Field Service and Mobile Crews: Time Tracking Across Job Sites

Field service and mobile crews need time tracking that records where and when each worker starts and stops, including travel between job sites, because that is where most unpaid time and most overtime disputes come from. A time clock on the wall cannot do that. A phone in the worker's pocket can.

This article explains why crews are hard to track, how travel time works under the FLSA, how to handle the first and last job of the day, and how to keep job-level records without drowning your supervisors. It is general information, not legal advice. State rules differ, so check with counsel or your state labor department on edge cases.

Why mobile crews are hard to track

A technician may start at home, drive to three customers, pick up parts and finish at a fourth site. Each of those segments raises a question: is it work time, and who recorded it? Paper logs get filled in at night from memory, and supervisors estimate. Both habits create records that fail in a wage claim.

The FLSA requires accurate records of hours worked each workday and each workweek for nonexempt employees (29 CFR Part 516), but it does not mandate a method. For crews, the most reliable method is the one the worker can use in five seconds, at the site, without calling the office.

Travel time: what is paid and what is not

Under the Portal-to-Portal Act, the ordinary commute between home and the regular work location is not compensable. Travel during the workday is different: once the worker has started work, driving from one job site to the next is generally hours worked. So is driving to pick up materials the employer requires.

Special one-day assignments in another city and out-of-town overnight trips have their own rules, and employers often pay more than the minimum. The article on travel time pay covers those cases with examples. Whatever your policy, write it down and apply it the same way to every crew.

Tracking the first and last job of the day

The edge cases are the first and last trips. If a crew member goes straight from home to the first job, the trip is usually an ordinary commute. If the same person must first stop at the shop to load the truck, the time after arriving at the shop is typically work time.

Record the facts rather than a rule of thumb. When a worker clocks in at the first stop and again leaves the last stop, add a note if they went to the shop. A short exception note on the day it happened saves an argument months later. Review these notes in the weekly payroll check.

The example above assumes the weighted average method, which is common when a worker earns different rates for different work in the same week. Some employers use other lawful methods when the worker agrees in advance, so confirm which applies. Either way, the hours must be right first, because every rate calculation starts from the total.

Overtime across multiple sites and rates

Crews often work different jobs at different rates, and the hours must add up across all of them in the workweek. Suppose a technician earns $24.00 per hour on service calls and $28.00 per hour on a special project. In one week she works 30 hours on service calls and 14 on the project, 44 hours in total.

Under the weighted average method, total pay for straight time is (30 x $24.00) + (14 x $28.00) = $720.00 + $392.00 = $1,112.00. The regular rate is $1,112.00 divided by 44 hours = $25.27. Overtime premium is 4 hours x 0.5 x $25.27 = $50.54. Total pay for the week is $1,112.00 + $50.54 = $1,162.54. The rate depends on rules in 29 CFR Part 778, so confirm your own setup. See how to calculate the regular rate.

Review job notes weekly. Look for entries that are far longer than the norm, jobs billed to the wrong customer and travel that was never recorded. These small corrections protect both your billing and your payroll, and they are quick when each entry already carries a timestamp and a location.

Keep job-level records without extra work

Beyond hours, many field businesses need to know which customer and which job consumed the time, for billing and for estimating. Keep this simple: one clock entry per work segment, a short job note, and a supervisor review at the end of the week.

Do not make workers fill in long forms in a driveway. If the tool is slow, they will skip it and fill in the record at night, which is what you were trying to avoid. A good field process asks for three taps at most: start, stop and a job note.

Supervision and disputes

Real-time visibility helps supervisors fix problems early. If a technician has not clocked in by 8:15, or has been on a single job for 9 hours, a supervisor can call before the week closes. That is cheaper than correcting payroll after the check has been issued.

When a dispute arises, the entry with a timestamp and a GPS location at the moment of the punch is better evidence than a supervisor's recollection. Keep payroll records for 3 years and time cards for 2 years at minimum, and longer where your state requires. See mobile time clock apps.

Policies crews should know before the first day

A written policy prevents most arguments. Tell crew members when to clock in (at the first stop, at the shop, or on arrival), what to do if the app fails, and who approves edits. Add a rule that work done after the last stop, such as loading the truck or calling a customer, must be recorded too.

Vehicle policy matters as well. If the employer provides a take-home vehicle, the treatment of travel can change with the facts, and some states add their own rules. Ask counsel or the state labor department before you set it.

Finally, train supervisors to avoid the "just finish it off the clock" request. Work an employee is permitted to do is work you must pay, so a rushed job at 5:30 p.m. is paid time. See off-the-clock work.

How SimpleWorkshift Helps Field Service and Mobile Crews

SimpleWorkshift lets crew members clock in and out from the iOS or Android app, with GPS location captured with each entry, so every punch is tied to a time and a place. Supervisors see time entries and exceptions in real time and can adjust schedules and shift changes per employee.

Overtime is calculated automatically, including night shift differentials, and custom reports and dashboards show hours by employee and period. Payroll closing then gives you approved totals. Try it free for 30 days, with no contracts, at simpleworkshift.com.