- ✔The best time clock software for plumbing captures field hours accurately, so what your techs work matches what you pay.
- ✔OnTheClock is the best overall option for small plumbing shops because it ties every punch to a job and cost code, runs payroll in one click, and stays cheap and simple at $4 per employee plus a $5 base fee.
- ✔GPS, job costing, offline reliability, and easy clock-in for non-tech techs are where plumbing tools actually differ. Basic mobile punching is not.
- ✔Per-seat pricing is the trap. A $40 to $60 monthly base fee plus per-user costs adds up fast for a 10-person crew.
- ✔Travel time between jobs is paid time under federal law (29 CFR 785.38). Your clock should track it.
Your tech says he worked nine hours. The job ticket says six. Payroll's due tomorrow, and you're stuck guessing who's right.
The best time clock software for plumbing fixes that gap. It captures field hours accurately, so the hours your crew works are the hours you pay, no more reconstructing the day from memory. For a small plumbing shop, that one thing decides everything else.
Picture a normal Tuesday. Six service calls, paid drive time between each stop, an emergency call-out after five, and two of your guys in a basement with no cell signal. If your clock drops those punches or pins the wrong address, payday becomes a cleanup project. You overpay, you misbill the job, and you lose a Saturday fixing it.
No single tool wins for every shop. So below, we break down the best pick for each situation a plumbing business actually faces.
What Plumbing Shops Actually Want
You want to trust the hours. That's the whole game.
When the day is spread across a dozen addresses, you need proof your crew was where they said, without calling to check. You want to know what each job really cost, because you price and bill off labor, and a job that looks profitable can quietly bleed money. You want the app simple enough that a 55-year-old master plumber and a 19-year-old apprentice both clock in without a training session. And you want a predictable bill, not a base fee that balloons every time you hire.
Different shops feel these differently. Some live or die on GPS proof. For others it's job costing, or just getting techs to use the thing. That's why there's no single winner here, only a best one for each.
Quick Picks: The Best Time Clock Software for Plumbing at a Glance
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OnTheClock: Best overall for small plumbing shops
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Workyard: Best for proof you were on the job
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busybusy: Best for knowing what each job costs
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Buddy Punch: Best for a tight budget
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QuickBooks Time: Best for clean payroll
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ClockShark: Best for scheduling and time together
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Timeero: Best for working where there's no signal
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Connecteam: Best for the newest, smallest shops
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Jobber: Best for running the whole business in one app
How We Evaluated: The OnTheClock Plumbing Time Clock Scorecard
We compared every option against the eight things that actually decide it for a plumbing shop. Plenty of time clock features look great in a demo and change nothing in the field. We measured only the ones that move the needle for crews on the road. Our read draws on hands-on testing, vendor documentation, and verified user reviews on G2, Capterra, and Software Advice.
Here's what we judged each tool on:
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GPS and geofence accuracy: You need real proof a tech was at the customer's address, not a pin floating in the next county.
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Offline reliability: Plumbers work in basements, crawlspaces, and dead zones. A punch that needs live signal is a punch that gets lost.
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Job costing: Hours have to attach to the right job and cost code, so you can see which work makes money.
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Payroll sync: Hours should flow into QuickBooks, ADP, or Gusto without retyping, because re-keying is where errors creep back in.
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Ease of use: If a tech can't clock in within seconds, your crew won't use it, and the data is worthless.
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Overtime and break compliance: The tool has to calculate 40-hour overtime and handle paid short breaks correctly under federal law.
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Pricing that scales sanely: A 10-person shop lives on the monthly bill, so predictable per-seat cost matters as much as any feature.
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Drive-time separation: Plumbers make six to 10 stops a day with paid travel between them. Splitting truck time from on-site time protects payroll and job costs.
OnTheClock earns the best overall spot because it covers more of these well, at a lower and more predictable price, than any other tool we tested. It tops the field for small shops on flat pricing, job and cost-code tracking, one-click payroll, ease of use, and overtime, and it holds its own on GPS. Where it trails is offline work. Timeero and Workyard beat it there outright, so if your crew lives in dead zones, weigh that against the price and breadth. We'll be honest about it in the writeup below.
