FieldTimesheet vs Clockify: Free Is Not Always Cheaper

You can, but it is painful and error-prone. On Clockify's free plan, there is no QuickBooks integration. You would need to export time entries as a CSV, then manually import or re-enter them in QuickBooks. For a crew of 10 or more workers, this means hours of data entry every week — and manual processes introduce errors that lead to billing disputes and missed revenue. The time you spend on manual data entry likely costs more than a dedicated tool with automatic sync.

Clockify has limited offline capability. The mobile app can sometimes cache data locally, but it was not designed for environments where connectivity is consistently unreliable. If a worker starts a timer and loses connection, the timer may not save correctly. FieldTimesheet was built specifically for construction environments — clock in/out works fully offline, and entries sync automatically when the device reconnects to Wi-Fi or cellular. For job sites in basements, parking garages, or rural areas, this difference is critical.

Clockify's free plan covers basic time tracking with unlimited users. But to get features electrical contractors need — GPS tracking, approvals, and scheduling — you need the Pro plan at $7.99 per user per month, which totals $119.85 per month for 15 users. That does not include QuickBooks integration (requires Standard plan), job costing (not available on any plan), or 1099 tracking (not available). FieldTimesheet is $139 per month for 15 workers with every feature included. You pay $19 more per month but get a tool purpose-built for your business instead of a generic tracker you have to work around.

No. Clockify tracks time by project and can calculate labor costs based on hourly rates, but it does not offer job costing in the construction sense — comparing budgeted labor hours against actual hours in real-time as the job progresses. This means you cannot see whether a job is profitable until after it is complete and you have done the math manually. FieldTimesheet shows real-time labor versus budget for every active job, so you can make decisions before you go over budget.

Technically yes, but the experience is not ideal. Clockify uses a timer-based model: you click start, work, then click stop. This works for office workers tracking project time. For electricians, it means opening the app, finding the right project, starting a timer, and remembering to stop it — all while wearing work gloves and moving between tasks. FieldTimesheet simplifies this to: tap clock in, select job from a short list, go to work. When done, tap clock out. One screen, two taps, and it works even without cell signal.

If you are a solo electrician or a 2-3 person crew just starting out, Clockify's free plan is a reasonable starting point. The lack of QuickBooks sync and offline mode matters less at that scale because you can manage data entry manually. But once you grow beyond 5 workers and start running T&M jobs where accurate billing is critical, the limitations compound quickly. At that point, switching to a purpose-built tool like FieldTimesheet saves more in recovered billable hours than it costs in subscription fees.

No. Clockify treats all users as team members within a workspace. There is no distinction between W-2 employees and 1099 contractors, and no reporting features for tracking subcontractor payments for tax purposes. If you work with subcontractors — and most electrical contractors do — you would need to track 1099 data in a separate spreadsheet or system. FieldTimesheet includes 1099 contractor tracking as a core feature, categorizing workers by type and generating year-end reports that make January tax prep straightforward.