Best Time Tracking Software for Construction: 12 Tools Ranked for 2026

Wage theft and buddy punching cost U.S. construction employers an estimated $373 million per week, according to an American Payroll Association analysis reviewed in Harvard Business Review. The average worker steals 4.5 hours per week through early clock-ins, late clock-outs, and colleagues clocking in for absent buddies. On a 10-person framing crew earning the 2026 Bureau of Labor Statistics average carpenter wage of $27.85/hour, that drift quietly drains $12,533 from the job every year before you add burden.

The office-oriented time trackers most teams default to (Toggl, Harvest, Clockify) were built for designers and consultants at desks. They fail the second your crew steps onto a jobsite with bad cell signal, a foreman running six guys at once, or a prevailing-wage project that demands WH-347 certified payroll forms every Friday.

This guide ranks the 12 time tracking apps that actually work on a jobsite: GPS-enabled, offline-capable, cost-code aware, and honest about certified payroll. Every tool on the list was evaluated against real construction workflows, not marketing pages. Prices are current as of April 2026.

Quick-Scan Comparison: Top Construction Time Tracking Apps at a Glance

What Construction Time Tracking Needs That Office Time Tracking Does Not

Generic time trackers assume your crew sits at a desk with reliable Wi-Fi and a single project at a time. None of that describes a jobsite. The right construction time clock app has to handle six things that office tools skip:

• GPS and geofencing. A geofence is a virtual perimeter around a jobsite (usually 100 to 500 feet). When a worker walks through it, the app prompts them to clock in; when they leave, it prompts them to clock out. This kills buddy punching because a phone in the truck cannot clock in for a worker still at home.
• Offline mode that actually works. Half of rural and even many urban sites have dead zones. The app must let workers clock in, switch cost codes, and log notes offline, then sync cleanly when signal returns. Apps that silently drop offline entries are worse than useless.
• Cost codes and job-level tagging. Every hour belongs to a job, a phase (demo, framing, rough-in, punch list), and often a change order. Without cost-code granularity at the time of punch, your WIP report is guesswork.
• Certified payroll for public works. Any federally funded project over $2,000 triggers Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rules and a weekly WH-347 form. State-level prevailing wage laws add more forms (California's DIR eCPR, New York's PW-18, Massachusetts' DOS forms). The tool should export these directly or feed a payroll processor that does.
• Kiosk mode for shared devices. Not every laborer has a smartphone. A tablet mounted in the job trailer with a four-digit PIN or face-recognition clock-in covers the gap.
• Accounting integration that is not vaporware. Construction runs on QuickBooks Desktop Contractor (still, in 2026), QuickBooks Online, Sage 100 Contractor, Foundation Software, and Viewpoint Vista. If the time tracker only exports CSV, your bookkeeper is re-keying hours on Friday night.

The Labor-Cost-Leak Calculator: What Buddy Punching Actually Costs You

Before you evaluate any tool, run this math on your own crew:

• BLS 2026 average carpenter wage: $27.85/hour
• Average buddy-punching drift per worker: 4.5 hours/week (APA data)
• Fully burdened cost (wages + WC + payroll tax + benefits): roughly 1.35x raw wage

For a single carpenter, the leak is $27.85 x 4.5 x 1.35 = $169.19 per worker per week, or $8,798 per year at 52 weeks. For a 10-person crew that is $87,980 per year in pure wage leakage, which is typically 3 to 5 times the cost of any time tracker on this list. A $10/user/month app across 10 users costs $1,200 per year and usually recovers 60 to 80% of that leak within 60 days of rollout.

This is the single biggest reason to pick a tool with real GPS and geofencing, not honor-system paper timesheets.

Geofence vs. Kiosk vs. GPS-Ping: Which Enforcement Model Fits Your Jobsite

Not every site supports every enforcement model. Use this matrix to pick the right one:

The right answer is often a combination. ClockShark, Busybusy, Workyard, and ExakTime all let you mix geofence + kiosk + biometric so an admin can choose per-site.

Crew Size Tiers: Which Tool Actually Fits Your Operation

The right time tracker depends heavily on how your crew is shaped. Padding a 3-person remodeler with an ExakTime enterprise deployment is the same mistake as trying to run a 75-person GC on Toggl.

The 6 to 25 band is where most dollar-for-dollar value lives, and where the listicle competition is thickest. If you are in that range, read the Busybusy, ClockShark, and Workyard reviews carefully below.

