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QuickBooks Time works for everyone. FieldTimesheet is built for electrical contractors. Here is how they compare on the features that actually matter to your business.
If you run an electrical contracting business with 10 to 30 workers, the argument you keep having is not about your hourly rate. It is about the invoice. The T&M bill lands and the GC asks what three guys were doing for two days. Drive time to the supply house. The quick fix on the second floor nobody wrote down. The extra hours after the panel showed up wrong. The charge is fair — what is missing is a record that explains it, so you either take the argument or take the discount.
So you start looking at time tracking software, and QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets) is usually the first name that comes up. It is the default choice, backed by Intuit, and it integrates with QuickBooks Online. But is it actually the best fit for an electrical shop? Or are you paying for a generic tool when you need something purpose-built for the trades?
FieldTimesheet was built for electrical contractors doing T&M work, around one job: get clean hours out of the field, tied to the job, with a line about what got done. This is not a "we do everything for everyone" tool. It handles two questions that are really one question — how do you get the crew to log anything, and how do you hand a customer hours they can follow.
Below is a straight comparison. We will be honest about where QuickBooks Time has advantages and where FieldTimesheet is the better choice for an electrical shop.
| Feature | FieldTimesheet | QuickBooks Time |
|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Online Sync | Native sync via TimeActivity API. One-click connection. Entries flow automatically. | Native integration (owned by Intuit). Multiple sync options. Requires configuration. |
| Offline Mode | Full offline clock in/out with automatic sync. Built for basements and concrete buildings. | Offline mode available but can be unreliable. Some features require connectivity. |
| Job Costing | Real-time budget vs. actual labor tracking. See if a job is over budget before it ends. | Basic job tracking. Real-time costing requires QuickBooks Online Advanced ($200/mo extra). |
| Mobile Experience | PWA — works in any browser, one-tap clock in. No app download needed. Bookmark to home screen. | Native iOS/Android app. Full-featured but complex. Requires download and account setup. |
| GPS Location Tracking | Optional GPS capture on clock in/out. Simple and privacy-respecting. | Real-time GPS tracking with geofencing. More robust but more invasive. |
| Setup Time | 5 minutes. Connect QuickBooks, invite your crew, done. Imports jobs from QB automatically. | 30-60 minutes. Multiple configuration screens, permission settings, scheduling setup. |
| 1099 Contractor Tracking | Built-in subcontractor tracking with 1099 reporting features. | No native 1099 tracking. Requires workarounds or separate QuickBooks features. |
| T&M Billing Support | Core workflow. Every entry tied to a job with billable rate tracking for T&M invoicing. | Billable/non-billable checkbox. No T&M-specific workflow built in. |
| Scheduling | Not included. Focused on time tracking and job costing only. | Shift scheduling, PTO tracking, and team calendar included in Elite plan. |
| Admin Dashboard | KPIs, labor summaries, job cost reports. Built for a contractor who wants answers fast. | Comprehensive reporting with custom report builder. More options but steeper learning curve. |
| Crew Onboarding | Email invite link. Worker taps link, sets password, clocks in. No training needed. | Admin creates account, assigns permissions, worker downloads app, creates Intuit account. |
| Support | Email support from the FieldTimesheet team. Most responses within 4 hours on business days. | Phone and chat support. Larger team but can involve hold times and transfers. |
FieldTimesheet
Native sync via TimeActivity API. One-click connection. Entries flow automatically.QuickBooks Time
Native integration (owned by Intuit). Multiple sync options. Requires configuration.FieldTimesheet
Full offline clock in/out with automatic sync. Built for basements and concrete buildings.QuickBooks Time
Offline mode available but can be unreliable. Some features require connectivity.FieldTimesheet
Real-time budget vs. actual labor tracking. See if a job is over budget before it ends.QuickBooks Time
Basic job tracking. Real-time costing requires QuickBooks Online Advanced ($200/mo extra).FieldTimesheet
PWA — works in any browser, one-tap clock in. No app download needed. Bookmark to home screen.QuickBooks Time
Native iOS/Android app. Full-featured but complex. Requires download and account setup.FieldTimesheet
Optional GPS capture on clock in/out. Simple and privacy-respecting.QuickBooks Time
Real-time GPS tracking with geofencing. More robust but more invasive.FieldTimesheet
5 minutes. Connect QuickBooks, invite your crew, done. Imports jobs from QB automatically.QuickBooks Time
30-60 minutes. Multiple configuration screens, permission settings, scheduling setup.FieldTimesheet
Built-in subcontractor tracking with 1099 reporting features.QuickBooks Time
No native 1099 tracking. Requires workarounds or separate QuickBooks features.FieldTimesheet
Core workflow. Every entry tied to a job with billable rate tracking for T&M invoicing.QuickBooks Time
Billable/non-billable checkbox. No T&M-specific workflow built in.FieldTimesheet
Not included. Focused on time tracking and job costing only.QuickBooks Time
Shift scheduling, PTO tracking, and team calendar included in Elite plan.FieldTimesheet
KPIs, labor summaries, job cost reports. Built for a contractor who wants answers fast.QuickBooks Time
Comprehensive reporting with custom report builder. More options but steeper learning curve.FieldTimesheet
Email invite link. Worker taps link, sets password, clocks in. No training needed.QuickBooks Time
Admin creates account, assigns permissions, worker downloads app, creates Intuit account.FieldTimesheet
Email support from the FieldTimesheet team. Most responses within 4 hours on business days.QuickBooks Time
Phone and chat support. Larger team but can involve hold times and transfers.$139/mo — 15-person crew, everything included
$140/mo — 15-person crew on Premium (plus your QuickBooks Online subscription)
QuickBooks Time is a solid, well-established product. There is a reason it dominates the market. If you need a do-everything time tracking platform that handles scheduling, PTO, real-time GPS, and works across multiple business types, it delivers.
