Integrations

3 Ways Digital Apps Help with HVAC Invoices

Posted on by Danny Kanev

3 Ways Digital Apps Help with HVAC Invoices

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Running an HVAC business today means you need to be prepared for the unexpected. One opportunity to unlock productivity and modernize your operations is by leveraging digital HVAC invoices. This category of software is easy-to-use and highly configurable to your unique business needs. Continue reading this blog post to learn how digital apps can help you maximize your business growth and minimize your risk.

Why Go Digital with HVAC Invoices?

The reason to switch from paper invoices to digital forms is the need to scale your business growth and productivity. Take for example Allied Air. Their HVAC company found that paper forms were slowing down their field technicians, resulting in manual work and inaccurate data. By eliminating paper forms and moving to digital HVAC invoices, the company has seen an increase in their operational efficiency.

Beyond just HVAC invoices, technology is being used to help companies do more with less. HVAC project management software is helping solve for many of the major headaches for HVAC businesses today – including things like dispatch, estimates, invoices, work orders, and much more. With tools to manage your operations and improve your customer service, here are three reasons why it makes sense to switch from paper forms to digital HVAC invoices.

1. Ensure Accurate Billing

One of the key benefits of moving from paper forms to digital apps is the ability to access accurate inventory information in real-time from the field. For example, a field technician would have the ability to access detailed information about parts and up to date pricing. All of this can be done from a mobile device or tablet, bringing information from a database directly to a technician on site.

For HVAC invoices, this means that when a technician fills out an invoice for a customer, they can easily choose the correct parts they want to add to the bill instead of having to look it up in a catalog book or guess what the price of the part is. All this data can tie back to an inventory management system to ensure trucks are always stocked with the right parts to complete the job.

By connecting information between the field and office, you can work toward more accurate billing and ensure that information is synced in real-time to everyone that needs it.

2. Receive Payments Faster

Another reason to go digital with HVAC invoices is to receive payments faster. When dealing with paper forms and invoices, this often means factoring in the travel time back to the office. Because this involves manual processes, billing to customers may be delayed and payments slowed down. 

When HVAC companies move to digital apps for invoices it allows billing to happen much faster. Billing can be done on a daily basis and customers can get accurate bills within minutes of completing their HVAC services since everything is processed automatically. This can help increase cash flow and it simplifies the process for customers. With the option to integrate HVAC invoices with digital payment processing, customers that want to pay via a credit card can sign off on work and payments right away.

3. Automate Manual Work

The final benefit of digital HVAC invoices is the time saved by eliminating manual processes. One common pain point for businesses today is the manual and time consuming processes involved when dealing with paper work and accounting tasks. Going digital allows you to automate this work and free up time for your staff.

With digital apps, you can automatically create and send HVAC invoices. Some apps will even offer integrations so you can connect to your QuickBooks or other accounting systems. Some companies have reported this has helped to speed up payment collection by up to 35%.

Integrating data systems and automating work allows you to get paid faster and avoid tedious tasks. By going digital, you can simplify your workflows around invoicing and you can keep your forms up to date on your products, services, and customer lists.

The ultimate goal with going paperless is to keep your teams synced between the field and the office. With synced data, your team in the field won’t have to worry about inputting that info every time they arrive for a job. And your team in the office will get data updated in real-time without having to rely on manual data entry.

Get Started for Free with GoCanvas HVAC Invoice Software 

GoCanvas is a leading provider of work process software for the HVAC and field service industry. We help companies to do more with less, by eliminating manual processes and helping HVAC companies get more work done faster.

HVAC companies rely on GoCanvas to scale their business growth, improve customer service, and increase productivity between the field and office. If you’re interested in learning more about how digital HVAC invoices work, be sure to schedule a demo of GoCanvas or sign up today for your free trial.