Pro Tip: Before you compare a single tool, write down your one biggest time problem. Verifying hours, costing jobs, or getting techs to adopt the app. The right scorecard for you weights that need first.
The Best Time Clock Software for Plumbing
Below are the nine best picks, with the right one for each situation. For every tool, we cover who it fits, what it does well, and where it falls short.
OnTheClock: Best Overall for Small Plumbing Shops
Available on: Web, iOS, Android
OnTheClock is the best overall time clock software for a small plumbing shop because it does the most jobs well for the least money. It tracks field hours by GPS, ties every punch to a job and cost code, calculates overtime, and pushes approved hours straight to payroll, all from an app your techs can figure out on day one. For a 5 to 20 person crew, that combination is hard to beat.
Why OnTheClock is best for small plumbing shops
Start with the money, because that's where small shops feel the pain. OnTheClock charges $4 per employee per month plus a flat $5 base fee. A 15-tech plumbing company pays $65 a month, total. There's no per-feature upcharge for GPS, no separate scheduling tier, and no surprise. Compare that to tools that pile a $40 to $60 base fee on top of $9 to $11 per user, and the gap gets wide fast.
The features match the work. Every clock-in attaches to a job and a cost code, so you watch labor costs build in real time and finally see which jobs make money. GPS and geofencing confirm your crew is at the customer's address. You get alerts for missed punches, overtime, and clock-ins from the edge of a job site, and you fix them on your phone before they hit payroll.
What Makes It Different for Plumbing?
Most field tools ask you to choose between simple and capable. OnTheClock gives you both, and that's the real difference for a plumbing owner who's also the dispatcher, the estimator, and the payroll clerk.
Setup doesn't need an IT person or a contract. With one click, approved hours move into QuickBooks, Gusto, ADP, or Paychex, no spreadsheets, no retyping. You can also run payroll natively inside OnTheClock if you'd rather keep everything in one place. Owners consistently rank ease of use as the reason they stick with it; one plumbing owner switched simply because his crew would actually use it without complaints.
Picture your Friday. Instead of chasing three guys for their hours and squaring them against job tickets, you open your phone, see clean GPS-stamped time already sorted by job, approve it, and send it to payroll before lunch. That's the difference. See our time tracking built for contractors for the full feature set.
Key Features
Integrations
Pros
Cons
Pricing
- 30-day free trial, no credit card
- $5 base per month plus $4 per employee
- Free for companies with fewer than three employees
See your job costs the moment work happens. Tie every plumbing punch to a job and cost code with OnTheClock. Free for 30 days, no credit card.
Start Tracking Time for Free.
Workyard: Best for Proof You Were on the Job
Available on: Web, iOS, Android
Need hard proof? Workyard is the best pick when GPS is the whole point. It's built for the trades, including plumbing, and its location tracking is the most accurate we tested. Every clock-in and clock-out captures an exact spot, a timestamp, and a travel route, then locks it into a GPS audit trail you can defend if a customer or an employee disputes the hours.
That accuracy comes from a battery-saving GPS engine Workyard calls Meerkat, which keeps tracking tight without draining a tech's phone by noon. Geofencing adds automatic clock-in reminders at the job site, and photo ID verification at punch-in shuts down buddy punch attempts. Hours tag to jobs and cost codes, so the location data turns into real labor-cost numbers, not just dots on a map.
One honest note from reviews: a few users found GPS or mileage readings off in spots, and break tracking thinner than they wanted. For most small plumbing crews, though, Workyard's location proof is the strongest in this list.
Key Features
Integrations
Pros
Cons
Pricing
- 14-day free trial
- $6 per user per month (Starter) to $13 per user per month (Pro)
- Both tiers require a $50 monthly base fee
busybusy: Best for Knowing What Each Job Costs
Available on: Web, iOS, Android
Which jobs actually make you money? If you can't answer that, busybusy is built for you. Job costing is its whole reason to exist. You set project budgets, tag hours to cost codes, and watch labor spend track against the budget in real time, with alerts as a job nears its limit. That's how you catch a money-losing job while you can still do something about it.
