When people told you time and time again how much hard work goes into running a small business, did you believe them? Because, aside from the physical work you sparkies, chippies, and dunny divers do on a daily, we know there's so much administration that goes on behind the scenes.
It can be challenging to adjust to running the administration side of a business if you've spent your life on the tools. One aspect of small business that you may need to prepare for is determining how to track employees' hours, work productivity, and location, particularly if you've promoted yourself to a desk.
Tracking employees' hours can quickly become a full-time job. It's messy, time-consuming, and woefully inaccurate without the right tools. However, even those aspects of employee tracking are cakewalks compared to the more unsavoury part of time tracking: addressing employee time theft.
But guess what? There is a solution—apps to track employees! These days, everyone has a phone on them, and those work phones can be used to provide more value and data for your growing business. With attendance tracking software, everything is done automatically for you, leaving no room for error or doubt.
Software: AroFlo
Standout Features
- Customisable at all scale
- GPS Tracking for crew, vehicles and equipment
- One-Click Reporting and Analytics
- Work Order job management
Price
Starter: $60 AUD per user/month
Medium: $55 AUD per user/month
Large: $50 AUD per user/month
Free Trial/Demo?
14 Days
Software: ClockShark
Standout Features
- Time-Off App
- Geofencing
- Automatic Timesheet and Job Updates
- Who’s Working Now Reporting
Price
Starter: $60 AUD per user/month
tarter: $48 AUD per user/month
Pro: $68 AUD per user/month
Free Trial/Demo?
14 Days
Software: ConnectTeam
Standout Features
- Timesheet Templates
- Geolocation at Clock In/Out
- Notifications and Alerts
Price
Starts at $0 (under 10 users)
Three categories of Upgrade packages, each starting at $29 USD per month
Free Trial/Demo?
Forever (under ten users for basic features)
Software: Hubstaff
Standout Features
- Automated Time-Tracking
- Offline Use
- Time-Tracking Options
Price
Starts at $7 USD per user/month
Free Trial/Demo?
14 Days
Software: BuddyPunch
Standout Features
- Facial Recognition Time Clock
- Online Punch Card
- Office Kiosk Clock
Price
Standard: $4.99 USD per user/month
Pro: $5.99 USD per user/month
Premium: $7.99 USD per user/month
Add-ons available from $39 + $6 per user per month
Free Trial/Demo?
14 Days
Software: Homebase
Standout Features
- Time Clock with breaks and leave options
- Holiday Management
- Third-Party Integrations
Price
Basic: Free for 1 location
Essential: $24.95 USD per location/month
Plus: $59.95 USD per location/month
All-in-One: $99.95 USD per location/month
Free Trial/Demo?
Free Basic Version
14 Days for All-in-One Plan
Best app to track employees in 2024
So, now you're looking for the best app to track employees. Well, sadly, we can't provide you with details of "the one" because there is no such thing as the best app to track employees. Sorry. All employee tracking apps are different and cater to various needs, so you will have to think long and hard about what your business needs in terms of keeping track of employees. Only when you know what you need will you be able to find the right app to track employees for your business.
For example, are you looking for simple attendance tracking software, or do you need software with GPS capabilities? Does your app need a time-stamped clock-in feature, or is allowing your employees to input their own times enough for you? Do you want biometric clock-in features to avoid buddy punching, or do you require offline capabilities for remote jobs?
Your business needs define what the best app to track employees means for you.
AroFlo
AroFlo is at your disposal whether you prefer to work on a mobile phone, laptop or desktop. We offer software built to deliver services tailored to your business needs.
Do you need to track your employees' time? We can do that! Do you need to make customisable reports to predict your future needs? No worries! Is your workforce all over the place, and do you need to track their location with GPS? Yep, we do that too! We’ve even got our integrated GPS software, AroPoint, to turn location data into valuable real-time insights.
With AroFlo, you can use our app to track employees, manage your team remotely and understand how your approaches to completing a project affect your revenue.
Is AroFlo for You?
