FieldTimesheet captures a single GPS point at clock-in and clock-out. Enough to confirm your crew was at the right job site. Not enough to feel like surveillance.
Time and materials disputes are one of the most common conflicts between electrical subcontractors and general contractors. The GC looks at your invoice showing 8 hours of labor on Tuesday and says, 'My super only saw your guys for half the day.' You know your crew was there — you talked to the foreman at lunch — but you have no proof beyond your word. Without location-verified time entries, T&M disputes come down to he-said-she-said, and the sub almost always loses. A single disputed invoice can cost thousands of dollars, and the erosion of trust makes the next dispute even harder to win.
Some time tracking apps try to solve this with continuous GPS tracking — monitoring worker locations every few minutes throughout the entire workday. On paper, this sounds thorough. In practice, it creates serious problems. Workers feel surveilled and push back. Battery drain becomes a real issue on job sites where charging is not always available. Privacy concerns escalate quickly, especially with 1099 subcontractors who are not your employees. Several states have enacted or proposed legislation restricting continuous employee location tracking. The backlash from continuous monitoring often outweighs the benefits.
FieldTimesheet takes a different approach: single-point GPS verification. When a worker clocks in, the app captures one GPS coordinate. When they clock out, it captures another. That is it. No tracking between those two points. No breadcrumb trail of locations throughout the day. Just two data points that answer the only question that matters: was the worker at the job site when they started and when they finished? This gives you the proof you need for T&M disputes without turning your time tracking app into a surveillance tool.
Simple setup. Immediate results.
When a worker taps 'Clock In', FieldTimesheet requests their location once. A single GPS coordinate is captured and attached to the time entry. The location request uses the phone's standard location API — the same one used by maps and weather apps. If the worker denies the location request, the clock-in still records normally, just without GPS data.
Same thing at clock-out. One GPS point captured, attached to the entry. The app does not track location between these two points. There is no background location service running, no battery drain from continuous GPS polling, and no location data collected outside of the clock-in and clock-out moments. The worker's phone is not being monitored while they work.
GPS coordinates appear on the time entry detail in the admin dashboard. The admin can see the clock-in and clock-out locations to verify job site presence. Coordinates are displayed alongside the job site address so you can quickly confirm the worker was where they were supposed to be. For entries without GPS data, the time entry is still fully valid — location is supplemental, not required.
When a client or GC questions billed hours, pull up the time entries for the disputed period. Each entry shows GPS-verified clock-in and clock-out at the client's job site address. This is concrete, timestamped proof that replaces he-said-she-said arguments. Contractors who use GPS-verified time entries report significantly fewer invoice disputes and faster payment on T&M work.
Built specifically for electrical contractors
GPS-verified clock-in and clock-out times provide concrete evidence that your crew was on-site for the hours you billed. When a general contractor disputes your T&M invoice, you can show timestamped location data instead of arguing from memory. This shifts the conversation from opinions to facts.
FieldTimesheet captures exactly two GPS points per shift: one at clock-in, one at clock-out. There is no continuous tracking, no breadcrumb trail, no background location monitoring. Workers are not surveilled during their workday. This approach respects worker privacy while still providing the verification data you need.
GPS capture is not mandatory. Admins can enable or disable location capture, and workers can decline the location request on their phone without affecting their ability to clock in. This flexibility is especially important for 1099 subcontractors who may have different expectations around location sharing.
GPS verification uses the phone's built-in location services. There are no dedicated GPS trackers to buy, no hardware to install in vehicles, no additional devices to manage. Every smartphone made in the last decade has GPS capability sufficient for job site verification.
Because FieldTimesheet only requests location twice per shift — not continuously — there is no measurable impact on battery life. Continuous GPS tracking can drain a phone battery by 20-30% over a workday. Single-point capture uses less battery than checking the weather once.
Clients who know your time entries are GPS-verified are more likely to approve T&M invoices without dispute. It demonstrates professionalism and transparency. Some contractors include a note on their T&M invoices that all time entries are location-verified, which sets expectations before the invoice even arrives.
According to Arcadis's Construction Disputes Report, the average value of construction disputes in North America increased by 42% from 2021 to 2022 and remains at historically high levels. T&M billing disputes are among the most common, and they almost always come down to documentation. When a general contractor questions your invoice, the contractor with better records wins. Without timestamped, location-verified documentation, it is a he-said-she-said situation that usually ends with the sub eating hours.
Levelset research shows that over 80% of construction companies spend moderate to substantial time chasing down payments, with disputed work hours and missing documentation among the leading causes. GPS-verified time entries change this dynamic entirely — each clock-in and clock-out includes coordinates that prove the crew was on-site during the hours billed. This is not surveillance; it is a single location stamp that protects the contractor's revenue.
The financial impact of better documentation extends beyond individual disputes. Contractors who can demonstrate GPS-verified, digitally timestamped billing records build stronger relationships with GCs and experience fewer invoice challenges over time. When the GC knows every hour is backed by location data, the incentive to dispute drops significantly.
No. GPS is completely optional. Workers can clock in and out without sharing their location, and the time entry is recorded normally. GPS adds a layer of verification for contractors who want it, but it is not required for any core functionality. You can enable or disable GPS capture based on your company's needs.
No. FieldTimesheet captures a single GPS point at clock-in and a single GPS point at clock-out. There is no tracking between those two moments. No background location services run on the worker's phone during the workday. This is by design — we built GPS verification to answer one question (was the worker at the job site?) without creating a surveillance system.
The time entry still records normally — the clock-in and clock-out times are captured regardless of GPS availability. The entry simply will not have location coordinates attached. This can happen if the worker declines the location permission, if GPS is turned off in phone settings, or if the phone cannot get a satellite fix. The time data is never lost due to GPS issues.
GPS accuracy depends on the phone's ability to receive satellite signals. In open or near-window areas, accuracy is typically within 5-15 meters. In deep basements, parking garages, or heavily shielded buildings, the phone may not get a GPS fix, in which case the entry records without location data. Modern phones use assisted GPS (A-GPS) and Wi-Fi positioning to improve indoor accuracy, but results vary by building construction.
GPS capture is controlled at the admin level. If an admin enables GPS, workers are prompted to share their location at clock-in and clock-out. Workers can decline the browser's location request, and their time entry will still be recorded without GPS data. For 1099 subcontractors especially, many contractors make GPS optional as a matter of policy.
No. FieldTimesheet requests the phone's location exactly twice per shift — once at clock-in and once at clock-out. Each request takes a fraction of a second. There is no continuous GPS polling or background location tracking. The battery impact is negligible compared to apps that track location continuously. Workers will not notice any difference in battery life.