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Time tracking is a crucial part of running any business, especially service-based companies like construction, landscaping, cleaning services, and more. Knowing where your team members are, when they're working, and what projects they're working on can make a huge difference in efficiency, payroll accuracy, scheduling, and profitability.

That's where QuickBooks Time comes in. Formerly known as TSheets, QuickBooks Time was acquired by Intuit in 2018. It's designed specifically for service companies like contractors, landscapers, and cleaning services who need robust time tracking paired with scheduling, GPS tracking, and more.

In this blog post, we'll take an in-depth look at QuickBooks Time, including:

- Key features and capabilities
- Pricing and plans
- Ideal types of businesses and use cases
- Pros and cons compared to competitors
- Final recommendation on who should consider using QuickBooks Time


Keep reading this 2000+ word guide to learn everything you need to know about QuickBooks Time and whether it's the right time tracking software for your service business.

QuickBooks Time Key Features and Capabilities

QuickBooks Time packs a wide range of features into its time tracking software. Here are some of the key capabilities:

- Easy clock in/out: Employees can clock in and out on the web, mobile app, or optional hardware time clock. Status changes and locations are tracked.

- GPS tracking: The mobile app utilizes GPS to track employee locations while clocked in. Useful for field services.

- Offline mode: The mobile app lets employees clock in/out even without internet connectivity. Timesheets sync when back online.

- Project tracking: Employees can assign hours to specific clients and projects.

- Scheduling: Admins can schedule jobs and assignments for field employees. Employees can view schedules from the mobile app.

- Geofencing: Set up location-based rules like clocking employees in when they arrive on site.

- Mileage tracking: Employees can track miles driven for jobs while clocked in. Useful for reimbursement.

- Overtime alerts: Get notified if an employee approaches overtime pay thresholds.

- Invoicing: QuickBooks Time integrates with QuickBooks Desktop and Online to sync employee hours for creating invoices.

- Payroll integration: Send approved timesheets into Intuit Payroll (additional cost) for easy payroll processing.

- Reports and analytics: Track total hours, labor costs, schedule compliance, and more with built-in reports.

- Approvals: Manage timesheets with configurable approval workflows before sending to payroll or invoicing.

- Access control: Admins can control employee app access, permission levels, and information visibility.

- API: Integrate time data with hundreds of external apps via open API.

As you can see, QuickBooks Time provides extensive capabilities for time tracking, location monitoring, scheduling, and linking hours to payroll and billing. The focus is on giving service companies the tools they need to manage remote employees and field services efficiently.

QuickBooks Time Pricing and Plans

QuickBooks Time offers several pricing tiers to accommodate businesses of different sizes:

- Basic: $8/user/month billed annually + $20/month base fee
- Plus: $10/user/month billed annually + $40/month base fee
- Premium: $12/user/month billed annually + $80/month base fee
- Enterprise: Custom pricing (contact sales)


The Basic plan includes the core time tracking features like manual time entry, GPS monitoring, scheduling, reporting, approvals, overtime alerts, and more.

Plus adds advanced features like geofencing, mileage tracking, custom field creation, real-time monitoring, and integrating external apps via API.

Premium builds on that with advanced scheduling, custom roles and permissions, advanced approvals, custom reports, and inventory tracking.

The Enterprise tier is fully customizable with features tailored to your business and integrates with enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.

In addition to the per-user fee, there is a base monthly fee that provides access for 1 account admin. You can add additional account admins for $5/month each.

Keep in mind that while QuickBooks Time integrates with QuickBooks for invoicing, there is no QuickBooks license included. You have to purchase QuickBooks separately.

Who is QuickBooks Time Best For?

QuickBooks Time is designed primarily for field service businesses like:

- Construction companies
- Landscaping services
- Cleaning services
- Plumbers, electricians, and technicians
- Pest control
- HVAC companies
- General contractors


The combination of robust time tracking, GPS location monitoring, scheduling, mileage tracking, and invoicing integration makes it ideal for managing remote field employees.

It's less ideal for office-based businesses that only need basic time sheets without location tracking. The focus on field services means fewer features for traditional project management.

