FieldproxyAI-native field service softwareTime and payroll
How do I verify technician timesheets against GPS automatically?
Tie every time entry to a job and record a GPS check-in and check-out against a geofence around that job's site, then let the software compare the hours claimed with the time between those two events. Set a tolerance (for example 15 minutes per job), approve every line inside it automatically, and send only the lines outside it, or with a check-in outside the fence, to a supervisor with the reason. Count travel between jobs as work time, apply rounding evenly, and export the approved hours to payroll so nobody retypes them.
- Time belongs to a job: hours with no job and no check-in are the ones you cannot verify.
- Compare claimed hours with check-in to check-out; approve inside a tolerance, flag outside it.
- Store GPS accuracy and distance from the site with each check-in, not just a pin.
- Travel between job sites during the day is hours worked in the US; do not let the check strip it out.
- Record location on job events, not all day. It is easier to justify and enough to verify.
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GPS shows where the phone was. It cannot show the work was done well, and weak signal indoors will flag honest people unless the tolerance allows for it.
Facts checked as of November 2026. Sources at the end of the page.
Step by step
How it works, step by step
The aim is to approve most time without anyone looking, and spend the supervisor's time on the few lines that do not add up.
1. Give every site a pin and a fence
Geocode each site and move the pin to the real entrance where it matters. Size the fence by site type: small for open sites, a few hundred meters for malls, hospitals and campuses. QuickBooks Time, for reference, uses a 100 meter default and minimum radius and allows up to 1,000 meters.
2. Time starts and stops on the job
The technician checks in when they arrive and checks out when they leave, on the job itself. The app records the time, the GPS position, the accuracy radius and the distance from the site pin. Jobber, as one example, records a GPS waypoint only on actions like clocking in or out, starting or stopping a visit timer and marking a visit complete.
3. Decide what happens outside the fence
Either block the check-in until they arrive, or allow it with a required reason (no signal, gated site, wrong pin). QuickBooks Time offers both choices to the worker: clock in once they arrive, or clock in now with a note explaining why they are not on site.
4. Compare claimed hours with on-site time
For each job line on the timesheet, the check is: claimed hours minus (check-out time minus check-in time). Inside the tolerance, approve. Over it, flag. Also flag check-ins outside the fence with no reason, overlapping jobs, and days where the first check-in is far later than the clock-in.
5. Treat travel time correctly
Under US federal rules, travel between job sites during the workday counts as hours worked. Do not let the GPS check delete the drive between jobs; compare it with the route time between the last check-out and the next check-in, and flag only big gaps. Driving home after the last job is not hours worked under the same rule.
6. Round evenly, or not at all
If you round, round to the nearest 5, 6 or 15 minutes both ways. The US Department of Labor accepts rounding only if, over time, it does not leave employees underpaid. Rounding only in the company's favor is the classic mistake.
7. Approve the exceptions, then export
The supervisor sees only flagged lines with the map, the times and the reason, and approves, edits or rejects each one with a note. Approved hours go to payroll by job, so job cost and pay come from the same numbers.
Where it breaks
Why it goes wrong
An owner on one of our sales calls wanted the timesheet verified by GPS without a person checking each line. These are the usual reasons that ends up as a weekly argument instead.
The clock is in a different app from the job
A time app records a day; the job app records the work. Matching them means a person lining up two screens. Time entered against the job, from the job, removes that step.
GPS accuracy is ignored
ServiceTitan's own help page notes GPS is accurate to about 3 to 10 meters, but when the phone falls back to cell towers accuracy drops to around 500 meters. A check-in 400 m away with 500 m accuracy is not evidence of anything. Store accuracy and set tolerances that allow for it.
Every mismatch is treated as dishonesty
Technicians forget to check out, check in at the van, or wait at a gate. If every small gap needs a meeting, people stop trusting the system. A tolerance and a reason picker deal with most of it.
Auto clock-out cuts off real work
Tools that clock people out on leaving a fence can cut time that was real, such as a trip to the supplier for a part. Connecteam, for example, offers either doing nothing or clocking the worker out when they leave the site, and uses a buffer that grows when GPS accuracy is poor.
Tracking all day instead of on events
Continuous tracking feels thorough but is harder to justify to staff and regulators and adds data nobody reads. Job check-in, check-out and photos are enough to verify a timesheet.
