Time tracking for contractors: a case of planning, managing and invoicing
A tool that helps you grow and manage your business wisely
My name is Mike, a contractor in the construction and the building business in the USA, self-employed since 2013. We build houses as well as offices or plants. I spend most of my time at work sites. At the work site, you often hear: “you know where the plugs are, you know where the screws are”, and sometimes I was completely fed up because ordering is a must during construction. Materials have to be ordered. But also time has to be managed. Managing also means planning. Of course, a construction project starts with a good plan. That’s why time tracking for contractors is essential to run a business.
Yes, you may well know that I am thrilled when another project has been completed and, for example, a nice company shed has been built with all the new innovations incorporated into it. We use the best materials, perfect insulation, tight concrete floors, large free spans and then top up the entire roof with the latest type of solar panels.
Example picture of the construction site
Planning, managing and invoicing got more time consuming than I hoped
Even before finishing the project the invoices fill my mailbox. What has to be paid? Not only materials but also the workers we hired to do the job. All forms you must fill in, drawings that you must study carefully, you cannot make mistakes. And then it turns out once again that efficiency must stand up to make a healthy profit on such a project. Sure, I practice this course with a lot of passion, but it should not be too difficult!
That is exactly the reason that one evening I went online, looking for a possibility to manage working and project hours easily. I searched for solutions to track time, tailormade to my business. I asked myself: is a tool, designed for time tracking for contractors, available?
I signed up for a few trial accounts with several time tracking applications. They were not all that good and didn’t match my expectations. I ended up with 14Dayz and a fairly similar application, which I won’t mention by name here.
14Dayz, a handy tool for construction workers
My conclusion: 14Dayz seems to be the simplest and easiest to use
My project started using 14Dayz soon. I found that in the application, Time Tracking really is simple. At the touch of a button, even if they have a few minutes’ breaks, they can register time. So, it is important that my hours and that of the men are always up to date. We register our hours as soon as we have some time.
If invoices need to be invoiced, they can also quickly leave the door. I heard that 14Dayz is launching a mobile app soon. That’s an evolution I’m looking forward to. We are often on the road and drive from motel to motel. After dinner, we log in to our computers to register the time. Boy, it would be even easier using a mobile app!
Previously I registered my time with hours on notes that had to be signed off and that was something that just stayed down and often went wrong. In retrospect, I think that a lot of money has gone down the drain.
Time tracking for contractors? Try 14Dayz!
As I said, registering time on my phone on an App will be a major improvement. When I read the newsletter introducing this, I was really amused. But if they can also first create a free account at www.14Dayz.com to keep track of it yourself. The extensive and clear report functions were one of the reasons for me to use 14Dayz. And that’s why I recommend this application to others like you.
*The author is known to us but prefers to be anonymous.