and clock-out close to when they happen, not reconstructed later.
Rounding
Many payroll systems round clock times to the nearest 5, 10 or 15 minutes for simplicity. If you round, round consistently in both directions (not always down) and be transparent with your crew about the policy — rounding rules that only ever favour the company invite complaints and, in some jurisdictions, legal risk.
Breaks and travel time
Decide up front, in writing, how you handle: unpaid meal breaks, paid short breaks, and travel time between job sites during the day (often paid) versus the commute from home to the first site (often unpaid). Rules here vary by province/state and sometimes by trade — check your local employment standards rather than assuming a common practice applies to you.
Overtime
Track daily and weekly hours against your local overtime thresholds, and flag anyone approaching the limit before the week ends rather than discovering it on payday. This is much easier with a tool that totals hours automatically than with a stack of paper timesheets you tally by hand.
Approval workflow
Nobody's hours should go straight to payroll unreviewed. A simple weekly workflow: crew clocks in/out through the day, hours land in a review queue, you (or a lead) approve or flag anything unusual — an unusually long shift, a clock-in far from the job site — before it's finalized.
Keeping records
Keep time records for as long as your local employment standards require — this varies by jurisdiction, so check what applies to you rather than guessing. A digital record with timestamps beats a shoebox of paper timesheets if you're ever asked to produce them.
Be upfront with the crew about GPS
If you use GPS time tracking, tell your crew exactly what's recorded (location at clock-in/out and during an active shift) and what isn't (no background tracking when they're clocked out). Being straightforward about this builds trust; hiding it destroys it the moment someone finds out. See GPS time tracking for contractors for the mechanics of geofencing and privacy.
JobWorks365's GPS time clock and payroll tracking handle the approval queue and hour totals automatically, so approved shifts flow straight into payroll without a manual re-entry step.