Every construction company takes on each project with the goal of delivering it on time and within budget. Sadly, nine of ten construction projects experience cost overruns, and labor cost is the main culprit. Remember: if you aren’t using an automated GPS time tracking software, chances are you’re overpaying employees by about 1.2%.
ExakTime and Timeero can get your company out of this mess. The apps streamline time tracking but work differently, and obviously, one is better suited to your company's needs than the other. This ExakTime vs Timeero comparison will highlight the apps’ similarities and differences to help you make an informed decision. But first, the highlight of our comparison.
While the apps use geofencing to thwart offsite punching, only Timeero supports facial recognition — a helpful feature for preventing buddy punching. Beyond that, Timeero supports mileage tracking and is ideal for engineers and managers who move from site to site to keep operations ticking along. That’s just the tip of the iceberg — read on for the nitty-gritty details.
Looking for a Time and Location Tracking App for the Construction Industry?
Find out why construction companies choose Timeero.
Like Timeero, ExakTime mobile app offers a flat learning curve.
Both Timeero and ExakTime track time in a way that simplifies wage determination and job classification. You can set different wage rates for various tasks. Employees can switch between jobs as they see fit to streamline job costing and ensure you’re tracking the correct billable hours.
Timeero GPS time clock requires employees to pick a task and hit ‘clock in,’ and that’s it. The app will apply the wage rates automatically for the job they have selected. With ExakTime, employees must enter a unique PIN and select the cost code for each task before clocking in.
Despite the subtle difference, both methods leave no room for job classification errors, which helps sidestep payroll processing mistakes.
Geofencing
Geofencing mitigates off-site punching, ensuring each employee clocks in from the assigned job site. The apps support geofence, and the available options are near-identical.
You can set each app to restrict employees from clocking in outside their job site. Alternatively, you can leave the geofenced clock-in open. In that case, if an employee attempts to clock in outside the geofence, you’ll receive an instant notification, and the apps will flag their timesheet entry.
That said, ExakTime has another use for geofencing. The app presents employees’ nearby locations based on their mobile device GPS and configured geofenced locations. It marks all nearby locations with a green ‘bullseye,’ allowing employees to pick their assigned sites.
Facial Recognition
Timeero nips buddy punching in the bud, thanks to facial recognition. When an employee attempts to clock in, the time clock software captures their face and cross-checks it against the one on the employee's profile. If there’s a mismatch, the app alerts you instantly.
ExakTime doesn’t support facial recognition. Instead, the biometric time attendance tool snaps a photo of each employee as they clock in or out. However, it doesn’t check to confirm whether there’s a face match, meaning it doesn’t restrict punching.
The app stores the photos alongside employees' time cards. The only way to flag buddy punchers is during timesheet review. While ExakTime photo ID verification wades off buddy punchers, it isn’t as effective as Timeero’s facial recognition.
FaceFront biometric feature comes built-in to ExakTime mobile, meaning it doesn’t require further investment or configuration. With Timeero, you have to set up terminal kiosks to use facial recognition.
2. GPS Location Tracking
Timeero simplifies workforce management with time tracking, GSP location tracking, and scheduling features.
Besides employee time tracking, Timeero and ExakTime loop you in on your employees' whereabouts. Timeero keeps it simple. You only have to open the “who’s working” tab to see the location details of clocked-in employees. You can zoom in on each employee to see when they clocked in, the task they’re currently working on, and how long they’ve worked.
ExakTime location tracking options can leave you spoilt for choice. The team view gives you an at-a-glance view of clocked-in employees and where they clocked in from. Alternatively, you can open the MapView tab, which displays employees’ location pins on a map.
For more in-depth analysis, you have the SiteHub feature, which gives you a bird’s-eye view of each job site. It displays a live feed of employees' clock-ins, clock-outs, budget items, and field notes. It also gives employees a map with directions to the nearest job site.
Lastly, the Touch Detail report can help set the record straight if you ever doubt an employee account. The report lists all clocked-in employees and shows those on and off-site. If you notice an employee is off-site, you can drill down to see how far they are from their assigned job site.
