(650) 332-8623The 8 Best Project Time Tracking Software Solutions for 2026
Looking for a project time tracking app for your construction business? We’ve reviewed 8 of the best apps on the market to help you!
Quick Answer
The best project time tracking software is Workyard ($6–13/user/month + $50 base fee) for construction and field service crews needing GPS-verified job costing, Hive ($5–18/user/month) for office-based teams wanting project management with built-in time logging, and Jibble (free–$9.99/user/month) for small teams prioritizing simple attendance tracking. Pricing ranges from free to $25+ per user/month. Choose based on your work environment (field vs. office), required tracking accuracy (real-time GPS vs. manual entry), and whether you need integrated job costing for labor budgets.
Project time tracking software gives construction and field service teams the ability to tie labor hours directly to job costs—critical when more than 80% of construction projects exceed their budgets.
This guide compares 8 project time trackers based on GPS accuracy, job costing capabilities, mobile usability, and pricing. I evaluated each platform across real construction workflows to identify which tools deliver the most reliable time-to-cost data for field crews.
Top Project Time Tracking Software Solutions at a Glance
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
Our score |
9.1 |
8.0 |
7.7 |
Best for |
GPS-verified project time tracking for construction and field crews |
Office-based teams combining project management with time logging |
Budget-friendly attendance tracking for small teams and nonprofits |
Pricing |
Starting at $6/mo. per user + $50 monthly base fee |
Starting at $5/mo. per user |
Free plan available; Premium starts at $3.99/mo. per user |
What is project time tracking software?
Project time tracking software is a tool designed to help construction companies, field service teams, and project-based businesses record work hours by job, task, or crew.
It replaces paper timesheets, spreadsheets, and end-of-week memory with real-time timers, digital timesheets, and job-based reporting.
Common users include foremen, technicians, project managers, and back-office payroll teams who need accurate labor costs, cleaner billing, and better visibility into where time is going before budgets drift off track.
How project time tracking software works
Project time tracking software starts with an admin creating jobs, cost codes, and team members, then setting rules like approvals, overtime thresholds, and pay or billable rates.
In the field, workers use a mobile app to clock in, switch tasks, and add notes or photos tied to the job. Foremen review and correct time daily, then submit timesheets for approval. Back-office staff exports approved hours to payroll or syncs them to accounting tools like QuickBooks, reducing re-entry.
As time is logged, the system totals labor by project and category, flags budget overruns, and generates reports that help PMs understand where labor is being spent.
Benefits of project time tracking software
- Cut payroll headaches: Digital timesheets reduce missing hours, rounding disputes, and last-minute corrections.
- Improve job costing: Hours roll up by job, phase, or cost code so you can see true labor spend.
- Speed up billing: Billable time is easier to verify and invoice when it’s tied to the right project and notes.
- Reduce time theft and mistakes: Clock-in rules, approvals, and audit trails help prevent buddy punching and bad entries.
- Catch overruns earlier: Budget-to-actual views flag when labor is trending over plan before it’s too late.
- Simplify compliance: Clear records of breaks, overtime, and approvals support labor rules and internal policies.
How much does project time tracking software cost?
Most project time tracking software costs about $5–$20 per user per month, with construction-ready platforms often landing closer to $10–$30 per user per month when you add field and job-costing features.
Pricing usually scales by the number of employees who track time and the plan tier (basic time clocks vs. approvals, reporting, and admin controls). Expect to pay more for GPS/geofencing, crew-based timesheets, cost codes/job costing, and payroll/accounting integrations (like QuickBooks).
Many vendors offer a free plan for small teams or a 7–30 day free trial so you can validate payroll and reporting workflows before committing.
What to look for in project time tracking software
When comparing project time tracking software, start with the core functions that determine whether it will actually run payroll and job costing cleanly:
Core Features (must-haves)
- Mobile time entry + timesheets: Crews can clock in/out, switch jobs, and submit time without paperwork.
- Job/project coding: Hours tie to the right job, phase, or cost code for accurate costing.
- Approvals and edit history: Supervisors review, correct, and approve time with an audit trail.
- Reporting + exports: Totals by job/employee/date with CSV/Excel export for payroll and billing.
- Integrations: At minimum, payroll/accounting connections (or easy exports) to avoid double entry.
Nice-to-Have Features (differentiators)
- GPS/geofencing: Verifies jobsite time and reduces off-site punches.
- Crew/foreman workflows: One person can manage time for a whole crew fast.
- Budget vs. actual alerts: Flags labor overruns before they blow the job.
