Clock in and out and track time

Overview#

TradesWork builds each person's timesheet from two sources:

• Job statuses. When a technician taps Start driving, a Drive entry starts. When they arrive and start work, On job starts. Finishing the appointment ends it. These entries show the source "From job status".

• The clock. In the TradesWork Field app, people clock in under a time code (for example Shop, Training or Meal break), switch codes during the day, and clock out. These show the source "Clock".

Drive entries are checked against GPS when GPS is connected, and get a GPS badge when the phone or truck was moving at that time. The office sees everyone's hours on Schedule › Timesheets.

Before you start#

• Who clocks: Technician, Dispatcher, Customer service and Accounting roles can clock in. Owners and Admins can too. Clocking happens in the TradesWork Field app (iOS, Android, or the web version at /tech). There is no clock button in the office web app.

• Who sees Timesheets in the office: Dispatcher, Accounting and Viewer (read), Owner, Admin and Accounting (manage).

• Time codes come from Settings › People › Payroll. Drive and On job are always on.

• GPS checks need GPS: technicians sharing location from the field app, or a truck tracker with the technician set as its default driver (Settings › Integrations › GPS). Without GPS, time still records; it just isn't checked.

Steps#

Clock in (technician)#

1. Open TradesWork Field. On Today, the time card shows Off the clock and "Tap to clock in". Tap it to open Time.

2. Tap Clock in · Shop to start under Shop, or tap another code (for example Training or Office) to start under that code.

3. The card now shows On the clock, the current activity and how long it has run.

Work jobs#

1. You don't clock anything for jobs. Tap Start driving on the appointment and a Drive entry starts. Arrive and start work, and On job starts. Finish the appointment and it ends.

2. If you are on the clock when a job ends, Between jobs starts so the gap until your next job is counted.

3. While a job status is running the clock, Time says "Set by your job status. Mark the job Done (or switch below) to change it."

Switch activity or take a break#

1. On Time, tap one of the quick buttons: Shop, Travel, Meal break, Rest break or Training (the ones your company has turned on).

2. The current entry ends and the new one starts at the time you tapped.

3. Meal break is unpaid by default and doesn't count toward hours.

Clock out#

1. On Time, tap Clock out. The running entry ends.

Offline#

1. With no signal, taps are saved on the phone. Time shows "1 clock change waiting for signal. It keeps the time you tapped."

2. They send when signal returns, once each, with the original time.

Submit your week (technician)#

1. On Time, check Days and the totals: Worked, Regular, Overtime, Double time, Holiday and Tips. Overtime here is a preview; the office approves the final hours.

2. Read Check these for problems such as a missing clock-out.

3. Under Submit this week, add a Note for the office (optional) and tap Submit week. You need signal and you must be clocked out.

See time in the office#

1. Open Schedule › Timesheets. Each person has a row per week with a status (Open, Submitted, Approved, Exported) and hours.

2. Click a person to see each day as a timeline and every entry with its Source (From job status, Clock or Manual), a GPS badge on verified drives, and Edited on changed entries.

3. Approving, editing and exporting are covered in "Approve timesheets and export payroll".

Settings that change this#

• Settings › People › Payroll: workweek start, pay period, overtime rules, rounding (Round clock times to), paid holidays, the long-drive flag, and Time codes (add codes, rename them, mark them paid or unpaid, turn them off).

• Settings › Integrations › GPS: truck trackers and location sharing used for GPS checks.

Tips#

• Clock in when you start your day, even if your first stop is a job. Job time fills in by itself, but shop time before the first job only counts if you are on the clock.

• Use Travel for driving that isn't to a customer, like a supply house run. Drive to a job comes from Start driving.

• Add a note when you submit if something is off (a forgotten clock-out). The office sees it on your week.

Troubleshooting#

• "You're still clocked in. Clock out before submitting this week." Tap Clock out, then submit.

• "That time is in the future. Check the phone's clock." The phone's clock is wrong by more than five minutes. Fix the phone's date and time.

• "That clock event is more than two weeks old. Ask the office to add the time." An offline tap was too old to apply. The office adds the entry by hand.

• "You already submitted this week. Ask the office to make changes." After submitting, only the office can change that week.

• "This week is approved and locked. Reopen it first." The office has approved the week. Ask them to reopen it.

• "Pick one of your company's time codes." The code was turned off in Payroll settings. Pick another.

• No GPS badge on drives. GPS isn't connected, the technician wasn't sharing location, or no truck has them as default driver. The check runs when the week is submitted and again when it is approved.

FAQ#

Is the clock-in itself GPS-stamped? No. A clock tap records the time and code. GPS is used to confirm drives and to compare job arrival and departure times with site visits (the GPS check card on a timesheet).

Can the office clock someone in? Not as a clock tap. The office can add or fix entries on the person's timesheet, with a reason.

Does putting a job on hold stop the clock? No. Switch to another code or clock out.

What counts as paid time? Every entry whose time code is marked paid. Meal break is unpaid by default.

Coming from ServiceTitan#

• Same: job time follows dispatch statuses (driving, working, done), and non-job time uses timesheet codes, as in ServiceTitan.

• Different: TradesWork keeps one clock for office and field staff in the same app, saves taps offline, and checks drives against GPS automatically when it is connected.

• Where it lived: ServiceTitan Payroll › Timesheets, the mobile app's timesheet codes, and Settings › Timesheet Codes.