AroFlo is completely customisable on all scales. We are for organisations big and small, or even freelance individuals. Because our software is available on all devices and as a desktop application, the features are available to use anywhere you need them. If you need an app to track employees that can grow with your business, AroFlo has you covered.
Even better, with our medium, large, and enterprise plans, the larger your business, the more you save per user per month.
Key Features
- reporting and analytics
- time tracking
- project manage
- work order imports
- quoting and estimating
- agreements
- GPS tracking
- job costing
- OH&S compliance
- crew scheduling
- Contractor management
ClockShark
ClockShark is a great all-in-one app for tracking employees; it’s all in the name. It makes it easy to see where your employees are in the field and track jobs and teams on the go. ClockShark knows the value of your time, and it shows in its reporting, scheduling and employee tracking features.
ClockShark’s app to track employees doesn’t stop at GPS and location data; it includes a robust range of essential job management tools that will streamline your business administration, payroll and more.
Is ClockShark For You?
ClockShark excels in time-tracking features and customisable options for businesses with moving teams. If your business has concerns with buddy punching for manual or digital time clocks, ClockShark offers solutions with biometrics for company time clocks. They offer a variety of flexible features and are great for businesses of all sizes.
Key Features
- Location Data in reports, photos and updates
- Automatic time-tracking with GPS
- Geofencing for location-based tracking
- Breadcrumbs: avoid privacy intrusions with GPS snapshots
- Kiosk clock to replace manual time clocks
- Integrations with third-party apps
Connecteam
Connecteam is a customisable, mobile-first employee tracking solution that builds a bridge between you, your employees, and your goals. Starting with a free, forever basic package, Connecteam offers varied tier upgrades depending on your business needs.
Connecteam's upgraded time clock lets employees clock in and out from their own devices at the click of a button. Different tiers provide various features, such as time tracking, GPS functionality, and timesheet management.
Is Connecteam For You?
Connecteam is adaptable and works for all business sizes. With customisable features, Connecteam is for business owners looking for an app to track employees that will scale as their business grows.
One caveat is that many of the best features are not included with the free version and require upgrades to various packages. These costs can add up, but it works for a business looking for a specific solution.
Key Features
- notifications for set timelines
- adjustable timesheet templates
- lock timesheets to avoid tampering
- overtime hour limitations and alerts
- geolocation at the time of clock in/out
Hubstaff
Hubstaff’s app for tracking employees offers time and location services. Employees can clock in on the go, and you can monitor their movement in real time! Hubstaff continually collects data, even when offline, and will automatically upload the information once back online.
Is Hubstaff for You?
Hubstaff is great for businesses where staff work primarily in the field. It offers GPS services to better support management while ensuring the safety of employees and remote workers. This attendance tracking software can track time according to variables such as per client or project.
The starter plan price offers an inexpensive version for small businesses, but larger businesses or those that want more features will need to upgrade to the Grow, Team or Enterprise plans.
Key Features
- tracks time offline
- monitoring along with reports
- automated time and attendance
- time tracking choices: hour, project, and task.
Buddy Punch
Buddy Punch captures location marks to help you keep track of your team members on the go. It is useful for field workers or staff who work fully remotely. Buddy Punch lets you know when your employees are not where they need to be.
Is Buddy Punch For You?
Buddy Punch is a fantastic option for employers who struggle with staff honesty - it takes attendance with 100% accuracy every time. While it is helpful for both office and remote workplaces, Buddy Punch has proven most popular in the manufacturing and hospitality industries.
Key Features
- quick facial recognition for time-clocking
- office kiosk options
- online punch card
- GPS tracking for location checks
Homebase
Homebase is a great app that tracks employees and is helpful in monitoring remote teams via GPS. It works on mobile devices and desktops, letting staff operate in the field while still being overseen by a manager from the office.
Is Homebase For You?
Along with its GPS tracking functions, Homebase also helps companies hire new employees and facilitate their onboarding. With its payroll feature, you can calculate wages correctly every time and send the right payments to employees at the touch of a button.
H4 Key Features
- timesheets are available on both mobile and web versions
- GPS tracking for mobile devices
- time clock function incorporates breaks, overtime, and paid time off
- employee scheduling
- holiday management
- integrations with third-party apps
Is It Legal To Track Your Employees?