- Photo/notes on time logs: Adds proof for T&M billing and change orders.
How to choose the best project time tracking software
- Map your time flow from jobsite to payroll: List how crews clock time today, who approves it, and where it ends up (payroll, invoicing, job costing). The best tool should match that handoff.
- Prioritize field requirements first: If you run multiple sites, mobile clock-ins, cost codes, and foreman/crew entry matter more than fancy dashboards. If you bill T&M, look for notes/photos on time logs.
- Verify job-costing accuracy in a real scenario: During a trial, run one live project and confirm hours roll up correctly by job/phase, including overtime and breaks.
- Check your “no double entry” path: Make sure it exports cleanly or syncs with your accounting/payroll system (e.g., QuickBooks), and confirm how corrections are tracked.
- Score support and rollout effort: Ask about implementation help, response times, and whether admins can manage permissions, devices, and approvals without constant troubleshooting.
The Bottomline
- If you need field-ready time tracking and job-costing, choose a tool built for crews (like Workyard).
- If you’re mostly office-based, lighter trackers like Toggl Track or MyHours can cover the basics.
- For PM-heavy workflows, Teamwork is a solid fit.
The right choice is the one that ties hours to the correct job and cost code without extra admin work. If that’s your priority, it’s worth testing a platform that was built specifically for construction labor tracking.
Start a 14-day Workyard free trial to see real-time labor costs per project.
Our Scoring System Explained
Our 8-part scoring system was created to help you understand the potential value of any software we review simply and fairly.
We created it after reviewing dozens of software products, which we covered in depth, but without providing a direct and simple way for readers to compare products on their merits – without spending a lot of time looking through our articles for the information they needed to make an informed decision.
Every app we review will include Customer Support and Company scores, which we’ll explain in more detail below. Many of the factors reviewed in this article will also be consistent across most (or all) of our software reviews, with some differences:
The 8 factors assessed and their contribution to a product’s overall score may differ slightly from product to product based on various factors, such as the use case we’re reviewing for, the type of business these products are tailored to, and other considerations. However, all reviews will feature an 8-part score, weighted and combined to calculate each product’s overall score.
How We Score Software
All factors in our reviews are scored on a 10-point scale – technically 11 points – from 0-10. However, we only give products a score of 0 if it does not include an essential feature at all, and we try to avoid giving out 0 scores if a product can demonstrate any functionality in line with the specific factor being reviewed.
In general, the 0-10 range translates as:
- 9.0 – 10 – One of the absolute best in its category (amazing).
- 7.5 – 8.9 – Very good, but with some minor issues (very good).
- 6.0 – 7.4 – Mediocre performance with notable shortcomings (average).
- 3.0 – 5.9 – This feature is not ready for prime time (borderline).
- 1.0 – 2.9 – This feature actually makes its product worse (unacceptable).
- 0 – The product doesn’t include this important feature at all.
How We Calculate Overall Scores
The 8 factors reviewed are weighted based on an overall total of 100%:
- Ease of Use: 20%
- Time Tracking Accuracy: 20%
- Scheduling Features: 15%
- Job Tracking: 15%
- Integrations: 10%
- Customer Support: 15%
- Company: 5%
Methodology for Each Factor
Ease of Use
We evaluate a product’s ease of use based on three main considerations:
- How easy is it to set up this app?
- How easy is it for managers to use the backend dashboard?
- How easy is it for frontline workers to use the (mobile) app?
These three considerations cover the main ways you and your team would use the software being reviewed – when you first obtain it, when someone (a manager, executive, team leader, or similar role) needs to use it to manage people, money, data, and other things, and when workers you’re tracking use the app (usually a mobile version of the software designed for frontline and/or field team members) to clock in, clock out, record time worked, or address other day-to-day needs.
Time Tracking Accuracy
Every minute matters when you’re trying to control payroll costs. This factor accounts for various features and common needs in time-tracking apps, such as…
- How accurate or precise is its GPS tracking capability?
- How accurate – and how customizable – is its geofencing feature?
- How accurate is its travel and mileage tracking (if available)?
- Can it automatically clock workers in and out based on the above?
- Can you set and/or restrict rules for clocking in and out?
- Can the app continue tracking workers while offline?
- How easy is its mobile app and/or kiosk for frontline workers?
Scheduling Features
Many construction businesses prefer to manage as many aspects of employee labor activity as possible in a single app, which is why many time-tracking apps also include worker scheduling as a core feature.
When we consider a product’s scheduling features, we look at:
- Its dashboard customizability (daily, weekly, or monthly views).
