Connecteam is a workforce management platform built for deskless teams. It combines time tracking, scheduling, task management, communication, training, and HR workflows in one mobile‑first app. Managers use it to plan shifts, capture hours with GPS stamps, assign work, share updates, and collect forms. Employees use it to clock in, see their roster, chat with teammates, complete checklists, and access company resources. The goal is simple: reduce manual admin and keep frontline operations aligned in real time.
Small and mid‑sized businesses pick it most often, especially those with field crews or dispersed staff. Common sectors include construction, facilities services, retail, hospitality, transport, logistics, healthcare, security, and non‑profits. Multi‑site enterprises also deploy it to standardise processes across locations.
It replaces scattered tools—spreadsheets, paper timesheets, separate chat apps, and noticeboards—with one app. That centralisation cuts double entry, speeds approvals, and reduces errors that drive payroll leakage. GPS‑verified time entries and shift confirmations reduce time theft. Structured updates and training materials reduce miscommunication and onboarding delays.
- Track work hours with GPS location stamps and optional geofencing.
- Enforce clock‑in only within predefined sites.
- Support breaks, overtime rules, and job codes or cost centres.
- Enable a Kiosk mode (shared device) for clocking at a site with PINs.
- Export timesheets to payroll after manager approval.
Decision rule: use the Time Clock when you need verifiable attendance and accurate labour costs per job because it standardises entries and adds location evidence.
- Build shifts with roles, locations, and required skills.
- Drag‑and‑drop assignments, recurring patterns, and shift templates.
- Publish schedules with push notifications.
- Let staff accept, decline, or swap shifts within guardrails.
- Attach shift notes, files, and tasks so people arrive prepared.
Pick Scheduling when you need to fill coverage fast and cut back‑and‑forth messages because the app centralises availability and confirms receipt.
- Create tasks with due dates, subtasks, attachments, and priority.
- Turn SOPs into digital checklists with pass/fail, photos, and signatures.
- Trigger assignments by shift, team, or location.
- Track completion status in real time.
Create digital checklists to enforce compliance on site because they give a timestamped trail with photos for audits.
- Build custom mobile forms for incident reports, safety audits, inspections, or client sign‑offs.
- Use conditional logic to show only relevant fields.
- Capture media, geolocation, and e‑signatures.
- Route submissions for manager review and export.
Use Forms to replace paper packs because they reduce processing time and data loss.
- Company feed for announcements with read receipts.
- Team chat with role‑based groups and content moderation.
- Quick polls and surveys to collect feedback.
- Knowledge base and document library for policies, manuals, and how‑tos.
Use the Communication hub to cut shadow IT chat apps because it keeps conversations auditable and tied to roles.
- Micro‑learning courses with bite‑size lessons, quizzes, and progress tracking.
- Structured onboarding checklists and document requests.
- Certification tracking and reminders.
Use Training to shorten ramp time because content lives where work happens—on the phone employees already carry.
- Employee directory with roles, teams, and sites.
- Time‑off requests and approvals.
- Company assets, uniform orders, or expense claims via forms.
- Recognition and shout‑outs on the feed.
Use these workflows to standardise routine admin because they replace ad‑hoc emails and paper trails.
Connecteam is mobile‑first on iOS and Android. Employees can work offline, with data syncing when back online. Managers can access a web dashboard for planning, reporting, and exports. Kiosk mode supports shared tablets at job sites using PINs to authenticate.
The Time Clock can attach location stamps to clock‑in and clock‑out. You can define geofences around worksites and restrict clocking to those areas. Managers see a map of punches to confirm presence. Use geofencing when you need an auditable boundary because it provides a defensible record of where and when work started.
Start with shift templates for common patterns. Add qualifications or skill tags to each employee. When building rotas, filter by availability and skills to avoid mismatches. Enable shift confirmations so you know who saw and accepted their shift. Allow controlled swaps to fill gaps quickly without central micromanagement.
Timesheets roll up per person and per job. Managers review, edit exceptions, and lock periods. Export to payroll once approved. Use job codes to attribute hours, travel, or premium pay. If you track overtime or state‑specific rules, configure them before go‑live and run a dry payroll to catch edge cases.
