Understanding job costs helps construction companies keep projects on budget and profits in the black. Hourly wages are the biggest expense for any construction job. The better the worker data coming from the field is, the more accurately you can predict worker costs. Using a time tracking solution like ExakTime allows companies to record every minute employees work, to not only ensure paychecks are correct but also track worker hours per project.
What Goes into Labor Cost?
Labor cost is the direct and indirect costs that a company pays for its workforce. These costs include anything and everything related to employee wages, including:
- Payroll Taxes
- Overtime
- Health Care Benefits
- PTO
- Insurance
- Bonuses
- Retirement Contributions
- Supplies
- Equipment
- Training
- Meals
ExakTime can help manage labor costs, especially direct labor costs like hourly wages and overtime, of your laborers.
Automate Your Time Tracking
Accurate job costing begins and ends with accurate data. A digital time tracking system, like ExakTime, precisely records each hour and minute your employees work. The system works via an app employees download onto their personal devices, a rugged time clock or kiosk mode, where all employees clock in and out on one device. In the app workers simply clock in by pressing the green “Go” button and clock out by pressing the red “Stop” button. Photo ID features provide security for personal device users by requiring a photo of the user to be uploaded when he or she clocks in or out.
Accuracy comes into play through digital time tracking’s ability to track all hours worked without error. For example, paper time sheets come with a host of issues, not least of which is time theft. Time theft occurs both when employees intentionally fudge their own times, or have a buddy punch them in, and simply through user error, like transposing numbers and not remembering all hours worked. Digital time tracking solutions on the other hand never get lost, smudged or become unreadable due to illegible handwriting.
Once the time is logged accurately, efficiency trickles down the line to payroll and job tracking.
Streamline Payroll
Time tracking apps digitally upload worker data to your payroll system. ExakTime alone integrates with top payroll systems like QuickBooks, ADP, ConstructionPayroll.com, Viewpoint, Foundation, Sage and Acumatica. Data transfers from ExakTime to your payroll system can be set up to upload automatically. Data can be imported daily by employee, job and cost code, helping you to further investigate where your labor costs are being spent.
What’s more, using a time tracking solution that integrates with your payroll system means payroll can be done faster, easier and more accurately. Manual data entry, along with typos and errors, is a thing of past. Your accounting staff also doesn’t have to wait on foremen collecting paper time cards at the end of the week. The data is automatically there and it’s always accurate.
Glean Valuable Data from Reports
The data gleaned from mobile time tracking apps can give construction companies valuable insight into labor management. A time tracking app gives employers the ability to track worker clock-in, clock-out times, locations, cost codes and field notes via its reporting features. These features allow employers to see in real-time what is going on in the field. For example, if a project’s labor costs are skyrocketing, a report can quickly tell you who is working and how many hours.
Reporting features of mobile time clock apps not only allow construction companies and contractors to track productivity and payroll but this data is also necessary for compliance. Nearly every US employer with wage workers—and some with non-exempt salaried employees—must comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act, which is the Department of Labor law covering minimum wage, overtime and payroll records. With clear and complete records of time worked, you can ensure that you are complying with FLSA standards—and you have documentation at your fingertips in the case of government audits.
ExakTime’s time and attendance tracking puts a stop to losing money on paper time cards. You also get clear visibility on the field in more ways than you imagined—helping your business lower labor costs, ease compliance and do more. Contact us to learn more or schedule a free demo of the ExakTime product.