It started in construction, so it handles the field well. GPS confirms locations, offline mode keeps tracking when signal drops, and it stores unlimited job-site photos for documentation. The app supports English and Spanish, which matters for a lot of plumbing crews. It also runs a real free plan, with limited GPS detail, so a budget-minded shop can start costing jobs at zero cost and upgrade when it needs deeper tracking.
busybusy integrates with QuickBooks, Sage, and Paychex, so the costing data and hours reach your books cleanly.
Key Features
Integrations
Pros
Cons
Pricing
- Free plan ($0, unlimited users)
- Pro is $9.99 per user per month
- Premium is $14.99 per user per month
- 14-day free trial on paid tiers
Buddy Punch: Best for a Tight Budget
Available on: Web, iOS, Android
$4.49 per user, plus a $19 base fee, billed annually. That's the lowest real entry price here for field-capable tracking, and it's why Buddy Punch fits a shop counting every dollar. Even the Starter plan covers GPS punches, PTO, and overtime alerts.
The name says it all. Buddy Punch was built to kill buddy punching, the trick where one worker clocks in for an absent coworker. Facial recognition, GPS, geofencing, and QR or PIN punches make sure the right person clocks in at the right place. Hours export cleanly to QuickBooks, ADP, Gusto, and Paychex, plus more than 20 payroll providers.
Watch the add-ons, though. Geofencing sits on the pricier Pro plan, real-time GPS costs an extra $2 per user, and there's no offline mode at all, which makes it a weaker pick for crews working deep in basements or rural dead zones.
Key Features
Integrations
Pros
Cons
Pricing
- 14-day free trial, no free plan
- Starter is $4.49 per user per month (annual) or $5.49 monthly, plus a $19 base fee
- Pro adds geofencing at $5.99 per user
- Real-time GPS is an extra $2 per user
QuickBooks Time: Best for Clean Payroll
Available on: Web, iOS, Android
Already run QuickBooks? Then this is your tool. QuickBooks Time, formerly TSheets, syncs job codes, service items, and customers straight from QuickBooks Online, so approved time sheets become payroll with a few clicks and almost no re-keying. For a plumbing shop already living in QuickBooks, that tight connection is the whole selling point.
It handles the field well, too. GPS tracking, a kiosk mode for shared clock-in, offline punching that syncs once signal returns, and facial recognition to cut time theft all support crews on the move, wrapped in a polished mobile app.
The cost is the catch. QuickBooks Time uses a base fee plus per-user pricing, geofencing and mileage tracking are locked to the higher Elite plan, and you need an active QuickBooks Online subscription on top. For a small shop that doesn't already use QuickBooks, that stack gets expensive quickly.
Key Features
Integrations
Pros
Cons
Pricing
- Free trial available, no free plan
- Premium is $20 base plus $8 per user per month
- Elite is $40 base plus $10 per user
- Requires an active QuickBooks Online subscription (from about $35 a month)
ClockShark: Best for Scheduling and Time Together
Available on: Web, iOS, Android
Tired of paying for a scheduler and a time clock that don't talk to each other? ClockShark puts both in one app. Its drag-and-drop scheduler lets you build the week, assign crews to job sites, and handle same-day dispatch changes, then techs clock into those jobs from their phones. Hours flow straight into job tracking, so the schedule and the time sheet stay in sync.
It's built for construction and field service, with 57% of its reviewers in construction. GPS and geofencing verify locations, job costing tracks labor by project, and the Pro plan adds PTO and deeper costing. QuickBooks integration is a strength, with hours, travel time, and job-level costs mapping over cleanly. Field crews are its home turf.
The price is steep for a small crew. The Standard plan is $40 a month plus $9 per user, and Pro runs $60 plus $11 per user. A 10-person shop lands around $130 to $170 a month, well above the flat-pricing options.