Connecteam supports exports to major payroll systems and can share data with HRIS tools via CSV or native connectors, depending on your plan. Typical connections include payroll providers, calendars, cloud storage, and identity platforms. Always test field mappings—employee IDs, job codes, and pay rates—before enabling automated sync because mismatches create pay errors.
Role‑based access controls limit who sees schedules, forms, or reports. Two‑factor authentication is available for admin accounts. Data in transit uses HTTPS; at rest, data is encrypted in the vendor’s cloud. Location tracking is scoped to work events (for example, clock‑ins). Be transparent with staff: share a written policy that explains when location data is captured and for what purpose.
- Timekeeping: track hours, breaks, and overtime rules to support wage‑and‑hour compliance.
- E‑signatures: capture acknowledgements for policies, training, and forms.
- Audit trails: timestamped records of submissions, edits, and approvals.
- Safety workflows: incident and near‑miss forms, toolbox talk checklists, and the ability to broadcast urgent updates.
Use these features to reduce compliance risk because they document the who, what, when, and where of frontline events.
Dashboards show attendance, late clock‑ins, shift coverage, task completion, and form submissions. Export filtered datasets to CSV for deeper analysis in spreadsheets or BI tools. Set notification rules for thresholds—missed shifts, unsubmitted timesheets, or overdue tasks—so managers act early.
The mobile app aims for simplicity: large buttons for clocking and quick access to today’s shift, tasks, and messages. Push notifications replace calls and texts. Offline mode helps crews in low‑signal areas; the app queues updates until connectivity returns. On the web, the scheduler and timesheet screens use familiar grid layouts with drag‑and‑drop to speed edits.
- Construction: geofenced time clocks per site; daily safety checklist; photo sign‑offs for completed work; shift‑based task lists per crew.
- Cleaning and facilities: recurring job checklists per location; client‑signature forms; late‑arrival alerts.
- Retail and hospitality: weekly rota with availability; shift notes on promos; incident reporting; policy updates with read receipts.
- Transportation and logistics: route‑based job codes; pre‑trip and post‑trip inspections; incident and damage forms with photos.
- Healthcare and care services: visit verification via location stamp; medication checklist; training modules and policy acknowledgements.
- Single mobile app for time, schedules, comms, and workflows reduces app sprawl.
- Fast deployment using templates and import tools.
- Strong fit for non‑desk teams that need GPS‑aware timekeeping and simple tasking.
- Transparent communications with read receipts and auditability.
- Digital forms replace paperwork, saving processing time and storage.
- Deep, bespoke integrations may require workarounds or exports if your payroll/HRIS isn’t natively supported.
- Very complex union rules or niche pay scenarios might need careful configuration and testing.
- Change management matters: enforcing geofencing and structured workflows can feel rigid to teams used to informal practices.
Connecteam offers tiered plans that scale by features and number of users. Pricing is typically per company with user allowances on lower tiers and add‑ons for advanced modules. Expect a free or entry tier for small teams, mid‑range plans that unlock scheduling and advanced forms, and top tiers with full workflow automation and premium support. Always confirm the current price sheet and any promotional limits, then model the cost per active user and per site.
- Define outcomes. Examples: reduce timesheet corrections by 80%, publish rotas one week earlier, or collect zero paper forms.
- Configure foundations. Create locations, teams, roles, and job codes. Add overtime and break rules.
- Import people. Use CSV with employee IDs, roles, and primary site.
- Pilot one or two modules. Common path: Time Clock and Scheduling first.
- Create templates. Shift templates, checklist templates, and form blueprints save hours later.
- Train managers. Do a 45‑minute session on schedule building, approvals, and exceptions.
- Launch to staff. Share a short how‑to with screenshots and explain location rules upfront.
- Run a parallel pay cycle. Compare exported hours to your current system and fix gaps.
- Expand modules. Add tasks, forms, and training once core timekeeping is stable.
- Use a unique employee ID as the key across systems; avoid email as the only identifier.
- Map job codes to cost centres from your accounting system to keep reports aligned.
- Keep the geofence tight enough to be meaningful but large enough to avoid false negatives (for example, 75–150 metres depending on the site).