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

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3 Challenges with Paper Timecards and How to Avoid Them

Posted on by Danny Kanev

3 Challenges with Paper Timecards and How to Avoid Them

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Paper timecards are costly in the short and long run. If you want to influence your bottom line, ditching them for a better alternative should be inevitable. This article covers three of the top challenges with paper timecards and how to avoid them using timecard apps. 

Challenge #1: Buddy Punching 

What is buddy punching? 

Buddy punching is one form of time theft at work. Through this tactic, employees use their colleague buddies to clock in times not worked.

For example, if one is running late, they’ll most likely request their friends to clock them in without your knowledge. Another scenario is when one wants to check out unusually early. So, they ask their friends to clock them out at the checkout time. 

The worst scenario is when a team member fails to show up entirely but still uses a friend to clock them in and out.

How does it negatively affect businesses?

According to a study by Replicon, 75% of small-scale businesses in the United States see a significant drop in annual revenue because of buddy punching. Paying employees for hours not worked adds up to your payroll. It’s costly in the long run because you’re paying out of your pockets instead of what they produce. The American Payroll Association confirms that 50% of employers’ costs are on payroll management.

Why is it hard to manage when using paper sheets?

Managing time worked by employees can be a hassle, especially when using paper timecards. This is because there’s no way to hold them accountable. Often, this is due to the shortcomings of paper sheets like the inability to track team member activity. Also, there’s colleague loyalty. Without a reliable system to clock time, colleagues will always want to protect their buddies.

Solution to buddy punching: Digital timecard apps 

To minimize buddy punching, you can ditch paper timecards and use digital timecard apps instead. Digital apps have features to discourage buddy punching and make it much more difficult for employees. For example, timecard apps may have features such as GPS tracking, geofencing, unique passwords/logins, or even biometrics systems in advanced systems. Here’s how it works:

  • The GPS tracker helps track team members’ location, making it hard to lie about their check-in and check-out times.
  • The geofencing feature works more like the GPS tracker. The only difference is that it’s used to create a buffer around the workplace. Beyond this barrier, your employees can’t clock in time, helping to limit cheating.
  • Unique logins/passwords are a standard best practice for online systems and encourage workers to login from their own mobile phones when tracking their time, rather than a punch card system.
  • Some apps may even feature a unique system like biometrics for logging in. For example, the biometrics system uses fingerprints that can’t be manipulated.

Overall, timecard app technology pushes for accountability among employees because you can monitor their usage within the app, helping to discourage buddy punching.

Challenge #2: Human Error

The human error challenge is hard to avoid, especially when using analog systems to run a business. In particular, using paper timecards to clock in time increases the rate of human error in payroll systems. 

Potential errors from paper timecards include inflated work hours and wrong entries due to lack of accountability and illegible writing. This means that if you detect the problem on time, you’ll have to re-do the entries to correct the mistakes.

Unfortunately, not many business owners can detect these errors on time, costing their payroll eventually. As a business owner or manager, it’s difficult to have oversight into such minute details like hours, meaning this can go unchecked. 

The good news is: that shouldn’t be the end of your story if you’re a business owner. Yes, errors are prone to occur. However, with a timecard app, this shouldn’t cost your payroll anymore. Timecard apps are built to sync with accounting software, automatically enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of recording.

Timecard apps help to minimize human error and help you to save more that would otherwise go to payroll management. It’s not fair to pay extra wages because of wrongful recording or have to deal with payroll disputes. Have a timecard app will cut down on the errors that are common when dealing with paper timesheets.

Challenge #3: Manual Work

Tracking employees’ time using paper sheets can also be hectic and it can create manual workflows for your staff. Here are some of the common workflow challenges with paper timecards:

  • Tracking down missing or incomplete information
  • Correcting errors or mistakes
  • Manual data entry to submit timecards into accounting system
  • Travel time if employees in the field need to complete paper work in the office

Paper sheets create some frustrating manual work that can slow down your business growth and frustrate your employees. Because manual work is inefficient, it can also have the compounding effect of impacting your team’s morale and then their productivity when they are forced to spend so much time on “busy work.”