Key Features
Integrations
Pros
Cons
Pricing
- 14-day free trial
- $40 base plus $9 per active user (Standard)
- $60 base plus $11 per active user (Pro)
- One admin included free
Timeero: Best for Working Where There's No Signal
Available on: Web, iOS, Android
Half the day underground, the other half in rural dead zones. That's a plumber's reality, and it's exactly where Timeero shines. Its offline mode keeps tracking time and location when the connection drops, then syncs everything once the phone reconnects. For a tech spending hours in basements and mechanical rooms, that reliability is the difference between a clean time sheet and a guessing game.
Its standout feature is segmented tracking. Timeero automatically splits the workday into travel and on-site segments, recording the miles between stops and the time spent at each job. For plumbers running six to 10 calls a day with paid drive time between them, that separation makes payroll and job costing far more accurate. It also includes a California breaks tracker for shops in stricter states.
Pricing is friendly at the low end: the Basic plan is $4 per user for time, GPS, and mileage, and Pro is $8 per user with jobs, scheduling, and geofencing. It integrates with QuickBooks and Gusto.
Key Features
Integrations
Pros
Cons
Pricing
- Free trial available
- Basic $4 per user per month (covers up to 10 users)
- Pro $8 per user per month
- Premium $11 per user per month
Connecteam: Best for the Newest, Smallest Shops
Available on: Web, iOS, Android
Connecteam is the best starting point for a brand-new or very small plumbing shop, because it's genuinely free for up to 10 users. Not a trial, not a stripped demo. Full time-clock access at zero cost, which is perfect for a one-to-five-person operation finally getting off paper time sheets. GPS location stamping, geofencing, and auto-generated time sheets all come included.
It's built mobile-first. The app is clean, and a non-tech tech can use it without training. Beyond the clock, Connecteam folds in scheduling, team chat, and basic HR, so a small shop can run a lot of its operation from one app. As you grow past 10 users, paid plans start at $29 a month for the first 30 users.
Two honest limits. Connecteam has no offline mode, which is a real problem for basement and dead-zone work. And its live GPS tracking and breadcrumb trails sit on the higher Expert tier, around $99 a month billed annually.
Key Features
Integrations
Pros
Cons
Pricing
- Free for up to 10 users
- Paid plans start at $29 per month (Basic) for the first 30 users
- Advanced at $49 and Expert at $99, all billed annually
Jobber: Best for Running the Whole Business in One App
Available on: Web, iOS, Android
Sometimes a time clock isn't enough. If you want quoting, scheduling, dispatch, customer records, invoicing, and payments in one place, Jobber is full field service management built for home-service trades, with time tracking inside the same app. Plumbers rate its mobile app among the best in the business for on-site estimates and collecting payment before leaving the driveway.
Time tracking is one module of a bigger system. Techs clock in against jobs, and the new offline mode, launched January 2026, lets them track time and fill out job forms without a connection. The Client Hub keeps repeat residential customers organized. For a service-heavy plumbing business, that's a real advantage.
Know what you're buying, though. Jobber is a business platform, not a dedicated time clock, so it costs more (individual plans run $39 to $599 a month, with team plans at $169 for five users and up) and it lacks built-in overtime calculation, which means you handle overtime manually or through another tool. Time tracking sits on the Connect tier and above, not the entry Core plan. If you only need to track hours, this is more than you need. If you want to run the whole shop in one place, it's the strongest option here.