COVID has shifted how we all run our businesses, and we still feel the effects of pandemic measures today. A hybrid working model might mean your staff no longer start their day from the office—you might not even see them every day. This can be a liberating work model for your employees, but it can hurt your business if you don't have a time or job tracking system. Micromanaging a crew on the move is frustrating and time-consuming, and let’s be honest, no one likes it.
Apps to track employees are a great solution. They allow businesses to function remotely because they let you always see where your staff is. However, they can also raise questions of legality and privacy concerns. Is it legal to track your employees? If so, how much are you allowed to track?
Laws regarding monitoring and surveillance of the workforce in Australia
Unfortunately for business owners and employees alike, the Australian Government has not outlined a consistent set of laws to regulate how and when you can monitor your staff, both in the workplace and when they work on-site.
However, there are some laws that you can use as helpful guidelines. For example, the Telecommunication (Interception) Act 1979 forbids any person from intercepting a communication that passes over a telecommunications system.
Another one to bear in mind is the Privacy Act 1988, which you may also find has some application to monitoring staff. It states that the information collected, used, or disclosed from telecommunication is personal to the involved parties. In this instance, we can safely apply the term "telecommunication" to all communication devices, including mobile phones, landline phones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers.
So, on a Commonwealth level (though stated a little ambiguously), we can gather that monitoring your staff by reading their emails and text messages or recording their phone calls, even if they are using a company device, is likely against the law. However, laws regarding monitoring their location to determine that they are where they are supposed to be, as well as other forms of surveillance, are regulated by the industrial laws laid out by each state and territory.
State and territory surveillance laws
While each state and territory have their own workplace surveillance laws, most can be summed up as follows:
As a business owner or manager, it is legal to monitor and track your employees' work-related tasks while they are at work or throughout their working hours. This applies whether your employees' work is conducted in the office, at home, or on-site.
But even when you operate your trade business remotely, that does not mean you have an unrestricted right to monitor and track your employees' every move through these hours, particularly any communication they may have during work hours.
However, there are perfectly justifiable reasons to conduct employee tracking, such as to:
- protect your assets
- monitor employee safety
- detect theft or fraud
- keep on top of quality control
- monitor employee behaviour, including tracking time spent on jobs and between jobs.
As an employer, it's your job to balance your right to track your staff, keeping in mind their right to privacy.
Always check the industry awards and agreements before implementing any employee tracking. Furthermore, if you need to take any adverse action against your employees, be sure you have a right to the information you have collected through this surveillance or apps to track employees.
Using technology to track your employees
Tradies have been using employee tracking apps for years. Now, in response to the pandemic, there is an increase in the number of tradie businesses that operate purely in a remote capacity, eliminating daily catchups and the opportunity to physically submit timesheets and paperwork at the end of the day.
Businesses need technology now more than ever to keep a check on employees. But implementing employee tracking apps means that employers now have more capability of reaching into their team members' homes and personal lives, which is something you need to be aware of as a responsible employer.
How To Track Employees' Hours
There are plenty of avenues to take when finding the right employee tracking system for your business. Let's look at a few methods of keeping track of employees.
Time tracking software
Time tracking software eases the hurdle of logging employee hours as your employees can remotely input their clock-in and clock-out times. This information is then available digitally, helping you ensure that your staff are compensated fairly. No messy handwriting, no ambiguous time cards - just simple, time-stamped data.
Time tracking through apps to track employees also enables you to run time-tracking reports, allowing you to see where improvements could be made to your rostering or staffing.
GPS Tracking Software
Your employees work off-site, so a GPS tracking approach may be the right option for your trade business. GPS time tracking makes clocking in and out simple for your employees, as they can log their time from whatever device they use while on the road. GPS employee tracking is also easy for you; you can maintain the time sheets and keep on top of jobs through the app from wherever you work.