QuickBooks Time Pros and Cons

Here are some of the key advantages and disadvantages of using QuickBooks Time:

Pros:

- Specialized for field services businesses
- Excellent mobile app for remote employees
- GPS tracking and geofencing capabilities
- Integrates time data with QuickBooks Desktop and Online
- Advanced scheduling and dispatch features
- Customizable roles and permissions


Cons:

- More expensive than basic time clocks like Homebase
- Lacks traditional project management capabilities
- QuickBooks license not included
- Missing some advanced HR features found in payroll-focused apps


When compared to other leading time tracking apps, QuickBooks Time stands out with its field service focus, GPS capabilities, scheduling, and deep QuickBooks integration. But the price tag is higher, especially if you need advanced features like custom roles or API access.

For professional services like legal, consulting, or marketing agencies, the field service capabilities would be overkill. A basic time tracker like Toggl or Clockify would likely be sufficient and more affordable.

Final Verdict - Who Should Use QuickBooks Time?

At the end of the day, QuickBooks Time makes the most sense for field service businesses like contractors, landscapers, and cleaning companies who want robust time tracking paired with location monitoring, scheduling, mileage tracking, and integration with QuickBooks.

It's built to handle the unique challenges of managing remote workforces out in the field. The mobile app provides the flexibility clocking in and out from anywhere, while supervisors maintain visibility and oversight.

Advanced features like geofencing, custom roles, and API expand the possibilities for field service automation and integration. And linking timesheets to QuickBooks enables seamless billing and payroll.

While the subscription price is towards the higher end, it may be justified if you make full use of the field service capabilities. For professional services, basic time tracking needs may be better met by lower cost competitors.

But if you manage a dispersed team of technicians, contractors, or mobile workers, QuickBooks Time is worth a close look. The combination of features specifically tailored for field services makes it a great choice to improve operational efficiency. Try out a free trial to experience the capabilities firsthand.

Getting Set Up With QuickBooks Time

Once you've decided QuickBooks Time is the right time tracking solution for your field service business, it's time to get set up. Here is an overview of the steps to get started:

Choose Your Plan

As outlined above, QuickBooks Time offers Basic, Plus, Premium, and Enterprise pricing plans. Choose the plan that most closely matches your features needs and number of users. You can always upgrade later if necessary.

The Plus plan is a good starting point for most businesses, as it adds useful features like geofencing, mileage tracking, custom fields, and API access. But if you only need basic time tracking with GPS monitoring, the cheaper Basic plan may suffice.

Sign Up and Add Users

Sign up for a free 30-day trial of QuickBooks Time directly from the website. You'll need to provide basic company and billing information.

Next, add your employees one-by-one as user profiles. You can enter details like contact info, position, department, location, and salary if the employee will utilize payroll integration. Set up user permissions and access levels.

Download the Mobile App

Employees will primary interact with QuickBooks Time via the mobile app available for iOS and Android. Search “QuickBooks Time” in the app stores to download it on company and personal devices. Log in with user credentials.

The mobile app provides convenient access for clocking in/out based on location and schedule. Employees can track hours, mileage, and submit timesheets for approval.

Set Up Schedules, Clients, and Projects

Next, the account admin should set up any schedules that will assign tasks or appointments to employees automatically. You can also add clients, projects, services, and other details that employees can tag when logging hours.

Configure Rules and Notifications

Take advantage of QuickBooks Time’s automation capabilities like overtime alerts, geofencing, and custom approval flows. The scheduling engine lets you set up dispatch rules to assign jobs based on employee skills, availability, and location.

Integrate with QuickBooks

Connect your QuickBooks Online or Desktop account so you can easily export approved timesheets for billing clients or payroll. You can track employee hours in QuickBooks Time and seamlessly transfer them rather than manually re-entering.

Train Employees

Once everything is set up, train employees how to properly use the mobile app to clock in and out, track hours by project, submit timesheets, accept schedule assignments, log mileage, and leverage other features.

QuickBooks Time offers training courses and resources to help employees learn the ropes. Proper use by employees ensures you utilize the software to its full potential.