The options
Ways to do it
How common tools tie time to location, as their help pages describe it.
| Tool | How it verifies | Limits | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Time | Geofences with arrive and leave alerts; clock in outside needs a note | Geofencing on the Elite plan; time sits apart from the job record | Teams already on QuickBooks payroll |
| Jobber | Location timers start within 200 m of the visit geofence; GPS waypoints on clock and visit actions | Timers need a connection and the Grow plan; Jobber says they are not an employee tracking service | Small residential crews |
| ServiceTitan | GPS timekeeping flags timesheets that do not match GPS, with suggested changes; location exception report by distance | Admins set the allowed gap; no default stated | Larger residential and commercial teams |
| Time clock apps (ClockShark, Connecteam) | Out-of-bounds alert on clock-in (ClockShark); optional auto clock-out on leaving the site (Connecteam) | A second app beside the job system | Crews that need a time clock only |
| Check-in on the job, compared with the timesheet (Fieldproxy) | Check-in and check-out per job with GPS; timesheet lines from the same events; exceptions flagged for approval | Fence sizes and tolerance need setting per site type | Teams that want time, job and payroll in one record |
As of November 2026, from each vendor's help pages (sources below). Plans and settings change, so test at a real site.
Worked example
A worked example: one technician's Tuesday
Say the tolerance is 15 minutes per job and travel is checked against route time plus 20 minutes. Made-up numbers.
| Line | Claimed | GPS shows | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job A, rooftop unit service | 2.0 h | Check-in 7:58, check-out 9:55 (1 h 57 m), inside the fence | Approved automatically |
| Travel A to B | 0.5 h | Route 25 min; gap between check-out and check-in 31 min | Approved automatically |
| Job B, leak repair | 3.0 h | Check-in 10:26, check-out 12:10 (1 h 44 m) | Flagged: 76 minutes over |
| Job C, inspection in a hospital basement | 1.5 h | Check-in 600 m from pin, accuracy 550 m, reason "no signal"; 1 h 28 m | Approved: off-site flag explained, hours match |
| Supervisor review | One line to look at instead of four | Job B: technician says he went for a part and forgot to check out; the receipt is on the job, so the supervisor approves 2.5 h and adds a note |
The point is not catching people. It is approving three lines nobody needs to read and having the evidence ready for the one that needs a conversation.
Before you buy
What to check before you buy
Good signs
- Time is entered against a job, from check-in and check-out on that job
- Each check-in stores position, accuracy and distance from the site
- Fence size per site or site type
- A tolerance you set, with automatic approval inside it
- Supervisors see only exceptions, with the map, times and reason
- Travel between jobs is kept and checked against route time
- Check-in works offline and keeps the real time
- Approved hours export to payroll by job
Red flags
- Time clock and jobs in separate apps with no link
- A pin on a map with no accuracy
- Every timesheet line needs manual approval
- Rounding that only ever goes one way
- Location tracked all day with no way to limit it to work events
In Fieldproxy
Setting it up in Fieldproxy
Fieldproxy is set up around your process, so fences, tolerances and approval steps are configured with you. Thresholds and field names are examples.
Check-in and check-out on the job
The Android and iOS technician app has GPS check-in, works offline and keeps the time each step happened. Check-in and check-out are steps on the job, so time on site is part of the job record and the job report.
Timesheets from the same events
Clock-in and per-job time feed the timesheet and payroll, so the hours approved are the hours on the job. Job costing uses the same labor numbers. See work orders and jobs.
Fence and tolerance per site type
Each site carries its pin and fence, e.g. 150 m for open sites and 300 m for large buildings, with block or flag-with-reason per type. The tolerance rule, e.g. 15 minutes per job, decides what is approved without review.
Exceptions flagged, the rest approved
The Watcher agent flags the lines that break your rules (hours over check-out time, off-site check-ins without a reason, overlapping jobs) and the supervisor works through those. From the Command Center a manager can ask to approve all pending timesheets for this week once the exceptions are cleared, with a confirm step and Undo.
Ask about it in plain English
Questions like "which technicians had more than two flagged lines this month" can be asked in the Command Center or from Claude or ChatGPT through the MCP server, with the same permissions as in the app. See AI field service software.
By region
Regional notes on time and tracking
General information, not legal advice. Check with your adviser.
