What Is the Best Employee GPS Tracking App?

As a business owner, you can’t be everywhere at once, especially if your employees work on various job sites (such as construction or catering). Even so, you still want to know what’s going on with your workers. You need to approve their timesheets and understand how efficiently they’re working, so you can communicate with clients or decide on whether to take on new work. The good news? There’s software that can help with just that.

Many time tracking apps also include employee location tracking software so you can get a view of your team’s operations.

Keep reading to learn what features and functionality you can expect in a GPS employee tracking app and how to find the best solution for your business.

The Basics of Employee GPS Tracking

Employee GPS location tracking isn’t for every business. Companies that operate out of a single location, for example, already know where their employees are.

However, businesses with a mobile workforce might need some help making sure field employees are where they say they are when they clock in. 

Using a GPS-enabled employee tracking app lets business owners verify an employee’s location and monitor overall employee movement to increase productivity. 

The Legality of Employee GPS Tracking

By now, you might be wondering, “Is it legal to track my employees with a GPS tracker?”

The answer is yes, but there are limitations.

There are no federal rules blocking GPS tracking of mobile employees, but some states place legal limits on an employer’s right to track team members. 

Most states allow GPS tracking of employees during regular work hours but limit location tracking outside of working hours.  

Before you implement an employee tracking system, it’s best to check your state’s laws, create a written policy, and get employee consent for tracking that occurs during business hours. 

What to Look for in Your Employee GPS Tracking App

Most GPS tracking apps include a geofencing feature, which lets you set location boundaries on the worksite where employees can clock in and out. If you have multiple client sites, make sure the app you choose lets you create multiple geofences.

In addition to location tracking features, employee tracking apps often include functionality such as digital time cards and project management. 

Ideally, you don’t want your employees using several different apps to check in, track time, and manage tasks. 

Here’s a list of features to look for in your employee GPS tracking app:

• Real-time location tracking
• Geofencing settings
• Mobile phone compatibility
• Automated clock in and out 
• Data sync and export 
• Manual time entries and editing
• Payroll calculations or integrations

Time and location data can be handy for job costing or estimation of labor costs.

Remember, if you want your GPS time clock app to work successfully, you need employee buy-in. The best solutions are easy for your employees to use while also providing you with enough data to increase your productivity. 

8 Best Employee GPS Tracking Apps for Small and Large Businesses

There are several GPS time tracker apps available, and each of them has its advantages and disadvantages. Finding the right solution for your business takes a bit of research. 

To help you get started, we’ve gathered eight of the best apps employers can use to track employee hours and location.

1. Hourly

Hourly is a people platform built by veterans of the construction industry. Hourly’s simple app seamlessly blends GPS-enabled time tracking with payroll. Hourly also offers reliable pay-as-you-go workers’ comp plans and uses payroll data to automatically calculate premium payments, in real-time. That way, your premiums will be based on actual wages, and not a guess. Say goodbye to workers’ comp audit surprises. 

Key Hourly Features:

• Real-time mobile time and task tracking
• Employee location tracking app
• Automatic clock in and clock out (with iPad kiosk option)
• Geofencing and GPS alerts
• Manual time entry
• Seamless payroll and workers’ comp integration

Best Employee GPS Tracking App for: Blue-collar businesses

2. Timesheet Mobile

Timesheet Mobile is a GPS time tracking app for businesses managing remote workers. With Timesheet Mobile, business owners can track employee hours and integrate their timesheets with QuickBooks payroll.

Key Timesheet Mobile Features:

• Geofence autopunch
• Compatible with landlines and cell phones
• GPS-powered employee location tracking
• Timesheet app with offline mode
• Full QuickBooks integration
• Payroll export

Best Employee GPS Tracking App for: Sales teams and Quickbooks users

3. timr

timr offers a cloud-based management tool for tracking employee hours, tasks, and projects. The timr app is available via web browser and mobile app, and includes manager reports such as an absence calendar.

Key timr Features:

• Employee and project time tracking
• GPS-enabled digital mileage tracking
• Administrative dashboard
• Absence calendar
• Detailed reports and insights

Best Employee GPS Tracking App for: Customization

4. Hellotracks

Hellotracks offers an employee location tracking app for logistics, delivery, and public sector companies that need to optimize and automate employee dispatch systems. Features such as automatic dispatch and job assignment make it ideal for delivery companies and response teams.

Key Hellotracks Features:

• Automatic dispatch and job assignment
• Route optimization and turn-by-turn navigation app
• Live GPS employee tracking app
• Mileage reports 
• Mobile app clock in and out

Best Employee GPS Tracking App for: Public sector and delivery companies

5. TimeCamp

TimeCamp offers feature-rich time tracking software that lets businesses monitor projects without micromanaging. Your team members can track their own hours with TimeCamp, and managers can use project templates and automatic invoicing for more seamless project management. 

Key TimeCamp Features:

• Project templates
• Project and task tracking
• Attendance tracking
• Automatic invoicing
• Employee location tracking software

Best Employee GPS Tracking App for: Businesses seeking a free option

6. Gleeo

Gleeo is a Swiss-made time tracking app for Android devices. With Gleeo, you can track your team member’s time cards and location, easily move between projects, and export data using their customizable timesheet structures.

Key Gleeo Features:

• Simple start/stop time tracking 
• Customizable timesheet structures
• Timeline review and manual edit options
• Location capturing
• Sync data across multiple devices

Best Employee GPS Tracking App for: Android devices

7. HoursTracker

HoursTracker offers an employee time clock with GPS in its mobile app. The app includes an easy-to-use calendar style picker for time entries and helps managers organize timesheets with tags and filters.

Key HoursTracker Features:

• Location tracking geared towards minimizing battery drain
• In-app clock in and clock out
• Pay period calculator
• Clock in notifications
• Organize time entries with tags and filters
• Easy data export

Best Employee GPS Tracking App for: Mobile expense tracking and hourly employees

8. Timeero

Timeero helps businesses with mobile teams track employee hours and manage attendance. With Timeero, companies can track employee locations and hours using features such as geofencing and mileage tracking. Team members can also receive reminders to clock in and out on their mobile devices.

Key Timeero Features:

• Geofencing and mileage tracking
• Android, iPhone, and desktop apps
• Clock in and clock out reminders
• Time off management
• Employee scheduling software 

Best Employee GPS Tracking App for: Mileage tracking

Find the App That’s Best for Your Business

Businesses that serve clients across various sites and manage remote teams face particular challenges. GPS tracking can give you a hand in making sure your employees are where they say they are, and help you find ways to operate more efficiently. 

As with any software, look for a solution that’s easy to use and integrates well with your existing tools. With the right employee location tracking app, you can improve the accuracy of your timesheets and payroll. If workers’ comp is an important part of your business, you’ll want to consider an app like Hourly. If you’re looking to optimize delivery routes, check out Hellotracks. Either way, what’s most important is you’re using the best app for YOUR business. Now all that’s left to do? Get out there and choose one!