Construction Time Card App: What to Look For (and 6 Options Compared)

Paper time cards cost you twice: once when 7:18 gets rounded to 7:00, and again on Friday night rebuilding who worked which job. A construction time card app fixes both, but some are payroll tools first and some are job apps with a clock inside. Here's what to look for, and how six options compare on price.

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Amberchalk publishes this blog. Competitor prices and features were checked on each vendor's own pricing page on November 3, 2026, and are in US dollars. We include where Amberchalk falls short, too.

What to look for in a construction time card app

Any app can run a timer. Check these eight things before you pick one:

1. Clock in per job, not just per day. Otherwise you can't bill T&M or see what a kitchen cost in labor.
2. Location at clock-in and clock-out. A GPS stamp settles "I was there at 7." Decide if you also want all-day tracking, which crews often resist.
3. Fixes without fraud. People forget to clock out. Corrections should show who edited what.
4. Breaks and overtime. Unpaid breaks should come off the hours, and overtime (over 40 hours a week or 8 a day) should be priced at the right multiplier.
5. A "what got done" note. One line at clock-out ("hung 12 sheets") backs up a T&M bill.
6. Works with no signal. Test clocking in with the phone in airplane mode.
7. Hours to invoice, and to payroll. A T&M invoice, an Excel export, or a payroll integration.
8. Pricing that fits the crew you'll have next year. Per-user pricing grows with every helper.

That last point catches people in all-in-one tools too. JobTread's pricing page (checked Nov 3, 2026) counts anyone who needs to "track time" as a $20/mo internal user on top of the $199 base. Our JobTread pricing guide has the full math.

The best construction time card apps for small crews

1. Amberchalk: time cards that turn into invoices (unlimited users for $79/mo)

Price: Free plan ($0, 1 user, 1 active project, no card). Crew $39/mo or $390/yr (3 users, 3 active projects, +$10/mo per extra user or project). Pro $79/mo or $790/yr with unlimited users and unlimited projects. 7-day trial on paid plans, no contract (pricing). Time cards are on every plan.

What the time card does: every job has a Time card tab, and every person on the job adds their own time.

• One big Clock in button per job. A running timer and an "On the clock" banner show who's working; clocking in on a second job offers to clock out of the first.
• Location at clock-in and clock-out. If the phone allows it, the GPS position is saved with each punch and opens as a pin in Maps. The button never waits for GPS.
• "Work completed today" at clock-out, so every time entry doubles as a daily note.
• Honest corrections. Fix a start time, type a missed clock-out or add a day by hand; edits carry an "edited" or "added by hand" badge with the editor's name. Unpaid breaks come off, and overnight shifts work.
• Who's on the clock now, plus hours by job, week and person.
• My time: each person sees their week across all jobs and can export it to CSV.
• Crew see hours, not money. Crew edit only their own time and never see rates, markup or invoices.
• Works offline. Clock-ins save on the phone and sync later.

From hours to money: set cost and bill rates by role (Foreman, Carpenter and Helper are preset) or by worker, override them per job, and add a labor burden %. Turn on overtime over 40 hours a week or 8 a day at the multiplier you choose. Each job shows a T&M summary (labor, materials, markup, total), and Ready to bill lists every T&M job with unbilled hours to turn into an invoice, never billing hours twice. Clients pay online through your Stripe account. Export a job's time entries, with clock-in locations, to Excel or CSV.

The rest of the job comes with it: schedules with a homeowner link, selections, change orders clients sign online, photos, daily logs and files. Pro adds job costing, receipt scanning, estimating and QuickBooks export.

Good to know: Amberchalk records location only at clock-in and clock-out; there's no geofencing, all-day GPS breadcrumbs, kiosk mode or photo check at clock-in. There's no payroll integration, so you export hours to Excel or CSV for your payroll service. QuickBooks is a file export on Pro (QuickBooks Online CSV or Desktop IIF), not a live sync. Online payments carry a 1% Amberchalk fee (max $25 per payment) plus Stripe's fees. It's a web app you add to your home screen, not an App Store download, and it's new, without third-party reviews yet.

2. BusyBusy: free GPS time tracking with equipment

Price: a Free plan (GPS time tracking, job costing, equipment tracking, unlimited users). Pro is $9.99 per user per month billed yearly or $11.99 monthly, and Premium is $14.99 yearly or $17.99 monthly, each "+ $40 Admin license (first user included)." 14-day free trial, no credit card (pricing page, checked Nov 3, 2026).

When it fits: you track equipment hours and cost codes alongside labor. The page lists offline mode, overtime calculations, digital timecard signatures, a kiosk, and GPS breadcrumbing and supervisor tools on Pro.

Amberchalk is the better fit if you want time cards plus schedules, change orders and T&M invoices for one flat $79/mo instead of a per-user rate plus an admin license.

3. Workyard: payroll-grade GPS time

Price: "Plans start at $6 per user / month — billed annually," with monthly billing available, across Starter, Pro, Autopilot and Enterprise plans. 14-day free trial, no credit card (pricing page, checked Nov 3, 2026).