United States: rounding and travel
29 CFR 785.48 accepts rounding to the nearest 5 minutes, tenth or quarter hour if it averages out so employees are fully paid over time. 29 CFR 785.38 counts travel from job site to job site during the workday as hours worked.
United States: notice laws
New York Civil Rights Law section 52-c requires written notice at hiring, an acknowledgment and a posted notice when an employer monitors phone, email or internet use; Delaware has a similar rule. GPS is not named in either, so ask your adviser and include location in your notice if in doubt.
United Kingdom
The ICO says you must tell workers about vehicle monitoring and will rarely be able to justify monitoring during private use of a work vehicle. Recording location on job events only is easier to justify.
How switching works
How switching to Fieldproxy works
We move your data over and set the system up to the way you already work. Fieldproxy replaces the old tool; it does not run alongside it.
Send us a week of timesheets
With the jobs they cover. We show you which lines would have been approved automatically and which flagged.Set fences and tolerance
Fence sizes per site type, block or flag, the reason list and the tolerance, live within a day.Run alongside one payroll
One crew uses job check-in for a pay period; we tune fences and tolerance where honest staff were flagged.Switch payroll to approved hours
Approved hours by job go to payroll; the separate time clock is switched off.
FAQ
Questions people ask
- Can timesheets be approved automatically if they match GPS?
- Yes, if time is entered against jobs with a check-in and check-out. Lines inside your tolerance are approved; only exceptions go to a supervisor.
- What tolerance should I use?
- Start with 10 to 15 minutes per job and widen it for sites where GPS is poor. Review the flags after a pay period; if most are honest, the tolerance is too tight.
- How big should the geofence be?
- Around 100 to 150 m for open sites and a few hundred meters for large buildings. QuickBooks Time uses 100 m as its default and minimum and allows up to 1,000 m.
- What if a technician forgets to check out?
- The line is flagged and the supervisor edits it with a note, using the next check-in, photos or the job report as evidence. Many teams add a reminder when the phone leaves the site with the job still open.
- Does travel time count?
- In the US, travel between job sites during the workday counts as hours worked. Check it against route time rather than removing it.
- Is it legal to track technicians' location?
- Generally yes for work purposes with notice, but rules vary by state and country. Record location on job events rather than all day, and tell staff what is recorded and when.
- Does this work with no signal?
- The phone can still get a GPS fix, and the app should save check-ins with the real time and upload later. Accuracy may be worse, so let the tolerance and the reason picker handle it.
Sources
Competitor details on this page come from the vendors' own pages and documentation, checked as of November 2026. Plans and prices change, so check the vendor's current page before you decide.
- QuickBooks Time: set up and use geofencing (100 m default and minimum, up to 1,000 m): https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-ca/help-article/feature-preferences/set-use-geofencing-quickbooks-time/L3pZUXKzW_CA_en_CA
- Jobber Help Center: location timers in the Jobber app: https://help.getjobber.com/en/articles/location-timers-in-the-jobber-app/
- Jobber Help Center: GPS waypoint tracking: https://help.getjobber.com/en/articles/gps-waypoint-tracking/
- ServiceTitan Help: technician location exception report: https://help.servicetitan.com/docs/technician-location-exception-report
- ServiceTitan Help: GPS timekeeping integration: https://help.servicetitan.com/commercial/docs/use-the-gps-timekeeping-integration.md
- ClockShark Help: out-of-bounds notification: https://help.clockshark.com/how-to-use-the-out-of-bounds-notification
- Connecteam Help: auto clock-out when employees leave a worksite: https://help.connecteam.com/en/articles/10692218-auto-clock-out-employees-when-they-leave-a-worksite
- 29 CFR 785.48: use of time clocks and rounding: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/785.48
- 29 CFR 785.38: travel that is part of the day's work: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/785.38
- New York Civil Rights Law section 52-c: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVR/52-C*2
- Delaware Code title 19 section 705: electronic monitoring notice: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title19/c007/sc01/index.html
- ICO: monitoring workers, different methods of monitoring: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/employment/monitoring-workers/specific-data-protection-considerations-for-different-ways-or-methods-of-monitoring-workers/
Related
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- Cheaper ServiceTitan alternatives for small plumbing and HVAC companies, without payment processor lock-in