Certified Payroll Coverage Matrix

If you bid public work (federal, state DOT, school district, municipal), certified payroll is non-negotiable. This matrix shows which tools generate compliant forms directly versus those that dump you to a CSV export and leave your payroll clerk to fill out WH-347 by hand:

If 30%+ of your revenue is public work, prioritize ExakTime, Workyard, ClockShark, eSUB, or Knowify. The direct PDF output saves 2 to 4 hours per week of clerical time, and it catches the fringe-rate miscalculations that trigger DOL audits.

1. Busybusy: Best Free Construction Time Tracker With GPS

Busybusy is the default recommendation on r/Construction and r/ConstructionManagers for a reason: the free plan includes GPS time tracking, photos, equipment tracking, and daily project reports for unlimited users. Paid plans start at $11.99/user/month and add geofencing, scheduling, and certified payroll.

Key features:

• GPS time clock with map view of every punch
• Geofencing on paid plans with auto-prompt clock-in/out
• Offline mode with automatic sync
• Cost code and equipment tracking
• Daily project reports with photos
• Certified payroll reports (WH-347)
• Integrations with QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, Sage 100 Contractor, Foundation, ADP, Gusto

Pricing: Free plan with unlimited users and GPS. Pro at $11.99/user/month adds geofencing and budgets. Premium adds scheduling and safety docs.

Best for: Crews of 1 to 50 in the trades (framing, concrete, masonry, landscaping, roofing) who want GPS-verified time without a per-user bill on day one.

Tradeoff: The free plan does not include geofencing, so buddy-punching prevention only comes at $11.99/user/month. Kiosk mode exists but is less polished than ClockShark's or ExakTime's. Certified payroll is solid but the state-specific forms (beyond California) require an extra integration step.

2. Agiled: Best All-in-One for Contractors Running Office + Field Crews

Agiled is the right pick when your business is not purely field. If you run a small GC, a specialty sub, or a design-build remodeler where the owner or office admin also handles invoicing, estimates, proposals, and client-facing scheduling, stacking four separate tools is more friction than the field-only crews face.

Why it works for construction:

Agiled bundles time tracking with project management, invoicing, estimates, proposals with e-signatures, CRM, and client portals. A lead comes in, you send a branded estimate, sign it electronically, convert it into a project with a budget and tasks, have your crew log time against those tasks, and invoice from the logged hours -- all in one system.

Core capabilities for contractors:

• Time tracking per project, task, and user with billable / non-billable tagging
• Project management with budgets, tasks, milestones, and Gantt views
• Estimates and change-order management with client e-sign
• Invoicing directly from logged hours, with recurring billing and online payment
• CRM with deal pipelines (bid, awarded, in progress, closed)
• Client portal where homeowners or GCs view progress, approve change orders, and pay
• Workflow automation (auto-send weekly time summary, auto-invoice monthly retainers)

Cost analysis for a 10-person mixed crew:

Agiled's free plan covers 2 clients, 100 contacts, and 2 projects. The Pro plan at $25/month (billed annually) unlocks unlimited projects, deals, and HRM for up to 3 users. The Premium plan at $49/month adds automations, proposals, contracts, and e-signatures for up to 7 users. See current pricing.

Compare that to stacking a dedicated field time tracker ($10-12/user/mo x 10 users = $100-120/mo) plus invoicing software ($25/mo) plus CRM ($20/user/mo) plus e-sign ($25/mo). That is $170+/month for point tools versus $49/month with Agiled if your field crew is small enough to live inside the plan.

Best for: Contractors with 1 to 25 team members where the owner or office manager needs invoicing, proposals, CRM, and client portals -- and time tracking is one of five jobs to be done, not the only one.

Tradeoff: Agiled is not a pure field-ops tool. It does not ship with GPS-accurate geofencing or Davis-Bacon-specific WH-347 templates. If 80%+ of your revenue is prevailing wage public work and you have no office-side workflow to run, pick Busybusy, ClockShark, or Workyard. If your mix is the opposite -- office-heavy with a small field crew -- Agiled is the cheaper, less fragmented answer.

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3. ClockShark: Best Balanced Option for 5-50 Crew Construction Businesses

ClockShark is purpose-built for construction and field services. It hits the sweet spot between feature depth (GPS, geofence, kiosk, certified payroll, job costing) and usability, which is why it shows up most often in Reddit recommendations for the 10-to-30 crew tier.

