BusyBusy Review: Time Tracking for Construction Crews
busybusy is a mobile time tracking and jobsite reporting app built specifically for construction and field crews. It’s designed to replace paper timecards and basic punch clocks with GPS-aware, job-based time tracking that feeds cleaner data into payroll and job costing.
This review looks at where busybusy fits in a commercial contractor’s stack, who it’s best for, and when you should (and shouldn’t) consider it.
Who BusyBusy Is Really For
busybusy is a strong fit for contractors who:
- Run multiple crews working on different jobs each day
- Need hours tracked by job and sometimes by cost code, not just total hours
- Want GPS-backed time data so they can trust where and when people were working
- Are ready to move off paper timecards, texted hours, or generic time clock apps
It’s especially useful for:
- Commercial roofing and paving companies with mobile crews
- Concrete, site work, and masonry contractors with multiple active jobs
- HVAC/mechanical and other trades where techs bounce between sites
If your crews start and end their day in the field and you care about accurate hours by job, busybusy is pointed at your world.
Where BusyBusy Fits in Your Stack
busybusy sits in the time tracking and field reporting layer of your stack.
- Primary role: Track crew and individual hours by job (and cost code), backed by GPS and jobsite context.
- Replaces: Paper timecards, spreadsheets, texted hours, and generic time clock apps with no job detail.
- Should integrate with: Your payroll system and, ideally, your accounting or job costing system.
It does not try to be full project management or a complete accounting system. It’s about getting clean time and basic jobsite data from the field so other systems can do their job.
Key Strengths Contractors Will Actually Feel
- Crew-based time entry: Foremen can clock in a whole crew to a job and adjust as needed, instead of every person fending for themselves.
- Job and cost code tracking: Hours can be tied to specific jobs and codes so job costing has real detail instead of one big “labor” bucket.
- GPS context: Location data helps confirm crews were actually on the job when they clocked in, which reduces disputes and guessing.
- Photo and note capture: Foremen can attach photos and notes to entries, which helps document progress and issues.
- Cleaner payroll input: The office gets structured time data, which usually means fewer corrections before payroll runs.
In plain terms: foremen have a simple way to log time, the office stops chasing handwriting and missing hours, and owners get better visibility into labor by job.
Limitations and Deal-Breakers
No tool is perfect. Here are the common friction points to consider:
- Needs decent phone adoption: If your crews won’t touch smartphones at all, or if devices are constantly shared and lost, rollout will be harder.
- Field buy-in is still required: Foremen have to actually use the app for data to be useful. If leadership doesn’t support the change, it stalls.
- Not a full project management system: It’s focused on time and basic jobsite reporting, not full-blown scheduling, RFIs, or document control.
- Another login for the office: If you’re already juggling multiple systems, adding one more may bother some admins, even if it replaces manual work.
If you’re hoping for one platform that runs all ops, accounting, and project management, busybusy alone won’t be that tool. It’s a specialist for time and jobsite data.
Pricing Snapshot
busybusy uses a per-user, subscription-style pricing model. Most contractors will be looking at a monthly cost based on the number of employees using the app, with different tiers depending on features.
Ballpark, expect to budget in the range where adding busybusy makes sense if it saves even a small percentage of labor waste, rework, or payroll cleanup time each month. The real math is: “Does this reduce enough mistakes and admin time to pay for itself?” For many crews, it does.
Implementation Notes
Rolling out busybusy is less about the software and more about the process.
- Setup effort: Moderate. You’ll need someone to own:
- Setting up jobs and cost codes
- Adding users and assigning roles
- Connecting to payroll or export workflows
- Who should own it: An ops lead or office manager who understands both the field and payroll.
- Key setup steps:
- Define a clean list of active jobs and simple cost codes
- Decide whether foremen or individuals clock in
- Test the whole flow with one crew before rolling out wider
- Training: Most foremen can learn the basics in one short session if you keep it focused on their daily tasks.
The first 30 days should be treated like a pilot: expect mistakes, fix them quickly, and tighten your rules around time approval.
Pros and Cons Summary
Pros
- Built specifically for construction and field crews
- Makes it easy to track hours by job (and code) instead of just total hours
- GPS and photo features add useful jobsite context
- Reduces payroll cleanup and improves job costing inputs
Cons
- Requires buy-in from foremen and crews to work well
- Adds another system to manage if you already have many tools
- Not a full project management or accounting platform
Bottom Line
busybusy is a solid option for commercial contractors who are serious about cleaning up time tracking and feeding better data into payroll and job costing.
If most of your headaches come from chasing paper timecards, fixing bad hours, and guessing where labor went on a job, a tool like busybusy can be a big step forward. If you’re looking for one system to run every part of your business, you’ll still need to pair it with project management, accounting, and CRM tools.
Used as part of a simple, well-defined stack, busybusy can help your foremen spend less time on paperwork, your office spend less time on corrections, and your leadership team finally see labor clearly by job.
