Workyard Review: What You Need to Know Before You Start Using the App
Natasa Djalovic
Last update on:
Sep 18, 2024
Published on:
Looking for a GPS time clock and workforce management software that's tailor-made for construction companies? Then, you've probably come across Workyard.
Today we'll share our findings on Workyard: an app we tested to see how well it suits construction crews. We'll provide an honest assessment of its pros and cons, the biggest one being the price, so you can decide whether it meets the demands of your business.
Plus, we'll compare Workyard with other leading GPS trackers in construction, such as Timeero, to help you make an informed decision on the best time clock for your needs.
So, let's dive into our Workyard review!
* We recognize that this article was written in April 2023 and changes may have been made within the Workyard app since this article was published.
Want to manage your construction team better?
Timeero lets you monitor their GPS location and work performance.
The best way to determine whether the Workyard app is cut out for your construction company is to test it.
Since testing new software can be a hassle, we rolled up our sleeves and put the Workyard app to the test ourselves. Our team hit the field to see how the app performs in real-world scenarios, and the results are in.
Here is what we found.
Workyard Time Tracking
Heavily geared towards construction, Workyard's time clock app is robust, intuitive, and easy to use on iOS and Android mobile devices.
Once employees click the "Start working" button in their mobile app, Workyard will log their work hours and location and build accurate time cards. If there are predefined projects, employees can choose the one they are currently working on and allocate their time accordingly to track job and labor costs.
Employees can also use the time clock app to add notes to their mobile time entries. This can come in handy for the workers who don't like carrying their paper receipts around for expense reimbursement - they can now take a photo of the receipt and add it to their timesheet. Or, some of the employees might use this option to capture their work progress throughout the day.
The Workyard app also reminds employees to take a break. Besides the apparent reason - ensuring the staff is well-rested, this functionality is also essential for compliance, particularly in states with rigid laws, such as California. During the break, the app won't capture employees' locations to ensure privacy.
The app can also remind employees to clock out from work or even clock them out automatically after reaching a threshold.
GPS Tracking and Geofencing
Workyard claims to use the industry's most precise GPS, and we must give them credit. We've tested many GPS time tracking software, and Workyard is among the top performers.
The app will record employees' location every five minutes while they're on the clock, giving managers a near real-time insight into their whereabouts. And if employees have to travel during their shift, the app will switch to more detailed GPS tracking, enabling a precise insight into their routes.
Workyard's GPS records precise addresses, arrival, and departure times, even without geofences. Still, the app uses geofencing to send clock-in and out reminders once employees arrive or leave the job site.
If the app detects inconsistencies, such as clocking in early or clocking out during driving, it will flag employees' timesheet entries. This ensures that all problems can be addressed timely and resolved in the best manner.
It's also important to note that the location tracking won't stop if the signal is low or there is no internet connectivity. Instead, the app will keep track of data locally and sync it to the server once the connectivity is back. This is great for employees working in remote locations with low signal quality.
Mileage Tracking
There are not many apps on the market that, besides GPS tracking, also come with a mileage tracking feature. However, Workyard has recognized the importance of this functionality and offered it to their users to cut their gas expenses, streamline mileage reimbursement and enable compliance.
Workyard recognizes driving when employees are on the clock, capturing their mileage and travel time for each journey. Even though it doesn't let you see breadcrumbs, the report gives data on the essential details, such as the start and end times, mileage, and travel time.
We've tested mileage tracking ourselves and are pleased with the results. Workyard tracks mileage accurately and segments your drives and the idling time at a certain location.
Scheduling and Tasks
Besides tracking your employee time, location, and mileage, with its scheduling feature, Workyard helps you manage your workforce more efficiently.
Regarding the very scheduling, the app itself is not that innovative.
You can create tasks as a part of a project and assign them to one or more employees. We love that inside of tasks, managers can also add checklists with specific actions needed to complete the job. After they've completed a particular activity, employees can mark the task as done.
What is great about the app is that managers and employees can use this space to communicate. They can attach notes and photos to each task, which makes tracking progress much more effortless.
Project Tracking and Job Costs
For employers to better understand project costs, employees can tag themselves onto the project or various cost codes at any time.
For example, for a specific job site, a company can create several projects and different cost codes for different types of work that need to be done, such as carpentry or demolition.
Employee hours will be allocated towards the project and the cost code they choose. As a result, the company will have detailed insight into time and labor expenses, helping them bill clients more accurately.
Reporting
With its reporting feature, Workyard gives more value to the data it gathers. Using these reports, construction companies can better understand their job and labor costs and employees' hours.
There are two types of reports you can generate:
· Job cost reports
· Time reports
Time reports show graphs of the total regular and overtime hours worked by each employee, day, or pay period. Workyard also maintains a complete audit trail of all the time card approvals and edits.
Job costing reports let you see the job and labor costs breakdown by projects, customers, employees, and cost codes. However, just how detailed your job costing reports are will depend on your needs and the subscription package you'll choose.
Even though Workyard allows creating detailed job cost codes and attaching them to unlimited projects, you can only gain complete insights if you opt for the pricier, Workforce management package.