All of this can make it difficult for growing businesses to scale efficiently. Paper work can not be automated, so the faster you grow, the harder it becomes for your staff to keep up with the growing paper work from employees.

Switching to digital timecard apps because they help streamline business processes and automate how work gets done. Through timecard apps, data is submitted in real-time from employees in the field, eliminating time-consuming, manual workflows and data entry. Managers can also set up automatic notifications for employees to get alerted when a timecard is due, meaning they don’t have to send manual reminders or track people down. Finally, data can be integrated from timecard apps into accounting and payroll systems like QuickBooks or Sage for real-time data sync.

Final Verdict

If you’re still using paper time cards, you may have run into some of these hidden challenge that negatively impact your business. Going digital can help provide  a more reliable solution with timecard apps that help productivity and accuracy of data collected from employees. Contact the GoCanvas team any time to set up a quick demo of our timecard app solution or sign up for a free trial here to learn more.

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

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3 Key Integrations for Construction Time Card Apps

Posted on by Danny Kanev

3 Key Integrations for Construction Time Card Apps

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Time cards are widely used in the construction industry to keep an accurate record of hours worked, for project management and payroll purposes. 

The basic function of a time card is to collect employee data. While many businesses have traditionally relied on paper forms or spreadsheets as a way to track hours worked, more companies are now starting to embrace technology solutions for construction project management and reporting.

Paper forms and spreadsheets are now being replaced with mobile forms — allowing workers to complete their time cards simply by using their mobile phones on the job site.

As a standalone application, a construction time card app is fairly basic in its functionality. It will track standard fields like hours worked, type of hours (regular time, over time, or double time), and things like a signature for approval. It goes without saying that the exact fields on a mobile time card app can be customized based on business needs, and no-code solutions make it easy to design the app to your exact requirements.

Although time cards are relatively simple applications, they can become a powerful asset when digitized through mobile apps and integrated into other core business processes.

3 Ways to Elevate Your Business Operations with Technology

This article covers how time card apps can be integrated into the larger business technology and data ecosystem. The ideal state is to make it easy for employees to fill out and automate manual processes for operational staff in the office. Here are three ways to leverage time card apps into your business operations:

#1 Leveraging Reference Data to Save Employees Time

Depending on the nature of the work being performed, employees may need to input data on their timesheets that are specific to the project, customer, or type of work. While this can certainly be done manually each time, it winds up costing employees additional time to fill out all of the form fields by hand or referencing other sources of information.

GoCanvas time sheet apps are built with a feature called Reference Data, which allows you to integrate apps with other databases that you own. Instead of looking up the data on your own, GoCanvas will automatically fill out form fields using data that exists in another database. Pull in specific project codes, customer information, accounting fields, and anything else that you need to include on that time card sheet.

Anywhere your company stores data can be pulled into GoCanvas automatically, allowing employees in the field to leverage pre-filled form fields or drop-down lists to capture information faster. 

Not only does the reference data feature help employees spend less time filling out forms, but it also enables your company to standardize how data is submitted. Required fields and drop-down lists can ensure that no mistakes are made or critical information is missing. All of this allows your employees to spend less time on busy work and gives you better, more accurate data in real-time.

#2 Streamline Operations for Accounting

We covered how you can bring data into GoCanvas to simplify form fills, but you can also connect this data from the field to then sync with other applications your business uses in the office. 

For construction time card apps, the most common example of this would be an integration with your accounting system like QuickBooks or Xero. Not only can data be brought into GoCanvas, but submissions from GoCanvas apps can be automatically synced into those core accounting systems that your business uses.  

Paper forms and spreadsheets create additional manual work for teams. A manual workflow usually requires:

  • Data entry in the field 
  • Ensuring there are no mistakes
  • Communicating back and forth between teams via email
  • Manually entering or uploading information back into the accounting system

All of this creates additional steps in the workflow that are not necessary. With GoCanvas apps, all of this manual work is eliminated and once a timesheet is submitted, it’s automatically recorded in the accounting system. This can help to process payroll and any other accounting tasks faster when data is available instantly from job sites. 

