Moving to mobile time sheets last year helped Integrated Landscape Management (ILM) in Tempe, Ariz., increase efficiency and go paperless.
Logging paper time sheets was a hassle for the administrative team. Plus, workers often logged hours by memory at the end of the week, leading to inaccurate time sheets and poor job estimating, owner Robert Clickenbeard says.
The upfront cost was low; ILM had to upgrade a few employees to smartphones and teach the staff how to use the app, a component of the Boss LM software ILM uses.
Now, employees clock in and clock out on the app whenever they arrive at or leave a job site. The hours are logged automatically, saving the administrative team 20-30 hours and the company up to $1,500 in labor costs.
Communication also has improved from the app’s features that allow the office to relay messages, warnings and tips to the crews. Still, the biggest benefit is accurate job costing, Clickenbeard says.
“Having more accurate data with the crews clocking in and out will determine whether our jobs are performing, whether we need to be more efficient in other ways or whether we need to propose increases to the clients,” he says.
Photo: ©istock.com/Amanda Rohde