- Its project-based scheduling and visibility.
- Its real-time updates and notifications for workers.
- Its real-time map views of worker locations for best-fit scheduling.
- Its recurring schedule (copies to subsequent weeks, etc.) functionality.
Job Tracking
This factor helps you understand if the software can also provide insight into specific projects, which is particularly handy when your business deals with many customers or clients who generally need shorter-term work. Effective job tracking typically also includes accurate job costing functionality for construction companies.
We assess several things when calculating a product’s job tracking score:
- Its project-based tracking for multiple projects per day/week/etc.
- Its ability to track multiple / many projects simultaneously.
- Its use of (and your ability to customize) construction cost codes.
- Any built-in job costing views.
- Any integrations for cost coding (QuickBooks etc.)
Integrations
No business can operate on a single app, which is why integrations with other apps and tools are such important aspects of modern business software.
To calculate a product’s integration score, we’ll examine:
- How many native integrations (the simplest connection) does it offer?
- How effective and easy-to-use are its integrations with payroll software?
- Does it have robust data import and export features?
Customer Support
Learning how to use a new app can be frustrating, even if it’s meant to be the most user-friendly app around. That’s why great customer support is so essential when considering which time-tracking app to use.
Customer support scores are calculated based on:
- Live support channels available (phone, email, chat, etc.).
- Live support hours (business hours only, 24/7, etc.).
- The strength of the product’s online help center and/or FAQs.
- What other users say about support in online reviews.
Company
A great company with a highly customer-friendly approach can often make up for shortcomings in their software products – at least up to a point.
When assessing this score, we’ll examine:
- Transparency (easy-to-find pricing, etc.)
- Trial period (duration, feature availability, credit card requirements, etc.).
- Subscription flexibility (contracts, required durations, etc.).
- Ease of cancellation or pausing subscriptions.
- Customer perceptions (online product reviews).
- Website (a minor consideration, but great companies tend to have great websites).
Any questions about our scoring system? Have any suggestions on how we could make it even better? Click here to send us your feedback – we’d love to hear from you!
A project time tracker is a tool used to monitor and record the time spent on various tasks and activities within a project.
It helps teams and individuals measure how long they spend working on specific project tasks, allowing for better project management, resource allocation, and billing accuracy.
By using a project time tracker, teams can gain valuable insights into their work processes, improve project estimates, and ultimately enhance overall project success and profitability.
Among the project time trackers reviewed in this article, Teamwork, MyHours, and Jibble all offer a free-forever plan.
It’s worth noting that while these apps offer free plans, they may have limitations compared to their paid versions. Testing out a few options can help you find the best fit for your specific needs.
Project time trackers come with a variety of features designed to enhance productivity, accuracy, and efficiency in managing projects. Here are some of the most important features to look for:
- Time Tracking – allows users to record the time spent on various tasks and projects. This can be done manually or automatically, providing detailed reports on time usage.
- Timesheets – compile all tracked time into a comprehensive record, often including details like attendance, breaks, and holidays. Automated timesheets reduce manual entry errors and streamline approval processes.
- Attendance Tracking – helps monitor employee attendance, including clock-in and clock-out times, and can highlight tardiness or absenteeism. It is particularly useful for managing work shifts and ensuring compliance with work schedules.
- Billing and Payroll Integrations – allow for automatic calculation of billable hours and employee compensation. This feature simplifies invoicing clients and managing payroll, ensuring accurate and timely payments.
- Reporting and Analytics – provide insights into time usage, project progress, and resource allocation. Customizable reports can help identify inefficiencies and optimize workflows.
- Mobile App – allows users to track time on the go, ensuring that time tracking is not limited to desktop environments. This is particularly useful for remote or field-based employees.
- Task Management – enables users to create, assign, and prioritize tasks, track their progress, and ensure that all project activities are aligned with overall project goals.
Project time tracking records where the hours go (job, phase, cost code, task), not just how many hours someone worked. That extra context is what makes it usable for job costing, billing, and project-level reporting. Tools like Workyard are built around this kind of job + cost code structure.
Basic time tracking often stops at “8 hours today.” Project-based tracking adds structure—like selecting a job and cost code, adding notes, or switching tasks during the day—so labor can be rolled up into accurate project totals. That’s what allows PMs and finance teams to compare budget vs. actual labor and spot overruns before the job is already underwater.
If you work on more than one job, customer, or cost category, you’ll benefit from project-based time tracking. It’s most useful when labor has to be allocated accurately for job costing, billing, or margin control. That’s why construction-first systems like Workyard emphasize job-based tracking instead of just attendance.