This type of automation and data integration is essential for growing businesses. Paper forms and manual work can not scale efficiently. Anywhere you can leverage technology like GoCanvas to automate workflows will save you time and money that impacts overall profitability.

#3 Integrated Data for Reporting Purposes

Another key benefit for organizations that digitize their time cards is the ability to integrate that data for reporting purposes. 

With construction time cards, you can have them sync with your construction daily reports, giving project managers and stakeholders a real-time view of work performed. GoCanvas helps construction site managers instantly share their daily reports via email as a designed PDF document with images and relevant updates. 

Digitizing time cards and daily reports can have a significant impact on productivity and cost savings. For example, one general contracting company was able to realize a $120,000 cost savings on an annual basis by switching to GoCanvas for mobile daily reports.

Beyond reports, mobile form data can also be used for data analytics performance. This could be in the form of a dashboard that is monitored by owners or project managers to understand how things are tracking toward the plan. For construction projects, these types of analytics insights can help to avoid cost overruns or delays, and having the insights in real-time can allow you to communicate the issues quickly and take any proactive measures.

A study from FMI found that 96% of construction data goes unused. Your data that is collected in the field can be a powerful asset when rolled up for analytics. Mobile data platforms like GoCanvas allow you to collect data through forms, and create custom dashboards right in GoCanvas for analytics purposes. GoCanvas also allows you to take the submission data and integrate it with other BI applications your business uses, opening up the possibilities for you to integrate GoCanvas into your broader data ecosystem.

Want to learn more about how mobile data platforms can impact your construction business? Check out our playbook on the power of data analytics for commercial construction.

Playbook: 3 Keys to Unleashing the Power of Data Analytics in Commercial Construction
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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

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6 Benefits of Inspection Apps for Business

Posted on by Danny Kanev

6 Benefits of Inspection Apps for Business

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Many companies are starting to use inspection apps to streamline this process for employees that need to perform regular inspections as part of their job duties.

The typical inspection involves filling out a series of forms or checklists to record all of the relevant information. The next step in the process involves creating a report with all of the information compiled for distribution to anyone that needs it.

There’s really a wide range of use cases for these apps, including:

  • Real estate transactions
  • Safety inspections
  • Building inspections
  • Machinery or equipment inspections
  • Vehicle inspections
  • And much more

What are the benefits of an inspection app?

Historically, companies used paper forms as the primary mode of collecting data, but more firms are beginning to move away from paper-based processes. Companies are now switching to digital apps that can simplify the process for everyone involved and eliminate the headaches of using paper forms.

Bringing the process into the digital world is beneficial to organizations in a number of different ways. Here are some of the key benefits:

  • Business efficiencies: Inspectors are able to perform their jobs better and faster on mobile apps. They can collect photos and text notes that are recorded digitally and the reports can be generated automatically for them.
  • Standard data: One important factor is the ability to standardize how the data is collected, with reports that are consistent regardless of who performs the inspection.
  • Improved processes: Businesses need visibility into their operations in real-time. Technology today allows you to track issues in the field and have a quick turnaround time if another action needs to be taken, like scheduling further maintenance or repairs, for example.

6 key features available in inspection apps

There are many reasons to switch to a mobile app instead of using paper. Since apps are designed to be used on a mobile device or tablet, you get some advanced features with the technology that simply isn’t possible using paper.

Here are some of the features you gain when using an app for inspections:

1. Integrated with iOS or android camera for image capture

Many inspections require that you document items with images. Since mobile devices have powerful cameras built-in, inspections performed using the app can streamline taking photos and adding them to the report. Images are captured in real-time and can be associated with specific inspection items. An added feature is the ability to annotate images and highlight any problem areas.