- Build read‑only roles for auditors or clients who need visibility without edit rights.
- Standardise naming: “LOC‑City‑SiteName” for locations and “ROLE‑Skill” for positions.
If you only need GPS time tracking, a single‑purpose app may be cheaper. But once you add scheduling, tasking, and forms, all‑in‑one tools reduce switching costs and training overhead because teams learn one interface. Choose Connecteam when coordination and documentation live together—crews clock in, receive tasks, complete checklists, and confirm shifts in the same place.
- Payroll accuracy: track adjustments per period and aim to reduce them by >60%.
- Overtime control: compare overtime hours before and after enforcing schedules and break rules.
- Schedule lead time: measure days between draft and publish; target a one‑week buffer.
- Task completion: reach >95% on critical checklists within SLA.
- Communication reach: look for >90% read rates on mandatory updates.
Decide how long to retain forms, chat history, and location stamps. Match retention to legal and client requirements. Set role‑based permissions for exports. Review access quarterly. Use naming and archiving rules for completed projects to keep the workspace tidy and fast.
Keep forms and checklists short with clear labels. Use large tap targets and plain language. Provide content in the languages your workforce speaks. Where possible, attach photos or short clips to show a safe or correct step rather than describe it at length.
Explain the why. For example, geofencing protects honest staff from being questioned and speeds payroll. Involve supervisors early; configure the first site with them. Celebrate quick wins—like eliminating paper dailies or cutting rota creation time in half—to build momentum.
- Employees can’t clock in: check geofence size, app permissions for location, and whether the shift exists.
- Missing times in payroll export: confirm the pay period is approved and locked; re‑run the export.
- People not seeing shifts: ensure they’re assigned to the correct team and location; resend the publish notification.
- GPS accuracy concerns: increase the geofence radius slightly and remind staff to enable high‑accuracy mode.
- Forms not routing: verify assignment rules and manager approvers in workflow settings.
Pick it when your workforce is mostly mobile or site‑based and you need:
- GPS‑aware time tracking tied to jobs.
- Scheduling that respects availability and skills.
- Digital checklists, incident forms, and sign‑offs.
- A built‑in communication channel with auditability.
- Training and onboarding delivered in short, trackable modules.
Look at specialised HR suites if you require advanced talent management, complex benefits administration, or deep payroll in one vendor. If you’re a single office with fixed desks and Outlook‑based schedules, a lightweight calendar plus a basic timesheet might suffice.
- Geofence: a virtual boundary around a site; the app uses it to restrict clock‑ins to that area.
- Kiosk: a shared device at a location for multiple employees to clock in with PINs.
- Job code: a label for a client, site, or activity used to allocate labour costs.
- Checklist: a reusable list of steps with proof fields (photos, signatures) to standardise work.
- Read receipt: confirmation that an employee viewed an announcement.
- Shift confirmation: an employee’s acceptance of a scheduled shift.
- Pay period lock: an admin action that prevents further changes to approved timesheets.
- Role‑based access: permissions tied to job roles to control who can view or edit items.
- Micro‑learning: short training lessons designed to be completed on mobile.
- Export mapping: the field‑by‑field alignment between Connecteam and your payroll/HR system.
Yes. Employees can record actions without coverage; the app syncs when the device reconnects.
Yes. Set up geofences per location and require GPS‑verified punches.
Most teams pilot within a week. A careful payroll validation adds one extra cycle. Use templates to speed setup.
Configure location capture to work events only, document your policy, and use role‑based access. Keep retention aligned to legal needs.
You can create training content in the platform. Many teams start with safety refreshers, SOPs, and onboarding checklists.
- Confirm current pricing and user caps for each plan.
- List required integrations and test exports early.
- Map your pay rules, breaks, and overtime before configuration.
- Pilot with one site and one pay group.
- Document your location and privacy policy and share it at launch.
Connecteam gives deskless teams a single app to track time, schedule work, communicate, and document tasks and compliance. Use it when you need reliable, GPS‑aware timekeeping and structured workflows that travel with your staff. It reduces admin, improves payroll accuracy, and keeps operations moving in sync.
