ClockShark Review

ClockShark is a scheduling and time clock tool built for field service and construction companies, with a focus on making clocking in and out in the field simple and easy.

Who is ClockShark for?

ClockShark is a time clock software made for construction and field service workers. Features like mobile GPS tracking and custom geofencing cater especially to employees who are often on the road, traveling between job sites, or clocking in outside of a traditional office setting.

Job notes and job costing tools also cater to teams that perform routine maintenance and various job sites or need to report on project progress and equipment costs.

ClockShark's features

Since ClockShark caters to teams in the field, it emphasizes features such as a mobile clock-in app and geofencing nudges. However, its web app is equally functional for use in the back office, offering detailed reporting and schedule-building capabilities.

Scheduling

Create color-coded schedules to see at a glance where you team members are working. Depending on your needs, you can create one-time events for simple jobs or recurring events for long-term and ongoing projects.

View employee schedules by week, month, and job in ClockShark. Image source: Author

By upgrading to a "Pro" plan, you can create custom time off and overtime policies that work for your company and include overtime pay and scheduled breaks. You can also allow employees to request time off in the "Pro" plan so you can keep your schedules up to date and make sure your jobs and worksites are appropriately staffed.

Accountability

With ClockShark, employees can clock in and out via a web or mobile app or with an assigned pin number or facial recognition tool via a kiosk at the jobsite.

ClockShark provides multiple methods for clocking in and out. Image source: Author

With the mobile time clock, you can set up geofencing rules (only allowing employees to clock in when they arrive at specified worksites). You can also use these geofencing parameters to remind employees to clock in and out when they reach or leave sites.

Additionally, you can enable GPS tracking so you can see where your employees are in real time. This feature is also helpful for teams whose crew members travel between sites, as they can see where the team members are when they're clocked in.

See where your mobile workforce is in real time with ClockShark's GPS tracking feature. Image source: Author

After employees have logged time, you can view, edit, and approve timesheets to see who put in hours and ensure accurate time tracking and job costing.

Budgeting

Time clock data rolls up to employee timesheets, which you can approve in time to export job cost and wage data to your payroll solution. To make updates easier, ClockShark integrates directly with popular payroll and accounting solutions like QuickBooks, Sage, and ADP.

View timesheet reports via PDF or export data from ClockShark via a CSV file. Image source: Author

To more accurately track labor costs, ClockShark prompts employees to select jobs and tasks on clock-in. And by enabling geofencing and GPS tracking features, you can prompt employees to update what they're working on when the switch to a different site or task.

Mobile app

To enable constant communication and updates, ClockShark really emphasizes its mobile time clock app for employees in the field. From the mobile app, employees can clock in and out, as well as access schedules and driving directions between jobs.

Employees can clock in and out, switch tasks, and log breaks with ClockShark's mobile app. Image source: Author

Targeting field service workers specifically, ClockShark's mobile app still functions even if you're working in a remote or rural area where your reception or internet access is weak or nonexistent. Using their own devices, supervisors can also clock crew members in if they don't own or have access to a smartphone.

Benefits of using ClockShark

ClockShark will help you stay organized by providing constant communication between your crews in the field and your back office. From both mobile and web apps, you can create schedules, clock in, and approve timesheets before running payroll.

The system is designed for field service and construction workers -- or really for any organization with teams that don't necessarily work in a traditional office setting or spend all their time in a brick-and-mortar location.

Using GPS tracking and a fully functional mobile app, you can see real-time updates on your team and jobs instead of waiting for end-of-day reports to come trickling in. This constant stream of useful information will help you make better labor and staffing decisions on the fly and plan more effectively for the future.

ClockShark pricing

ClockShark offers three different pricing tiers: Basic, Standard, and Pro. Each tier starts with a monthly base price, then charges based on the number of users. Basic plans start at a base price of $15/month, plus $3/month per user.

ClockShark has several different pricing tiers. Image source: Author

The cost of ClockShark's "Basic" plan -- which doesn't include scheduling capabilities but offers solid features like mobile clock-ins and GPS tracking -- is priced lower than the industry average for similar systems.

Its "Standard" plan (which does include scheduling, along with many other advanced features) comes in slightly above the industry average for similar tools. However, those with field service and construction businesses might find that a tool tailored to their industries is worth the extra cost.

Ease of use

Although ClockShark offers a lot of functionality, the system is easy to navigate. Given that the tool is designed for field service workers to use on the go, it feels like the designers took some notes from mobile UX design best practices to make critical features accessible at the touch of a button.

As a digital native, my only real qualm with the system was that while you can create and define report parameters from within the system, you can only view reports by creating a PDF or downloading data into a spreadsheet. However, I acknowledge that many field service or construction companies still rely on distributing and displaying paper reports, so this could be another nod to ClockShark's target customers.

Getting started

All you have to do to set up ClockShark is add employees and give them permission to clock in. You can change the ways you allow different employees to clock in, keeping their work locations and job specifications in mind. You can then add jobs and tasks to the system to start creating schedules and give employees the ability to track what they're working on.