GPS time clocks for construction crews: a practical guide

By Randall Strickland · Updated September 24, 2026 · 3 min read

Paper timecards filled out on Friday from memory are one of the biggest leaks in a contractor’s labor costs. A GPS time clock on your crew’s phones fixes most of that. It also raises fair questions from your crew about privacy. Here’s how to set one up the right way.

What a GPS time clock fixes

• Rounded and remembered hours. “About 8 hours” every day adds up. Clocking in and out records the real time.
• Hours on the wrong job. When crews split days between jobs, paper cards rarely say which hours went where. Clocking in to a job puts the hours on that job’s labor cost automatically.
• Late paperwork. You see hours as they happen, not at the end of the pay period, so you can spot a job running over on labor while there’s time to fix it.
• Disputes. A time and location record settles “I was there at 7” conversations quickly, in either direction.

How they work: punch location vs. continuous tracking

There are two very different kinds of GPS time clocks, and your crew will care which one you use:

• Location at clock-in and clock-out only. The phone records where it is at the moment someone punches in or out, so you can see whether they were at the jobsite. Nothing is recorded in between.
• Continuous tracking. The app follows the phone’s location all day. It gives you more data, but it’s more invasive, drains batteries, and is a harder sell to crews using their own phones.

For most contractors, punch-only location answers the question that matters (were they on site when they said they were?) without tracking anyone’s lunch break. JobMargin uses punch-only location, and if a phone’s location is off, the clock-in still records with no location.

What to watch for

Tell your crew, in writing

Explain what’s recorded, when, and why, before you start. Put it in writing and have each person acknowledge it. Some states require written notice before an employer electronically monitors employees; New York, Connecticut, and Delaware are examples. Rules vary by state and change, so check yours or ask your attorney or payroll provider. This guide isn’t legal advice.

Personal phones

If crews use their own phones, punch-only location is much easier to justify than all-day tracking. Keep the app to what it needs, and don’t use it to watch people outside work hours.

Drive time and travel between jobs

Under federal wage rules, the normal commute from home to the first jobsite generally isn’t paid work time, but travel between jobsites during the workday generally is. Travel out of town for a job has its own rules. Many contractors track drive time as its own pay type so it’s clear what’s being paid and why. The U.S. Department of Labor’s guidance on hours worked is the place to start, and your state may add requirements.

Overtime

Non-exempt employees must be paid at least 1.5 times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek under federal law, and some states add daily overtime rules. When hours are captured by the clock, overtime is easier to spot and pay correctly, and easier to plan around before a crew hits it.

No signal

Plenty of jobsites have bad service. Make sure the app can clock in offline and sync later, or you’ll be back to paper on your hardest jobs.

Setting it up: a checklist

1. Decide what you’ll record (punch location only is the simplest) and write a one-page policy.
2. Check your state’s notice rules and get each person’s acknowledgment.
3. Set up pay types: regular, overtime, and drive or travel time if you pay it.
4. Load your active jobs so crews can pick the right one when they clock in.
5. Run it alongside paper for a week or two, then switch fully.
6. Review hours by job weekly against each job’s labor budget.

How JobMargin handles crew time

Crew members join your company with a join code and clock in and out on their phone. The location is recorded only at the moment they punch, and it works with no signal. Hours flow straight into the job’s labor cost by pay type, so each job’s budget vs. actual and live margin stay current without anyone re-typing timecards.

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