But if you are an electrical contractor who needs to capture every billable hour on T&M jobs, sync that data to QuickBooks without headaches, and see real-time job costs — QuickBooks Time is overkill. You are paying for features you do not use while missing the ones you actually need.
FieldTimesheet was built for one customer: the mid-size electrical contractor billing T&M who needs the hours to hold up when the invoice gets questioned. Your crew clocks in with one tap, against a job. Hours flow to QuickBooks automatically. You see which jobs are profitable and which ones are eating your margin. That is it. No complexity tax.
On price, a 15-person crew is $139/month here against $190 for QuickBooks Time Elite. Both numbers come off the pricing tables above, and both change with your headcount — run yours before you decide. Whichever way it lands, the more useful test is the one your customer applies: hand them the hours and see whether they can follow them.
Yes. FieldTimesheet uses the official QuickBooks Online API to sync time entries as TimeActivity records, the same data format QuickBooks uses natively. The key difference is that FieldTimesheet is designed for a single purpose — getting field time data into QuickBooks — so the sync is simpler and more reliable. QuickBooks Time offers more sync options (payroll, scheduling), but for time entry sync, both tools connect directly to your QuickBooks Online account.
Your historical time data stays in QuickBooks Online regardless of which tool you use to enter it. When you connect FieldTimesheet, it imports your existing Customers and Projects from QuickBooks, so your crew can start clocking in against the same jobs immediately. You will not lose any historical reporting. The transition typically takes less than an hour.
FieldTimesheet uses a base-plus-per-worker pricing model that is designed for mid-size crews. You get 10 workers included in the $99 base price, then pay $8 per additional worker. QuickBooks Time charges per user from the first user. At 15 workers, FieldTimesheet is $139/month versus $190/month for QuickBooks Time Elite. At 30 workers, the gap widens to $259 versus $340. The savings compound as your crew grows.
Both tools offer offline functionality, but the approach differs. FieldTimesheet was built from day one for construction environments — basements, concrete buildings, rural job sites — where connectivity is unreliable. Clock in/out works fully offline and syncs automatically when the phone gets a signal. QuickBooks Time has an offline mode in its mobile app, but some users report inconsistencies with offline entries syncing properly, particularly on Android devices.
QuickBooks Time includes several features that FieldTimesheet intentionally does not: shift scheduling and team calendars, PTO and time-off management, real-time GPS tracking with geofencing, project-level budgeting with alerts, mileage tracking, and a native mobile app (FieldTimesheet is a PWA). If you need scheduling or real-time location tracking, QuickBooks Time is the better choice. FieldTimesheet focuses exclusively on clock in/out, job costing, QuickBooks sync, and 1099 tracking.
No. QuickBooks Time is a separate product that Intuit sells alongside QuickBooks Online. You can use any time tracking tool that integrates with the QuickBooks API, including FieldTimesheet. Many electrical contractors assume they need QuickBooks Time because it is made by Intuit, but any tool with an official QuickBooks integration can sync time entries just as reliably.
FieldTimesheet is designed for a 5-minute setup: connect your QuickBooks account (one click), your jobs import automatically, send invite links to your crew, and they can clock in immediately. QuickBooks Time typically takes 30 to 60 minutes because there are more configuration options — permissions, scheduling rules, geofencing zones, overtime rules, and integration settings. The trade-off is that QuickBooks Time offers more customization, while FieldTimesheet prioritizes getting you up and running fast.
Whichever tool you pick, the invoice is the test. Here is a filled-out billing packet for a sample T&M job — dates, who was on site, what got done, hours, bill rate, amount — marked up to show why each line answers a question before the customer asks it. Nothing to sign up for.