Key Features
Integrations
Pros
Cons
Pricing
- 14-day free trial
- Individual plans from $39 (Core) to $599 (Plus) per month
- Team plans at $169 (Connect, five users) and $349 (Grow, 10 users)
- Time tracking starts on the Connect tier
Side-by-Side Comparison Table
| Tool | Best For | Pricing | Key Strengths | Top Integrations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OnTheClock | Best overall for small plumbing shops | $4/user + $5 base/mo | Job costing, easy clock-in, low flat price | QuickBooks, Gusto, ADP, Paychex |
| Workyard | Proof you were on the job | $6 to $13/user + $50 base/mo | High-accuracy GPS, audit trail, offline | QuickBooks, ADP, Gusto, Sage |
| busybusy | Knowing what each job costs | Free; Pro $9.99/user; Premium $14.99/user | Deep job costing, budgets, offline | QuickBooks, Sage, Paychex |
| Buddy Punch | A tight budget | $4.49/user + $19 base/mo | Anti-buddy-punch, low per-user cost | QuickBooks, ADP, Gusto, Paychex |
| QuickBooks Time | Clean payroll | Premium $20 base + $8/user; Elite $40 + $10/user | QuickBooks sync, offline, kiosk | QuickBooks, Gusto |
| ClockShark | Scheduling and time together | $40 base + $9/user (Standard) | Scheduling, crew dispatch, job costing | QuickBooks, ADP, Xero |
| Timeero | Working where there's no signal | $4/user (Basic); $8/user (Pro) | Offline, drive-time split, mileage | QuickBooks, Gusto |
| Connecteam | The newest, smallest shops | Free up to 10 users | Free plan, easy to use, all-in-one | QuickBooks, Gusto, Paychex |
| Jobber | Running the whole business | $39 to $599/mo (plans) | Full FSM, quoting, invoicing | QuickBooks, Stripe |
Comparison data verified June 2026 against each vendor's own site and current review listings; subject to change by respective providers. Confirm current rates before you buy.
Pro Tip: Compare total monthly cost, not the per-user sticker. A $9-per-user tool with a $50 base fee runs a 10-person shop about $140 a month. A flat $4-per-user tool with a $5 base runs $45. Same crew, very different bill.
What's the Best Time Clock Software for Plumbing?
The best time clock software for plumbing isn't the one with the longest feature list; it's the one that fixes the friction you hit most. Start there.
Ask yourself one question first: what's actually breaking right now? A lot of owners buy for features they might use someday and end up with a heavy tool their crew resists. Focus on your current bottleneck instead.
- Losing money to hours you can't verify? You need GPS proof. Workyard leads on accuracy; OnTheClock is the value pick.
- Can't tell which jobs make money? You need job costing. busybusy goes deepest, with a free tier to start.
- Crew won't use the last app you tried? You need dead-simple. OnTheClock and Connecteam both win on ease.
- Techs working in basements with no signal? You need offline. Look at Timeero or busybusy.
- Just getting off paper and watching every dollar? Start free with Connecteam.
Your answer points to your pick. The right tool removes the friction from the problem you hit most, and once that friction's gone, the rest of payroll gets easier.
What Is Time Clock Software for Plumbing?
Time clock software for plumbing is a mobile app and dashboard that lets your field techs clock in and out from their phones, usually with GPS, and turns those punches into accurate time sheets for payroll and job costing.
For a plumbing shop, it replaces paper time cards, end-of-week guesswork, and texts like "I think I worked eight hours." Techs punch in at the job site, the software stamps the time and location, tags the hours to a job, and hands you clean data to pay your crew and bill your customers.
Who Needs Time Clock Software in a Plumbing Business?
Any plumbing business with hourly field techs needs it, but the pain grows with the crew. A solo plumber can track time in a notebook. A five-to-20-person shop cannot.
Owners and office managers feel it most, because they're the ones reconstructing the week and absorbing the cost of wrong hours. If your techs work across multiple addresses, if you bill by labor, or if you've ever caught a buddy punch or a rounded-up time sheet, you're the audience for this software. Dispatchers and lead techs benefit too, since the same app often handles scheduling and job assignments.
Why Plumbing Shops Rely on Time Clock Software
Plumbing shops rely on time clock software because the work happens everywhere except the office, and that makes hours hard to trust.
Your crew is spread across town all day. Without location-stamped punches, you're taking everyone's word for when they started, when they left, and how long the job took. That gap costs real money: inflated payroll, misbilled jobs, and hours of weekly cleanup. The software closes the gap by tying every punch to a time, a place, and a job. It also keeps records straight for labor law, which matters more than most owners think, as the next sections explain. For a deeper look, see our guide to GPS time tracking for field crews.