Note that Timeero sends employees’ location information in near-real-time. It gathers location data more frequently, giving precise insights into your workforce’s whereabouts. ExakTime takes 15 minutes to transmit location data. That may not sound like a big deal, but a 15-minute pause can open the door for unwanted behaviors to go unnoticed.
Route Replay
The geotrakker ensures you stay abreast of your employee's whereabouts.
If a supervisor, sales rep, or engineer claims to have been at a particular site, but employees say otherwise, fret not. Timeero’s route replay and ExakTime geotrakker help put the record straight.
Timeero’s route replay blends GPS tracking and breadcrumbing technology to help you recreate an employee's route during the day. You can click the timely breadcrumbs to view granular details like time and vehicle speed.
Like the route replay, geotrakker uses GPS and breadcrumb technology to monitor employees' movement between construction sites. However, ExakTime doesn’t track vehicle speed, so you won’t get that information when you click on the breadcrumb.
3. Mileage Tracking
We’ve discussed engineers, supervisors, and employees moving from site to site to monitor operations. You can reduce your taxable income significantly if you track the miles they cover.
Tracking employee mileage reduces your taxable income while providing insights to implement fuel-saving policies
Beyond that, Timeero offers a suggested mileage feature, which comes up with the shortest route to a job site. It helps save fuel and vehicle maintenance costs and may be useful for supervisors and managers who travel between job sites multiple times.
Offline Mode
The offline mode for Timeero and ExakTime works just fine. You don’t have to worry if your field service teams have to reverse off-the-grid locations. When an employee loses an internet connection, the apps will continue tracking data and sync it once the employee reaches an area with an internet connection.
4. Scheduling and Time-Off Management
Timeero allows you to create schedules for a smooth-running workflow and project management
Employee scheduling helps maintain appropriate staffing numbers at all times. Beyond that, scheduling helps wring every drop of employee’s productivity, without overworking anyone. This can go a long way in alleviating work-related health issues such as burnout.
Scheduling with both apps is as easy as setting the date and time for each schedule, assigning it to an employee, and stating the task they will be doing. You can set the default schedule and overtime policies to ensure your workforce abides by FLSA and state rules.
Timeero makes overtime policy enforcement super easy. You can still build your custom overtime policy or enforce state rules, such as the California overtime law of 2022, with a slide of a button.
Moreover, both apps have solid notification systems to keep managers and employees on the same page. You can set them to notify employees when you update a schedule. In addition, you can inform employees about an upcoming shift to prevent no-shows and potential understaffing issues.
Time-Off Tracking
ExakTime primarily tracks time, and it's not surprising that the vendor doesn't prioritize paid time off (PTO) tracking. Don’t get it wrong; the app can still get the job done. However, the PTO cost codes are much more efficient when adding time manually.
Like ExakTime, Timeero doesn’t display the PTO balance for employees. However, it has a leg-up because it allows employees to request time off from their mobile devices (Android or iOS). Managers can approve or reject PTO requests, and employees will get an instant notification when a manager acts upon the request.
5. Reporting and Integrations
Timeero provides detailed reports for error-free attendance tracking, invoicing, and payroll processing
Reports are a critical part of the decision-making process. They help you get to the bottom of all aspects of your business and unearth insights to streamline operations. Timeero has the upper hand when it comes to reporting. Some of the reports you can generate with Timeero include:
Report by mileage
Daily flat rate by total
Scheduled vs hours worked
Report by date range
Report by job
Daily flat rate by user
Reports by total only
Week totals
ExakTime reporting capability isn’t on par with Timeero, but you can derive helpful insights from reports such as:
Employee executive summary
Employee Touch Detail
Location by Employee
Employee Time Card
Employees by Location
Timeero vs ExakTime: Integrations
Timeero supports API integration allowing you to set custom data flow between your go-to software stack. In addition, it integrates seamlessly with other cloud-based SaaS solutions, including:
Gusto
ADP
Viventium
Paychex
Rippling
QuickBooks Desktop
QuickBooks Online
Xero Australia
Zapier
Likewise, ExakTime supports API integration with the Sage accounting platform. Additionally, it has quite an expensive integration network, including construction, accounting, and payroll processing systems:
ADP
Sage
QuickBooks Online
Foundation
Viewpoint
Acumatica
Paychex
BambooHR
AdaptSuite, and more
6. Ease of use
A SaaS solution can have all bells and whistles, but your company can only make the most of it if it's easy to use. Timeero and ExakTime hit the correct degrees of usability, and your employees won’t struggle to find a way around the different features.
