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Ask any contractor where the money leaks out of their business and “payroll” is rarely the first answer — but it should be near the top. When crews round their start time up to 7:00 instead of the 7:18 they actually rolled onto the job, when drive time gets guessed at, when a “lunch” runs 50 minutes and gets logged as 30, you pay for it every single week. The right time-tracking app closes those gaps automatically, ties every hour to a job, and hands your payroll and job-costing numbers to you clean.
This guide compares the tools contractors actually use, split into two camps: dedicated time-tracking apps (cheaper, GPS-first, do one job well) and all-in-one field service platforms that include time tracking alongside scheduling, invoicing, and CRM. Below you’ll find honest pricing, standout features, and — because no tool is perfect — the catch on each one.
The short version: our picks by shop type
- Best free option (small crews): Connecteam — genuinely free for up to 10 users.
- Best GPS accuracy for construction: Workyard — built for precise field time and labor costing.
- Best if you already run QuickBooks: QuickBooks Time — timesheets flow straight into QuickBooks payroll.
- Best budget all-rounder: ClockShark — time + scheduling + GPS in one affordable app.
- Best if you want time tracking inside your whole operation: Jobber or Housecall Pro — time tracking is one feature of a full field-service platform.
At-a-glance comparison
| Tool | Starting price | Type | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connecteam | Free up to 10 users; paid from $29/mo | Time-tracking-first | Small crews on a budget |
| Workyard | From $6/user/mo | Time-tracking-first | GPS accuracy + labor costing |
| QuickBooks Time | $20/mo + $8/user | Time-tracking-first | QuickBooks users |
| ClockShark | $40/mo + $9/user | Time-tracking-first | Time + scheduling combo |
| Jobber | $29/mo (annual, 1 user) | Full field-service platform | Solo–mid service trades |
| Housecall Pro | $59/mo (annual, 1 user) | Full field-service platform | Service shops wanting all-in-one |
| ServiceTitan | Custom quote | Enterprise platform | Larger/multi-location contractors |
Pricing verified from each vendor’s pricing page, July 2026. Full source links at the bottom of this article.
What it really costs to track a 5-person crew
Starting prices hide the real number, because some tools charge per user and others bundle a base fee. Here’s the monthly cost to track a five-person crew on each tool’s entry tier (annual billing where offered):
Green = time-tracking-first tools; blue = full field-service platforms (you’re paying for scheduling, invoicing, and CRM too, not just time). *QuickBooks Time also requires an active QuickBooks Online subscription, billed separately. Figures calculated from verified July 2026 pricing.
QuickBooks Time — best if you already run QuickBooks
Formerly TSheets, QuickBooks Time is the natural pick if your books already live in QuickBooks. Employees clock in from the mobile app or a shared kiosk, and approved timesheets drop straight into QuickBooks payroll and invoicing with no re-keying — the single biggest time-saver of owning both.
Pricing: Time Premium is $20/month base plus $8 per user; Time Elite is $40/month base plus $10 per user (each includes one admin). Elite adds mileage tracking, project tracking, project estimates-vs-actuals, and timesheet signatures. Note that QuickBooks Time requires an active QuickBooks Online account, billed separately.
The catch: If you’re not already a QuickBooks shop, you’re paying for two subscriptions to get one job done — and cheaper standalone trackers will serve you better.
Check QuickBooks Time pricing →
Workyard — best GPS accuracy for construction
Workyard is built specifically for construction and field trades, and its pitch is precision: it advertises the most accurate GPS time tracking in the category, logging exactly when a worker arrives on site, how long they’re there, and the drive time in between. That accuracy is what turns fuzzy timesheets into reliable labor-cost data you can actually job-cost against.
Pricing: Plans start at $6 per user/month billed annually (Starter). The Pro tier — the most popular — adds office-to-field scheduling, project tracking, and live labor-cost reporting; Enterprise is quote-based. Monthly billing is also available at a higher rate.
The catch: It’s a time-and-labor tool, not a full business platform — you’ll still need separate software for invoicing and customer management.
ClockShark — best budget all-rounder
ClockShark bundles GPS time tracking, drag-and-drop scheduling, and job/task tracking into one affordable app built for construction and field service. It’s the sweet spot for a shop that wants time and scheduling without stepping up to a full FSM.
Pricing: Standard is $40/month plus $9 per user; Pro is $60/month plus $11 per user and adds PTO, multi-department controls, and advanced job-costing. Both plans include GPS, scheduling, and integrations with the major payroll and accounting platforms.
The catch: Pricing is quoted on a three-year contract term, so it’s less flexible month-to-month than some rivals.
Connecteam — best free option for small crews
Connecteam’s Small Business plan is genuinely free — not a trial — for up to 10 users, and it includes the time clock, job scheduling, GPS geolocation stamps, and geofencing. For a small crew that’s been running on paper timesheets or a group text, it’s the easiest zero-cost upgrade on this list.