We've built AroFlo's GPS tracking solutions to help you to keep up with your staff and assets at a glance. Whether you're concerned about tracking movement, geofencing or after-hours use, you can keep in touch with your business processes in real-time. If you're keen to try GPS tracking, we can show you how it works - with absolutely no obligation to move forward. Just book a demo here.
Manual employee time tracking
Businesses have been manually tracking employees' time since the dawn of time, so it's well chartered territory. This method involves having your employees manually write their times down on a piece of paper and submit their timesheets on a daily, weekly, fortnightly, or monthly basis.
While there's no denying that manual time tracking has its place - such as for small startup businesses with few employees - it's also true to say that this method can lead to a variety of issues, such as:
- accounting errors
- payroll issues
- time theft
- labour law violations.
Manual time tracking is a great place to start. But it's also worth aiming to upgrade to a digital employee tracking solution in the future. An app to track employees' hours will save you the headache of deciphering handwritten timesheets, and your team will be relieved of the hassle of trying to keep track of their timesheet paper on the go.
Benefits of Tracking Your Workforce
In any trade, the only way your business will run effectively is if the labour and money you put into it produce the right output level. The only way you will know if you are using your resources correctly is to ensure your employees work productively.
Those variables are far easier to track when your employees work in an office, where you can monitor their output in person. But tradies simply don't have that advantage, so you need to track your workforce.
Increasing productivity needs to be a top priority.
So, tracking your employees' time and productivity with an app to track workers can benefit trade businesses in several ways.
Boost Efficiency
If you are concerned about how efficiently your employees work, apps to track employees are a great way to build a positive feedback culture, as data, not just your word, will back your feedback.
The best apps with time-tracking features and GPS functionality also save you time on management, as they’ll provide valuable insights on data without micromanaging.
Creates Trust
Building trust—trust that runs both ways—is one of the most important factors in any work team. A healthy level of trust between management and staff begins with a clear understanding of rules and expectations. However, how efficiently these understandings are adhered to depends on clear data to prove results. It can be tough to be sure that your expectations and standards are being met by your team.
Apps that track employees provide concrete data and results about what your staff spends their time on, which can help you ensure that your crew uses their time effectively.
If the data collected by your employee tracking software indicates that the team is not producing to the company standard, you can then take action to improve the situation.
Monitor Attendance
With a way to track employee productivity, it is easier for a company to be sure that its employees on job sites are working at an adequate level of production. It can be hard to determine whether they're on the job. Use an app to track employees to ensure that your team are where they say they are when they're meant to be there.
Unfortunately, time fraud (which can be as simple as an employee not showing up to work on time but claiming they are) is one of the most common harmful schemes in Australian trade businesses. By instigating employee tracking software, you won't have to worry about time fraud.
Helps With Project Management
Project management is a rather broad term covering everything from estimating the time tasks will take to complete and assessing the quality of the outcomes to employee tracking. Conducting these tasks effectively will give you an insight into how well your project management skills are impeding or positively affecting your revenue. The best app to track employees utilises all the valuable data to boost your business.
For example, you can use historical data to estimate how much time your team will need to complete future jobs, which will allow you to better assess your needs for future projects. You can also use software to track data in real-time to keep abreast of job progress.
The effectiveness of an organisation's operations is critical for its earnings, and project management is at the forefront of overseeing and improving production.
Ready For An All-in-One App to Track Employees?
These days, an app to track employees is a must-have, particularly software that encompasses GPS tracking functions and robust time clocks.
After all, it's easy to monitor your employees' work activities when they operate in the office; however, things can get complicated when your staff work in the field. That's why an app to track employees can help you keep your team's performance optimal and on track.
The most important aspects to consider when choosing an employee tracking app are your business' needs, how all your employees work within the business and the features that will help YOU keep in touch with your employees while remaining respectful of their privacy.
So, go play with some employee tracking apps and find the right one for you! As you might have guessed, we recommend AroFlo! We’ve got plenty of features for all your job management needs, and we’re always taking tradie feedback on board to develop the features businesses need in the field. (Here’s the demo, nudge nudge.)
We wish you happy work tracking!
%20Policies%20in%20AUS%20%26%20NZ.png)
