Best Ways to Implement Construction Timesheet Software and Move on From Paper

Adopting automation and technology is necessary for construction companies to survive. Construction timesheet software is an easy way to clean up manual processes quickly. The move from paper timesheets to a construction timesheet software is a time-saving measure that benefits business.

Accurate Time Tracking

With paper timesheets, employees have to either remember at the end of the day or week all of their starts and stops – the time they made it to the job site, their lunch break, and the time they went home. This system leaves too much room for human mathematical error or worse, deception. These mistakes cost businesses about 2% per payroll period according to the American Payroll Association. By implementing construction timesheet software or a timesheet app that tracks location, construction businesses will have more accurate time tracking and will know if someone punched in before they got to the site preventing time theft.

Overtime

Overtime is unavoidable in construction. Sometimes to meet a job deadline or to finish project overtime occurs. But businesses can choose to set alerts or approvals on some construction timesheet software to know when employees are entering overtime. This helps business owners and foremen to stay informed on who is nearing overtime and make executive decisions on whether or not to approve the overtime for that specific assignment. Having knowledge and control over overtime before timesheets are turned in will your firm increase its profits.

Protected from the Unknown

Switching from paper to a construction timesheet software solution protects your business from false or inaccurate timesheets. You can’t be everywhere at once, and paper timesheets are easy to fill out without having set foot on the project site. While people are usually honest, sometimes a bad decision can hurt your business. Using a timesheet app prevents this behavior and mitigates risks. With your time sheet data being stored in the cloud, you’re also protected from the elements with easy access. All timesheet data is stored in a virtual directory you can easily access in real time. No more searching through file cabinets for original timesheets, they’ll be all in one place.

Benefits to Your Back Office

With paper timesheets, you or your back office team have to input the information from every timesheet manually. But sometimes the information on a paper timesheet isn’t legible. So now you or your back office team have to track down your workers to verify information. Or you have to track down workers to get the timesheet from them. By switching to a construction time app, all of that information is approved and automatically passed into your payroll and billing software, eliminating the need to find individual timesheets and inputting the data into payroll, and saving your business time and money. How many hours a week does your back office team spend doing payroll? Cut this time by fifty percent.

Lower Costs

Between inaccurate reporting, the cost of paper and ink, and the extra time you have to spend to find timesheets, you’re losing time and money. Switching to a construction timesheet app reduces time, resource and labor costs across the board. It’s not just environmentally friendlier; it also reduces the amount of space you need for storage because all the data is in the cloud, so you won’t need to spend money on new filing cabinets.

Ease of Use

Paper timesheets are often used because they seem easier to use than a software program, or a software solution might seem expensive. However, inaccurate payroll information costs your business money, and construction timesheet software isn’t difficult to use or implement. Many common problems of paper timesheets are having to either find the timesheet template on your computer and print out new copies for each employee and hope they don’t lose or forget it or printing poor quality copies. A time tracking app works on your employees’ phones and loads to the cloud. So data isn’t lost, and it’s real-time.

How to Implement a Construction Timesheet Software

It’s important to consider these steps in implementing a construction timesheet software.

Determine Workflow and Needs

The first step to implement a construction timesheet software is to determine the company’s needs. Sitting down with construction supervisors, project managers, and construction management professionals to assess their timesheet workflow. In construction, timesheets are more than just for accounting and billing. Construction timesheets are a backup for construction documentation since it affirms the field notes, change orders, and other documentation.

Sit down with the foremen to determine their process. Are they verifying timecards every day or every week? Do the timesheets have enough information on them for the accounting department? And do the project managers need real-time data on labor?
These questions will help determine which solution will work best for the team.

Roll Out Plan

Once the team invests in a solution, it’s time to roll out the timesheet software. However, switching everyone over to electronic timesheets at once is hard. To get the best implementation and adoption results, make a roll-out plan.

The rollout plan should include workers that are advocates for the solution, trainers, and the person responsible for the whole solution. These are key players in determining how effective it is. Once these roles are filled the rollout plan should include the timeline, projects, and such.

Picking one project to start on and one team to start with can make the transition smoother. The smaller implementation team can work on issues that arise and advise on new processes and configurations to make it work. They are also most likely to become advocates for the construction timesheet software.

Advocates

A company’s advocates are their biggest resource. The advocate are workers that use the software, see its usefulness, and can help bring others on board. Advocates are the initial team to use the software, so they can help overcome the issues that others might experience.

Project managers and foremen can also help bring people on board. They can explain the benefits that workers will immediately experience by using the construction timesheet software. When foremen don’t have to track down timecards, the accounting department can quickly do payroll. This alleviates some of the burdens the accounting department faces.

Using advocates can ease the transition into the new system and encourage others to consider all the benefits rather than just the newness.

Feedback

A key component in implementing a construction timesheet software to move on from paper is feedback. Worker feedback is a great way to determine if the system works, and what changes need to be made for it to work. Making sure that workers understand the goal of the system and that there is a clear group of individuals to answer questions can help with most problems. It’s important for management to solicit feedback to help close any issues or gaps. Feedback is crucial in improving future implementations.

Want to find out how eSUB can help your company with the best construction timesheet software? Contact us for a consultation today.