As you can see, getting started with QuickBooks Time requires getting the account configured, downloading the mobile app, setting up services, projects, schedules, and integrating with your accounting system. But once the initial setup is complete, it provides a comprehensive system for managing remote teams.

Powerful Reporting and Analytics

One of the biggest benefits of using a time tracking software like QuickBooks Time is the ability to extract valuable data through reporting and analytics. The built-in reports provide real-time insight into employee productivity, schedules, projects, and more.

Some of the key reports available include:

- Timesheet approvals: See pending, approved, and rejected timesheets across your team. Spot any duplicate or erroneous entries that need review.

- Hours and utilization: Track total hours worked, overtime percentages, capacity vs. scheduled hours, and utilization rates.

- Project and task tracking: See hours logged by project or task to determine profitability and resource allocation.

- Scheduling compliance: Check schedule adherence across the company or drill-down by user, role, or location.

- Geofencing: When using location-based rules, view clock in and outs triggered by arriving at or leaving job sites.

- Mileage: Track total mileage reimbursable miles logged by users or vehicles.

- Overtime: Monitor overtime hour trends and get alerts when employees approach overtime limits.

- User tracking: View user data like total hours, clock in/out times, breaks taken, and more.

The depth of data available with QuickBooks Time reports enables managers to identify issues like overtime costs, unproductive hours, scheduling gaps, and inefficient use of resources. You gain visibility across projects, users, locations, and other dimensions.

Trend reports help uncover patterns overtime, allowing you to course correct schedules, budgets, or employee assignments to best meet workload demands. And all reports can be exported as CSV or PDF files for further analysis and sharing.

By taking advantage of QuickBooks Time’s robust reporting, you can optimize team productivity, improve job costing accuracy, help employees work efficiently, and ensure projects are properly staffed and on track. The data visibility is invaluable for field service operations.

Integrations and API

QuickBooks Time offers several integration options to sync data with external apps for billing, accounting, payroll, and more.

Here are some of the platforms that integrate directly with QuickBooks Time:

- QuickBooks Online and Desktop: Sync employee hours for easy billing and invoicing to clients.

- Gusto, ADP, Paychex: Send approved timesheets into these payroll systems to eliminate duplicate data entry.

- Zapier: Connect QuickBooks Time to over 2000+ business apps like Asana, Trello, Slack, Google Sheets, and many more.

- Salesforce, HubSpot, Mailchimp: Sync employee hours with popular CRM, marketing, and sales platforms.

- Microsoft Office 365: Get notifications and alerts within Outlook, Teams, and other Office apps.

For developers and IT teams, the QuickBooks Time API enables building custom integrations and extracting data. You can tap into timesheets, locations, users, clients, invoices, and more.

Common uses for API access include:

- Building a custom dashboard for tracking KPIs
- Integrating time data into proprietary project management tools
- Feeding data to business intelligence software like Microsoft Power BI
- Automating new employee onboarding when accounts are created


The open API documentation makes it easy for developers to connect QuickBooks Time to virtually any other business system. The ability to extract data and build custom solutions unlocks added possibilities beyond the out-of-the-box integrations.

Between the available integrations and open API access, QuickBooks Time provides the flexibility to connect time data across systems for unified business visibility and workflow automation.

Is QuickBooks Time Right for Your Business?

QuickBooks Time offers a robust set of capabilities purpose-built for field service companies managing remote workforces. From simplified time tracking to location monitoring, scheduling, and integrations, it provides everything you need to optimize operational efficiency.

While QuickBooks Time represents a significant investment, the specialized feature set for field services justifies the costs for construction companies, landscapers, contractors, and similar businesses. But professional services with more basic needs are likely better served by lower cost general time tracking apps.

The best way to determine if QuickBooks Time is right for your business is to start a free trial. See firsthand how the mobile app works for clocking hours in the field. Experiment with location rules, schedules, and reporting. Test out integrations with your existing systems.

With the power of time tracking, GPS, dispatching, and integrations combined into a single solution, QuickBooks Time can streamline operations and provide the field workforce visibility needed to improve productivity and profitability. Experience the benefits yourself with a free trial today.