Pricing: Free for up to 10 users. Paid Operations Hub tiers (time clock + scheduling) run $29/month (Basic), $49/month (Advanced), and $99/month (Expert) for the first 30 users, billed yearly, when you outgrow the free plan or need advanced automations and geofencing rules.
The catch: It’s a broad workforce-management app rather than a construction-specialist tool, so the job-costing depth is lighter than Workyard’s.
Jobber — time tracking inside a full platform
If you’d rather not run a separate time app at all, Jobber builds time tracking into a complete field-service platform: quoting, scheduling, dispatching, invoicing, a client CRM, and in-app timers so crews clock hours against the specific job they’re on.
Pricing: Core is $49/month ($29/month billed annually) for one user; Connect is $139/month ($99 annual); Grow is $199/month ($149 annual); Plus is $499/month ($399 annual) and includes five users. Additional users are $29/month each. For a five-person crew, Core lands around $145/month billed annually.
The catch: You’re buying a whole operating system, not a time tracker — great value if you’ll use the rest, overkill if you only want timesheets.
Housecall Pro — all-in-one for service shops
Housecall Pro is a close cousin to Jobber, popular with plumbing, HVAC, and electrical service shops that want booking, dispatch, payments, review management, and employee time tracking under one roof.
Pricing: Basic is $59/month billed annually ($79 monthly) for one user; Essentials is $149/month annually ($189 monthly) for up to five users; MAX is $299/month annually ($329 monthly) for up to eight users, with additional seats at $35/month.
The catch: Seats are capped by tier, and the entry Basic plan is single-user — a five-person crew jumps you to the $149 Essentials tier.
ServiceTitan — for larger, multi-location contractors
ServiceTitan is the enterprise end of the market. Its timesheet and payroll management sit inside a heavyweight platform used by larger residential and commercial contractors, with dispatching, CRM, reporting, and payroll built in. Pricing is custom and quote-only.
The catch: No public pricing and an enterprise price tag — it’s built for scale, and it’s more platform than a small shop needs just to track hours.
Request ServiceTitan pricing →
How to choose
Work from your actual bottleneck, not the feature list:
- You just need hours off paper: start with Connecteam’s free plan.
- Your pain is inaccurate field hours and mystery drive time: Workyard’s GPS precision pays for itself fast.
- Your books are in QuickBooks: QuickBooks Time removes the double entry.
- You want time and scheduling together, cheaply: ClockShark.
- You’re also drowning in scheduling, invoicing, and follow-ups: a full platform like Jobber or Housecall Pro will do more than a time app ever could.
Whatever you pick, the point of tracking time is to know your real labor cost. Once you’re capturing accurate hours, run them through our free True Hourly Rate Calculator to see what your crew actually costs per billable hour, and our Job-Costing Tracker to tie those hours to job profit.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the best free time-tracking app for contractors?
Connecteam is the strongest genuinely free option, covering the time clock, GPS stamps, and scheduling for up to 10 users at no cost.
Do these apps track GPS location?
Yes — Workyard, ClockShark, Connecteam, and QuickBooks Time all offer GPS clock-in, and several add geofencing so workers can only clock in once they’re on site.
Can time-tracking software handle payroll?
Most integrate with payroll rather than running it. QuickBooks Time flows into QuickBooks payroll directly; the others export approved timesheets to major payroll platforms.
Is a dedicated time app or an all-in-one platform better?
If time tracking is your only gap, a dedicated app (Workyard, ClockShark, Connecteam) is cheaper and simpler. If you also need scheduling, invoicing, and CRM, a platform like Jobber or Housecall Pro bundles time tracking in and saves you juggling tools.
Sources
Pricing verified July 2026 from: QuickBooks Time (quickbooks.intuit.com/time-tracking/pricing), Workyard (workyard.com/pricing), ClockShark (clockshark.com/pricing), Connecteam (connecteam.com/pricing), Jobber (getjobber.com/pricing), Housecall Pro (housecallpro.com/pricing), ServiceTitan (servicetitan.com/pricing).
Related reading
- Best Software for Small Contractors (2026) (full-platform picks for lean crews)
- The Best Tools for Contractors in 2026 (our full guide)
- Best Accounting Software for Contractors
- Best Billing Software for Contractors
- The Job-Costing Tracker template
Disclosure: Augmented Trades participates in affiliate programs and may earn a commission if you sign up through links in this article, at no extra cost to you. Read our full affiliate disclosure.
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Michael is the founder of Augmented Trades, an independent site that tests and reviews AI tools for trade contractors. Tools are recommended on fit for your shop — affiliate partnerships never decide coverage.