2. Offline functionality

The ability to do work offline is an important feature for many business types. There are many people that need to perform inspections in areas that do not have an internet connection (such as a rural area or a basement). Inspection apps can collect and store the data while offline while you are on site. Once you are able to access the internet again, the app will sync everything back up to the cloud.

3. Cloud-based technology

The cloud-based technology of inspection apps is a benefit for businesses today. With data that is stored securely in the cloud, you can have peace of mind that your data is always backed up and easily accessible from anywhere.

Inspection software platforms should have a high level of IT security infrastructure built-in and should also have compliance for things like GDPR and HIPPA requirements.

Modern technology has come a long way to ensuring that your business can effectively operate online using tools that are readily available to businesses of all sizes.

4. ​​​​Reports in real-time

The ability to report on data in near real-time is a big reason to switch to apps versus paper. Creating a report on paper often takes additional time and slows down getting that information into the hands of people that need it.

When you create an inspection using an app, it files the report automatically and submits the report to all of the required recipients without creating additional work. This saves time and effort for inspectors by allowing them to finish their work and simply press the submit button to generate a report.

Most inspection apps use templates as a starting point and you can customize the templates to be consistent with your company’s brand and unique needs.

5. GPS functionality

Another built-in feature of a mobile device is your GPS functionality. This gives you the ability to verify the exact location of the property, equipment, vehicle, or item that’s undergoing inspection. 

Location tracking can be an added benefit for companies that really need to understand the precise location of something to do their jobs more efficiently.

Companies that want to automate their processes can also consider using location data in the field to streamline other tasks, like automatically generating work orders or other types of follow-up tasks that need to be performed.

6. Automation to streamline workflows

With automation tools built into inspection apps, it’s all about working smarter and reducing the amount of manual work your teams need to do.

Using these tools, you can automatically generate any of the follow-up actions that need to be performed after an inspection occurs. Depending on your business, you might have different use cases for how this would work. Most often it involves integrating your different cloud tools and systems you have in place to communicate with one another.

You can also think of automation in the form of push notifications or email notifications that are designed to alert different people after the inspection occurs. In today’s digitally connected world, you should always look for applications that can help to automate tasks and streamline your workflows to save you valuable time.

Inspection templates for your use case

Looking for a specific inspection template for your business? Make sure to check out our library of pre-built templates in the GoCanvas app store that can help you get started for free.

Our app builder requires no coding or advanced technical knowledge, which means you can build and customize your apps to fit your exact needs. Check out the GoCanvas website here for additional resources and templates for all of your inspection needs.

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

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4 Reasons Your Business Needs Time Card Apps

Posted on by Danny Kanev

4 Reasons Your Business Needs Time Card Apps

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Time card apps present an opportunity for you to increase your team’s efficiency and streamline time-tracking workflows for your business operations.

These types of applications are widely used to help hourly workers or contractors track their time digitally so they can be paid based on hours worked.

So when does it make sense to switch from manual time cards and punch clocks to digital apps? Continue reading this article for a look at some of the top reasons for using time card apps and how to know when it makes sense for your business to switch.

Benefits of time card apps vs. time clocks and paper timesheets

Using paper sheets to track employees’ time can be inefficient and error-prone. Paper sheets tend to get lost over time, manual work is required to process the paperwork, and mistakes are often made by employees or required information can be missing from the document.

Time card apps, time clock apps, and time tracking apps provide flexibility in how your business can track time and work hours for employees, contractors, freelancers, and more. When you think about the time spent on mobile devices today, it makes sense that workers should be able to use an app on their iOS devices such as iPhones, iPads, or Android mobile devices.

The data collected in apps are then available for office administrators or workers to access on a desktop, as needed. Here are 4 business reasons to switch to time card apps instead of paper or spreadsheets:

1. Need for secure and reliable cloud applications

Paper time cards are error-prone and subject to being lost by employees or HR departments before being submitted for payroll or invoicing. 