Key Features Plumbing Time Clock Software Should Have
The best plumbing time clock software covers the field-specific basics first, then the extras. Here's the checklist to run before you buy.
- GPS and geofencing: Confirms techs are at the customer's address and can auto-remind them to clock in on arrival.
- Offline mode: Keeps tracking time in basements, crawlspaces, and rural dead zones, then syncs when signal returns.
- Job and cost-code tracking: Attaches hours to the right job so you can see labor cost and profit per project.
- Payroll integration: Pushes hours into QuickBooks, ADP, or Gusto without retyping.
- Overtime and break tracking: Calculates 40-hour overtime automatically and handles paid short breaks correctly. Under federal law (29 CFR 785.18), rest breaks of five to 20 minutes count as paid work time.
- Drive-time tracking: Captures paid travel between jobs, which federal law treats as hours worked (29 CFR 785.38).
- Simple mobile clock-in: Fast enough that any tech uses it without training.
How to Choose the Right Time Clock Software for Your Plumbing Business
Step 1: Name your biggest time problem first.
Before you look at a single app, write down what's actually costing you. Is it hours you can't verify, jobs you can't cost, a crew that won't adopt the last tool, or payroll that eats your Friday? The honest answer points you to a category of tool and saves you from buying features you'll never touch. Most bad software decisions start with shopping before diagnosing.
Step 2: Check GPS and offline reliability for your real job sites.
Plumbing happens in basements, crawlspaces, and rural homes where signal dies. Test whether the app tracks a punch with no connection and syncs it later, because a tool that drops offline punches will quietly break your time sheets. During a free trial, have a tech clock in from your worst-signal job site and see what shows up. GPS accuracy matters just as much: a pin in the wrong yard is worse than no pin at all.
Step 3: Confirm it tracks hours by job and cost code.
You price and bill off labor, so your software has to tie hours to specific jobs, not just pile them up by day. Look for the ability to switch jobs in a tap or two and to see labor cost build against a budget in real time. This is what turns a time clock into a profit tool. Without it, you're still guessing which work makes money.
Step 4: Test how fast a real tech can clock in.
Adoption decides everything. If your least tech-savvy plumber can't clock in within a few seconds, your crew won't use it, and the cleanest data in the world is worthless if half your team ignores the app. Put the trial app in your crew's hands, not just the office computer. Watch whether they figure it out without a manual. Spanish-language support matters for a lot of plumbing teams, so check for it if you need it.
Step 5: Add up the true monthly cost for your headcount.
Per-seat pricing hides the real number. A tool at $9 per user with a $50 base fee costs far more than a flat $4-per-user app once you count a 10-person crew. Multiply the per-user price by your headcount, add every base fee, then add the cost of any feature you actually need that's locked behind a higher tier, like geofencing or real-time GPS. Compare the totals, not the sticker prices. A predictable bill protects a small shop more than a flashy feature does.
Step 6: Verify payroll and accounting integration.
The whole point is getting accurate hours into payroll without retyping them. Confirm the software connects to your payroll provider, whether that's QuickBooks, ADP, Gusto, or Paychex, and check whether the sync is one click or a manual export. A clean integration removes the exact step where most payroll errors are born. If you don't yet use a payroll provider, look at tools that run payroll natively so you don't bolt on another cost later.
Step 7: Check overtime and labor-law compliance.
Plumbers are hourly, non-exempt workers, so the law governs how their field hours get paid. Make sure the tool calculates 40-hour overtime automatically and handles travel and break rules correctly. Travel time between jobs is paid under federal law (29 CFR 785.38), and short breaks of five to 20 minutes count as paid time (29 CFR 785.18). Software that mishandles these turns small mistakes into wage claims. If you operate in a stricter state like California, confirm the tool tracks the extra break rules too.
Step 8: Run a free trial before you commit.
