ExakTime Review 2024: We Tested the App. Is It Worth It?
Samson Kiarie
Last update on:
Jun 6, 2024
Published on:
If you came across ExakTime while searching for a GPS time tracker and are wondering whether the software is suitable for your business, we've got you covered. We tested the app to discover how it works and compiled our findings in this comprehensive ExakTime review.
We’ll dissect ExakTime to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of its features, from time and location tracking to equipment tracking, geofencing, and reporting. Read on to find the relevant information to decide whether ExakTime can meet your company's time and location tracking needs. But if you’re unimpressed with ExakTime’s capabilities, we’ll examine a noteworthy alternative — Timeero.
Note: This guide was written in May 2024. We recognize that changes may have been made within the ExakTime app since this article was published
Accurately track employee time and location with Timeero.
ExakTime is a time tracking solution designed with ease of use in mind.
ExakTime is an automatic time tracker built by a construction business owner for construction businesses. The service consists of a cloud-based solution integrated with rugged time clocks and an easy-to-use mobile time clock app.
Combined, these tools help businesses with field employees determine when and how long employees have worked on a given day. ExakTime also supports geofencing and photo ID verification to curb time theft, ensuring employees charge employers for hours they actually spent working.
In addition to time tracking software, ExakTime provides location tracking tools managers need to monitor employee field activities and improve accountability. Other notable ExakTime features include equipment tracking, GeoTrakker, and reporting.
ExakTime Pros and Cons: At A Glance
Pros:
Accurate time tracking: Tracks time accurately and prevents employees from editing their timesheets.
User-friendliness: The ExakTime mobile app is user-friendly, thanks to the intuitive user interface.
Photo ID verification: ExakTime uses the FaceFront Biometrics feature to curb buddy punching.
Real-time location tracking: Updates employee location every few seconds during their shift.
Geofencing: Prevents employees from clocking in/out outside their designated job site.
Equipment tracking: Helps compute how long a piece of equipment has been used throughout the day.
Cons:
No rest break tracker: Tracks meal breaks but has no feature to track rest breaks.
GeoTrakker: While it creates a breadcrumb trail of an employee trip, the GeoTrakker drains battery life
Exporting report: Business owners must install on-premise software to export reports to accounting and payroll solutions, which can make the payroll process tedious and time-consuming.
Expensive pricing: The pricing model includes a monthly base fee, which makes ExakTime comparatively pricey.
How Does ExakTime Work? Features Walkthrough
ExakTime offers numerous features, from time and location tracking to geofencing and equipment tracking. If you’re wondering how these workforce management features work, let’s explore them in detail.
GPS Time Tracking
When it comes to tracking time with ExakTime, business owners can choose between the Rugged Time Clock or the mobile Time Clock.
Mobile Time Clock
The mobile Time Clock is ideal for businesses of all sizes because it doesn’t require a substantial upfront investment. ExakTime’s mobile app works seamlessly on Android and iOS devices, so employees should have no issues installing the app on their smartphones.
ExakTime automatically captures employee time allowing you to ditch paper time cards and Excel timesheets.
The mobile app is intuitive and easy to use. Clocking in is as easy as tapping the “Go” button and selecting the assigned task. Once the employee clocks in, the ExakTime app accurately tracks regular hours and overtime.
You can also configure ExakTime to track meal breaks manually or automatically. The automatic meal break tracking option is ideal for businesses operating in states with strict break tracking regulations like California.
With the automatic meal break, the business owner only needs to set the auto lunch policy, enable the auto lunch feature, and set the minimum required hours to trigger the auto lunch. When an employee hits the predefined threshold, ExakTime automatically deducts meal break time from the time card.
ExakTime has an automatic meal break tracker.
Businesses like construction companies can also use manual meal break tracking. With this option, the business owner or manager only needs to enable the manual meal break feature on ExakTime mobile. Employees tap the “meal break” button to start the break and hit “end meal break” once done.
ExakTime won’t let an employee end their break time before the 30 minutes are over. The app also notifies employees of an upcoming meal break. These features ensure that all workers take their meal breaks in full compliance.
ExakTime prevents employees from ending their meal break early.
Sadly, the meal feature doesn’t provide break attestation or reminders to confirm that the employee actually took their break. Additionally, ExakTime doesn’t offer a rest break tracking feature, which is a miss for California businesses.
Minor issues aside, ExakTime has other features that streamline time tracking and improve payroll accuracy. For example, employees can’t edit timesheets manually. The software also notifies managers when an employee takes an extended break or detours from the job site.
Rugged Time Clocks
Businesses with job sites in harsh environments or outside the cellular range can use the Rugged Time Clock — a physical device built to withstand the harshest weather conditions. ExakTime has two Rugged Time Clock devices the JobClock Hornet and JobClock LE.