But with time card apps, work is tracked in real-time and the data is automatically stored securely in the cloud or locally to the device. This reliability makes mobile time tracking apps and time clock apps ideal for small businesses and enterprise-level companies to ensure that accurate records are kept. 

Time card apps are more secure than traditional paper timesheets or even online timesheets, giving your workers the ability to manage the entire process from their mobile devices. 

If security and reliability are top priorities for your business and you can’t afford to lose data, then it definitely makes sense to have your time card processes moved over to a secure cloud application that can provide peace of mind.

2. Need for automation and workflows

Time card apps also allow you to introduce simple automation rules that can change the way your teams operate. For example, using time tracking software or time management software in conjunction with a time card app, companies can automatically submit employee hours to payroll platforms such as ADP, QuickBooks, Xero, Workday, Paychex, and other payroll services. This streamlines processes for your teams and makes the entire process seamless, freeing up valuable time that can be spent elsewhere.

If productivity is a challenge and you need to free up time for your staff, consider using apps that can modernize your process and automate tasks that would otherwise be manual and time-consuming.

3. Need for GPS tracking and geofencing

If your business needs to verify that work has been performed on-site, the GPS functionality of a mobile app can provide a way to verify the exact location. For this use case, businesses are using time card apps on mobile devices that tap into GPS location features to identify when workers enter a job site and when they leave a job site in real-time. 

This practice is often referred to as “geofencing,” where companies draw a digital boundary around a specific area. As users’ devices enter or exit that area, a time tracker can kick in to track billable hours.

If your business relies on a distributed or field workforce, then there is a strong business case for implementing mobile apps that are designed to simplify field operations management.

4. Growing business complexity

If you have a complex business with different categories of workers, it can be beneficial to use time card apps and timesheet apps to manage this process. The apps can handle the hours submitted by full-time employees, part-time employees, freelancers, and contractors differently. 

Some of these workers may have different pricing levels. Others may require the withholding of taxes, and others may require payment through various hiring platforms. All of these differentiators are trackable with proper time management tools.

When you are getting to this level of complexity with managing time, there’s definitely a clear advantage to time card apps and the amount of time saved through simplified processes.

Templates to build your own time management apps 

Every business is unique, with different people, processes, and technologies in place. Two important considerations when selecting a time management solution are ease of use and level of customization.

Given all of the nuances of your business, you need the ability to customize an app to fit your requirements. But at the same time, it shouldn’t require an advanced level of technical expertise or a big budget to achieve that customization.

Organizations have found that GoCanvas provides the ideal balance between customization and ease of use. Using our drag-and-drop app builder requires no coding to publish custom apps for your specific business needs.

The simplicity of the product and the extensive library of templates gives you the ability to very quickly build advanced apps, for time cards and many other common business cases.   

Navigate to the GoCanvas app store to view all of the time card apps that we have pre-built as templates. Make sure to use the search feature to find other examples and templates specific to your industry or use case.

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

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Gown Your Business with GoCanvas Partner Program

Join our Partner Program and gain instant access to our global network of thought leaders and industry experts enjoying shared collaboration and collective success.

Learn more
Forte Supply Chain Solutions Partner Video

Partner Snapshot: Forte Supply Chain Solutions

Explore how Forte Supply Chain Solutions partnered with GoCanvas, combining in-house industry expertise with our white-label mobile forms to revolutionize their processes.

Watch VIDEO
Closeup of a handshake.

GoCanvas Integrations: Streamline your Workflow

Integrate with over 1,000 software applications. Enhance your GoCanvas experience by syncing real-time data to one or all of your business tools.

View integrations

Connect with an Expert Today.

We’ll help you put together the right solution for your needs.

Let’s Build A Plan Together

How Timesheet Apps Benefit Your Business

Posted on by Danny Kanev

How Timesheet Apps Benefit Your Business

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Timesheet apps represent the newest iteration in how businesses and contractors track their time. So what do these apps do? What makes a good timesheet app? How do these work with financial systems? What ways are different industries using these apps? Continue reading this article for answers to these questions and a high-level overview of how timesheet apps can benefit your business.

