Modernizing the way you log, review, and approve work hours will positively impact more than just your payroll process. Streamlined digital time tracking with software from companies like Raken can help your construction business build more accurate estimates, increase profitability, and improve employee retention.
The Problem With Manual Methods
If you are using pen and paper or spreadsheets to collect time cards from the field, chances are you are not making the most of your resources. Your field crews are busy with project-related tasks. While they may make every effort to submit time cards on time, any payroll team can tell you that does not always happen.
Without standardization or automation, it takes significant effort to collect and organize time cards from your workforce every week, especially for larger businesses. Even if every worker turns in their hours by your deadline, you still have to manually process time card data when you are using an outdated system. Manual data entry is a tedious, error-prone task.
Accuracy Matters
It is important to pay your workers accurately and on time. Most businesses understand that and, if they are struggling with payroll, will often pull in employees from other departments to help calculate and deliver payments as needed, delaying other important projects and tasks.
If your time data is not accurate, you cannot rely on it to help you inform future budgets and schedules. An inaccurate insight is almost as bad as no insight. Trying to plan a profitable project based on data that is miscalculated or full of errors can seem like an impossible task.
It is all too easy for time theft to occur when workers are using outdated time tracking methods. Workers may make errors or be forced to guess the correct hours to add if they are rushing or multitasking when completing their time cards. With pen and paper or spreadsheets, it is difficult to identify time fraud or distinguish malicious behavior from an honest mistake.
Raken’s flexible time entry options allow construction companies to track time in the way that works best for the business. Companies can choose from three options:
- Mobile time clock on workers’ individual devices
- Shared time clock kiosk
- Supervisor-led digital time cards
Whatever combination you use, the time entry process is easier and faster than pen and paper or over-complicated spreadsheets. Crews or supervisors more easily enter hours by cost code in the field, using the devices they have in their pockets or a shared device every day. They can submit and approve hours with a click or a tap, instead of manually or by email, while the office can see and review this information immediately in a standardized format once it is submitted. Using Raken’s time tracking software minimizes interruptions to your crews’ busy workdays, encouraging compliance.
Other Benefits of Digital Time Tracking
While it is easy to see how going digital with products like Raken’s will help fix some of the issues with outdated methods, there are other, less obvious benefits to updating your time tracking system. For example, with digital time tracking, you can more easily incorporate cost code data in your time-entry process. Once that data is incorporated, time cards become a useful tool for production tracking.
When businesses track hours by cost code, they gain detailed visibility into individual project efficiency. You can see exactly how many hours of labor were spent on specific tasks and measure actual numbers against estimates in real time instead of weeks later. You can use these insights to make more proactive decisions on a day-to-day basis and keep stakeholders better informed of project progress.
Raken allows construction companies to get granular data with unlimited custom cost codes. When you can add custom cost codes to time cards, you can evolve your processes as needed, based on real data. You are not forced to track time by predetermined requirements.
Time card data can also help you plan ahead—especially when it is easily accessible and well organized. Digital time tracking gives you more reliable access to historical data to see how previous projects performed. You can easily locate and review past time data without searching through physical files or spending hours on manual analysis, which allows for better financial planning and, ultimately, better profitability.
Watch this Raken webinar, Making Data-Driven Bid Decisions: https://www.rakenapp.com/webinars/making-data-driven-bid-decisions
Job satisfaction increases when employees are consistently paid on time. If the company is struggling to maintain sufficient cash flow to meet every payroll on time, that can contribute to employee turnover, an especially big concern in the face of ongoing labor shortages. Moreover, manually collecting, reviewing, and approving time cards can lead to burnout in your accounting department.
Easy Time Management
Managing overtime, double time, and any other kind of pay rate can be complex, especially across multiple service areas with different laws and requirements. Raken allows you to manage overtime by setting custom rules and automatically applying them based on the project specifications and more. Both payroll administrators and employees can manage time by project or across all projects with easy-to-use views that make complex information digestible.
Raken also consolidates and organizes time card data automatically so you can more easily apply it. Automated insights demonstrate how work hours are spent and what that means for project progress. Raken integrates with industry-preferred accounting software. Digital solutions like Raken’s for time tracking reduce manual data entry, eliminate errors, increase insights, and save time on payroll every pay period.
For more information, visit www.rakenapp.com.