Employees must be on-site to clock in or out through the rugged time clock.
The manager can mount the Rugged time clock anywhere on the job site. To clock in or out, employees need to tap the metal tip of the appropriate keytab to the metal touch-plate of the Rugged Time Clock device.
For accurate time tracking, the Rugged Time Clock offers colored key fobs for different job sites and job codes. The device transmits collected time data to the cloud-based ExakTime module over cellular data.
Photo ID Capture
ExakTime’s FaceFront Biometrics feature (photo ID capture) is helpful for businesses that want to prevent buddy punching. When activated, the feature requires field employees to take a photo of themselves when clocking in or out using a front-facing camera on their device. The app attaches the employee’s photo alongside the respective time card.
The employee FaceFront report makes it easier for managers to spot potential buddy punchers.
While the FaceFront Biometrics tool does a good job, it’s not as effective as some of the best facial recognition software, such as Timeero. ExakTime’s photo ID feature doesn’t use artificial intelligence (AI) to verify employee identity. Managers have to verify employee identity manually, which can be tedious and time-consuming.
ExakTime enables managers to generate FaceFront reports to pinpoint potential buddy punchers. The reports show the employee’s first and last FaceFront photos, GPS data, and overall work hours.
GPS Location Tracking
As employees clock in across job sites, ExakTime’s GPS location tracking feature automatically populates their locations as pins on a map. The app also monitors employee movement during their shifts and syncs their location data every few minutes, adding a layer of accountability and security for field employees.
ExakTime allows business owners to track employee location in real-time.
The Team View and Map View enable managers to monitor field employee movements and assign jobs based on worker location to boost operational productivity. In addition, SiteHub gives managers a live feed of clock-ins, clock-outs, budget items, and field notes. SiteHub also provides a navigational tool for employees to get to job sites quickly.
Geofencing and Geotracking
ExakTime’s geofencing allows business owners to create virtual boundaries around job sites, warehouses, and other designated locations. Geofences simplify attendance management and improve the accuracy of employee time cards.
ExakTime allows employees provide details as to why they are clocking in/out outside of the job site.
ExakTime offers two geofencing automation capabilities. First, managers can configure geofences to restrict employees from clocking in if they are outside their designated job site. The clock in/out restrictions prevent time theft through off-site punching by ensuring workers start their shifts within the assigned work site.
Second, managers can set up the geofencing tool to warn employees when they attempt to clock in/out outside the job site. In this case, the employee will receive a warning message informing them that they are outside the job site. The employee can leave a comment (if enabled) or ignore the warning.
ExakTime flags all employee clock-ins as inside or outside the job site, providing a helpful audit trail. In addition, ExakTime uses geofencing to notify managers when employees move away from their designated job site.
ExakTime GeoTrakker
ExakTime’s GeoTrakker leverages the mobile device’s GPS functionality to track employee movement during their shift. The tool uses breadcrumb technology to create a detailed route of each employee trip. Managers can open the route map to view the places the employee visited.
ExakTime’s GeoTrakker creates a route with breadcrumbs.
The GeoTrakker tracks employee movements only when they are clocked in. This is a vital privacy safeguard that ExakTime uses to uphold employee privacy and comply with federal and state GPS tracking laws.
The biggest issue with the GeoTrakker is that it requires the majority of the device’s battery power and is known to shorten overall battery life. The tool may also be ineffective in some situations. For example, the GeoTrakker stops tracking an employee when their device’s battery level falls below 20%.
Equipment Tracking
The ExakTime equipment tracking feature isn’t as powerful as standalone equipment tracking software. It only shows how much time an employee spends using the equipment.
During clock-in, ExakTime requires employees to select the equipment they will use. This equipment can be a truck, trailer, mower, skid steer loader, etc. When an employee selects a piece of equipment, it automatically becomes unavailable to other team members.
Equipment tracking reports provide helpful insights to allocate resources and utilize equipment more effectively. The data provided can be used to improve operations throughout each project.
ExakTime Reporting
ExakTime offers several valuable reports that enable business owners and managers to make decisions based on data, not intuition. Reports such as “approaching overtime this week” help managers identify employees who are about to hit the overtime threshold. Preventing staff from working overtime can help trim labor budgets and improve quality of work.
Other helpful reports include "cost code," “meal break exception,” and "time modification by editor," which is great for auditing. ExakTime’s reports allow managers to filter the data based on a specific aspect of their project management or business in general.
ExakTime offers numerous report filters, like the meal break exception report.