What does a timesheet app do?

Hourly employees, contractors, or other workers who are paid on an hourly basis typically use timesheets to track time worked for payroll calculations or for invoicing billable hours to a client.

Businesses and contractors can also use timesheets to gather data to ensure accurate pricing for services or products. This allows them to optimize their processes by understanding how long it takes to perform specific tasks. Other examples include freelancers or consultants that are required to submit time entries to their clients for billing purposes.

Timesheets can vary in how they look or function. Here are some common examples:

  • Punch cards or time cards use either a time clock that may physically punch a card or a digital clock-in/clock-out system that creates the timesheet.
  • Point-of-service (POS) systems are used by businesses for employees to log in and log out for timesheet purposes.
  • A physical piece of paper is a basic way for employees to write down the hours worked
  • Excel spreadsheet or .csv files are basic time tracking tools that can either be processed manually or imported into time management or payroll systems.
  • Mobile apps are a way to use smartphones or other devices for employees to complete their timesheets digitally.

As smartphones have grown in popularity, more companies are moving away from traditional forms of time cards, and they are moving toward mobile apps that are more convenient for collecting timesheet data from employees.

Using the native functionality in Android and iPhone mobile devices, employers can engage in real-time tracking of team members’ time. This can also enable their organization to automate additional functions like payroll or paying contract consultants/employees. Mobile apps also open up an opportunity to use new technologies, like the ability to use GPS locations or geofencing that can monitor and track the employee hours spent at a physical job site.

Technology is empowering businesses to become more efficient and many companies are starting to realize productivity gains by moving toward mobile apps for their time tracking.

What are the best elements of a time tracking app?

There are several timesheet apps and time tracking software platforms on the market, but not all of them are created equal. When evaluating your options, here are some of the top features you will want to have in your timesheet app:

  1. Having multiple employee types is an important feature that lets you differentiate between employee time tracking and contractor time tracking to ensure detailed and accurate billing.
  2. GPS integration and geofencing capabilities allow your business to automate the time tracking of workers at job sites.
  3. Security features that are native to iOS and Android, like facial recognition, can be used in timesheet apps to ensure the correct individual is logging time.
  4. Integrations with your core systems (like payroll or accounting platforms) can help to minimize the effort of processing payroll and paying invoices.
  5. Flexibility to track time both in real-time and through manual entry (and differentiating between those tracking methods).
  6. Accessibility on different devices is incredibly important for employees to be able to use both Apple/iOS and Android phones/tablets, as well as web browsers or desktop applications.

When selecting a timesheet app, your business should carefully determine what requirements need to be met for tracking people’s time and select a timesheet solution that is easy and secure for collecting and managing your data.

How can timesheet apps integrate with payroll and accounting systems?

Timesheet software and time tracker apps are most effective when integrated directly with payroll and accounting systems such as ADP, Quickbook, Xero, and others.

By leveraging these integrations, companies ranging from small businesses to enterprise-level clients can automate time tracking processes.

Consider an integration with your payroll and accounting system if your business needs to improve business operations and cut out manual processes. Integrations can significantly help your business save time, effort, and money, while also increasing payroll accuracy.

What are the benefits of digitizing and automating time tracking with a timesheet app?

Moving to a digital strategy for tracking time provides many benefits to a business. Here are three of the top benefits of timesheet apps for business:

1. Streamline project management

From a project management perspective, understanding the allocation of resources is critical to managing businesses’ workflows. If a worker takes more time on a task than expected, it can cause missed deadlines, cost overruns, and other problems. Understanding task timing is critical for keeping projects on time and it gives you the ability to forecast budgets and project estimates more accurately in the future. Timesheet apps will streamline your business processes and improve project management.