Never buy on the demo alone. Every tool here offers a free trial or a free plan, so put it through a real week: real techs, real job sites, real payroll run. The demo shows you the best case; the trial shows you the truth. Pay attention to whether punches drop, whether the GPS lands right, and whether your crew complains. A week of honest testing saves you from a year stuck with the wrong tool.
Tips for Rolling Out Time Clock Software in Your Plumbing Shop
- Tell your crew why before you launch. Plumbers hear "tracking app" and assume you don't trust them. Head that off. Explain that accurate hours mean correct paychecks and fewer payroll disputes, and that GPS only runs while they're on the clock. When the team understands the app protects their pay, resistance drops fast.
- Start with one or two crews, not everyone. Roll the software out to a small group first, work out the geofence and job-code kinks, then expand. A messy company-wide launch sours the whole team on the tool. A clean pilot gives you champions who help the rest of the crew get on board.
- Set up your job sites and cost codes before day one. Pre-load your common job sites, geofences, and cost codes so techs aren't fumbling with setup in the field. The first week shapes the habit. If clocking in is smooth from the start, it sticks; if it's clunky, they'll go back to texting you their hours.
- Run it alongside your old method for one week. Keep your current system going for the first week as a safety net while everyone learns. Compare the two, fix what's off, then cut over fully. This catches problems before they hit a real payroll run.
Pro Tip: Pick one crew lead as your in-app champion during week one. When a tech has a question, they ask the lead, not you. That single habit cuts your rollout headaches in half and speeds adoption.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best time clock app for a plumbing business?
The best time clock app depends on your biggest need, but OnTheClock is the best overall pick for most small plumbing shops because it combines GPS, job costing, easy clock-in, and one-click payroll at a low flat price. If your top priority is GPS proof, Workyard leads. If it's job costing on a budget, busybusy is strong. Match the tool to the problem you hit most.
Are there free time clock apps for plumbers?
Yes. Connecteam offers a genuine free plan for up to 10 users with GPS and time sheets included, and busybusy has a free tier with limited GPS detail. OnTheClock is free for companies with fewer than three employees. Free plans work well for very small or brand-new shops; most growing crews eventually need a paid plan for offline mode or deeper GPS.
How much does time clock software cost for a small plumbing business?
Most tools run $4 to $13 per user per month, often with a monthly base fee on top. OnTheClock is $4 per employee plus a $5 base fee, so a 15-tech shop pays about $65 a month. Watch the base fees: some tools add $40 to $60 a month before per-user costs, which adds up fast for a 10-person crew.
Do I have to pay plumbers for travel time between jobs?
Yes. Under federal law (29 CFR 785.38), travel between job sites during the workday counts as paid hours worked. The unpaid exception is the ordinary commute from home to the first job and back home at the end of the day. Good time clock software separates paid drive time from the commute so your payroll stays compliant. Some states have stricter rules, so check your local labor law.
Does GPS time tracking work in basements with no signal?
Only if the app has a true offline mode. Timeero, Workyard, busybusy, and QuickBooks Time keep tracking when signal drops and sync once the phone reconnects. Buddy Punch and Connecteam don't offer offline tracking, so punches can fail in dead zones. If your crew works underground often, treat offline mode as a must-have, not a bonus.
How is overtime calculated for plumbers?
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt plumbers earn at least 1.5 times their regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Paid short breaks of five to 20 minutes (29 CFR 785.18) and paid travel between jobs count toward that 40-hour threshold. Most time clock software calculates 40-hour overtime automatically; confirm the tool you pick does, since a few leave it manual.
How do I stop buddy punching on my plumbing crew?
Use a tool with location and identity verification. GPS and geofencing confirm a tech is at the job site, and photo or facial recognition confirms the right person is punching in. Buddy Punch and Workyard both lead here with photo ID at clock-in. These controls turn "your word against theirs" into a clear record.
Start tracking your plumbing crew's hours for free.
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About the Author
Herb Woerpel is the Editor at OnTheClock, where he covers time tracking, payroll, and workforce management for small businesses across the trades and service industries. He writes to give plumbing, HVAC, and construction owners practical, accurate guidance they can act on the same day.