Payroll Sync
While generating reports is easy, exporting them to payroll and accounting software requires extra work. Even with ExakTime's payroll integration, business owners must install on-premise software called AccountLinx and SyncLinx to export reports flawlessly.
These two software applications work on Windows-based devices, meaning non-Windows users can’t export reports. Additionally, AccountLinx requires additional configuration to export data without a hitch. Since both solutions are on-premise based, you must reinstall them whenever you switch to a new computer.
ExakTime Integration
Regarding integrations, ExakTime claims to integrate seamlessly with over 100 payroll and ERP software providers. Some of the notable integrations, include:
ADP
QuickBooks Online
Acumatica
BambooHR
Foundation
Viewpoint
Paychex
AdaptSuite
Sage
ExakTime Pricing
ExakTime doesn’t offer a free plan or trial option, so you can’t test the solution risk-free. The provider has a quote-based pricing model with three paid plans. Each plan has a $50 base fee, which can be off-putting for small businesses on a tight budget.
Timeero: A Feature-Rich ExakTime Alternative
ExakTime is a helpful app for field workers, but gaps in the system and expensive pricing can be off-putting. If you need an affordable GPS tracking solution that offers all-around performance, try Timeero.
Besides offering advanced versions of ExakTime’s features, Timeero has additional tools, which include:
California Break Tracking
The California break tracking tool enables you to apply the California break tracking regulations at the click of a button. No manual configuration is required — you only need to toggle a button on Timeero’s dashboard and assign this feature to all relevant employees.
Timeero enables you to track rest and meal breaks in California automatically.
Timeero provides attestation and reminders to employees to ensure full compliance. When employees work more than four hours, and trigger the break threshold, they must sign the daily sign-off form. The form provides evidence and documentation needed to absolve your company from blame if you get sued for a break violation.
Mileage Tracking
If you require field employees to use personal vehicles for work, you must reimburse them for mileage. Timeero’s automatic mileage tracking ensures you reimburse employees fairly and claim the deserved tax write-offs. The app uses motion detection and a predefined speed threshold to create accurate, IRS-compliant mileage logs.
Timeero offers a commuter mileage tool to ensure you don’t reimburse employees for commuting mileage. In addition, the suggested mileage feature is a huge cost-saver for businesses. The feature proposes the shortest route to a destination to save on fuel and vehicle maintenance costs.
Segmented Tracking
Segmented tracking helps compute the time an employee spent at a specific location.
Segmented tracking is helpful for businesses that employ engineers, sales representatives, real estate agents, or field workers who need to make multi-stop trips. The feature tracks the employee’s trip based on the stops made to provide helpful metrics, such as:
Driving time
Arrival and departure time for each address
Total time spent at each location
Total mileage covered
The good thing about Segmented Tracking is that employees only need to clock in once at the start of the shift. It tracks their movement in the background to capture the metrics mentioned above without the employee lifting a finger.
Signatures Feature
Timeero lets employees and customers append digital signatures to critical documents and timesheets.
Letting customers sign timesheets is a game-changer for businesses that need to track billable hours, such as field service. Signatures allow customers to attest that the employee completed the assigned task — repair, installation, etc. Signatures make billable hours verifiable, making it easy for businesses to charge clients.
Additionally, having the employee sign off on their timesheet allows you to hold them accountable. Plus, appending signatures on daily sign-off forms makes them legally binding. You can use these forms to clear your company from any wrongdoing in case of a lawsuit.
Is ExakTime Worth It?
ExakTime offers the essential features businesses need to track the time and location of field employees. The automatic time tracker uses geofencing and photo ID capture to prevent time theft, which we thought was excellent.
However, the timer tracker doesn’t track rest breaks, which isn’t a big issue because rest breaks are counted as work hours. However, without proper records your company could struggle to prove it provided the rest break in case you get sued by employees in future.
The location tracker also works as expected, helping businesses track the location of field staff. Although the GeoTrakker is adept at creating breadcrumb trails, it is a battery hog. This feature may lead to pushback, especially when employees realize it quickly depletes battery levels.
Overall, we found ExakTime doesn’t offer great value for the money. Despite being relatively pricey, it lacks key features, such as mileage and rest break tracking. If you need to track time, location, and mileage without violating federal and state regulations, we recommend using Timeero.
ExakTime App Review: FAQs
Does ExakTime Track Your Location?
Yes, the ExakTime GPS location tracking module helps businesses track employee location in near-real-time.
What Are the Key Features of ExakTime?
Time tracking, location tracking, geofencing, GeoTrakker, and equipment tracking are ExakTime’s key features.
How Does ExakTime Integrate with Payroll Systems?
ExakTime integrates with accounting and payroll systems. However, you have to install an on-premise software to export reports to third-party software solutions.
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.
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