Honest Review:

ExakTime

• Easy-to-use
• Simple and comprehensible reports
• Dedicated rugged time clocks

ExakTime offers three pricing plans tailored to the specific needs of businesses: Advanced, Premium, and Elite. To know which plan is a better fit for you, here’s a look at what each plan has to offer:

Advanced

With the Advanced plan, users can get access to a robust set of features designed to streamline workforce management. This includes time and attendance tracking, geofencing, expense tracking, equipment tracking, meal break tracking, and notifications. 

The plan also includes robust security measures with Photo ID Capture, ensuring secure access to hours, and features like cost code tracking, prevailing wage tracking, and injuries & breaks sign-off for efficient job and compliance management.

The plan further offers language preferences with Spanish and French app options and unlimited email, phone, and chat support. When it comes to reporting, Advanced plan users can access 40+ instant reports and overtime payroll reports. And thanks to ExakTime’s over 100 available payroll integrations, the payroll process becomes less of a hassle.

Fair warning: all of these features do not come cheap. The Advanced plan charges a monthly base fee plus $9/user/month fee billed annually.

Premium

The Premium plan includes everything on the previous tier, with the addition of AI-powered alerts and notifications along with shift and task scheduling.

Much like the Advanced plan, Premium account users can count on unlimited email, phone, and chat support, ensuring that their businesses have access to comprehensive assistance and guidance whenever they need it.

You’ll need to request a quote from ExakTime’s team based on the organization’s specific needs.

Elite 

Like the Premium plan, the price for the Elite plan requires a personalized quote based on your organization’s needs. This plan includes all of the features of the Premium plan, plus the addition of the time off tracking feature, helping companies manage and monitor employee leaves effectively.

1. GPS Time Tracking

ExakTime’s time clock app is equipped with a GeoTrakker that allows employers to track the real-time employee location along with their time. It works on all GPS-enabled smartphones and tablets and is available on popular cell phone carriers in North America.

The time tracking process is fairly straightforward; employees enter a unique PIN, select their job site, choose the specific task they’ll be working on, and click “Go”. To help employees ensure they’re selecting the right job site, ExakTime uses GPS data to put an indicator on the job site nearest their location. This isn’t exactly the most fail-safe method, but it does add an extra layer of accuracy to the job site selection process.

Another way ExakTime ensures location and time accuracy is through geofencing. This lets you create virtual borders around the job sites you create, and if workers deviate from assigned work zones, managers can receive real-time notifications. On top of this, the app also generates GPS coordinates and a trail of employee movements, providing a comprehensive method to verify time records.

For easy accessibility, all employee time and location data can be conveniently viewed through the team view tab. This provides a real-time map displaying the names and locations of all employees currently clocked in, streamlining the monitoring process for efficient workforce management.

2. Photo ID Capture

Buddy punching is a real problem, especially when you’re managing a remote or field team. ExakTime provides a handy solution for this with its Photo ID Capture feature using FaceFront Biometrics™.

With FaceFront Biometrics™ integrated into the ExakTime mobile app, you can eliminate concerns related to time fraud and unauthorized use of timecards or PINs. The app captures a photograph of the employee each time they clock in or out, so employers can now know exactly who is clocking in and out.

This isn’t to be confused with facial recognition software that uses artificial intelligence to match an employee’s face with a stored photo. This would’ve been more foolproof. Instead, ExakTime simply stores captured images, together with its time record and GPS stamp, and syncs them back to the office for manual review.

Compatible with both Android and iOS devices, the Photo ID Capture feature operates smoothly on tablets and smartphones equipped with front-facing cameras. It’s important to note that the functionality requires iOS 4.0 or later and Android OS 4 or later.

3. ExakTime Rugged Time Clocks

A physical time clock isn’t something that most time tracking software companies normally offer. But since ExakTime mainly caters to the construction industry, they’ve developed rugged time clocks that can serve as attendance hubs on work sites while withstanding the harsh environment.

The way this works is you basically assign each time clock to a work site and secure them in place by attaching them to secure walls or beams. These time clocks are portable, which makes them easy to move and mount anywhere. Employees can then clock in using a green key fob and out with a red key fob. Other key fobs can also be color-coded to differentiate between various job codes and locations. Attendance and time data recorded via the time clock are stored and synced to the cloud so managers can access them back in the office.

The time clock’s lithium-powered batteries can last up to 21 days without charging, making it perfect for temporary work camps. And since they’re weather-resistant, you can use them rain or shine without worrying about any damage.

Some of ExakTime’s rugged time clock products include the JobClock Hornet and JobClock LE. They both pretty much function the same way. LE and Hornet’s only difference is that LE is Bluetooth enabled so that users can send work data anytime. In contrast, Hornet automatically sends information every hour while clocked in through its cloud service.

4. ExakTime Reporting 

ExakTime’s reporting feature gives business owners a powerful tool to extract valuable insights from their workforce data. With over 40 instant reports available, users can focus on key metrics and leverage data to make informed decisions crucial to their business’s success.

Reports can be effortlessly generated from data collected by the time clock app or rugged time clocks, covering aspects such as hours worked, regular and overtime hours, location, start and stop times, and more. The robust construction reports offer real-time visibility, offering actionable insights necessary for business progression.

The timecard tracking reports offer actionable insights for effective workforce management. These include Employee Executive Summary for a high-level overview, Employee Time Card for monitoring Regular and OT hours, Employee Touch Detail for tracking start and stop times and work types, Location by Employee for understanding hours at specific locations, and Employees by Location for a breakdown of working hours spent at each job site.

Additionally, certified payroll reports that are a must-have for federal contractors and are available in the software. These reports give businesses a comprehensive view of their projects and employees, enabling them to make informed decisions and improve their operations.

(As of October 2024)

• Capterra: 4/5
• G2: 4.2/5 
• GetApp: 4/5
• Software Advice: 4/5
• Google Play Store: 3.8/5 
• App Store: 2.9/5

As a time tracking software that’s tailor-made for construction businesses, I think ExakTime’s features, from automated overtime calculations to GPS tracking and real-time data access, are actually quite decent.

The app makes it easy for employers to track employee time alongside their location with its mobile time clock and GeoTrakker features. The geofencing function adds a great layer of security for ensuring that workers are accurately logging hours at designated job sites.

For employers who prefer physical time clocks, ExakTime’s JobClock Hornet and JobClock LE offer a good solution. These weatherproof and portable options are well-suited for the challenging environments of construction sites, offering durability and flexibility in time tracking.

There’s definitely a lot to like about ExakTime, but like any other time tracking app, it still has its flaws. The reporting feature lacks comprehensive visual charts for easier data analysis. There are also fewer report filters which can make it hard for employers to drill down on specific data points.

There’s also the issue of bugs and glitches with its mobile app which really hampers the overall user experience. And for a time tracking solution specially made for construction businesses, a reliable mobile time tracker should seriously be a given. Its reviews on the Google Play Store (3.9/5) and App Store (2.9/5) speak for themselves. All of these, along with ExakTime’s not-so-great customer support and high pricing, really don’t make for a good selling point.

Despite these issues and limitations, I still believe ExakTime could be a viable option for businesses in the construction industry. Although it’s not the best and most cost-effective time tracking solution in the market, its features, such as GPS tracking and geofencing, can be really valuable for remote and field workers. It’s still worth a try if you’re willing to spend a few extra dollars and don’t mind dealing with app glitches and bugs every now and again.