Simple clock-in/out works fine when everyone stays on one site doing one type of work. But once crews bounce between jobs, change phases, or handle service calls, “total hours” stops being actionable. Project time tracking helps foremen, PMs, and payroll keep time aligned to the right project so your labor costs—and invoices—don’t get smeared across the wrong jobs.
Project time tracking reduces the “after-the-fact cleanup” that comes with weekly timesheets—misremembered hours, missing job details, and time that gets dumped into the wrong bucket. It captures the project context at the moment work happens.
Traditional timesheets rely on memory and often get filled out days later. That’s when time gets rounded, copied, or guessed. Project tracking tools push workers to pick a job/cost code as they work, and they preserve edits and approvals so payroll and job costing don’t depend on one person’s best guess on Friday afternoon.
It improves job costing by tying labor hours to the exact job, phase, or cost code that generated the cost. That keeps your “actuals” clean so you can trust budget comparisons and production rates. (Workyard, for example, pushes time into specific cost codes so job cost reports don’t get “blurred” across projects.)
When hours are tracked in real time (or at least daily), you avoid the common problem of labor being coded generically or assigned to the wrong job. Over time, those small errors distort job histories and make future estimates unreliable. Accurate coding also helps you understand which phases consistently run hot—framing vs. finish, service vs. install—so you can adjust bids, staffing, and timelines with real numbers.
Most teams get the best ROI tracking at the project + phase/cost code level, then adding task-level detail only where it affects billing or profitability. The goal is “just enough detail to make decisions,” not perfect documentation.
If you track too broadly, you can’t see what’s driving overruns. If you track too narrowly, field staff spend more time picking codes than working. A practical approach is to start with 10–30 common cost codes/phases, train crews on those, and only add new codes when they consistently answer a real question (like “Why is concrete always over budget?”).
It becomes overhead when the data you’re collecting isn’t used—or when tracking slows the field down enough to create frustration and bad compliance. If your team can’t explain why a code exists, it’s probably too granular.
A red flag is when workers are regularly unsure which code to use, leading to random selections and messy reports. Another is when PMs never reference the detail in meetings or forecasts. Keep tracking rules simple, reduce duplicate codes, and audit your reports monthly: if a tracking category never changes decisions, remove it and keep the workflow lean.
They make job selection simple and consistent: pre-load active jobs, use clear naming, default workers to their usual jobsite, and require a job/cost code before a timesheet can be submitted. The best systems reduce “choices” so crews don’t have to think too hard. Workyard’s approach is a good example here: it’s designed to keep job + cost code selection simple for field crews.
Foremen can help by setting the day’s assignments and doing a quick end-of-day review for obvious miscodes. It also helps to standardize cost code lists across the company (so “Mobilization” means the same thing everywhere). If your job list gets messy, archive old jobs aggressively so crews only see what’s relevant.
You usually end up with time stuck on the wrong job, which can distort job costs, billing, and productivity reporting. The fix is having a fast correction workflow that doesn’t break the audit trail.
Good tools let a worker or foreman split a time entry after the fact (e.g., 2 hours Job A, 6 hours Job B) and add a note explaining why. Approvals matter here: corrections should be reviewed before payroll runs so the “final” labor distribution is accurate. The bigger problem isn’t forgetting once—it’s forgetting often—so reminders, defaults, and crew-based entry can prevent repeat mistakes.
Yes—many teams automate the “prompting” and “guardrails,” even if a person still confirms the final entry. Location rules (GPS/geofencing) can trigger clock-in reminders, and schedules can prompt workers to switch jobs or take breaks. This is where tools like Workyard tend to stand out, because location verification is built into the time-capture workflow.
Automation works best as a safety net: “You’re at Jobsite A—start tracking?” or “You’ve been idle for 30 minutes—stop timer?” Admin rules can also enforce required fields (job, cost code, notes for T&M work) before submission. The key is not over-automating to the point of wrong assumptions—crews still need a quick way to confirm, edit, and explain exceptions like travel, shop time, or emergency calls.
A good field-ready tracker stores time entries on the device and syncs them once connectivity returns. That keeps crews working normally even when job sites have spotty service.
Offline mode should still allow clock-in/out, job selection, and notes—then automatically upload later without losing detail. In practice, you’ll want clear rules for “unsynced” entries: who verifies them, how long they can sit unsubmitted, and what happens if a phone is lost. If your work frequently happens in basements, rural areas, or new builds with weak signal, offline reliability is a must-have—not a nice extra.