Key features:

• GPS time tracking with map history
• Geofencing with auto-clock-out option
• CrewClock for foreman-to-crew entry (one foreman punches multiple workers)
• Kiosk mode with PIN or face recognition
• Job and task codes with budget alerts
• Certified payroll (WH-347) and job costing reports
• Integrations with QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, Xero, Sage 100 Contractor, ADP, Gusto, Paychex

Pricing: Standard at $40/month base plus $8/user/month. Pro at $60/month base plus $10/user/month (adds scheduling, PTO, job costing).

Best for: Construction and field service businesses with 5 to 50 workers who want one tool to cover time, scheduling, and job costing without building an integration stack.

Tradeoff: The base fee structure makes ClockShark more expensive than Busybusy at small crew sizes. The mobile app has had intermittent stability reports on older Android devices on r/Construction. No built-in invoicing or estimates, so you still need an accounting tool.

4. Workyard: Best GPS Accuracy and Automatic Job Attribution

Workyard claims the most accurate GPS of any construction time tracker, with continuous location tracking and automatic job attribution based on where the worker actually stood that day. If your crew bounces between 3 to 8 sites in a week and you are tired of chasing down "which job was that on Tuesday?", Workyard is built for you.

Key features:

• Continuous GPS tracking with high-accuracy location history
• Automatic job attribution based on jobsite GPS match
• Smart time cards (suggests clock-ins based on location pattern)
• Cost codes with budget alerts
• Certified payroll (WH-347, California DIR eCPR)
• Field notes, photos, and receipts tied to time
• Integrations with QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, Sage 100 Contractor, Foundation, ADP, Gusto

Pricing: Time tracking at $8/user/month plus $50/month base. Workforce Management at $12/user/month plus $50/month base (adds scheduling and safety). Annual billing discount.

Best for: Service trades (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing) and GCs whose crews move between multiple sites daily and need pristine audit trails for client billing and certified payroll.

Tradeoff: Continuous GPS burns more battery than on-demand GPS, which has drawn pushback from crews on r/Construction. Privacy concerns for workers who do not love being tracked all day require a clear company policy. Base fee structure means small crews pay more per worker than competitors.

5. ExakTime (Arcoro): Best for Mid-Size to Enterprise GCs

ExakTime, now part of Arcoro, is the heavyweight option for construction time tracking at 25+ crew size. It has been in the market since the 1990s and powers time for thousands of large GCs, self-performing GCs, and construction staffing agencies.

Key features:

• GPS time tracking with geofencing
• Rugged hardware clocks (JobClock Hornet) for sites with no phones allowed
• Kiosk with PIN, fingerprint, and face recognition
• Cost codes, equipment tracking, and job costing
• Certified payroll (federal WH-347 + state forms for CA, NY, NJ, MA, and more)
• Crew-based time entry for foremen
• Deep integration with Sage 100 Contractor, Foundation, Viewpoint, Procore, ADP, Paycom, Paychex

Pricing: Quoted. Typical deployments run roughly $9/user/month plus setup and hardware costs if using JobClock devices. Expect $1,000 to $5,000+ in onboarding for mid-size rollouts.

Best for: GCs and self-performing GCs with 25 to 500+ field workers, especially those with heavy prevailing-wage workloads or needing rugged jobsite hardware.

Tradeoff: Priced and sold for enterprise, which means discovery calls, demos, and annual contracts. Overkill for small crews. The interface has been modernized under Arcoro but still carries legacy depth that new admins have to learn.

6. QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets): Best if You Already Run QuickBooks

QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets, acquired by Intuit) is the path of least resistance for contractors who already use QuickBooks Online or Desktop for accounting. Time flows straight into payroll and job costing without an integration.

Key features:

• GPS time tracking with "Who's Working" live crew map
• Geofencing on Elite plan
• Kiosk with PIN
• Cost codes and service items mapped to QuickBooks jobs
• Shift scheduling and PTO
• Native QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, and QuickBooks Payroll integration (tightest of any tool on this list)

Pricing: Premium at $20/month base plus $10/user/month. Elite at $40/month base plus $20/user/month (adds geofencing and project tracking).

Best for: Contractors already standardized on QuickBooks who want the cleanest accounting sync available.

Tradeoff: Geofencing requires the Elite plan, which doubles the per-user cost. Certified payroll only works cleanly if you also run QuickBooks Payroll with the Enhanced Payroll for Accountants add-on. Offline mode is less reliable than Busybusy or ClockShark per r/Construction threads.