For example, a subscription to the pricier plan will let you assign mileage to a project on arrival, giving you more accurate data. Unfortunately, this option is unavailable on the entry package.
Workyard Review: Customer Support
Workyard is dedicated to building relationships with construction companies. Besides chat, email, and help desk, Workyard offers hands-on phone customer support and technical support for integrations.
To get a feel of how customers are satisfied with the level of service Workyard's team is providing, we've browsed through Google Play Store, App Store, and popular review sites.
This is what some Workyard app users say about customer service. They pointed out the service team’s skill and their quick response.
Workyard Review: Integrations
To put the data it gathered to good use, Workyard lets you integrate with payroll, accounting, and ERP software and transfer data quickly.
Some of the integrations Workyard supports:
· QuickBooks Online
· QuickBooks Desktop
· Run powered by ADP
· ADP Workforce Now
· Gusto
· Paylocity
· Paychex
· Sage
· Paycore
· Rippling
Workyard Review: Pricing
Like many other apps on the market, Workyard’s pricing is per user with a monthly base fee.
According to Workyard's website, there are two predefined pricing plans available.
Time tracking
$50 monthly base fee +$8 per month per user
The entry-level package includes the following sets of features:
· Time clock and time tracking
· GPS location tracking
· Mileage tracking features
· Integrations with standard payroll solutions.
However, if you want to use Workyard to manage your mobile workforce, you must subscribe to the next, pricier option.
Workforce management
$50 monthly base fee +$16 per month per user
The Workforce management subscription includes everything from the Time tracking package, plus:
· Scheduling and Tasks
· Project Tracking
· Labor Cost Reporting
· Accounting Integrations
For those who would like to try the app before choosing the subscription, Workyard offers a free trial option.
So, What is Our Opinion on Workyard?
Workyard seems like a good app for tracking employee hours, locations, and mileage in construction and managing them. It also excels in project and job cost reporting and has many useful integrations to help you streamline operations, such as payroll processing or mileage reimbursement.
Still, when directly comparing Workyard's pricing structure to Timeero's, the latter emerges as a more cost-efficient option for small to medium-sized businesses, especially for those in the construction industry seeking an all-in-one solution for monitoring and managing their workforce.
Timeero doesn’t have a monthly base fee—a notable contrast to Workyard's pricing model, which includes a $50 monthly company base fee and per-user charges. This makes Timeero more accessible and appealing to businesses with limited financial resources or those wary of additional overhead costs.
Try Timeero - The Ultimate Workyard Alternative
Why pay more for less when you can have Timeero? Timeero is the best Workyard alternative that gives you everything you need to manage your team's time and location at a fraction of the cost.
Timeero is a cloud-based GPS time-tracking app that works seamlessly on any mobile device. With Timeero, you can:
· Track your employees' time, location, route, and mileage in real-time
· Manage their schedules, breaks, PTO requests, and notes with ease
· Prevent buddy punching with facial recognition
· Set geofences around job sites and locations
· Restrict or flag offsite clock-ins or clock-outs
· Reimburse your employees for their travel expenses or bill your clients accurately
The mobile app is simple and easy to use. Your employees can clock in and out with a tap of a button. They can also view their timesheets and schedules, accept or decline new shifts, request PTO, and attach notes to their time entries.
Timeero is not only a time-tracking app. It's also a powerful scheduling tool that helps you efficiently plan and assign jobs to your employees. You can create recurring shifts, copy schedules from previous weeks, drag and drop shifts and send notifications to your employees.
We've run numerous tests and compared Timeero with other best GPS tracking apps so you can check out the results.
To help you simplify your operations, Timeero integrates seamlessly with the most popular payroll and accounting software, such as:
· Gusto,
· Rippling,
· QuickBooks Online and Desktop,
· RUN Powered by ADP®,
· ADP Workforce Now®,
· Paychex,
· Xero,
· Viventium,
· and Zapier.
And if you need more advanced integration options, Timeero also offers a Public API that you can use to connect with any other software or system.You can learn more about the software in our Timeero Review.
Timeero is a trusted and reliable partner of many construction companies that have achieved great results with Timeero GPS tracking for construction workers.
Three construction companies - Crest Contracting, Atterholt Construction & Interiors, and Trowbridge Custom Floors - had similar challenges with tracking employees' time and managing their schedules. But after switching to Timeero, they saw a massive improvement in their processes. Timeero's geofencing and GPS tracking features helped them ensure accountability and compliance among their field workers.
So, Timeero is the ultimate solution for your time and location management needs. It's reliable, accurate, affordable, and comprehensive. Try Timeero today and see the difference.
Ready to take your construction management to the next level?
Join Timeero today and boost your efficiency! Get your free trial now. No credit card needed.
Natasa is a writer specializing in the IT and software industry with 6+ years of experience in content writing and online marketing. During that period, she wrote more than 1,000 articles and several ebooks. She majored in English language and literature and loves cats, sneakers, and candy. When she's not working, she's probably binge-watching Netflix.