However, Timeero's mobile and desktop user interfaces (UI) are more intuitive than ExakTime's. The web-based portal’s left-side main menu means that each feature is intuitively placed and easier to find. Similarly, tracking time and mileage, submitting PTO requests, and performing basic functions is a walk in the park on the mobile app.
ExakTime, however, tucks away some essential features on the top menu, making it difficult for admins to set up. Thankfully, the mobile time tracker is easy to use, and your employees won’t fumble around when tracking time.
Device Compatibility
Timeero makes it easy to configure employee devices as terminal kiosks to use facial recognition
Timeero and ExakTime web-based portal works flawlessly on any web browser: Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Edge, and more. The both support online time clock, meaning that employees can clock in or out from the web portal.
As far as mobile device support goes, both apps support newer versions of Android and iOS. Timeero supports iOS 12 and above and Android 6.0 Marshmallow and above. ExakTime supports Android devices running version 6 to the latest version and an iPad and iPhone running iOS 10 to the latest versions.
7. Pricing
Pricing sways buying decisions, most of the time. And the rule of thumb is that you should get software that serves your need at the most affordable price. We’ve sized up Timeero and ExakTime, and you know their capability. We’ll bring the cost to the equation to help make an informed decision.
Free Trials
If you like testing before forking out the cash, you’ll have more joy with Timeero than ExakTime. Timeero offers a 14-day free trial, allowing you to get a first-hand feel for all its features. ExakTime doesn’t offer a free trial or an equivalent money-back guarantee period.
Considering the base price, ExakTime is pricey for businesses that are starting out
ExakTime vs Timeero: Paid Plans
When a Timeero free trial elapses, you’ll have three pricing plans. You can start with the Basic plan, which costs $4 per user per month. Remember that this plan is geared towards small businesses with ten users.
If your business requires more than ten seats, you can subscribe to the Pro plan for $8 per user per month. If you need Timeero’s advanced tools, such as facial recognition and suggested mileage, get the Premium plan at $11 per user per month.
Timeero pride itself on affordability — there’s a plan for businesses of all size and shapes. Even better, the vendor doesn’t require a base fee. You pay for active users only — if an employee is no longer with your company, you deactivate their account and don’t have to pay for their seat in the coming months.
ExakTime treads a different path as far as pricing goes. Firstly, you’ll be required to pay a base fee of $50 per month, regardless of the size of your workforce. Secondly, the price per user varies with varying billing cycles — you pay $9 per user per month on annual billing. If you choose to use monthly billing, the cost will be higher.
ExakTime vs Timeero: Which Is The Best App?
Our ExakTime vs Timeero comparison has clarified the difference between the two time tracking apps. ExakTime is heavily marketed as the best time clock for the construction industry. However, as we have seen in our guide, the lack of facial recognition and mileage tracking means that the accolade belongs to another app — Timeero.
Timeero is the best time tracking app for construction companies. Its uses transcend the construction industry. It’s the best GPS tracking app for realtors, the best GPS app for sales, and the best mileage tracking solution for delivery drivers.
Simplify time, location, and mileage tracking with an easy-to-use yet effective app.
Sign up for a Timeero free trial to get a first-hand feel for its unique capability.
Samson is a mathematician turned content marketer specializing in SaaS and Tech content. He focuses on the practical aspects of software systems while keeping abreast of the industry’s cutting-edge principles to create informative and engaging content. When he’s not writing, Samson spends time playing or watching soccer.
%202.svg)