7. Raken: Best for Daily Reports + Time in One App

Raken started as a daily reporting app (field notes, photos, weather, crew tallies) and added time tracking on top. If your superintendents already fill out daily reports in Raken, adding time is a small step that keeps everything in one place.

Key features:

• Daily field reports with photos, videos, weather, and delays
• Time cards per worker, per cost code
• GPS-verified punches
• Safety inspections and toolbox talks
• Production tracking against budgets
• Integrations with Procore, Sage 300 CRE, Viewpoint, QuickBooks

Pricing: Quoted. Typical plans run roughly $15/user/month for time + daily reports.

Best for: Mid-size to large GCs whose superintendents already do daily reports and want time bundled into the same workflow.

Tradeoff: Time tracking is a solid add-on but not best-in-class compared to Busybusy or ClockShark if daily reports are not your primary need. Certified payroll is via export, not direct WH-347 PDF.

8. Hubstaff: Best Budget GPS Time Tracker

Hubstaff is a general-purpose workforce time tracker that happens to work well for small construction crews. The field services GPS plan has geofencing and route history at a lower price point than dedicated construction tools.

Key features:

• GPS tracking and geofencing (Field plan)
• Offline mode
• Project and task time tracking
• Expense and mileage tracking
• Invoicing (basic)
• Integrations with QuickBooks, Gusto, Xero, ADP, and 30+ others

Pricing: Starter at $4.99/user/month. Grow at $7.50/user/month. Team at $10/user/month. Field (construction-specific) at $12/user/month.

Best for: Small construction crews (1 to 15 workers) on a tight budget who need GPS and geofencing without paying base-plus-per-user fees.

Tradeoff: Not construction-native. No direct WH-347 output. Cost codes are generic "projects and tasks," not construction-specific. Screenshot and activity monitoring features feel out of place on a jobsite and should be turned off for field use.

9. Connecteam: Best for Deskless Crews With Communication Needs

Connecteam is built for deskless workforces (construction, cleaning, logistics, hospitality) and bundles time tracking with team chat, scheduling, checklists, and training. For crews who need a central app for both time and communication, it is a strong all-in-one.

Key features:

• GPS time clock with geofencing
• Team chat with channels per jobsite
• Schedule with shift swaps
• Checklists and daily task lists
• Safety training and compliance tracking
• Forms for incident reports, inspections, and delivery receipts

Pricing: Free for up to 10 users. Basic at $29/month for up to 30 users (flat, not per user).

Best for: Construction-adjacent deskless teams (landscaping, cleaning, property maintenance, field services) with 10 to 200 workers who need communication + time in one app.

Tradeoff: Cost codes and construction-specific job costing are lighter than Busybusy or ClockShark. Certified payroll via export only. The flat-tier pricing is great up to the tier cap but jumps at 30 and 50 users.

10. Knowify: Best for Subcontractors Bidding Public Work

Knowify is built specifically for subcontractors. It combines bidding, contract management, change orders, time tracking, AIA billing, and certified payroll in one platform designed around the sub's workflow on GC-managed jobs.

Key features:

• Bidding and estimating with unit pricing
• Contract and change-order management
• Time tracking with cost codes (direct to job)
• AIA G702/G703 progress billing
• Certified payroll (WH-347 + California and others)
• Integrations with QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop

Pricing: Starts at approximately $68/month for small subs, scaling by features and user count.

Best for: Electrical, mechanical, drywall, and specialty subs with 5 to 40 workers who bid public and commercial work and need AIA billing.

Tradeoff: Not a pure time tracking tool, so the time module is less depth-rich than Busybusy or ClockShark. Better suited to subs who want the full bid-to-billing workflow, not field-first crews.

11. Procore Time and Materials: Best if You Already Run Procore

Procore's Time & Materials tool is a time tracking add-on inside the Procore platform. If your GC already runs Procore for project management, document control, and RFIs, the T&M module keeps time in the same place.

Key features:

• Time entry by worker or crew within Procore projects
• Cost codes synced with your Procore budget
• GPS on mobile entries
• Daily log and time integration
• Connects to Procore's ERP integrations (Sage 300 CRE, Viewpoint Vista, Foundation)

Pricing: Quoted. Requires a Procore subscription plus T&M module. Enterprise-only.

Best for: GCs 50+ already paying for Procore who want time inside the same platform as the rest of their project data.