When it fits: payroll accuracy is the job. Starter lists break and overtime rules by state, an audit trail, supervisor crew clock-in, driving and mileage detection, and one-click payroll export to QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, ADP and Gusto. Pro adds geofence clock-in rules, a kiosk and facial photo checks.

Amberchalk is the better fit if you bill T&M and want hours to land on the client's invoice, plus the schedule and change orders, in the same app.

4. ClockShark: time plus crew scheduling

Price: Standard is $42/mo plus $9.50 per user per month; Pro is $63/mo plus $11.50 per user per month. The page states: "Contract term of three (3) years applies to all pricing plans." 14-day trial with Pro features (pricing page, checked Nov 3, 2026).

When it fits: you dispatch crews to many sites. It lists GPS tracking, geofencing, drag-and-drop scheduling, manager approvals, built-in Spanish support and accounting and payroll integrations; Pro adds PTO, mileage and advanced job costing.

Amberchalk is the better fit if you'd rather not sign a three-year term: Amberchalk is month-to-month, and a 10-person crew is $79/mo versus $137/mo on ClockShark Standard (our math).

5. Connecteam: free for very small teams

Price: a free Small Business Plan for up to 10 users with "all hubs and all features," though its compare table marks payroll integration as not included. Paid Operations plans are a flat price for the first 30 users: Basic $29/mo yearly or $35 monthly, Advanced $49 or $59, Expert $99 or $119. 14-day free trial (pricing page, checked Nov 3, 2026).

When it fits: you have fewer than 10 people and want a free all-purpose workforce app: a time clock with GPS stamps, overtime rules, shift scheduling, forms and team chat in one place.

Amberchalk is the better fit if you want the time card inside the job, next to the schedule, photos and change orders, with hours that bill out as T&M.

6. QuickBooks Time: when payroll runs in QuickBooks

Price: Time Premium is $20/mo plus $10 per user per month; Time Elite is $40/mo plus $12 per user per month. The base fee includes one admin, and the page showed 50% off for the first 3 months. A QuickBooks Online account is required (pricing page, checked Nov 3, 2026).

When it fits: you already pay for QuickBooks Online and want hours to sync into invoicing and payroll, with a time kiosk and scheduling.

Amberchalk is the better fit if you don't want a second subscription stacked on QuickBooks: Amberchalk Pro covers unlimited users for $79/mo, with no QuickBooks plan required.

Construction time card apps compared

What a crew pays (our math, published rates): for 5 and 10 people, Amberchalk is $79/mo on Pro (or $59 on Crew for 5: $39 plus two $10 users). BusyBusy Pro is about $80 and $130 billed yearly, ClockShark Standard $89.50 and $137, Workyard from $30 and $60, QuickBooks Time Premium $70 and $120, and Connecteam $0 up to 10 users, or $29–$35 on Operations Basic.

Swipe the table →

Prices from each vendor's own pricing page, checked Nov 3, 2026: BusyBusy, ClockShark, Workyard, Connecteam and QuickBooks Time. Amberchalk prices from our pricing. Crew rows are base fee plus per-user rates (BusyBusy's $40 admin license includes the first user; QuickBooks Time excludes QuickBooks Online and promos). Confirm with a quote.

Start free with AmberchalkSee Amberchalk pricing

How to roll out a time card app without a crew revolt

1. Say why in one sentence. "So you get paid for every minute and I can bill T&M work right."
2. Start on one job for two weeks. Keep paper as a backup the first week, then compare the totals.
3. Make the clock-out note a habit. It backs up your T&M invoices.
4. Review edits every week. If one person fixes every day, talk to them.
5. Set rates before the first invoice. Cost and bill rates, overtime and markup are what turn hours into money.

Billing T&M work on paper today? Pair your time cards with our free change order template and remodeling schedule template. Comparing full job apps instead? See our JobTread alternatives and Buildertrend alternatives guides.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best construction time card app for a small crew?

We recommend Amberchalk: crew clock in per job with the location saved, hours roll into T&M invoices, it works offline, and Pro is $79/mo for unlimited users. For a stand-alone time clock that feeds payroll, Workyard or QuickBooks Time fits better.

Is there a free construction time clock app?

Yes. Amberchalk Free covers 1 user and 1 project, BusyBusy has a Free plan for unlimited users, and Connecteam's Small Business plan is free up to 10 users (checked Nov 3, 2026).

Does a time card app track my crew all day?

It depends. Amberchalk saves location only at clock-in and clock-out. BusyBusy lists GPS breadcrumbing on Pro, so check each plan page.

Can it calculate overtime?

Amberchalk prices overtime over 40 hours a week or 8 a day at your multiplier. BusyBusy, Workyard and Connecteam also list overtime rules.

Does Amberchalk connect to payroll?

Not directly. You export time entries to Excel or CSV for your payroll service. QuickBooks is a file export on Pro, not a live sync.