2. Avoid losing track of time

Employees and contractors are not always perfect and missed time happens. Timesheet apps can help your business avoid losing track of time. This can be done by automating time tracking with systems that help to ensure that all the billable hours are captured. Advanced capabilities like geofencing or the ability to retroactively validate time can help employees capture all their time worked.

3. Simplify the process for staff

Timesheet apps and digital time tracking platforms make managing multiple employee timesheets or project timesheets a breeze. The insights from having multiple employees or projects aggregated in one location can help to ensure that everyone is billing accurately. For example, if one employee in a group does not have time logged while the others do, there may be missed time. Tracking timesheets for multiple employees and projects at once also streamlines the effort required to process timesheets.

Examples of time tracking apps for business

Now that we’ve covered how you can save time and money with digital time cards, you can start to check out some of the time tracking app examples available today. GoCanvas timesheet apps are accessible right from your mobile device and help businesses to:

  • Eliminate data entry and re-entry errors, missing timesheets, and fraud with mobile time-tracking
  • Provide visibility into who’s working, who was late, and how many hours have been clocked
  • Access time cards anywhere with instant access to digital time tracking apps

With the option to get started for free, you can see how GoCanvas fits your business and consider how it can help you streamline your processes for time tracking and business operations.

Industry Use Cases of Timesheet Apps

Timesheets are used by many different industries. Below are some common examples of how different industries use timesheet apps:

Construction Services

Companies providing construction services use a combination of employees, contractors, and subcontractors on job sites. These individuals are often generating billable events by merely being at a specific job site. By using time tracking apps with geofencing capabilities, construction services can accurately track workers’ timing and hours in an automated fashion.

Construction Timesheet App Template

The Construction Timesheet mobile app helps contractors, sub contractors, trade specialists and others fill out construction timesheets to track when they start work each day, which project they are working on, their lunch break and the ending time. This employee timesheet app is designed for companies that focus on a certain type of work and don’t need to break it down by job phase or category. Additionally, this app calculates the employee’s time automatically (i.e. an in-app time clock), and has the ability to enter and track multiple employees as well.

Field Service Companies

Like construction companies, field service companies often use a combination of employees and contractors to provide services. Time tracking apps can help these workers bill for services more accurately as different types of installation, repairs, maintenance services, or even specific clients can have special pricing or service rates.

Field Service Timesheet App Template

This Field Services Timesheet App makes it easy for workers to access an employees time clock from anywhere in the field. Instead of using complicated time clock software or standard time tracking machines, this easy to use app is accessible using a smartphone or tablet. Perfect for small business owners and others who manage employee time and attendance, this easy to use time tracking app will simplify your payroll processes each month.

Transportation Companies

For businesses that provide transportation services, coupling time tracking with travel distance can help provide accurate billing. Using these apps also helps ensure that drivers who may be subject to transportation regulations and restrictions are not driving more hours per day than is legally allowed.

Transportation and Logistics Timesheet App Template

This Transportation Timesheet App is the easiest way for truck drivers, trucking services and vehicle transportation companies to track all the most important details of short haul long haul trucking jobs. With the truck driver time card app, you don’t have to worry about losing any of the important daily log details. This app covers a record of the work completed, including dates and times, load details, and road conditions. The truck driver daily log also includes a safety list to ensure that all trucking industry professionals have the right gear on board before hitting the road. 

transportation timesheet app example

Professional Services

Providers of professional services, such as lawyers, accountants, and consultants, live by the billable hour. Making time tracking as easy as possible to reference different projects or clients can significantly improve billing accuracy and maximize revenue.

Professional Services Timesheet App Example

This professional services timesheet app allows you to track every detail necessary, including company details, consultant information, hourly rate, hours worked, and authorized signatures. This consultant timesheet template documents billable hours through tracking time each day. This time tracker app is an ideal component of effective project management, where this info can be pulled for invoices and weekly timesheets.

professional services timesheet app example
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