Tradeoff: Only makes sense if you are already a Procore customer. The time module itself is less mature than Busybusy, ClockShark, or ExakTime. Certified payroll requires export to a payroll processor.

12. eSUB Field Works: Best for Large Subcontractors on Complex Projects

eSUB is built specifically for commercial subcontractors managing multiple large projects simultaneously. Field Works is eSUB's mobile time and daily reporting module.

Key features:

• Mobile time entry with GPS
• Daily reports with weather, crew, production units
• Labor productivity tracking against budget
• Change order and RFI management tied to time
• Certified payroll (WH-347 + state forms)
• Integrations with Sage 100 Contractor, Sage 300 CRE, Foundation, QuickBooks, Viewpoint Spectrum

Pricing: Quoted. Typical commercial sub deployments.

Best for: Commercial subs (mechanical, electrical, drywall, steel) with 25 to 200 field workers and heavy documentation requirements.

Tradeoff: Enterprise sales motion with demos and annual contracts. Overkill for residential subs and small commercial shops.

Accounting Integration Reality Check: What Actually Works With Your Books

Construction runs on specific accounting systems, and many time trackers advertise "QuickBooks integration" without specifying whether they mean Online, Desktop, or which payroll add-on. This table cuts through the marketing:

If your books live in Sage 100 Contractor, Foundation, or Viewpoint Vista, your real options are Workyard, ExakTime, Raken, Procore T&M, or eSUB. Anything else is a CSV bridge with re-keying overhead on Friday.

Annual Cost Analysis: 10-Person Crew on a One-Year Horizon

Here is what a 10-person field crew actually pays per year across the main options, excluding one-time onboarding fees. Supplemental tools included where the time tracker does not cover invoicing.

The cheapest path for a 10-person crew where the owner also runs the office is the Agiled Premium + Busybusy Free combo: Agiled handles estimates, invoicing, CRM, e-sign, and client portals for the office team, while the field crew clocks in through Busybusy's free GPS tier. Total hard cost: under $600/year. For crews that need geofencing enforcement and heavy public-work certified payroll, ClockShark or Workyard at roughly $1,700/year is the next honest jump.

When a Dedicated Construction Time Tracker Is the Wrong Choice

Not every contractor needs a jobsite-grade time clock. Skip it when:

• You are a solo operator with occasional helpers. A simple timesheet in Agiled, Google Sheets, or QuickBooks Self-Employed is enough. The ROI on GPS geofencing requires at least 3 or 4 crew members.
• All your work is T&M with a single GC who does your time cards. If the GC owns the time record and you only sign off, you do not need your own system.
• You exclusively do fixed-price residential without prevailing wage exposure. You care about job profitability, not compliance. A lightweight tool focused on job costing (Agiled, Knowify if you bid) does more for you than a certified-payroll-heavy tracker.
• Your crew will revolt over GPS tracking. In some markets (union carpentry on East Coast, some California trades), GPS-tracked time is a union negotiation item. Kiosk-based time or foreman-entered time is the right middle ground.

How to Roll Out a Construction Time Tracker Without Crew Revolt

Regardless of which tool you pick, a bad rollout kills adoption inside two weeks. The pattern that works:

Week 0: Choose one pilot crew. Pick a foreman who is tech-comfortable and respected. Do not roll out to all crews at once.

Week 1: Install and train on a Monday. Demo on the jobsite, not in the office. Walk through clock-in, clock-out, break, cost-code switch, and photo attach. Hand out a laminated one-pager.

Week 2: Run parallel with paper timesheets. Do not pull the paper for two weeks. Let the foreman compare.

Week 3: Go digital-only for the pilot crew. Send the first payroll through the new system. Fix the bugs the crew hit.

Week 4-6: Add crews one at a time. Same foreman-first model. By week 6 you are running fully digital across the company.

Week 7+: Turn on geofencing and automated payroll exports. Only after adoption is steady. Turning on enforcement on day one creates a confrontation you do not need.

For office-side workflow (estimates, invoices, client portals), Agiled pairs well with any field-side time tracker above, because it handles the sales, proposal, invoicing, and CRM side the field tools do not touch.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best time tracking app for a small construction crew?

Busybusy is the most-recommended free option on r/Construction for crews up to 5 because the free tier includes GPS time tracking with unlimited users. If you also need invoicing and proposals, Agiled paired with Busybusy Free is a strong under-$50/month combination. For paid construction-specific tools, ClockShark's $40/month + $8/user/month pricing is the most commonly recommended step up at the 5-to-10 crew size.

Is GPS time tracking legal on a construction site?

Yes, in all 50 U.S. states, as long as you (1) track time only during working hours, (2) clearly disclose it in writing, and (3) comply with state biometric privacy laws (notably Illinois BIPA for fingerprint or facial recognition clock-ins). Most construction time trackers let you auto-stop GPS when the worker clocks out. Union contracts can impose additional restrictions, so check your CBA before rolling out.

Which time tracker does QuickBooks recommend for construction?

QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets, now owned by Intuit) is the native option with the deepest two-way sync. Elite at $40/month + $20/user/month unlocks geofencing and project tracking for construction use. If you want more construction-specific features than QuickBooks Time offers, ClockShark and Busybusy both have first-class QuickBooks integrations and are commonly used with QuickBooks Desktop Contractor.

What is the difference between geofencing and GPS tracking?

GPS tracking records the worker's location (either on each clock event or continuously). Geofencing is a rule layered on top: it defines a perimeter around the jobsite and triggers actions (auto-prompt clock-in, auto-clock-out, or block punches from outside the perimeter). Geofencing is what prevents buddy punching from the couch; raw GPS tracking just records where a punch happened. Workyard and ExakTime have the most accurate geofencing; Busybusy and ClockShark are close seconds.

How do I generate certified payroll (WH-347) for Davis-Bacon projects?

You need a tool that outputs the WH-347 form directly as a PDF with worker classification, hours, rates, fringe benefits, and deductions filled in. Busybusy, ClockShark, Workyard, ExakTime, Knowify, and eSUB all generate WH-347 PDFs. State-specific forms (California DIR eCPR, New York PW-18, Massachusetts Weekly Payroll Report) are only natively generated by ExakTime, Workyard (California), and eSUB. Everyone else requires export to a payroll processor that produces those forms.

Can my crew clock in without a smartphone?

Yes. Every construction time tracker on this list supports a kiosk mode: a shared tablet (usually at the job trailer or a mounted location on the jobsite) where workers punch in with a PIN, fingerprint, or face recognition. ExakTime also sells ruggedized JobClock hardware for sites where phones and tablets are not allowed. For mixed crews, a combination of mobile app (for workers with phones) and kiosk (for those without) is standard.

How much does construction time tracking software cost?

For a 10-person field crew in April 2026, expect:

• Free tier (Busybusy Free, Connecteam Free up to 10): $0
• Small business tier (Busybusy Pro, Hubstaff, ClockShark, Workyard): $1,400 to $1,800/year
• Mid-market (QuickBooks Time Elite, Raken, Knowify): $2,500 to $3,500/year
• Enterprise (ExakTime, eSUB, Procore T&M): $3,500 to $10,000+/year plus setup

Pair any field tool with Agiled ($25-$49/month) for the office side (invoicing, proposals, CRM, client portals) and you have a full business operating system for under $200/month for a mixed office + field shop.

What time tracker integrates with Sage 100 Contractor or Foundation?

ExakTime, Workyard, Raken, Procore Time and Materials, eSUB, and Busybusy all have direct integrations with Sage 100 Contractor and Foundation Software. QuickBooks Time does not integrate with either. If your books are on Sage or Foundation, skip QuickBooks-only tools.

The Bottom Line

For pure field crews in the 5-to-50 band who need GPS, geofencing, cost codes, and certified payroll, Busybusy, ClockShark, and Workyard are the three serious contenders. Busybusy wins on price and the free tier; ClockShark wins on balanced features for 10-to-30 crews; Workyard wins on GPS accuracy and multi-site auto-attribution.

For mid-size to enterprise GCs running Sage 100, Foundation, or Viewpoint, ExakTime remains the incumbent for a reason, with Procore T&M the right add-on if you already run Procore.

For contractors whose business is as much office work as field work -- small GCs, remodelers, design-build shops, specialty subs with 5 to 15 workers -- Agiled is the simplest answer: one platform for estimates, proposals, invoicing, CRM, client portals, and basic time tracking, paired with Busybusy Free or ClockShark on the field side if GPS enforcement matters.

The biggest mistake on r/Construction and r/ConstructionManagers threads is buying the enterprise tool before you need it, and the second-biggest is picking a desk-oriented tool (Toggl, Harvest, Clockify) that fails the first time your foreman loses signal in a basement. Start with your crew size, your public-work exposure, and your accounting system, then pick from the short list that fits all three.

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